Welcome to Ancient Greece

Religion

Politics

Economics

Social Structures

Geography

Achievements

800-700 BC:

Monarchies begin to be replaced by Aristocratic Republics

621 BC: Draco's code of law - Athens.

546 BC: Persian invasion and conquest of Greek territories through out Asia Minor

507 BC:Cleisthenes' democratic constitution.

776 BC: Date of the first Olympic games.

600 BC: Coin currency introduced

566 BC:

Panathenaic festivals established

490 BC

First Persian invasion of Greece, the Battle of Marathon.

480 BC Second Persian invasion of Greece, Spartans are defeated at Thermopylae, Athens is occupied by the Persians. The Persians are finally defeated at Salamis.

The founding of the Delian League.

431 - 404 BC The Peloponnesian

War 404 BC

Athens Surrenders to Sparta

336-323 BC

Alexander the Great’s reign

About 450 BC,

Sophocles wins more awards for plays than any other playwright

443 - 429 BC Pericles is leader of Athens during the Golden Age

Massive public building program and construction of Parthenon

430 BC

Plague in Athens

411 BC

Revolts in Athens

323-148 BC: Greek City States remain relatively independent; however, warfare between rival leagues continues

200-196 BC: First Roman victories over Greece

146 BC:Corinth destroyed by Rome

86 BC: Athens sacked by Rome

About 300 BC:Euclid wrote The Elements

About 200 BC:Winged Victory (Nike) created

Religion: Gods in our

image PolytheisticExplained occurrences in NatureGods – human form, emotions, behaviorsInterfered in lives of mortalsWorship and sacrifices intended to keep gods happy for survival and prosperity

www.fairfield.k12.ct.us/Rogerludlowe/crogerludlowe03/webquests/mythweb/Godspic.bmp

Family Tree of Greek Gods

www.greekgodsyogurt.com/html/img/tree.jpg

Read the Greek Creation Myth here and then return

AchievementsArts

Three periods of art in Ancient Greece: Archaic about 1000 BC – 450 BC

Simplest style, clean lines

Classical about 450 BC – 330 BC More complex, more natural poses

Hellenistic about 330 BC – 30 BC Most ornate of all, used more outside of Greece

www.crystalinks.com/greekart.html

AchievementsArchitecture -

Columns

Doric: earliest style, no decoration, plain squared topsIonic: middle style, narrower at top, curled on each side at topCorinthian: last style, most ornate

http://threes.com/cms/images/stories/history/greek.jpg

AchievementsArchitecture -

Acropolis The Acropolis hill – “Sacred Rock” – last line of defense in time of crisis

Fortified citadel on hill above city

Added to over time

Original buildings made of wood

Destroyed by fire and war and rebuilt

http://www.acropolis-greek-parthenon.com/

AchievementsArchitecture -

Acropolis Then

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm This link includes a visual timeline of the Acropolis

AchievementsArchitecture - Acropolis

Now

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm

Achievements: Architecture -

ParthenonTemple to Athena – patron of Athens

Columns are Doric and curve at top to create illusion

Dimensions created to house statue of Athena

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm

Achievements In Math, Show Your

WorkGeometry:

Euclid’s Elements13 VolumesEach volume has definitions, postulates and then theoremsEvery statement is proven, no matter how obviousIncludes circles, tangents, plane geometry, prime numbers, perfect numbers

Before Euclid any mathematician could have his own postulatesEuclid’s work helped standardize mathematics

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euclid's_postulates.png

www.crystalinks.com/euclid.html

Achievements Sculpture- Kouros

Archaic period

Statues not intended to represent individuals – represent an ideal

Kouroi always young men, standing nude

Depicts motion, one leg and/or one arm forward

Archaic smileThe Calf-Bearer

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm

AchievementsSculpture: Nike

Hellenistic period

White marble, represented prow of ship

Posed ready to “deliver shout of victory”

Noted for “naturalistic pose and rendering of figure’s draped garments, depicted as if rippling in strong sea breeze…”

Nike, Winged Victoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_Victory_of_Samothrace

Achievements Theater/Drama

Theater not purely for entertainment; part of state religious festivalOriginally chorus of 12 men and one actor3 tragedians chosen to present 4 plays each as part of competition“’tragedy’ refers to tragic drama: … in which a central character called a tragic hero suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected with the hero's actions. Tragedy stresses the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is brought on by a combination of human and divine actions, but is generally undeserved with regard to its harshness. “

http://www.greektheatre.gr/constr.html

http://picasaweb.google.com/shankar.nandini/AthensGreece#5211586780202029922http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/netshots/tragedy.htm

AchievementsDrama: Aeschylus

Aeschylus: first of the three most prize winning Greek playwrights

Also a soldier and actor

First to introduce second actor to plays; allowed for more characters to be introduced and greater variation in plot

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/drama/p/Aeschylus.htm http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/RM/OrestesMei.jpg

AchievementsDrama: Sophocles

Sophocles earned about 20 awards for first place in dramatic competitionsReduced the importance of the Chorus by adding a third actorInvented skenographia (scene painting) to illustrate the background

Oedipus gouges out his eyes after discovering the true nature of his crime.

http://www.come-and-hear.com/editor/oedipus.jpg

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/drama/p/Sophocles.htm

AchievementsDrama: Euripides

Last of the three Great Tragedians

Focused on mythological themes and heroes

First to write roles for strong female characters

First to introduce intrigue and comedy into plays

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3504131.ece

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/medeaeuripides/p/Euripides.htm

Politics: Democracy

City-States – PoliMonarchy

Warrior Aristocracies, often led by tyrant

Democracy (Please follow the following three links and return)

Draco’s Code of Laws

Solon’s reforms

Cleisthenes First democracy about 500 BC

Assembly of male citizens

www.crystalinks.com/greekcities.html

Draco’s Code of LawsAround 620 BC Draco, the

lawgiver, wrote the first known written law of Ancient Greece. Draco was an Athenian lawgiver whose harsh legal code punished both trivial and serious crimes in Athens with death--hence the continued use of the word draconian to describe repressive legal measures. Today the word draconian means harsh or severe. Draco's laws were shockingly severe, so severe that they were said to have been written not in ink but in blood. Solon succeeded him in about 594 BC

http://oghs.euhsd.k12.ca.us/staff/burtnowski/rise.html Back

Solon’ Reforms

Solon's great contribution to the future good of Athens was his new code of laws. The first written code at Athens, that of Draco, was still in force.. Solon revised every statute except that on homicide and made Athenian law altogether more humane. His code, though supplemented and modified, remained the foundation of Athenian statute law until the end of the 5th century, and parts of it were embodied in the new codification made at that time

http://oghs.euhsd.k12.ca.us/staff/burtnowski/rise.html Back

Economics: Living Wage

5th and 4th centuries BC, Greece had most advanced economy in known worldSome historians believe it was the most advanced pre-industrial economy of its timeAverage daily wage of Greek worker – about 12 kg of wheatAverage daily wage of Egyptian worker – about 3.75 kg of wheat during about same time

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ancientgreece

Social: Changeable Social

StatusIn Athens:

Family ties did not confer social privilegesFour social classes, based on wealthEarn more money, could change classWomen and slaves could own property but had no political rightsSlaves could earn freedomPublicly owned slaves

In Sparta:Spartan kings came from one of two familiesAll male citizens equal after completion of educationSlaves had no power or statusHelots – slaves who were captured in war, treated harshly

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ancientgreece