Ancient GreeceWorld History

Chapter 5

Greek Geography

Greek city-states developed into the Med. Region

Aegean Sea separates Balkan peninsula from Asia minor

Many mountains; no important river

Grew grapes, olives Lots of coastline for

trading

Minoan Civilization

Island of Crete Painted frescoes

(made of wet plaster on walls)

Bad soil; used sea for trading

Volcanoes destroyed island and invaders finished the job to kill off survivors

Mycenaeans & Dorians

Invaders from the north

Built cities on Peloponnesus (Tiryns and Pylos) – city of Troy was also destroyed

After the Mycenaeans were destroyed, the Dorians took over

Early Greece

Created city-states like Athens and Sparta

Polis – Greek word for city-state (means “fort”)

Chora – the surrounding land outside the city walls

Greek city-states had:1. Small size2. Small population3. Had a fort (polis) on a

hill (acropolis)4. Had public meeting

place (agora) - market

Early Greece Continued

City-states had a similar gov’t which grew into small kingdoms

Age of Kings Oral communication

between kingdoms Poets and bards told

tales, sang folk songs, ballads, and epics (long poems describing heroes and great events)

Iliad and Odyssey

Written by Homer (a blind poet)

Iliad describes the 10th year of Trojan War

The Odyssey describes the adventures of Odysseus

Greek Religion

Not focused on morality Not focused on the

afterlife Hades – god of the

underworld Believed their gods had

human qualities Lived on Mount

Olympus Developed myths

(stories about deeds of the gods)

Greek Gods

Zeus – god of all gods (sky)

Hera – his wife and sister (women and protection)

Poseidon – brother of Zeus (sea)

Athena – daughter of Zeus (wisdom)

Aphrodite – daughter of Zeus (love, beauty)

Apollo – light, music, poetry

Dionysus – fertility and wine

Early Greek Development

700 B.C. - nobles rose to power (they gave men to kings to serve in the military)

Merchants developed Colonies developed

(increased trade) Developed imports

and exports (goods brought in or taken out to other regions)

Greek governments Nobles controlled city-

states (aristocracies – privileged social class)

Tyrants – controlled by force; ruled alone

They always promised peace and prosperity and to defend against nobles

They helped maintain peace to better trade

Some got rid of tyrants and restore monarchies and aristocracies; others formed democracies (gov’t in which all citizens take part)

Sparta

Dorians move south and conquer Sparta and make it their capital

Sparta had no city walls 3 types of men in Sparta

1. Ancestors of Dorian invaders – controlled the government

2. Neighbors – free people but not citizens

3. Helots – agriculture laborers forced to work

Info on Sparta

Gov’t – council of elders Had 5 elected ephors that

oversaw everything (1 year terms)

Military state; weak babies left to die; 7 yr old boys lived in military barracks; bare pain; harsh; in army till 60; no shoes; 1 garment of clothing

Age 30 – married a healthy female

No art, literature, philosophy, science

Athens

No upper-class invaders like Sparta

No good soil; became sea traders

3 social groups1. Top citizens – both

parents2. Metics – free but

could not own land3. Slaves

Only citizens that owned land could vote

Athens Government

Elected 9 archons (rulers that served 1 year terms) that made all laws

Draco, Solon, Pisistratus, and Cleishenes moved Athens gov’t closer to democracy

All males over 20 voted in an assembly (direct democracy) compared to the U.S. (representative democracy)

Athens Economy

Farming – most honorable job

Athens had bad soil that was hard & rocky; terracing was used

Sheep, goats, milk, cheese, wool, meat, fish = trading

Built temples, buildings, houses (made of sundried brick)

Oil lamps lighting, no plumbing, had narrow streets, no paving, no sewage, no cleaning

Athens Life

Marriage – arranged by parents (13 yr old girls to 28 yr old men was not uncommon)

Babies left to die if family could not afford to support

Married women had some legal rights but needed permission from husband to go in public

Pedagogue – male slave that took care of male babies and taught manners

Athens Education Boys attended school if $ was

good Studied grammar, math,

reading, music Read the Iliad and the

Odyssey Sophist (Greek for wise) –

taught older boys; they studied poetry, gov’t, ethics, geometry, astronomy and rhetoric (Public speaking or debating)

18 yr old boys attended military training; 19 yr old boys had celebration for becoming a citizen

Elsewhere in the world…

546 B.C. – Cyrus of Persia conquered Greece

Persians let the Greeks keep gov’t but made them pay taxes

499 B.C. – rebellions broke out (Persian Wars)

Cyrus’ son Darius crushed the revolts

Still mad at Greece but couldn’t conquer Athens and peace ensued for 10 years

Persian Wars continued…

Darius’ son Xerxes (army of 200,000) marched south and Athenians fled to Salamis (island)

Persians destroyed Athens

But Xerxes’ navy was destroyed and he fled home

This gave Greece confidence (Golden Age) and they built huge temples and public buildings

Persian Wars continued…

Greek city-states banded together and formed the Delian League (140 states)

Gave $ and ships; could not retreat unless unanimous

By 450 B.C. it became the Athens empire

Pericles – greatest leader for 16 years

A New War on the Horizon

Athens and Sparta still had cultural differences

Athens – progressive, commercial, culturally advanced

Sparta – agricultural, conservative, culturally backward

Athens thought Spartans were rude and Sparta thought Athens was money hungry

Breakout – Peloponnesian War Sparta invades Attica – the

area around Athens Athenians withdraw to

inside their walls but catch a plague that kills ¼ of their pop. (including Pericles)

Peloponnesian War lasts from 431 B.C. till 404 B.C. when Athens finally surrenders

Spartans mistreat Athenians but Thebes comes in & eventually kill off the Spartans

Random pictures of Greece…

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