Transcript Ancient Greece * city-states

ANCIENT GREECE – CITY-STATES
• After 750 BCE evolved a unique version of city-state
• Called polis-major city or town and surrounding countryside
• City built on 2 levels:
• Top of hill stood acropolis (high city)
• Marble temples dedicated to different gods and goddesses
• Flatter ground below lay walled city
DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTS EVOLVE
• Monarchy- first form of government, ruler of polis
• Aristocracy- nobles were also military defenders and over time won power
from the king
• Oligarchy- new middle class emerged, challenged nobles and dominated
some city-states
SPARTA: A WARRIOR SOCIETY
• Dorian invaders settled and built city of Sparta
• Set up brutal system of strict control
• Boys started training for lifetime in military at age 7
• Women were expected to produce healthy sons for army
• Sparta isolated themselves from other Greeks
• Patron god: Ares
ATHENS
• Discontent spread throughout Athens
• Slowly moved toward democracy
• People appointed Solon archon (chief official)
• Limited democracy: only citizens could participate
• Citizenship was restricted to land owning men
• Boys attended school if they could afford it  learned to read write, study
music, memorized poetry, and studied public speaking
PHILOSOPHERS
• Socrates: Athenian stonemason and philospher, wrote no book, Socratic
method
• Put on trial and sentenced to death penalty
• Plato: Socrates student, rejected Athenian democracy and left for 10 years
• Came back and created school called Academy where he taught reason
• Aristotle: Plato’s most famous student set up school called Lyceum
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
MONUMENTS
SCULPTURES
• Displayed perfect balance
• Most famous: Parthenon
• Temple built on acropolis in Athens
• Developed new style
• Showed natural forms, life like
• Most perfect form
dedicated to Athena
GODS AND GODDESSES
• 12 main Olympian gods:
• Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, Hermes,
Hephaestus, Hades
• Zeus and Hera are king and queen of gods
• Many myths were created about the gods and goddesses to explain events
and everyday happenings
LITERATURE
TRAGIC DRAMA
GREEK COMEDY
• Often based on popular myths and
• Humorous plays that mocked people
legends
• Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides 3
famous playwrights
• Tragedies were plays that told
stories of human suffering, usually
ended in disaster
or customs
• Almost all surviving were written by
Aristophanes
RECORDING HISTORY
•
Herodotus known as “Father of History”
•
Collected information and visited places before recording information
•
Wrote about Persian war- clear bias to Greek side
•
Thucydides tried to be fair to both sides
•
Wrote about Peloponnesian war
•
Both set standards for future historians: importance of research and avoiding bias
PERSIAN WARS
• Athens defeated Persians at Marathon
• Afterwards asked other Greek city states to join the fight against Persia
• Persians came back, defeated small Spartan force
• Athenians brought the fight on water, defeated Persians again
DELIAN LEAGUE
• Athens emerged from Persian wars as most powerful city-state
• Organized alliances with other Greek states
• Called Delian League after Delos
• Athens used its power to create an Athenian empire
ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY
• Under Pericles Athens was a direct democracy
• Citizens take direct role in day to day govt affairs
• Believed all citizens regardless of wealth or social class should be able to
participate
• Began giving stipends to men participating in Assembly and governing Council
JURY
• Athenians also served on juries
• Could have hundreds or thousands of jurors
• Citizens over the age of 30 were chosen by lot to serve for a year
OSTRACISM
• Could vote to banish public figures they saw as threat to democracy
• Person with largest votes against him was ostracized
• Person would have to live outside city, typically for period of 10 years
PELOPONNESIAN WAR
• Many Greeks hated Athenian rule
• Spartans broke away with other enemies to form Peloponnesian League
• Athens could not attack Sparta with navy
• Ended Athenian domination of Greek world
• While Greeks battled amongst themselves Macedonia began to rise