Transcript Persians and Greeks

Compare/Contrast
Crete: Minoan Civilization
(Palace at Knossos)
Built by King Minos
 The palace stored food and made goods.
 Centralized government.
 Created writing to facilitate trade.
 Linear A (based on hieroglyphics)
 Used to keep the economic record of the palaces, largely un-deciphered
today.
Palace of King Minos –
North Entrance
Palace of King Minos Interiors
Palace of King Minos –
Throne Room
Bull
Cult
Minoan
Trade
Coast of Crete
“Bireme” ship
Aerial View of Mycenae
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Linear B writing was found both on mainland Greece
and Crete.
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Greek was the language of the Mycenaean culture.
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The Mycenaean's adapted Linear A to their language to
create Linear B.
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The Mycenaean's were ruling Crete by the 15th century.
Took writing and adapted it.
The Mask of
Agamemnon
The Seven “Layers” of
Ancient Troy
Homer’s Troy
(VII)
Persians
 4 empires rule
Greeks
 Achaemenid
 Monarchy
 Cyrus the Great
 Polis – Independent City State/state level
 Darius
 Capital at Persepolis
 23 regional satrapies
 Locals appointed to serve satraps
 Audits by roving bands of government spies
 Effective bureaucracy
 Satraps
 Collect taxes and tribute
 Oversee standardized coinage
 Ensure laws are enforced – inspectors (spies)
 Pony express – communication
government
 No clear dominant state that had all the
power
 Athens – democracy
 Sparta
 Responsive to local needs
 Oligarchy
 Tyranny
 Cities of Sparta and Athens had mutual
antagonisms.
 Persian War - Athens and Sparta became
allies to defeat Persia.
 Peloponnesian War, - Sparta and Persia
became allies in order to defeat Athens.
 Solon: canceled debts, graduated
 Built good roads for communication
and control – 1 week end to
 Expansion
 Standardized laws Tolerant of local
beliefs
 Charter of Human Rights
 Etched on a clay cylinder – set forth
goals and policies
 Each conquered region kept its own
culture and political system – had to
pay taxes (tribute)
 No official language
 Overzealous and lost to the Greeks
income tax, Council of Four Hundred
made up of merchants and other
citizens
 Divided people into four classes based
on wealth; All citizens could participate
as jurors;Peisistratus
 Redistributed land; government loans to
encourage agriculture; promoted
colonies; promoted worship of Athena
and festival to Dionysus to create cultural
unity
 Cleisthenes
 Father of Athenian democracy
 Expansion under Alexander the Great
 Importance of Alexandria in Egypt
 After his death empire was split in three
 Autocracy was common
 Many empires and kingdoms emerged
Persians
 Military conquest to expand the empire
 Egypt, Anatolia, Thrace, Macedonia, Indus River Valley
 Militarism
 Glorification of the ideals of a professional military class
 Predominance of the armed forces
Greeks
 Had adequate military resources.
 Sparta, boys at the age of seven began
training to become part of the army. They
were taught the skills of being a strong
soldier. Therefore,
 Warrior class the most important
 Sparta’s army was very strong.
 Paid Army
 Alexander allowed conquered people
 Ten Thousand Immortals hand picked for skills and
dedication
 Cyrus the Achaemenid conquered the weakening Assyrian
and Babylonian empires.
 Darius extended the empire even more conquering places
India to the east, Egypt to the west, and Armenia to the North.
 The Persian Wars and their effort to control Greece brought
about the downfall of the Achaemenids.
to join his military
 Alexander the Great invaded and
dissolved the Persian Empire,
destroyed Persepolis, but proclaimed
himself the legitimate successor of the
Achaemenids.
Persians
Greeks
 Royal Road
 Super highway for caravans
 Sea trade extremely important to
 Coined money
 Overland trade
 Connected India, Egypt, Greece
 Regular taxes from satraps replaced
intermittent tributes
 Conquered kingdoms offered more natural
resources and raw materials
 Increased trading opportunities
 Equestrian skills and horses
 Fed horses alfalfa to make them stronger
Greek way of life
 Export wine and olive oil
 The empire became very strong
through a reliable trade economy
Persians
 Rituals not working – people lost faith in sacrifices
 Zoroastrianism
 : world created and governed by two powerful but
different forces
 Good – Ahura Mazda represented by light and fire;
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created truth and wisdom
Evil – Ahriman represented by darkness; created
flashflood and ignorance
World a conflict between the two
Humans have free will to choose between good and evil
No fasting, sacrifices, or rituals – be righteous, chase,
compassionate, charitable, promote education
 Monotheistic
 Royal family believed so most of the Persian empire chose
to believe
 King would not persecute those who did not believe
Greeks
 Polytheistic
 Gods and goddesses exhibited
human like behavior
 Mythological stories
 Sought to understand the
mysteries of nature and human
passion
 Greco(Roman) religion never
became a world class religion
Persians
 Patriarchy
Greeks
 Religion did not allow for slaves
 Patriarchy
 Citizenship was granted to those who were
 Slaves
conquered
 Governed 30 million subjects
 Cyrus - Freed Jews and allowed them to rebuild
their temple
 Women worked in textile manufacturing
 Diverse cultures; respected cultural traditions of
the peoples they ruled
 Warriors, priests, and peasants gave way to an
educated bureaucracy
 Free classes included artisans, craftsmen,
merchants, and low-ranking civil servants
 Large % of population was free individuals but did
not have privileges of clan leaders and important
bureaucrats.
 Male citizens in Athens could participate in
government
 Women had little rights
 Poor Athenian farmers had no political rights
and resented landowners
 Merchants were jealous of the aristocracy
 Had wealth but no social status
 Merchants became rich – farmers became
poor and accumulated debt
 Became the loan holders debt slaves
 Revolt and revolution
 Source of unity – language, religion, Olympics,
and views of non-Greeks as barbarians
Persians
 first empire to introduce the
exchange of goods for coinage and
developed from a barter economy to
an money economy
 Postal service
 111 postal stations
 Standardized weights and measures
 Advanced iron technology
Greeks
 Philosophers
 Logic
 Think about thinking
 Ethical behavior
 Humanism
 Belief that humans are the center of all things
and can rely on their own abilities to meet
challenges
 Arete – an individual hero’s courage and
display of physical strength, loyalty, and
fearlessness
 Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
 Know Thyself
 Question Everything
 Only the Pursuit of Goodness
brings Happiness
 Condemned to Suicide for
“Corrupting the Youth of
Athens”
 Student of Socrates
 “The Republic”: philosopher-kings
 Rejected Democracy as the best form of government. =
mob rule
 He believed controlling the people was key to good
government.
 People should be raised by the state.
 Three classes of people.
 Workers.
 Warriors.
 Philosophers to lead.
 Philosopher king to rule.
 Founder of The Academy
 “The Prisoners in the Cave” and the Ideal Forms.
 Student of Plato
 Founder of The Lyceum
 He started his own school for the study of many
subjects; such as.
 Ethics.
 Logic.
 Biology.
 Literature.
 Scientific Method
 The Golden Mean (moderation)
 Term for the period of Alexander’s rule and that of his generals,.
 Characterized by blend of Greek and Middle Eastern cultures
 Long-distance trade flourished, Hellenic philosophy (stoicism: use powers of reason
to lead virtuous lives and assist others)
 Euclidean geometry; Studies of human anatomy and physiology by Galen;
Eratosthenes calculates circumference of Earth
 Error promoted during this era: astronomer Ptolemy expounded geocentric theory
of universe (earth as center). This is accepted as truth until the 17th century.
 Ends 146 BCE, with conquest of Greek peninsula by Rome.
Library at Alexandria (333 B.C.E.)
Persians
 Distinct architecture forms
 Palaces, audience halls, monuments,
carvings
 Darius – Hanging Gardens of Babylon
 Animals a common subject
 Persepolis a monument of Persia’s glory
 Construction of qanat-underground
canals
Greeks
 Because of slavery:
 ignored advancing agricultural
technology, leaving engineers to focus
on better ships, roads, buildings,
weapons, and the like
 Free form human sculptures
 Gladiators
 Pottery
 Jewelry
 Columns
 Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
Ancient Persepolis
Persian Archers & Soldiers
Persepolis
The People of Persepolis
 Served as political center for the empire as well as a monument
to the Achaemenid dynasty
 Structures included vast reception halls, lavish royal residences,
and a well-protected treasury; the capital bustled with advisors,
ministers, diplomats, scribes, accountants, translators, and
bureaucratic officers for a variety of functions.
 Alexander the Great and his troops later conquered the city,
confiscated the wealth stored in the treasury, paid his respects
to the tomb of Cyrus, and then celebrated, “accidentally”
burning the city to the ground.
• Monumental construction, square or rectangular in shape, columns
Compare Doric and Ionic Orders
Acropolis
The Parthenon
Persians
Greeks
 Modern day Iran
 Mediterranean
 Environmental mosaic – mountains,
 Mountainous geography
valley plateaus, jungles, deserts,
arable lands, bordered many seas
 Dug a canal linking the Nile with the
Red Seal, which greatly expanded
commerce and enriched Egypt
 Medes and Persian people migrated
from Asia to Mesopotamia, sharing
cultural traits with their distant
cousins, the Aryans.