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Chapter 8: Ancient Greece Vocabulary: acropolis - a fort built on a hill democracy - a governing system in which a country's people elect their leaders and rule by majority league - a group of allies patron - a wealthy person who pays artists and writers to produce thier works, a supporter plague - a deadly disease academy - a school offering instruction or training in a specific field diffuse - to spread or scatter widely legacy - anything handed down from an ancestor, something lasting left by someone who has died scholar - seeker of knowledge mythology - a collection of myths, or traditional stories, handed down from generation to generation Early Greece (3000 - 1000 BCE) Geography • Greece has lots of mountainous areas (so not a lot of great farm land) • There is easy access to the seas (most places are less than 80 miles from water) • Many Greeks became sailors and fishermen Cycladic Culture • People of the Cyclades (islands) • Their culture lasted from about 3000 BCE to 2000 BCE • Not much is known about them due to a lack of records and artifacts Minoan Culture • People originally from the largest Greek island (Crete) • Lasted from about 2700 BCE to 1450 BCE (actually, a bit past that) • Originally farmers, the Minoans became sailors and traders (look at the map on page 246) • They built large towns, with many houses, temples, and even palaces (the palace at Knossos was the largest) • The culture was named for King Minos of Greek mythology • An earthquake in 1450 BCE destroyed much of the cities on Crete, and the Minoans never really recovered Mycenean Culture • People from the Peloponnesus peninsula • Lasted from about 1900 BCE to 1200 BCE • These people basically copied the Minoans...same trading culture, religion, writing, etc. (Minoan wannabes) • They even copied how the Minoan culture died out...an earthquake in about 1200 BCE they didn't recover from City-States: Sparta and Athens (and Greek Culture) City-states formed when people of neighboring villages joined together to protect themselves from outside danger. Many build walled forts for safety. Some of these forts were on hilltops (each was called an acropolis). Over the years, these villages grew into cities. Some city-states fought over the land between them. Two are particularly well-known. Sparta • an inland city-state, their economy was military based rather than trade based (no easy access to the sea) • the people lived simply, placing value on hard work and physical activity • three social classes: citizens (males in the ruling class, descendants of the Dorians (who had migrated to the area in the 1100s BCE) slaves (also called helots, mainly farmers that belonged to the city-state, descendants of the original people of the area) free people from neighboring city-states • lower classed people outnumbered citizens by about 10 to 1 • citizens started military training at age 6 or 7 in order to keep control of the lower classes • the only city-state with a standing army • had 2 kings, one from each of two ruling families • government was an oligarchy (a few people from a ruling class make decisions for everyone) • very well-ordered Athens • located northeast of the Pelonnesus peninsula • started as an aristocracy (led by a small group of wealthy land-owners) • Cleisthenes reforms the government in 508 BCE, made it the first democracy (government led by the people, males citizens 18 or older) Shared Greek Culture • according to mythology, all Greeks had a common ancestor (a man named Hellen) • believed their gods, led by Zeus, controlled nature and human life • had the same language • participated in the Olympic Games (held every four years to honor Zeus, from about 776 BCE to 393 CE) • had a common written language (developed in the 700s BCE, based on the one used by Phoenician traders (alphabet comes from the 1st two Greeks letters, alpha and beta) The Golden Age Before the Golden Age... The Persian Wars King Darius (and later his son, Xerxes) of Persia was expanding his empire and wanted to take over the lands of the Greeks. The Persians sent armies and even a navy toward Greece, in many cases outnumbering the Greeks. The Greek city-states banded together into two leagues (a league is a group of allies): • The Peloponnesian League - city-states of the Peloponnesus penninsula, led by Sparta • The Delian League - the more northern city-states, led by Athens The leagues worked together to fight the Persians, in several cases winning major battles even when outnumbered (one notable exception is the battle that the movie 300 is based on). Eventually, the Persians gave up on trying to conquer the Greek lands, leading to... The Golden Age of Athens (490 BCE to 390 BCE) This time was also called the "age of Pericles", as the city of Athens was led by a man named Pericles. The Delian League had vast resources left over after the end of the Persian Wars, and it was put to use by the goverment of Athens. Pericles was a patron (supporter) of many endeavors in Athens: • the arts - sculptors, potters, architects, theatre, and other artists commissioned the building of monuments, temples, and other buildings • learning - supported schools and philosophers in Athens Hippocrates - a scientist/doctor (and the origin of today's Hippocratic Oath) • writing - especially writing that depicted Greeks in a positive light Herododus - a historian who wrote about Greek history (and Egyptian history) Sophocles - wrote plays (usually tragedies) • government reform - instituted changes in Athenian government such as: pay for government jobs (so even the non-wealthy could afford to work for the government) opened voting to all adult male citizens of Athens The End of the Golden Age Athens (Pericles and the rest of the government) wanted tribute (money) from the other city-states so that Athens could continue to prosper. Soldiers were sent out to other city-states to get this money, and the city-states were to pay up to ensure continued "peace and protection" under the power of Athens. Many city-states (particularly the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta) did not respond well to this. Sparta went to war and started... The Peloponnesian War • Fought between the Delian League and Peloponnesian League • The war began in 431 BCE. • In 430 BCE, Spartans surrounded the city of Athens...and a plague (a deadly disease) swept through the city (killing 25% of the population, including Pericles) • Fighting continued for 27 more years after that! • Finally, in 404 BCE, Athens surrendered. • Sparta set up a new government in Athens. It was still a cultural center, so there were still... Greek Philosophers (after the war) • Socrates - taught the youth of Athens - believed that the government was good and laws should be followed - also believed that asking questions of the government would lead to improvements - was put on trial for teaching "dangerous ideas" and was sentenced to death (by drinking poison) - he drank it...and died • Plato - started an academy (school) to teach future Greek leaders - kind of like various Ivy League schools here (Harvard, Yale, etc.) • Aristotle - really smart guy that liked to learn - spent 20 years studying under Plato - became a teacher himself - spent time learning about things such as biology, astronomy, law, economics, other science, and even sports Alexander the Great Making an Emperor • 356 BCE - Alexander is born • his father (Philip II) is king of Macedonia (a land just north of Greek lands) • his mother (Olympias) is Greek • his parents want him to learn all about Greek culture and turn him into a leader, so they hire... • Aristotle (one of the most famous philosophers and teachers in all of Greece) • Alexander learns a great deal about: literature, philosophy, politics, sports, physical fitness, warfair, other countries and people • his father teaches him how to be a fearless warrior (to make him a better leader) • 338 BCE - Philip conquers most of Greece, plans to invade the Persian Empire • 336 BCE - Alexander becomes king when his father is killed. He is 20 years old. • 335 BCE - the city-state of Thebes rebels against the young ruler. Alexander (and his warriors) destroy Thebes and sell the 30,000 residents into slavery as an example to others • 334 BCE - Alexander leads 35,000 soldiers into the Persian Empire and begins to win battles • 333 BCE - Alexander and his army reaches Syria • 332 BCE - Alexander invades Egypt The Egyptians welcome him after he drives out the Persians (who had conquered Egypt years earlier) Alexander is crowned pharaoh • 331 BCE - Alexander's army defeats the larger army of the Persian emperor (Darius III), forcing Darius III to flee (run away) • 330 BCE - Alexander's army tracks down Darius III near the Caspian Sea. a member of Darius' own court kills the weakened leader People begin to call him Alexander the Great The End of Alexander's Empire • 327 BCE - Alexander marries Roxane (a Bactrian princess) after taking over that area (now part of Afghanistan) • 326 BCE - Alaxander and his army march eastward into Inda (to the Indus river) his troops, tired after 8 years of marching and fighting, refuse to go further Alexander agrees to turn back (wise to keep his troops happy if he wants to keep leading them) • Alexander plans to go further into northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula • 323 BCE - in Babylon, Alexander gets sick and dies • His empire breaks apart very soon after than, since it no longer has a strong leader Alexander's Legacy • he spread Greek culture all across his empire • he built new cities, many of the called Alexandria in his honor • the cities became centers of learning and helped spread Greek culture • the library at Alexandria in Egypt is one of the most famous in history • many aspects of Greek culture (art, architecture, religion, literature, philosophy) were later borrowed by the Romans Mythology A small sampling of the gods, heroes, and monsters (and stories) of Greek mythology were discussed in class. Here are the ones mentioned throughout the day (not all students heard about all of these due to time and classroom behavior limitations). Aphrodite - Goddess of love and beauty, wife of Hephaestus. The most beautiful of the goddesses. Apollo - God of the sun, music, prophecy, and poetry. Ares - God of savage war. Brother to Athena, and is the son of Zeus. Artemis - Goddess of The Moon, hunting,young animals, maidens, childbirth, and archery. Twin sister of Apollo. Athena - Goddess of wisdom, crafts, strategic, warfare and heros. Sister of Ares, and is the daughter of Zeus (born full-grown from his head). Demeter - Goddess of agriculture, grain, harvest and earth. Dionysus - God of wine, merriment, and drama Eros - God of love. He was winged and used gold-tipped arrows that induced love. Hades - Lord of the Underworld and god of the treasures found within the earth. Brother of Poseidon and Zeus. Hephaestus - God of fire and the forge (god of fire and smiths). Makes armor for the gods and other heroes like Achilles. Son of Hera. Hera - Goddess of marriage, family, motherhood and queen of the gods. Zeus' sister and wife. Hermes - God of travel, thieves, and commerce. Messenger of the gods. He showed the way for the dead souls to Hades's realm. He shows up in more myths than any other god or goddess. Likes to trick people and is very inventive. Pan - God of nature, shepherds and flocks, mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. A god who takes the form of a faun or satyr. Son of Hermes. Poseidon - God of the sea, horses and earthquakes. Brother of Hades and Zeus. Zeus - King of the gods. Son of Kronos. God of thunder and lightning. Brother of Poseidon and Hades. Husband of Hera. Minotaur - a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. was confined to a maze (the Labyrinth) Daedalus - genius inventor, built the Labyrinth, made wings to escape from King Minos, father of Icarus Icarus - son of Daedalus, flew too close to the sun and his wax & feather wings melted, the Icarian Sea is named for him after he drowns Theseus - hero of Athens, defeated the minotaur Achilles - hero that was believed to be invulnerable, except for his heel. Fought at the battle for Troy Heracles - also called Hercules, a son of Zeus. Very strong and skilled at fighting. Was a major character in many different stories Perseus - a son of Zeus, given magical gifts by the gods to help in his adventures, defeated Medusa and many other foes Medusa - a formerly beautiful woman, cursed to become a monster so ugly that looking at her would turn a person to stone |