classical greece 2.02 identify the roots of greek civilization and recognize its achievements from...
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The Challenge of Persia Battle at Marathon – 490 BC Persians landed at Marathon – Only 26 miles from Athens – Outnumbered Athenians attacked and defeated the Persians – News of the defeat was brought by Pheidippides who ran from Marathon to Athens Died after announcing the victory Today’s marathons are based on this story – Minor defeat to Persians but proved to the Athenians that the Persians could be beaten – mzfCY&feature=PlayList&p=68CB508ACE &playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&ind ex=3 mzfCY&feature=PlayList&p=68CB508ACE &playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&ind ex=3TRANSCRIPT
Classical Greece
2.02 Identify the roots of Greek civilization and recognize its achievements from the Minoan era through the Hellenistic
period.2.03 Describe the developments and achievements of
Roman civilization and analyze the significance of the fall of Rome.
The Challenge of Persia
• The Persians– Greeks in Asia Minor
fell to the Persian Empire in the mid-sixth century BC
– 499 BC Athenian Navy assisted in an unsuccessful revolt
– Led the Persian ruler Darius to seek revenge
The Challenge of Persia• Battle at Marathon
– 490 BC Persians landed at Marathon– Only 26 miles from Athens– Outnumbered Athenians attacked and
defeated the Persians– News of the defeat was brought by
Pheidippides who ran from Marathon to Athens• Died after announcing the victory• Today’s marathons are based on this story
– Minor defeat to Persians but proved to the Athenians that the Persians could be beaten
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTgez_mzfCY&feature=PlayList&p=68CB508ACE736674&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3
The Challenge of Persia• Battle of Thermopylae– Xerxes took over after Darius’ death– Vowed revenge– Some Greeks formed a defensive league
under the Spartans• Athenians built a navy instead
– Xerxes led a massive invasion into Greece
– Greeks tried to hold them off at the pass of Thermopylae• Force of 7,000 held them off for 2 days• 300 Spartans in the Greek Army were
especially brave
The Challenge of Persia• Battle of Thermopylae
– A traitor told the Persians how to use a mountain path to outflank the Greek force
– Athenians abandoned their city– Greek fleet managed to defeat
the Persians– A few months later the Greeks
were able to regroup and defeat the Persians at Plataea
– http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?SearchText=thermopylae&ID=226989
The Athenian Empire• Athens took over leadership of the entire
Greek world after the defeat of the Persians
• Delian League– 478 BC– Defensive alliance– Formed against the Persians– Main headquarters on island of Delos– Eventually liberated almost all Greeks states
in Aegean from Persian control– Allowed Athens to create an empire
The Athenian Empire
• Age of Pericles– Dominated politics in
Athens between 461 & 429 BC
– Saw the height of Athenian power & brilliance
Pericles
• Created a direct democracy– Every male citizen participated in the
governing assembly & voted on all major issues
• Made it possible for poor citizens to take part in public affairs by paying office holders
• Helped Athens become the center of Greek culture
• Started massive rebuilding projects
Daily Life in Classical Athens
• By 5th century BC Athens had the largest population in Greece
• 150,000+ citizens– 43,000 men who had political
power
• People living in the city not as citizens– 35,000 foreigners– 100,000 slaves
Slavery in Classical Athens• Common in the ancient world• Most Athenians (except the very
poor) owned at least one slave• Wealthy citizens owned large
numbers– Usually employed them in
industry• Usual jobs included working the
fields or helping take care of homes
• Some were owned by the state and worked on public construction
Athenian Economy & Society
• Largely based on farming & trade• Family was an important
institution– Consisted of:
• Husband• Wife• Children• Other dependent relatives & slaves
also seen as family
– Primary function: • to produce more citizens
Athenian Economy & Society
• Status of women– Those who were citizens could
take part in most religious festivals
– Excluded from public life– Expected to remain at home– Had to have a companion if
leaving the home– No formal education– Married at 14 or 15
The Great Peloponnesian War
• After defeating Persians Greece divided between Athenians and Spartans
• Distrust between the two sides led to the Great Peloponnesian War
• Sparta finally won• Greatly weakened Greece
Greek Religion• Affected every aspect of life• Temples were major
buildings in cities• Gods & Goddesses lived on
Mt. Olympus• Dead went to a gloomy
underworld ruled by Hades• Rituals were important to
get the gods’ favor
Greek Religion
• Festivals were very important
• Helped start the modern Olympic games
Greek Religion
• Source of most Greek drama and art
• Romans adopted Greek gods (changed the names)
• Many stories about Greek gods appear in European and American literature
Greek Architecture & Sculpture
• Architecture– Temples to gods most
important– Ex: the Parthenon in Athens
• Sculpture– Lifelike statutes of humans– Showed a standard of ideal
beauty
Drama
• Plays usually presented in outdoor theaters
• First dramas were tragedies– Ex: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles– http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=sA1_QZxvRyo&feature=related • Comedy developed later– Used to criticize politicians and
intellectuals
Writing History
• Greeks were 1st in the Western world to present history as an analysis of past events
• Herodotus: History of the Persian Wars
• Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War
Greek Philosophy• Philosophy – comes from Greek word
meaning “love of wisdom”• Pythagoras
– Pythagorean theorem– Essence of the universe is in music & numbers
• Sophists– Traveling teachers– Said it was beyond the human mind to
understand the universe– Goal was to argue effectively– No absolute right or wrong – based on the
individual
Greek Philosophy• Socrates– Taught without pay– Goal of education was to
improve the individual– Taught students to live by a code
of ethics– Used teaching method involving
a question-and-answer format– Questioned authority
Greek Philosophy
• Plato– Socrates’ student– Explained ideas about government in
The Republic– Believed men and women should have
the same education• Aristotle– Plato’s student– Believed people’s happiness tied to
their behavior– Studied natural science