Ancient Greece

A trip through

Ancient Greece

The Mediterranean World

GreeceI. Ancient Civilizations

a. People living in river valleys depended on the rivers flooding for fertile land.

II. Greece

a. Did not depend on flooding.

b. Had no rivers.

c. Had mountainous land and deep valleys with rugged highlands (hills).

d. Mountains divided the people.

e. Greece is located in Southeastern Europe.

III. Seas Surrounding Greecea. Aegean Sea is to the East of Greece.

b. Ionian Sea to the West of Greece in btw. Greece and Italy.

c. Mediterranean Sea to the South of Greece.

d. These seas made Greece a crossroads for trade.

e. Greece had long coastlines with many bays which were good for trading.

IV. Settlementsa. Most people lived along the coast.

b. Soil was rich and there was a mild climate which was good for farming and raising animals.

c. The Greeks sold their crops to other lands located across the seas.

d. Trade spread Greek ideas and Greeks got the alphabet and coins from other civilizations. (CULTURAL DIFFUSION)

Greek Alphabet-Extra Info Used to write the Greek

language since about the 9th century BC

First to use separate symbols for each vowel and consonant

Modification of the Phoenician alphabet

Gave rise to Latin alphabet

V. Greece’s Geography

a. Mountains divided Greece into different regions.

i. 75% of Greece is covered in mountains.

b. Lowlands-fertile land.

c. Hills-good for animals.

Geography-Extra Info Greece is located on

the Balkan peninsula about the size of Louisiana in the Mediterranean Sea.

Located on the continent of Europe, it’s very close to Egypt, the Persian empire (which includes Turkey) and Rome.

The Greek World-Extra Info Mountainous terrain Many islands Asia Minor (Ionia) No city-state could rule all

Each very independent Colonies spread

throughout Mediterranean Common Hellenic Culture

VI. People in Greecea. All people spoke the same language and had the

same religion.

b. Because the mountains separated the people, they rarely traveled to the other regions in Greece.

c. People created small, independent communities each with their own way of doing things called city-states.

i. City-states were individual communities that shared the same religion and language but had their own independent government.

VII. Climatea. Rain fell during winter months.

b. Summers were hot and dry which allowed Greeks to spend most of their time outdoors at agoras (marketplaces).a.Women got water from fountains

b.Men shopped

c.Statues of gods and heroes

c. Greeks enjoyed outdoor events such as:a.plays

b.religious and political events

c.sports and athletic competitions

Climate of Ancient Greece-Extra Info Greece has a Mediterranean climate• Winters are mild and wet

– allows for limited farming

– grapes and olives• Summers are warm and dry

– leads to drought

– grapes and olives are one of the few plants that can survive the summer droughts

• November

– Greece receives 2.2 inches of precipitation

• Average temperature is a balmy 64 degrees

– Minnesota receives 1.29 inches of precipitation

• Average temperature is a chilly 29 degrees How is this different from New York?

VII. Minoan Civilization a. Settled on the island of Crete

b. Named after King Minos

c. The Minoans developed a written language.

d. They learned cloth weaving, pottery and jewelry making.

e. Wealth came from trade.

i. They controlled trade with all islands in the Aegean Sea and cities on Ionian Sea,

Syria and Egypt.

ii. Traded food , pottery , and artisan crafts.

f. Ships patrolled the seas and protected the kingdom from invaders.

g. When the Minoan civilization grew weak, groups of people migrated to the Greek mainland.

IX. Mycenaea. City-state on the Greek mainland that

developed after the Minoan civilization grew weak.

b. Replaced Crete as the center of civilization in eastern Mediterranean.

c. Became very powerful and were successful defenders against attackers.

d. Ships captured ships of other cities and took plunder (valuables taken during war).

Ancient Mycenaean Language Modern Day Greek Alphabet

Lesson 2 Outline:I. Myths and Legends

a. Greeks created many myths to help explain the mysteries of nature and life.

II. Trojan War a. Troy was a real place, but the story of the war is a mixture of myths and legends.

b. The war was fought between the Greeks and the people of Troy.

c. Gods and goddesses help heroes on both sides of the battle.

d. Sparta (Greeks) won by hiding in the Trojan Horse and making a surprise attack.

e. Poet, Homer ,wrote two poems about the war: The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Trojan War Additional Info. After tricking the Trojans to open their

main doors, using the Trojan horse, the Achaeans destroyed and mercilessly slaughtered the Trojans.

Earliest picture of the Trojan Horse, on a vase ca. 670 BC.

III. Mount Olympus a. Greeks believed that the gods and goddesses

lived here.

b. In Ancient Greece daily life focused on keeping their many gods and goddesses happy.

IV. Olympics

a. Held every four years to honor Zeus, king of all the gods. Held in Olympia.

Long jumping chariot racing

Olympics Additional Info: “Olympic Truce”—all battles and wars were halted so that everyone could come and watch the games.

V. Forms of government

a. Monarchy-is when a king rules.

b. Aristocracy-is when members of a wealthy family ruled.

c. Democracy-is when the people rule.

VI. Athens Governmenta. Athens had the first democracy.

b. Ruled by an Assembly(500 people)- made up of any citizen that was over the age of 18.

c. Slaves, Women, and Men born outside of Athens were NOT citizens. They could not:

i. Own property

ii. Vote

iii. Testify in court

voting chips

Athens Government cont.

d. In return for their rights, citizens of Athens were expected to:

i. Defend their city in times of conflict

ii. Take part in government by serving on juries

iii. Participate in political debates

e. Athens was a center for culture.

VII. Spartaa. Was the opposite of Athens; Sparta was a strict military state.

b. Spartans were raised to be warriors.

c. Spartans were constantly fighting neighboring city-states and turning non-Spartans into helots (slaves).

d. Boys went to military camps to be trained for lifetime in the army at the age of seven.

i. Endured brutal training with little food or clothing.

VIII. Women in Spartaa. Women were expected to be strong and physical.

i. Women had more rights than women in any other Greek city-state.

ii. Owned property

iii. Express opinions

iv. Manage estates

v. Could NOT participate in

government.

“Return home with your shield or on it.”

Lesson 3 Outline

“The Golden Age of Greece”

I. The Greeks Clash with the Persiansa. At the time Athens was growing more

powerful, Persia was the strongest military power in the world.

b.Persians invaded Greece at a plain northeast of Athens called Marathon.

c. After that, Athens and Sparta put aside their differences and worked together to destroy the Persian army.

d. Battle at Salamis: Sea battle in which Athenian ships trapped and destroyed the Persian fleet of ships and were victorious.

II. The Golden Agea. Athens was the city-state with the most power.

b. Built magnificent new temples.

c. Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle expanded human knowledge.

i. Tried to find natural laws that explained actions in the world, instead of thinking they were just the result of the gods/goddesses.

ii. Developed a respect for the power of reason (logical thinking).

iii. First to study the medical causes of sickness.

Philosophers –Extra Info Provide give rational explanations for physical phenomena Idea to look for deeper causes was the true beginning of

philosophy and science

Socrates Leader in revolution in thinking Spent life questioning assumptions Rejected conventional wisdom Examine all issues rationally through dialogue Search for universal truths Use reason and logic to study people Group of youthful followers – Plato, Xenophon

EXTRA INFO:

Plato (427–347 BC) Writer of philosophical dialogues - Socrates' point of view Founder of the Academy in Athens Lectured on politics, ethics, metaphysics, & epistemology Themes in dialogues:

– best possible form of government

– role of heredity & the environment on human intelligence & personality

– distinction between knowledge and true belief

Philosophers-Extra Info

Aristotle (384 BC –322 BC) Student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great Wrote books on physics, poetry, zoology, logic,

rhetoric, politics, government and biology One of the few figures in history who studied

almost every subject possible at the time

III.The Greeks Fight Against Each Othera. During its Golden Age, Athens became the

most powerful city-state and began to act unwisely.

b. Delian League

i. Alliance between leaders of Athens that forced other city-states to join.

ii. Athenians used funds from league to put up public buildings in Athens.

iii. Athenian generals interfered with issues in other city-states

this angered other city-states.

c. Peloponnesian Wari. Athens’ strength was at sea,

Sparta’s strength was on land.

ii. This made it hard to gain the advantage at war.

iii. Sparta and other city-states rebelled against Athens by joining together and fighting.

iv. A plague broke out in Athens and killed many, causing their

government to fall and making Athens surrender.

IV. Decline of the Greek City-States

a. War caused all of Greece to become weak.

b. Macedonia (in the north) was growing in power and became a threat

to Greece.

Lesson 4 Outline:I. Alexander the Great’s Conquests

a. King of Macedonia who was a strong leader.

b. Defeated Persia, Syria, Phoenicia, and Egypt

Alexander the Great- Spartan Warrior

II. A Great Empirea. Alexander was a very good leader and was fearless

on the battlefield.

b. Through war and conquest he expanded the empire from Macedonia to Persia.

c. As Alexander was marching his victorious army back to Greece, he fell ill and died at the age of 33.

III. Hellenistic Age- A time in which new cities with Greek culture were

founded, causing trade to grow between Hellenistic cities and other parts of the world.

a. A blend of Greek and Asian cultures.

b. After Alexander’s death, three generals broke apart the empire and continued to spread Hellenistic ideas and Greek culture.

c. Greek cities were founded in all parts of the empire which became the center for Greek culture in that region.

d. Greek culture was spread throughout his vast empire in Europe, Africa and Asia.

e. Trade between Hellenistic cities and other areas

i. India- spices and perfumes

ii. China- silks

iii. Africa- ivory and gold

f. Alexandria- city in Egypt became the center of trade and learning

i. High populationii. Busiest harbor in the ancient worldiii. Library was considered one of the greatest

in the world

IV. Discovery and Inventionsa. During the Hellenistic Age Greek science

and mathematics reached their peak.i. Discoveries about how the human body works

ii. Hippocrates was known as ‘the father of medicine’ because he discovered the natural causes of disease.

iii. Archimedes- most famous inventor and mathematician

1. Improved pulleys for moving heavy loads, and made discoveries about floating objects and levers.

iv. Pythagoras-

created important theories about numbers and music, and started a school that led to

the development of geometry

human body

Pythagorean Theorem lever

pulley

ThatThat’’s all s all folks!!folks!!