Ancient Greece

Mr.Kozak

Greek Geography

Early Civilizations

City-States Wars

Vital Greek Figures

Greek Geography

Geography MountainLife

Sea Life Trade

Mediterranean Sea

Ionian Sea

Aegean Sea

Black Sea

Crete

Peloponnesus

Mycenae

Mainland Greece

Asia Minor

Europe

Pindus Mnts

Sparta

Athens

Mountain Life

• Mountains cover nearly 75% of mainland Greece with the Pindus Mountains running north and south through the center of Greece.• Between the mountains run narrow valleys and plains where most Greeks settled.

• Only 20% of the thin and rocky soil is fertile since most of the land is mountainous and dry.

• Each Greek community developed separately on its own since they were separated by vast mountains that kept Greece from uniting.• Mountains and dried up rivers made it hard to trade and travel to different communities.

• Minimal flat land made it hard to raise large animals like horses & cattle.

Mountains:

Agriculture:

Adapting:• Greeks ate little meat and raised tiny animals like sheep & goats.• Also Greeks planted crops that grew in dry climate such as wheat, olives, and grapes .

Sea Life

Sea:

• Most settlements were built near the coast since the sea provided plenty of fish and an easier way to travel.

• Numerous Greeks lived the seafaring culture by becoming fishermen, sailors, and traders.

• Through sea travel, Greeks were able to migrate from settlement to settlement via harbors which allowed for trade and the exchange of ideas with other cultures.

• The ancient Greeks believed that the sea god Poseidon watched over sailors and their boats. They also believed that Poseidon expressed his moods through the sea.

Culture:

Travel:

Religion:

Trade

Farmers:

• The success of Greek farmers made trade possible.

• Being able to grow grapes, olives, & grain in dry climate allowed for a steady food supply plus a surplus to trade.

• Some farmers started to specialize in metal works, pottery, tools, clothes, and other decorative objects.

• From grapes farmers started making wine and olive oil.

Trade:• Soon Greeks started exchanging items with one another and finally trading with other people from the Mediterranean Sea.• Greeks would trade wood, olive oil, wine, and pottery for knowledge and items they lacked or desired.

Minoans

Mycenaeans

Early Civilizations

The Dark Ages

Minoans

Minoans

Minoan Life

End of the Minoans

Early Civilizations

Minoans:

• The Minoans were one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Greece.• Their civilization is named after the King of Crete: King Minos.• This civilization developed on the island of Crete which is a long narrow island that is 60 miles off the mainland of Greece.• Crete is mostly made up of rugged mountains and flat plains.

Early Civilizations

Minoan Life:

• The palace was the heart of Minoan social life and served several purposes:

1) The center for government and religion

2) Where food was stored and distributed

• Minoans became experts sailors and sea traders.

• They traded with early Greeks, Mesopotamians, and the Egyptians.

• For trade the Minoans brought back copper, tin, and gold while trading olive oil, wool, wine, and pottery.

• Also the Minoans developed a system of writing to keep record of all of their trading activities.

Early Civilizations

End of the Minoans:

• Historians believe that the Minoan civilization ended for one or more of the following reasons:

• Fire

• Volcanic eruption• Earthquake

• Mycenaean Attack

Mycenaeans

Mycenaeans

Cultural Borrowing

ConqueringCrete

End of theMycenaeans

Early Civilizations

Mycenaeans:

• The Mycenaeans lived on the Peloponnesus and got their name after the city Mycenae.

• They were mostly a warlike people who were ruled by warrior kings.

• Also the Mycenaeans spoke an early form of the Greek language and thus were thought to be the first Greeks.

Early Civilizations

Cultural Borrowing:

• The Mycenaeans learned several customs from the Minoans and made them their own such as:

• Sailing

• Writing • Pottery

• Art

Early Civilizations

Conquering Crete:• The Mycenaeans invaded Crete and conquered the Minoans.• This meant that they now had control over both the Peloponnesus and Crete.• They then began to spread their culture throughout the region.

Early Civilizations

The End of the Mycenaeans:

• Historians believe the Mycenaean civilization ended for two reasons:

1) They were attacked by the Dorians…..Greek speaking people to the north of the Mycenaeans.

2) Fighting and warring with themselves.

Early Civilizations

The Dark Ages:

• During the Dark Ages:

1) Greeks abandoned their palaces and cities.

2) Stopped trading at home and abroad.3) Poverty set in and Greeks returned to a simpler way of life.

Culture Lost:

1) Writing disappeared.2) Pottery, metalwork, and luxury goods also disappeared.3) Most Minoan and Mycenaean culture was lost.

Traditions and Beliefs Survived:

• Legends and Myths that were told by bards helped keep the traditions and beliefs of the early Greeks alive.

• Legends: tell of human events and the adventures of heroes and heroines.

• Myths: stories that tell how the actions of gods or goddesses affected the lives of people. They explain how things in nature or human life came to be.

Sparta

Athens

Greek City-States

City-States

Athens &

Government Reform

Life in Athens

Athenian

Democracy

City-States

Athens:

• Athens was located on a harbor by the Aegean Sea which allowed it to have several trading partners thus making Athens very wealthy.

Solon’s Reforms:

• An Athenian leader named Solon made several reforms to early Greek government.

• Solon laid the ground work for Athenian democracy by allowing more citizens to participate in government.• He set up a system that gave political rights based on wealth not birth.• The more you owned the higher that class you were in and the higher the government position you could hold.

• Those who held no land were in the lowest class and could only attend the assembly but could rise to a higher class by acquiring more wealth.• Solon’s reforms were ground breaking since never before had so many people been able to participate in government.

Life in AthensAthenian Boys

Athenian Girls

City-States

Athens Life:

• Like Sparta, producing good citizens and having a good education were very vital.

• Greeks learned good behavior from the fables of Aesop who was a legendary storyteller.• Fables are stories that use animals to teach moral lessons.• 1/3 of the people of Athens were slaves and along with women could not vote or participate in the assembly.

The famous story of the race between the tortoise and the hare is best known today for teaching the moral that "slow and steady wins the race." The foolish hare takes a nap during the race with the tortoise, and as a result the tortoise - who keeps plodding along, slow and steady - is able to reach the finish line first and so win the race.

City-States

Athenian Boys:

• All but the poorest boys went to school during the ages of 7 to 14.

• Boys studied math, reading, writing, P.E., and the arts.

• After the age of 14 only the wealthiest boys would continue their education with a private tutor.• Most boys after 14 started learning their father’s trade and became bronze workers, carpenters, blacksmiths, or potters.

City-States

Athenian Girls:• Athenian girls studied reading, writing, math, and music.• Since women were in charge of home life, girls also learned weaving, sewing, cooking, and childcare.

• Wealthy women took care of large households and were in charge of servants and slaves.• Poor women worked on farms and in family run businesses.

City-States

Athenian Direct Democracy:

• Athens used to be an oligarchy in which a king would make decisions about government.

City-States

• Direct democracy was what Athens now practiced where every adult male over 18 had an equal vote in the assembly.

The Assembly:

• The assembly helped pass or veto laws, elect leaders, and decide court cases by majority rule.

Council:

• The council consisted of 400 elected citizens who held one year terms and would decide what topics the assembly would discuss and vote on.

Representative Democracy:• Representative democracy is what the United States has where people elect officials to vote on laws and make decisions for them.

• In Direct democracy all citizens took part in government and all met in one place….this can’t happen in representative democracy since populations are too large where this occurs.

Sparta

Spartan Boys

Spartan Girls

City-States

Sparta:• Sparta became the most powerful city-state on the Peloponnesus and was separated from the sea and other city-states.• The Spartans conquered all of the neighbors and forced them to be helots or slaves.

• Soon the helot population became 4 times as large as the Spartan population causing fear of rebellion.• As a result Spartans lived a military life constantly preparing for rebellion.

Spartan Government:

• In times of war Sparta was ruled by two kings who shared authority over the military.

• In times of peace Sparta an oligarchy made up of 30 elders over the age of 60 ruled.• They would propose laws to an assembly made up of male citizens who would elect 5 wealthy landowners called ephors to handle the day to day governing of Sparta.

City-States

City-States

Spartan Boys:

• At age 7 boys were sent to camps to be educated and learn to be strong and disciplined.• Boys practiced gymnastics, wrestling, and military exercises.• They learned to accept hardship without complaint and to obey order without question.

Spartan Men:

• At age 18 young men began 4 years of military training so that they could serve as soldiers.

• Men could become citizens at age 30 and usually served in the military until age 60.

Mind Set:• Spartans feared that new ideas would bring unwanted changes to society so citizens were not allowed to travel outside Sparta.• Life was very strict, disciplined, and simple. Spartans had a strong sense of honor and were trained to never give and die defending their city-state in battle.

City-States

Spartan Girls:

• Spartan girls trained to be strong, but did not serve in the military.• Girls exercised daily but raising children was their main role.• Women managed the household while men were at war and enjoyed more freedom and respect in Sparta than other city-states.

City-States

City-States:

• In Greece, a city-state was called a polis that connected the city to farms, villages, and towns.

• In a polis all citizens were free and usually each polis had no more than 5,000 citizens.

• Athens was the largest polis with over 20,000 citizens.

• Most city-states started at the base of a large hill where at the top a fort called an acropolis stood.• During an attack citizens from the countryside would gather in the acropolis which later would become the center of religion.• Outside of the acropolis were houses, temples, and agoras or open air markets.• Greek city-states were separated by natural barriers like mountains and the sea which caused them to develop separately and kept Greece from uniting under one goverment.

Persia

Persian Wars

Peloponnesian Wars

Alexander the Great

Persia

Persia:

• To the east of Greece was the Persian Empire which represented the largest threat to Greece.

• Darius I make the Persian Empire the largest empire in history at that time.

• He divided his vast empire into 20 separate regions, each ruled by a governor that reported to him.

• In order to maintain control Darius I made a road 1,500 miles long that connected the empire where couriers would carry orders and news throughout the empire.

• The main goal of Persia was to conquer all of the Greek city-states and control their trade routes.

Response to the Persian Threat:• Greece feared that Persia was a threat to their culture and self rule and thought that the city-states must unite against Persia.• Sparta, the most powerful city-state on the Peloponnesus, decided to create the Peloponnesus league which joined all of the city-states on the Peloponnesus to protect against the growing Athens and now the enormous Persian Empire .

Persian Wars

Persian War (Darius):

• Darius I wanted to expand his empire by conquering all of the Greek city-states.• The Persian Wars started when Darius I sent a huge army across the land and sea to defeat the greats but a storm wrecked his fleet.• Two years later Darius attacked again near Athens with an army that outnumbered the Athenians 2 to 1.• Athens feared Persia and sent word to Sparta for help.

• Fearing Sparta would show up to late, the Athenians attacked and were able to defeat the Persian Army by surrounding them.

Persian War (Xerxes):

• The son of Darius, Xerxes, came close to conquering Greece by sending out an army of 600,000 soldiers and 200 ships..

• By sea the Greeks with lighter faster ships were able to defeat the Persian fleet even though they were far outnumbered.• By land the Spartans were able to fight off the Persians.• A new alliance called the Delian League was formed between Athens and 150 city-states to fight off Persia.

• A peace treaty between Greece and Persia would be signed 30 years later.

Peloponnesian Wars

Peloponnesian Wars:

• Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful city-states.• Athens wanted greater control and power over the city-states.• Because of this Sparta feared that Athens would become more powerful than them.• This struggle for power resulted in a long series of battles called the Peloponnesian Wars that lasted for 15 years.

Pericles:

• Pericles who was a powerful Athenian politician to two things to alarm Sparta.• He created long defensive walls throughout Athens and its city-states in order to protect its trade routes.• Pericles also kept building up its already huge navy in order to pressure city-states to go under Athenian rule.

Peloponnesian Wars End:

• After 15 years of fighting both sides grew weary of warring and signed a peace treaty called the 30 Years Peace which didn’t resolve their ill feelings towards each other, nor did it last 30 years.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great:

• Alexander’s father Philip II lead a Macedonian army to conquer the Greek city-states. All joined under his rule except Sparta.• Alexander soon became king after his father’s death and decided to carry out his father’s dream of conquering Persia.• His army was able to conquer Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India armies thus putting Alexander in charge of an enormous empire made up of numerous cultures and peoples.• To the new lands he conquered, Alexander brought Greek culture and language.• His new subjects were able to accept new rule since Alexander adopted some of their cultures and allowed them a certain amount of self-rule.• Since his empire stretched from Greece to ancient India, Alexander was then known as Alexander the Great.The end of Alexander the Great:

• Alexander wanted to conquer more of India but his weary soldiers of 8 years refused.• Alexander returned home disappointed and shortly after died of an illness at the age of 33.

• After his death his empire slit into three regions allowing Greek culture to continue spreading eastward.

Plato Socrates Aristotle Euclid

ThucydidesHypatia Archimedes Aesop

Sophocles Aristophanes Pythagoras Hippocrates

Herodotus

Democritus

Aristarchus

Homer

Plato

Plato:

• Philosopher who was a student of Socrates.• Started a school called the Academy of Athens where he taught philosophy, law, and science.

Socrates

Socrates:• Great philosopher whose teachings focused on morals and knowing right from wrong.• Socrates taught by asking his students questions which required them to think for themselves.

• His way of teaching was known as the Socratic Method.• Was ordered by the Athenian court to end his own life by drinking poison for openly criticizing the leader of Athens.• Believing that all citizens should obey the law, Socrates drank the poison despite of what his family and friends wanted him to do (leave the city.

Aristotle

Aristotle:

• One of Plato’s students who collected and classified information in ways that become important to science.

• Became a pioneer in the study of animals (zoology) and plants (botany) while starting his own school called the Lyceum.

Euclid

Euclid:

• Mathematician Who is considered to be the father of geometry.• Studied points, lines, angles, surfaces, and solids.• Summarized all of his mathematical knowledge in 13 books called the Elements.

Herodotus

Herodotus:

• One of the first historians who wrote books about the Persian War.• In his books he not only wrote facts about the war but also differing views about the war and its causes.• His methods of collecting and summarizing data influenced historic writing for centuries.

Hypatia

Hypatia:

• A philosopher who developed several theories in math and invented tools for measuring properties of water.• She was also the head of her own school in Egypt.

Thucydides

Thucydides:• Historian who wrote about the Peloponnesus Wars.• His writings provided modern historians with valuable information about Greek political, economic, and social structures.• Lived in both Sparta and Athens so was able to write about the wars from both perspectives.

Archimedes

Archimedes:

• Used math to invent several machines, including water pumps, levers, and pullies.

Aesop

Aesop:

• Writer who wrote fables (Aesop’s Fables) that taught Greeks about good behavior.

• His fables used animals to teach moral lessons (Hair and the Tortoise).

Democritus

Democritus:

• Scientist who was one of the first to come up with an atomic theory.• He explained that all matter is made up of building blocks called atoms.• These ideas led to new branches of science like chemistry.

Sophocles

Sophocles:

• Playwright who wrote tragedies which are serious plays in which the main characters come to an unhappy ending.

• In most of his tragedies the hero always struggles to do the right thing.

Aristophanes

Aristophanes:• Playwright who was the master of Greek comedies.• In comedy is a humorous play that often pokes fun at people and ideas.• These types of plays always end in a happy ending for the characters.• Aristophanes used humor to make serious statements about political and social life.

Pythagoras

Pythagoras:• Mathematician who believed that everything in the universe could be understood by numbers.• Is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which expresses relationships between the lengths of the sides of a right angle.

Hippocrates

Hippocrates:

• Doctor who changed the way people thought about medicine.• Before Hippocrates people thought illness was a punishment from the gods..• Hippocrates made people see that illness had natural causes that could be treated by medicine.• He was the first to study his patients in order to find the cause of the illness in order to use the correct remedy.

• Today doctors take the Hippocratic Oath in which they promise to make responsible actions with their patients.

Aristarchus

Aristarchus:• Astronomer who used math to discover that the Earth rotates and moves in a path around the sun.• He also tried to calculate the size of the sun and moon.

Homer

Homer:

• Storyteller or bard who is given credit for writing the Iliad and the Odyssey.• His stories about Greek myths and legends helped keep Greek religion, history, tradition, and culture alive during the Dark Ages.• Homer tells stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes that taught Greek ideals, values, and beliefs.