Transcript Civilizations of the Mediterranean

CIVILIZATIONS OF THE
MEDITERRANEAN
Chapter 4
I. PERSIAN TRADITION (ACHAEMENID)
•Cyrus the Great
•had established Persia across Northern Middle East by 550 BCE
•Zoroastrianism (see previous notes)
•Persian culture, language remained strong in region
•Darius conquered by Alexander the Great
HELLENISTIC PERIOD
II. GREECE
Politics1. City-State- Athens and Sparta
2. Mostly tyrannical or autocratic
3. Direct Democracy- Athens
4. Citizens vote- 50% males qualifiedNOT women
5. Aristocratic assemblies
RELIGION/ PHILOSOPHY
•Greek Mythology- Olympian gods- like super-people
•Philosophers- See Intellectual
•Social
•Women not citizens- no voting
•slavery
INTELLECTUAL
•Phoenician letters
•Olympic Games
•Alexandria- intellectual center/library
•Pythagoras
•Mathematics, geometry
•Philosophy- Socrates,Plato, Aristotle
•Focus on REASON
•“Chief duty is improvement of the soul”- Socrates
ARTS
•Focus on Plays- comedy/tragedy
•Sophocles- Oedipus
•Architecture
•temples, columns
•realism statues
ROMAN EMPIRE
ROMAN POLITICS
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Rome began as a monarchy- 509 BCE- became a Republic
Republic-citizens elect representatives
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Senate
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2 Consuls
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Dictator
Law- “12 Tables”
Idea of citizenship
Active participation of citizens in politics, military
Citizens had written rights, obligations
ROMAN EMPIRE
•45-27 BCE- Julius, then Augustus Caesar took advantage of political
turmoil
•Republic replaced with Empire
•Pax Romana- Roman Peace- 200 years of stability
•Conquered provinces were assimiliated.
•Citizenship
•Aqueducts, roads
•Benefits
•Allowed to keep local customs
ECONOMY
•Wide trade across Mediterranean
•Acquisition of commodities from provinces
•Taxation
•Silk found its way across the silk road-India-Rome
RELIGION
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Religion derived from primitive spirits of nature, Pantheon of
Gods, Goddess
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Mythology led to literary tradition
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Imperial Rome worshipped Emperors as gods
APOSTLE’S CREED
I believe in God the Father
Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ
His only begotten Son, our
Lord
Who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
Was crucified, died, and was
buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again
from the dead
He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the tight hand of God
the Father Almighty
From there He shall come to
judge the living and the dead
I believe in the Holy Spirit
The Holy Catholic/Christian
church
The communion of saints
The forgiveness of sins
The resurrection of the body
And the life everlasting.
CHRISTIANITY
•Abt 4BCE- Jesus Christ born in Palestine/Judea
•Tough Roman Province- Romans allowed monotheisitic Jews to practice
their beliefs
•Christian beliefs:
•Jesus is God and man, sinless
•Virgin birth
•Worked miracles
•Was crucified under Pontius Pilate
•Resurrected from death
•Faith in Christ justifies/cleanses all sins
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
•Christians refused to worship emperors
•Faced periodic horrific persecution
•crucifixion, sword, beheading
• Colosseum, lions, NERO
•Constantine in 300s CE converted to Christianity, making it Rome’s official
state religion
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgos
pel/timeline_10.html
ECONOMY & SOCIETY
•Commercial agriculture a function of geography
•Most people farmers on someone else’s land, free or indebted
•Trade, expansion required to feed people; luxury goods came to upper
classes
•Merchants just below aristocrats
•Slavery a “necessity” for agriculture, mining led to lack of innovation
•Patriarchal society, women enjoyed greatest freedom
INTELLECTUAL/ ARTS
•Engineering
•Roads
•Aqueducts
•Arches
•Latin Language-later language of Catholic Church
•Virgil- poet who tried connecting Roman history to Greek myth
•Logic/science
•RATIONALITY
VI. TOWARD THE FALL OF ROME
Rome
•Rome fell due to declining birth rates, loss of territory,
internal division, its own fame
•Many nomadic peoples, Goths, Vandals, Huns, wanted
to move closer to prosperous civilization, destroying
Rome in the process
•No civilization rose to claim leadership of Greece,