Transcript TheGreeks_001

The Greeks
Minoan civilization
• On Crete-an island
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surrounded by the
Aegean Sea.
Do not know the real
name of these
people.
Named after Minos
the legendary king of
Crete.
Minoan civilization
• Success was based on trade not conquest.
• Rulers lived in the palace at Knossos
• There were religious shrines-areas dedicated to
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honor gods and goddesses.
Walls were decorated with frescos-watercolor
paintings done on plaster.
– Showed that women may have had some freedom.
• The civilization disappeared.
– Possible volcano, earthquake, or tidal wave.
Mycenae
• Indo-European people who conquered the Greek
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mainland and then overran Crete.
They were sea traders
– Went as far as Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia
• Lived in separate city-states on the Mainland
– Warrior-kings built a thick walled fortress from which
he ruled the surrounding areas.
– They had lots of treasure
Trojan war
• Thought to be a myth until Heinrich Schliemann
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set out to prove it was true.
He found evidence of war and fire when he
excavated Troy.
Trojan war was between Mycenae and Troy.
– Probably for economic reasons
– Troy controlled the vital straits or narrow water
passages that connected the Mediterranean and Black
Seas.
Legend of Troy
• Legend says that the War resulted from
when the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped
Helen who was the wife of a Greek king.
• Mycenaeans sailed to Troy to rescue her.
• The war lasted 10 years-the Greeks won
and burned the city to the ground.
Trojan Horse in Turkey
The Age of Homer
• Mycenaean civilization crumbled not long
after the fall of Troy
– Because of sea raiders
– People abandoned the cities
• Civilization took a step backwards
– People forgot many skills including writing.
Homer
• We get hints about this
life from two poems
written during this time
by Homer.
– The Iliad
– The Odyssey
• The Iliad is about the
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Trojan War and Achilles
The Odyssey is about
Odysseus returning home
to Penelope after the
Trojan war
Geography of Greece
• Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula
• Mountains divide the peninsula and isolate
it.
• They didn’t create a large empire but
small isolated city-states.
• This caused many wars.
The Seas
• The sea was the link to the outside world
– Had 100’s of bays that provided safe harbors for
ships.
– Became skilled sailors
• Adapted ideas too
– Changed the Phoenician alphabet
– This became the basis for our alphabet
• Population growth caused them to expand
outward
City-States
• Greeks had a city-state called a Polis
• It was built on two levels
– The acropolis (high city) was built on a hilltop
and had great marble temples dedicated to
the different gods and goddesses.
– On flatter ground below lay the walled main
city
• Marketplace, theater, public buildings, and homes
Early Government
• Early government-ruler of the polis was like a
king.
– Monarchy is a government in which a king or queen
exercises central power
• Power shifted to a class of noble landowners
– They got power for themselves and ruled according to
aristocracy-rule by landholding elite
• Trade expanded and a new middle class
emerged
– This caused and oligarchy-power in the hands of
small, powerful elite
Two different city-states
• Sparta
• Athens
Sparta
• Sparta is in Peloponnesus
• They were Dorians who conquered
Laconia
• They turned the conquered people into
state owned slaves known as helots
– Helots were supposed to work the land
– The helots outnumbered them so they had to
have strict control.
Spartan culture
• They had two kings and a council of elders
and an assembly made up of all citizens to
approve major decisions
– Citizens were male, native-born Spartans over
30.
Being a citizen
• From childhood Spartans prepared to be part of
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a military state.
All newborns were examined and the sickly ones
were left to die.
At 7 boys began training for a lifetime in the
military.
– They moved into barracks
– They slept on hard palates, ate bad food, had hard
exercise, and strict discipline
– They were encouraged to steal food but were
punished if caught.
A soldier’s life
• Spartan youth became excellent soldiers
• At 20 they could marry, but they lived in
the barracks for another 10 years and ate
there for another 40 years.
Women in Sparta
• Girls were to produce healthy soldiers and sons
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for the army.
They were to exercise and strengthen their
bodies.
They had to obey their fathers or husbands
– They could inherit property
– Because of wars they took on more responsibilities.
Spartans
• Isolated themselves from their neighbors
• Looked down on trade and wealth
• Travel was forbidden
• “Spartans are willing to die because they
have no reason to live”
Athens
Athens
• Athens is in Attica
• Government went from
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monarchy to aristocracy
Under the aristocracy
wealth and power grew
but people were not
happy
– They demanded change
and didn’t want the nobles
to have all of the power.
– In hard times, farmers had
to sell their land and even
themselves sometimes to
pay debts.
Call for change
• Athens moved slowly towards a
democracy-government by the
people.
• Solon was appointed chief
official and was told to make
reforms.
– He outlawed debt slavery and
freed those in debt slavery
– Opened high offices to more
citizens
– Gave citizenship to some
foreigners
– Gave the assembly more say in
important decisions
Not really that reformed
• Solon’s reforms helped but only for some
• Citizenship was still limited
• This led to the rise of tyrants-people who
gain power by force.
More reforms
• And the assembly was made - this was a
legislature-a law making body.
– They debated laws
– All male citizens over 30 were members
Government still limited
• Democracy still limited
• Only male citizens could participate
Slaves and women had no voice
• BUT Athens gave people more of a say
than anybody else.
Women in Athens
• Women had no part in
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public life
In wealthy homes, Athenian
women were secluded
– They managed the
household, spun and wove,
took care of the children, and
prepared food.
• Poor women worked
outside of the home
Education in Athens
• Only boys attended school if their families
could afford it.
– They learned to read and write, studied
music, poetry, and public speaking
– They received military training
– But they were encouraged to explore and
learn new things.
Unity in Greece
• Despite the rivalries between city-states
there were forces for unity.
– Religion
Religion in Greece
• The Greeks were polytheistic
• They believed that their gods
lived on Mt. Olympus in
Northern Greece.
• Zeus was King of the gods and
presided over the affairs of
humans and gods.
– His wife was Hera and his
children included:
• Aphrodite-goddess of love,
Ares-god of war, and Athenagoddess of wisdom
The Persian Wars
Persian Rule
• Persians controlled most of Asia
– This included Ionia
• Ionian Revolt
– Athens sent ships to help
Battle of Marathon
• Darius tries to punish Athens
• Athens requests help
• Hand-to-Hand Combat results in Victory
– Themistocles builds and Athenian Navy
Spartans on the Defensive
• Leonidas leads Spartans against Xerxes
and the Persians
– Persians are eventually defeated
• Persians march down and burn Athens
Battle of Salamis
Salamis
• The Persians were lured into the strait of
Salamis
• Athenian Navy sinks the Persian ships
– Faster, more maneuverable ships
Delian League
• Athens emerged from the war as the
most powerful city-state
– Organized an alliance
– Created and Athenian empire
Direct Democracy
• Direct Democracy –
– Citizens are directly involved in the
government daily
– Council of 500 and the Assembly
– Began to pay a stipend
– Jury enacted
• Could include several thousand
• Citizens over the age of 30 serve for one year
– Ostracism practiced
Pericles
• Pericles – leader
– Promoted democracy, helped the economy
– Rebuilt the acropolis
– Turned Athens into the cultural center of
Greece
Peloponnesian War
• Delian League vs. Peloponnesian League
– Athens
– Navy
vs.
vs.
Sparta
Army
• Warfare lasts 27 years
• Pericles brings a Plague to Athens and kills
many including himself
– overcrowding
• Sparta allied with Persian, but does not
destroy Athens
Glory of Greece
• Philosophers “lovers of wisdom”
– Used thought to facilitate cause and effect
– Math, music, logic
• Rational thinking
• Wanted to find the natural laws of the universe
– Rhetoric – art of skillful speaking
Socrates
• Stonemason and philosopher
• Teacher of Plato
• Wrote nothing down, stayed in the town
square talking to people
– Socratic method
• Put on trial at 70
– Accused of corrupting the youth and failing to
honor the gods
– Condemned to Death and willingly drank
hemlock
Plato
• Left Athens for 10 years
• Did NOT trust Democracy ??
• Set up the Academy upon return
• The Republic – ideal state
– 3 groups with philosophers as the rulers
– The smartest women could serve the state
– Children would be raised in community
centers
Aristotle
• A student of Plato
• Studied the varied governments
• Favored monarchy or dictatorship
• Set up the Lyceum, a school
– Politics, ethics, logic, biology, and literature
Architecture and Art
• Artists tried to establish a balance of order
and beauty
• Parthenon – a temple dedicated to the
goddess Athena
• Greek artist try to imitate natural poses
Greek Literature
• Tragedies – plays that told stories of
human suffering that usually ended in
disaster
• Theatre ??
• Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
• Comedies – humorous plays that mocked
people or customs
• Aristophanes
History
• Herodotus “the father of history”
– The Persian Wars
– Researched before he wrote
– Noted bias and conflicting accounts
– Still reflected his own bias
• Thucydides
– Wrote about the Peloponnesian War
– Tried to avoid bias
The Hellenistic Age
• Philip II
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Ruler of Macedonia
Had lived in Thebes and was technically Greek
Hired Aristotle to tutor son Alexander
Built a powerful army
Made alliances by “any means necessary”
Defeated Thebes and Athens at the battle of
Chaeronea, and had rule of all of Greece
– Had a dream of conquering the Persian Empire
Alexander Comes to Power
• Philip II was assassinated at his daughter’s
wedding
• Alexander became ruler at age 20
Age of Alexander the Great
• Alexander won his first victory against the
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Persians at the Granicus River. He then
conquered Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt,
and Babylon.
Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush into
northern India. There his troops faced
soldiers mounted on war elephants. They
were forced to retreat.
While planning his next battle campaign,
Alexander died of a sudden fever. Three
generals divided up the empire.
Empire of Alexander the Great
Alexander’s Legacy
• Alexander’s most lasting achievement was
the spread of Greek culture.
• Gradually, a blending of eastern and
western cultures occurred.
Accomplishments of the Hellenistic
Age
• Pythagoras developed Pythagorean
theorem
– a2 + b2=c2
• Discovered Heliocentric or suncentered solar system.
• Advances in medicine under
Hippocrates, the “father of
medicine.”