Transcript Chapter 5

Ancient Greece
Chapter 5
Geography
• Land & islands, many miles of coastline,
inlets, bays, deep harbors
• Seas – Aegean, Mediterranean, Ionian
• Poor resources on land (couldn’t farm)
• Led to increased sea travel, trade, imports
Geography
• Land - very mountainous (Mt. Olympus)
• Difficult to unite under one government,
divided the people, became fiercely
independent
• Climate – moderate (Mediterranean)
temperature, led to outdoor activities –
shopping, civic meetings, athletics,
interaction
First Greeks
• Minoans from Crete
• Wealthy traders,
large homes, fancy
clothes, jewelry
• Ended by
earthquake,
volcano, tidal wave?
Mycenaeans
• Mycenae – built on
steep hills
• Fortified with stone
walls, bronze age
• Trojan War (1200 BCE)
• Greek kings attacked
Troy in Asia Minor
• Greek’s wife stolen by
Trojan man
• Archaeological evidence
that this was true
Dorians
• 1200 BCE – 800 BCE
• Mycenaean civilization
collapsed
• From North of Greece
came with iron weapons
• Little skill, less
advanced
• Trade and progress
stand still
• Skill of writing lost
• Dark Ages
Homer
• Blind poet
• Depended on spoken word (bards –
storytellers)
• Wrote long epics – ideals of heroism,
excellence , courage, honor
• Interested in individuals; heroes compete for
glory
• The Iliad and The Odyssey (750 BCE) about
the Trojan War
Early Greek Leaders
• Draco – 621 BC - codified Athenian laws
provided severe punishments
(“draconian” = harsh or severe)
• Solon – 594 BC – canceled land
mortgages, freed people enslaved for
debt, allowed male citizens to serve on
juries, granted commoners right to vote
in Assembly
Leaders cont.
• Cleisthenes – 508 BC – expanded democracy
by extending citizenship; began practice of
ostracism – banishing any citizen deemed
dangerous to the state
• Pericles – 461 BC – popular leader; opened
government to all men, paid salaries to public
officials – The Age of Pericles or The Golden
Age – height of democracy; art, science,
trade, manufacturing thrived
Types of governments in Greece
• Monarchy – one-man rule (king)
• Aristocracy – rule by a small group of
nobles
• Oligarchy – rule by few
• Tyranny – rule by one man who seized
power, favored by some people (unlike
today’s definition)
• Democracy – rule by the people
Athens
Polis - city-state (basic political unit)
Acropolis – hill, central meeting place
Agora – below hill, open place for meetings
Citizens - those who took part in govt.
Hoplites – heavily armed infantry soldiers
Phalanx – marching formation shoulder to shoulder
Athens cont.
 Democratic society
 The Assembly was the major political body
 All male citizens belonged; all were equal & had freedom
of speech
 Jury system for court cases
 Had to educate sons - participate in govt.
 2 years military service at age 18
SPARTA
 Military society & aristocracy
 Harsh life
 Invaded other cities to fulfill needs; greatest warriors in Greece
 If a child was born sickly or deformed, they were left in hills to
die
Sparta
At age 7, boys were sent to military; at 60 they could
retire; girls got rigorous physical training also
Women strong and fit to become mothers
Suspicious of new ideas - NO CHANGE
Sparta lagged far behind other cities in economic
development
Persian Wars
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499 BC Persians control largest empire
Darius attacks Greece at (1) Marathon
Greeks outnumbered but win battle
Pheidippides ran from Marathon to
Athens (26 miles) to announce victory –
died; modern day “marathon”
• Minor defeat for Persia but showed they
could be beaten
Greek hoplite (soldier)-6th c. BC
Persian Wars
 480 BC-Xerxes, son of Darius,
invades
 Sparta leads the Greeks (united)
 To delay Persia, the Spartans
slow them at (2) THERMOPYLAE
(a mountain pass)
Persian War cont.
Greeks lose (betrayed) & Athens
burned; all Spartans die
Greeks lure Persian navy into the
shallow waters of (3) SALAMIS Greeks victorious
(4) PLATAEA – war finally ends
Leonidas & the Spartans hold the
Persians at Thermopylae pass
Battle of Salamis, 480 BC
Persian War: Turning Point
End of Persian expansion west
Persians don’t conquer Europe
Ushers in the Golden Age of Athens
Classical age begins – art, literature,
commerce flourish
Greek city-states maintain their
independence; Athens dominates
Golden Age of Athens
 Pericles led Athens in this period (461 BC)
 Delian League – defensive alliance; Athens
led
 Athens stood for all that was the best in Greek
civilization
 Deeply committed to democracy; Assembly
The Agora
Classical Greece
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Writers
Philosophers
Pottery
Olympics
Religion
Philosophers
Historians
Sculpture
Architecture
Philosophy – “Love of Wisdom”
• Socrates – used questioning method
(Socratic method)
– Examine one’s life
– Convicted of corrupting youth; killed (drank
hemlock)
• Plato – Student of Socrates (427-347
BC) started The Academy
– The Republic – first book on political
science (did not favor democracy )
Philosophy cont.
• Aristotle (384-322
BC) wrote on
philosophy, science,
& govt.
• Tutored Alexander
the Great.
History
• Herodotus – “father of history” –
described the Persian invasion;
embellished with fable and superstition;
not very accurate
• Thucydides – accurate account of
Peloponnesian War; eyewitness
accounts; facts
Theatre
• Dramas, outdoor amphitheatres
• Tragedies:
– Aeschylus – Agamemnon; Persian Wars;
gods provided justice
– Euripedes – Medea, criticized war,
prejudice, greed
• Comedies:
– Aristophanes – satirized political leaders
Architecture
• Parthenon – most famous; temple to
Athena (Wisdom) atop the Acropolis in
Athens
• Use of columns – Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian (elaborate, curly)
Science and Math
• Pythagoras – important principals of
geometry
• Hippocrates – father of medicine,
attributed disease to natural, not
superstitious causes
– Hippocratic Oath – uphold medical
standards – do no harm
The Olympics
• 776 BC; held every 4 years
• Athletes traveled to Mt. Olympus to
honor Zeus
• Glory in athletic competition
• Pentathlon most important event (5) –
long jump, javelin, discus, foot race,
wrestling
• Men only (naked)
• Prize – honor and fame for your c-s
Religion – The Greek Gods
• Lived on Mt. Olympus (12)
• Were immortal
• They were “human-like” – fought, had
human weaknesses
• Oracles to worship the gods
Democracy
• GREECE
• Direct Democracy –
citizens were
members of
legislature
• Citizenship based on
Athenian ancestry
• Women denied
political rights
• Slavery permitted
• U.S.
• Representative
Democracy – citizens
elect representatives
• Citizenship based on
American birth or
naturalization
• Women – equal rights
• Slavery prohibited
Peloponnesian War (431 BC-404 BC)
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Series of battles between Athens and Sparta
Sparta eventually wins (military superiority)
Greece weakened over next century by fighting
Growing power to the North, Macedonia goes unnoticed
End of classical Greece
Alexander the Great
Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander’s father,
had conquered most of Greece by the time of his
death
336 BC-Alexander from Macedonia (north of
Greece) becomes King (age 20)
334 BC-Alexander invades Persian empire &
wins major victory in Asia Minor
Alexander the Great
• Conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt –
founded Alexandria
• 331 BCE – defeated Persians again and
ended Persian rule
• 327 BCE – Wants to reach Indus River –
after 3 years his men say no more
• 323 BCE – Dies at age 32
Alexander the Great
• Global view – believed non – Greeks were
equal; encouraged men to marry Persians
• Hellenistic – mix of Greek and Middle Eastern
culture
• Alexandria, Egypt – key city; home to poets,
scholars, writers, scientists, philosophers;
great library
• Built temples, baths, theatres, statues, etc.
Contributions - Hellenistic
• Eratosthenes – believed earth was round
• Archimedes – pi, lever and pulley
• Epicurianism (philosophy) – humans were
free to follow self-interest, pursuit of pleasure
and happiness
• Stoicism – live in harmony with god; daily
problems would not disturb you, bear
whatever life offers (stoic)
• Sculpture – Colossus of Rhodes 100 ft.
bronze