Transcript Greece
Greece Geography Very mountainous, small area Many islands (sea) Cause small, independent communities & seafarers (city-states) Minoan On island of Crete with the capital Knossos, named after king of Crete – Minos These people sailed… Allowing for trade… Fell – either because of tidal wave caused by volcano, or by invasion of Mycenaean people Mycenae Fortified site 1st Greek state Warrior culture, hunting & fighting Conquered Greek islands – we know about this through Homer Fell because they began to fight each other & because of earthquakes “Dark Ages” of Greece Called that because records don’t exist, population & food decreased When it ended, there was... Iron replaced bronze A revival of trade Improved weapons & farming Adopted Phoenician alphabet What written works there are, are by Homer Homer Wrote what?? 2 things... Gives Greeks an ideal past & values… teaches young men how to live their lives and be good people Greek Life Polis – the center of Greek life/a community of people who shared an identity & goals, building loyalty… Acropolis – Acropolis is a Greek word meaning 'high city'. Hoplites Phalanx Tyranny in the city-states Trade allowed for a new wealthy class to rise, leading to tyrants – these were people who fought against the aristocrats and took away some of their power – they used to be liked Fell out of power because they weren’t the Greek ideal, but they did some pretty things when in power… (new marketplaces, temples, & walls) New governments pop up: democracy (gov by the people), oligarchy (gov of a few people)… Sparta Needed more land, so took it Military state, rigidly controlled and disciplined… Closed itself off from the world, didn’t visit, frowned on new ideas & the arts… only war mattered Athens Government PROBLEMS>>> Until Cleisthenes He created a council of 500 to propose laws and supervise treasury All male citizens could pass laws Free and open debate Laid foundation from Athenian democracy (and ours…) Sparta vs Athens Sparta - Women had power, had to be strong - Closed off from outside world - Military state; oligarchy - Kicks Athens butt later on Athens - Women had no power - Cultural diffusion - Democracy - Goes all “empire” but loses to Spartans Persia Problems between Greeks & Persia means Greeks revolted and Athens beats Persia – Persia sought revenge (because Xerxes swears revenge) 180,000 Persians vs 7,000 Greeks fought at Thermopylae, Greeks held them off for 2 days, but lost… Persia cont. Athenians left their city Greek Navy kicked Persia navy’s butt Few months later, Greeks formed their largest army ever and defeated Persia Athens Power Now Athens is all-powerful Formed Delian League – creating an empire (Age of Pericles ) Turned Athens into a direct democracy (is like a town meeting where everyone gets a vote and a say) Allowed lower-class males voting rights, paid office holders, could ostracize someone (ignore them/shunning) Peloponnesian War Athenian Empire vs Sparta The plan: Athens stays behind her walls Sparta tries to pull Athens out from behind walls so she can kick her butt BUT, plague broke out… lasted 25 years Supply carrying navy was destroyed, so Athens loses Ruined cooperation between Greeks - & then ignored Macedonia – BAD idea What was Athens… Largest populated city-state Numerous, common slaves Economy based on farming and trade Women couldn’t participate or have anything to do with government or society, except with religious ceremonies Greek Religion Polytheistic (Zeus , Hera, Aphrodite...) Affected all aspects of life Focused on making the Gods happy with the mortals Religious rituals & festivals used to honor gods… included Olympics Their myth is like the Christian Bible, and their temples are like Christian churches… Greek Drama Created Western Drama (tragedies ) Plays were presented as part of religious festivals Famous play-writes Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, oracles Euripides: created more realistic characters & showed more interest in real-life situations Philosophy The “love of wisdom” referring to an organizational system of rational thought 3 main philosophers : Socrates Plato Aristotle The Sophists were a group of teachers who argues it was beyond the human mind to understand the universe and stressed the importance of rhetoric Socrates Goal of education was to improve your soul Socratic method – questions and answers “the unexamined life isn’t worth living” – the belief in the individual power to reason was an important contribution to culture After the loss of Peloponnesian war, Athens afraid of debate, puts Socrates to death Plato Preoccupied with the nature of reality and how we know it [material objects are shadows of the real “ness” of an item] Concerned that the city-states be virtuous – just & rational Wrote the Republic Believed in: 1) 3 groups of people 2) equal opportunities for men & women Aristotle Interested in analyzing & classifying things by observation and investigation Believed a constitutional government was the best choice of government Wrote his opinion in Politics that he preferred either a monarchy, an aristocracy, or a constitutional government History, writing Herodotus – History of the Persian Wars; first historian Thucydides – greatest historian of ancient world. History of Peloponnesian War. Emphasized facts and insight into human psychology. Believed studying history beneficial for understanding the past through systematic analysis Art Greek art concerned with expressing eternal ideas through moderation, balance & harmony Chief subject matter: ideally beautiful human being Most important architectural form: temple dedicated to gods. What’s the most famous temple? Macedonia Greeks viewed their northern neighbors as barbarians… even though it was a powerful kingdom Philip II admired Greek culture and wanted to unite all of Greece under Macedonia rule. He crushed, insisted, conquered – and got assassinated Alexander the Great Philip II’s son Picked up where his dad left off Got Persia , established Alexandria in Egypt, and kept on to India… Alexander’s time period called Hellenistic – “to imitate the Greeks” – cultural diffusion He died, and generals bickered so empire fell apart Hellenistic culture Alexandria’s library the largest of its kind, with over 5,000 scrolls (National Treasure) Thousands of statues were erected. Literature (writing) was popular and comedy was another new form that was developed. Astronomy: Aristarchus & heliocentric ideas Mathematics: Eratosthenes: Earth is round, calculated the circumference (correctly) Euclid wrote a textbook on plane geometry Archimedes : value of pi, geometry of spheres & cylinders, invented the lever New Philosophies Epicureanism Stoicism’s teacher: Zeno Emphasized achieving happiness – gained by living in harmony with the will of God & then life’s problems couldn’t disturb you Regarded public service as noble Study Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. Explain Homer’s influence on Greek civilization Describe the growth of democracy in Athens Explain the spread of Greek culture into SW Asia during the Hellenistic Era Describe the characteristics of a “Spartan” life style