AP World History (9/12)

• Do Now: When might a teacher be considered dangerous? How might a civilization/society deal with this situation?

Ancient Greek society• Settled agriculture by

2000 BCE• Difficult due to

mountainous terrain

• Minoans (Crete-1600 BCE)

• Mycenaeans (through 1200 BCE)

• Isolated until Phoenicians come around 800 BCE• Dark ages

The Polis (Greek city state)• 200 of these at its peak• Independent of each other

• Sometimes worked together in leagues

• Never united under one government

• Athens –focus on democracy• Town meeting• Council of 500-citizens chosen

for one year terms who made and carried out policies

• Social distinctions• Farmers (majority)• 30% of population was slaves• Aristocrats create separation• Women-confined to home, no

political rights

Sparta• Similar to Athens at first, but

becomes militaristic due to rebellions (7th century BCE)

• Helots-Messenian servants who were not allowed to leave (constant state of rebellion)

• Spartans-self disciplined and obedient to authority (physical fitness important)• Boys trained from age seven to be

soldiers

• Little social distinction between citizens• Intended to promote equality• Women-free and equal with men;

ran much of society (men busy with warfare)

Socrates and philosophy• Greeks placed an emphasis on

secularism-affairs of this world• Much like Chinese with

Confucianism

• Natural law-forces in nature that caused things to happen

• Socrates (470-399 BCE)• Focused on ethical questions

and truth • Sophist-a paid teacher of

philosophy and rhetoric in ancient Greece, associated in popular thought with moral skepticism and specious reasoning.

Socrates life and teachings• Socrates was not a democrat or an egalitarian.  To him, the

people should not be self-governing; they were like a herd of sheep that needed the direction of a wise shepherd.  He denied that citizens had the basic virtue necessary to nurture a good society, instead equating virtue with a knowledge unattainable by ordinary people.  Striking at the heart of Athenian democracy, he contemptuously criticized the right of every citizen to speak in the Athenian assembly.

• Writing in the third-century C.E. in his The Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius reported that Socrates "discussed moral questions in the workshops and the marketplace." Often his unpopular views, expressed disdainfully and with an air of condescension, provoked his listeners to anger.  Laertius wrote that "men set upon him with their fists or tore his hair out," but that Socrates "bore all this ill-usage patiently."

• http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/socratesaccount.html

• The standing of Socrates among his fellow citizens suffered mightily during two periods in which Athenian democracy was temporarily overthrown, one four-month period in 411-410 and another slightly longer period in 404-403. The prime movers in both of the anti-democratic movements were former pupils of Socrates, Alcibiades and Critias. Athenians undoubtedly considered the teachings of Socrates--especially his expressions of disdain for the established constitution--partially responsible for the resulting death and suffering. Alcibiades, perhaps Socrates' favorite Athenian politician, masterminded the first overthrow. (Alcibiades had other strikes against him: four years earlier, Alcibiades had fled to Sparta to avoid facing trial for mutilating religious pillars--statues of Hermes--and, while in Sparta, had proposed to that state's leaders that he help them defeat Athens.) Critias, first among an oligarchy known as the "Thirty Tyrants," led the second bloody revolt against the restored Athenian democracy in 404. The revolt sent many of Athen's leading democratic citizens (including Anytus, later the driving force behind the prosecution of Socrates) into exile, where they organized a resistance movement...

• Critias, without question, was the more frightening of the two former pupils of Socrates. I.F. Stone, in his The Trial of Socrates, describes Critias (a cousin of Plato's) as "the first Robespierre," a cruel and inhumane man "determined to remake the city to his own antidemocratic mold whatever the human cost." The oligarchy confiscated the estates of Athenian aristocrats, banished 5,000 women, children, and slaves, and summarily executed about 1,500 of Athen's most prominent democrats.

• One incident involving Socrates and the Thirty Tyrants would later become an issue at his trial. Although the Thirty normally used their own gang of thugs for such duties, the oligarchy asked Socrates to arrest Leon of Salamis so that he might be executed and his assets appropriated. Socrates refused to do so. Socrates would point to his resistance to the order as evidence of his good conduct. On the other hand, Socrates neither protested the decision nor took steps to warn Leon of Salamis of the order for his arrest--he just went home. While good citizens of Athens were being liquidated right and left, Socrates--so far as we know--did or said nothing to stop the violence.

AP World History (9/16)

• Do Now: What were the charges facing Socrates at the beginning of his trial? What is at stake for Socrates? For Athens?

• Corrupting the youth and impiety (refusing to recognize the gods)

Extra credit option• Current events articles• Choose one of your own

(must be cleared with me) OR use the one I post in the classroom

• Perform an analysis that includes the following:• How does this affect the world?• How does it connect to what

we have studied/are studying?• SPRITE• AP themes (see syllabus)

• Most memorable stat/quote/detail: Why? How does it help you make meaning?

What happened to Socrates?• Pretend that you are part

of the jury brought together to decide Socrates’ fate

• Do you feel he is guilty of stirring up rebellion/poisoning the youth/attacking religion? Why or why not?• Hint: Connect SPRITE to the

accusations against him

• What should be his penalty?

What does Socrates have to say about his sentence?• Read through Plato’s Apology• What reasons does Socrates

give for his actions?• How does his response

reveal key beliefs/attitudes in ancient Greek society?

• Do you agree with Socrates’ points here? Why or why not?

• Are there any problems/possible inaccuracies in this apology? What might account for these?

Response to Plato’s Apology• Write a one to two

paragraph response on Socrates guilt or innocence

• Use information from multiple sources (historical info/Plato’s apology/etc.) AND cite it in your response (According to/Plato says/Stone’s assertion/etc.)

• Be sure to include your analysis• How/Why you feel the way you

do

• Conclude with the punishment you believe Socrates should receive

Homework reading for Wednesday (9/17)• Read pp. 77-98 (finish the section on Rome)• Vocabulary terms for this section• Secularism• Democracy vs. monarchy, oligarchy, and aristocracy• Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE)• Hellenistic synthesis• Patron-client relationship• Punic Wars vs. 3rd century crisis

The Death of Socrates