Transcript Impact of Geography on Greece

■Essential Question:
–What role did geography play in the
development of classical Greece?
■Warm-Up Question:
–What do you think of when I say
“Greece”?
After the river valley era, a number
of classical civilizations developed
in the Mediterranean and in Asia
The first major
classical civilization
was ancient Greece
Classic cultures created high levels of achievement in
art, science, & technology that impacted future ages
Impact of Geography on Greece:
Identify 1 geographic feature & propose
how it might impact the culture of Greece
Impact of Geography on Greece:
Identify 1 geographic feature & propose
how it might impact the culture of Greece
Greece’s lack of natural resources & location
on the Mediterranean Sea encouraged
Greek trade with neighboring societies
Mountains covered about 75% of Greece
which divided the people & made unifying
the Greek people nearly impossible
The Greeks
developed
independent
city-states,
called polis,
within each
valley & its
surrounding
mountains
Most Greek city-states had an agora that was
the center for trade & government
City-states had an
acropolis, a temple on
a hill dedicated to a
sacred god
Differences Among Greek City-States
Despite similar
language &
religion, the
Greek polis were
very different
from each other,
especially
how they were
governed
Political and Social Change
■ Greek communities first ruled by kings
(Monarchy) -- kings soon lost power
■ Each polis was then ruled by
landholding aristocrats = nobles
Political and Social Change
■ Disputes between aristocrats and
commoners (especially farmers) often
arose
–Farmers often had to borrow money
from the aristocrats until harvest -->
when they couldn’t pay back the
money, the aristocrats took the
land, made farmers become
sharecroppers/day laborers, or sold
farmers into slavery
Political and Social Change
■ Farmers began to
protest
■ Farmers were very
powerful in Greek
armies because they
were the foot soldiers
■ Greek armies relied
on the phalanx =
rows of foot soldiers
close together with
shields to form a wall
Political and Social Change
■Middle-class artisans &
merchants wanted a voice in
government & joined the farmers
in protest
Political and Social Change
■ As a result of the
unrest: tyrannies
arose
– Tyrant = one man -> seized power
and ruled the polis
– Most were fair; a
few were cruel and
unjust
– Tyrannies ruled
until 500 BCE
Political and Social Change
■ 500 BCE - 336 BCE = citystates were oligarchies or
democracies
– Oligarchy = a few wealthy
people hold power
– Democracy = government
by the people
– 2 most famous Greek citystates:
• Athens = democracy
• Sparta = oligarchy
■https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=IndRAsYX4W4
Greek Culture
■Despite their lack of unity,
the Greeks shared some
common characteristics:
–Greeks shared the same
language
–Greek writing was
influenced by the
Phoenician alphabet &
became the basis for Latin
Greeks were polytheistic & believed that the
gods were immortal but had human qualities;
Religion became the basis for Greek mythology
Zeus
King of the gods
Athena
Goddess of wisdom
Aphrodite
Goddess of love
Apollo
God of sun & music
Ares
God of war
Hades
God of underworld
Hera
Goddess of family
Poseidon
God of the seas
The Greek city-states Athens & Sparta
represented the differences among polis
■Athenian society
focused on wealth
& culture:
–Athens had a
direct democracy
in which both
rich & poor
citizens could
vote & hold
public office
Athenian society focused on wealth & culture
Architects built the Parthenon
to honor the goddess Athena
Athenian society focused on wealth & culture
Artists created
realistic sculptures
Theater had both
comedies & tragedies
Athenian society focused on wealth & culture
Philosophers Socrates, Plato, & Aristotle
questioned assumptions & the use of logic
to find answers to questions
The Greek city-states Athens & Sparta
represented the differences among polis
■ Spartan society focused on
military strength, not
freedom & learning
– Spartan men served in
the military until 60
years old
– Boys began military
training at age 7
– Women ran family
estates while men
trained or fought
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/peloponnesian-war/videos/spartan-boot-campkilling-machines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEItBM1dc9o
Role of Women
■ Women, like men, were expected
to exercise and be strong
– Spartan women trained in gymnastics,
boxing, and wrestling
– Needed to produce healthy babies
– Had more freedoms than other Greek
women
– Could go shopping in the marketplace,
express political opinions, own
property, etc.  could NOT take part in
government though
Sparta’s Government
■Sparta was behind other citystates in economics, philosophy,
science, and arts
–Rulers afraid of change; afraid
of outside influence
Closure Activity
■Where would you rather live:
Athens or Sparta? Why?
Spartans showed their strength during
the Persian Wars
Quick Overview
■ 400s BCE  Persian Empire had strongest
military in the world
■ Persian Empire wanted to invade Europe and
expand
■ Greek city-states cooperated in resisting
Persian attacks
■ After victory against Persia, the Greeks
enjoyed a “golden age”
■ Then – Greek city-states began to fight each
other
The Persian Wars
■ Persians took over the Greek citystates in Ionia (in Asia)
■ Ionians revolted against Persians,
with help from other city-states like
Athens
■ Persians (led by King Darius)
defeated the Ionians & decided to
punish the other city-states on
mainland Greece for helping the
Ionians
Battle of Salamis
■ 10 years later 
Darius’s son Xerxes
invades Greece from
the north
■ Xerxes brought
200,000 troops –
couldn’t live off the
land so offshore supply
ships came with them
■ Greeks under the
leadership of Sparta
Battle of Salamis
■ Oracle at Delphi said
Greeks would be safe
behind a “wooden wall”
– Athenian General
Themistocles believed
“wooden wall” meant fleet
of ships & that they
needed to challenge the
Persians at sea
– Greek army had to set up
a distraction on land to
build this fleet at sea
– Greeks chose
Thermopylae as place for
distraction
The 300
■ At Thermopylae – 7,000
Greeks led by King
Leonidas stood firm for 3
days
■ Greek traitor showed
Persians a trail they could
use to attack the Greeks
– Leonidas sent home most of
his troops to save them
– He and 300 Spartans stayed
to fight
– They lost, but gave
Themistocles time to carry out
his plan at sea
Battle of Salamis
■ Themistocles drew the
Persian fleet to the Strait of
Salamis
– Greek navy destroyed Persian
fleet in the strait
■ Persians never came back
 Greeks won the Persian
Wars
■ Athens emerged as a
powerful city-state
Athens & Sparta competed for influence in
Greece & developed a strong rivalry that
eventually led to the Peloponnesian War
Sparta defeated
Athens, but the war
weakened the Greeks
The Peloponnesian War
■Persian threat remained even
though they lost the Persian Wars
■Athens and other city-states
joined together in Delian League
to protect themselves from the
Persians
The Delian League
■They freed Ionia
from Persian rule
■Got rid of pirates
in the Aegean
Sea
■Made Greece rich
because trade
grew
The Delian League
■ Athens began to dominate
the other city-states
– Several city-states formed an
alliance against Athens
– Led by Sparta : Peloponnesian
League
– Threatened by Athens’
economic and political power
and influence
– Sparta was afraid of Athens.
The Conflict
[431 BCE - 404 BCE]
■Peloponnesian
War = fought
between Athens
(and its allies)
and Sparta (and
its allies)
The Conflict
[431 BCE - 404 BCE]
■ Plague hit Athens -- killed 1/3 of
its people (including General
Pericles)
– After Pericles died, some
Athenians wanted to surrender and
others wanted to keep fighting
– No decision made -- fighting
continued for many years
The Conflict
[431 BCE - 404 BCE]
■ Several city-states switched sides
and joined Sparta
■ Spartans then destroyed Athenian
navy
– Athens surrendered in 404 BCE
Effects of the War
War brought disaster to Greek
city-states
■ Lost ability to govern
themselves
■ Increased tension between
aristocrats and commoners
■ Limited democracy and free
political discussion
■ Continual fighting among citystates
■ Unable to resist the invasion of
the Macedonians (with
Alexander the Great)