Chapter 11 Section 2

Classical Greece and Rome

Polis• A city-state or independent

communities, composed of villages and surrounding farmland.

Polis• Greek root word for “politics”

• These Polis made up Greece.

Aristocracy • Government run by the nobility, or

group of powerful landowners.

• The nobility ruled the city-states of Greece.

Democracy• Government ruled by the

people, citizens play an active role.

• Developed around 700 B.C., coming from the Greek words demo (people) and kratos (rule).

Athens• The most famous city-state of

ancient Greece. • By 450 B.C. about 225,000

people lived in Athens.

Athens• Athens was a great seafaring

power, it became rich with trade.

• Athens had a strong democracy.

Sparta• Was more inland and

did not have a sea for trade.

• By 600 B.C. it had conquered and enslaved all the people around it.

Sparta• The military and fighting was

very important to Spartan culture.

• At age seven boys were sent to camps to learn how to fight.

• Sparta did not have a democracy and was ruled by nobility.

Greek Wars• Darius, the ruler of Persia,

decided to invade Greece in 490 B.C.

• Greek soldiers defeated Darius and the Persians at Marathon.

Greek Wars• Ten years later, Darius’s son

Xerxes, again attempted to conquer Greece

300• Battle of Thermopylae thər-MOP-i-lee

• Occurred in August or September 480 B.C.

• A group of 300 Spartans held against the Persian forces of Xerxes that number by ancient accounts in the millions for 7 days.

Greek Wars• Athens and Sparta

joined together to defeat the Persians at the sea battle of Salamis.

Peloponnesian Wars

• By 431 B.C., fearing the growing power of Athens, Sparta launched a series of attacks against the city.

• 404 B.C. Athens surrendered to Sparta and the age of Greek Democracy died.

Phillip II• He attacked the Greek city-states

and crushed their combined forces at the Battle of Chaeronea (kehr uh NEE uh) in 338 B.C.

Phillip II• 336 B.C. he is murdered.

Alexander the Great• He was barely 20 years old when his

father Phillip II is murdered. • Alexander becomes king and goes

on an 11 year conquest of Asia

Alexander the Great

• Alexander leads a combined Macedonian and Greek force of over 35,000 across Asia.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander’s End• In 326 B.C.

Alexander and his army reached India.

• His troops had fought enough and they refused to continue

Alexander’s End• Alexander died of fever in 323

B.C. during the return to Macedonia. He was 32 years old.

Rome’s Location• The city of Rome

located on the Tiber River gave it access inland as well as to the sea.

Rome

Rome’s Cultural Origins

• Rome first settled around 750 B.C.

Roman Government

• In 509 B.C. the Romans established a republic.

Republic• A nation in which power is with

the citizens.

• It was not a true democracy, it was run by representatives elected by Roman noblemen.

Roman Society

• Society was divided into three different classes:

Patricians (puh TRIH shuhns)• The highest class made up of the

wealthy.

• Claimed they could trace their roots to the founding of Rome.

Plebeians (plih BEE uhns)• The middle class, ordinary

working citizens.

• They had the right to vote but could not hold office.

Enslaved Romans

• At the bottom of society, they had no rights at all

Rome Ever Expanding• By 146 B.C., Rome controlled all

of the land around the Mediterranean Sea.

Julius Caesar• Famous Roman

general who took control of Gaul (present day France), parts of present day England, and Germany.

• He then made himself its dictator.

Julius Caesar

• The Roman Republic collapsed and Caesar was appointed dictator of all of Rome.

Dictator• a leader who rules a country with

absolute power, usually by force.

Caesar’s End• Caesar was popular with many

but upset many partricians.• March 15, 44 B.C. several

senators stabbed Caesar to death outside the senate building.

Caesar’s End• Caesar’s great nephew, Ocatvian

became Rome’s new dictator

• Later changed his name to Caesar Augustus

Rome’s Technological innovations

• One of Rome’s primary strengths were their technological breakthroughs and accomplishments.

Roman Roads• The Romans developed a system

of making concrete out of a mix of lime and volcanic ash.

Roman Roads• The roads primary purpose was to

allow Rome’s armies to move quickly but they also carried goods and ideas along their paths.

Roman Roads

Aqueducts• A series of tunnels and bridges

that transported water to Roman cities.

Aqueducts• The aqueducts allowed Romans

to settle areas that otherwise could not be settled due to the distance from a water source.

Aqueducts

Fall of the Roman Empire• In the third century A.D. the

Roman Empire was split in two.

• With Rome being the seat of power in the west and Constantinople in the east

Fall of the Roman Empire

• In 476 A.D the western empire fell to invaders from present day Germany

• The eastern empire, or Byzantium Empire, lasted another 1,000 years.