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• Greece is located in eastern Europe. It is a peninsula surrounded by hundreds of islands.

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• Ancient Greeks wanted to explain events in the natural world, so they told myths like Pandora’s Box and Athena and Arachne.

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We regard an individual who takes no interest in

public affairs not as harmless, but as useless.

• The Athenian leader Pericles stressed the importance of participating in the political process of the city-state. He inspired the citizens of Athens to fight against Sparta in order to protect the government of Athens, which was a democracy.

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• Athens had a direct democracy, which means that all citizens voted on every issue. The United States has a representative democracy, which means that citizens vote for representatives to vote on every issue.

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• Athens and Sparta shared a common language and religion. However, each city-state had a different form of government. Athens had a democracy while Sparta had an oligarchy.

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• In the Persian Wars, Athens and Sparta became allies and fought the Persian Empire. In the end, the Greeks won!

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• In the Peloponnesian Wars, Athens and Sparta became enemies. In the end, Sparta won the war.

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• Alexander the Great conquered the Egyptians, Persians, and Indians. Here, you see Alexander defeating King Darius of Persia. Thanks to his teacher Aristotle, Alexander had developed a love of Greek culture, which he spread throughout his empire.

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• After Socrates was found guilty of disrespecting the gods, he had the opportunity to run away from the death sentence. However, he chose to drink poison in order to show Athenians that the justice system was unfair.

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• The city of Rome is located on the Italian Peninsula, which is shaped like a boot.

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• Raised by a wolf, Romulus and Remus may have been the founders of Rome.

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• In the Roman Republic and the United States, citizens choose representatives to make laws for them.

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• In the Punic Wars, Hannibal led Carthage (a city-state in north Africa) to nearly destroy the Roman Republic. However, Rome burned Carthage to the ground. Afterwards, Rome controlled all trading routes in the Mediterranean Sea.

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• The Roman Republic ended and the Roman Empire began when Augustus was crowned emperor. Goodbye, representative democracy. Hello, monarchy.

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• On the Ides of March, 44 BCE, the Senators assassinated Julius Caesar. The Senators thought that Caesar’s growing power threatened the republic.

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• Roman art included frescos and mosaics. Here, you see a mosaic of Medusa. (Don’t look too close or you will turn into stone!)

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• Roman engineers constructed aqueducts so that fresh water could be carried to the city.

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• One of Rome’s most corrupt emperors, Nero, burned down Rome. Afterwards, he needed a scapegoat, so he blamed the Christians.

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• The Roman Empire fell when it was invaded by barbarian tribes such as the Visigoths and Vandals.

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• To test Abraham’s faith, God demanded that Abraham sacrifice his son Isaac. After Abraham obeyed, God gave Abraham and his descendants the Promised Land.

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• Abraham’s descendants were often persecuted. For example, the Jews were forced into slavery in Egypt. God told Moses to lead the Jews out of slavery and back to the Promised Land. Here, you see Moses parting the Red Sea in order to escape Egypt.

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• On the way back to the Promised Land, Moses announced a set of moral laws known as the Ten Commandments to help people know right from wrong.

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• The Hebrew Bible (known as the Old Testament to Christians) includes predictions about the coming of a Messiah who will rescue Jews from persecution.

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• Some Jews did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Those Jews remained Jews. Some Jews did believe that Jesus was the Messiah; those Jews became Christians. Muslims also believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

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• Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross in order to save his followers from sin. Christians believe that faith in Jesus’ sacrifice will lead to salvation.

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• Jews, Christians, and Muslims all agree that Noah, Abraham, and Moses were prophets of God. Jesus and Muhammad are slightly more controversial. Christians also believe in Jesus, while Muslims also believe in both Jesus andMuhammad.

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• Christians believe that the last prophet was Jesus Christ, but Muslims believe the last prophet was Muhammad.

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• Mecca is the most important holy city for Muslims. Muhammad, the most important prophet of Islam, was born here and received his first message from Allah here. Also, Muslims make a pilgrimage (religious journey) to the Ka’bah, a sacred temple.

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• Jerusalem is also an important holy city for Muslims. Muhammad rode a buraq from Mecca to Jerusalem, where Muhammad prayed with all of the prophets next to the Wailing Wall.

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• Confucianism is a philosophy that encourages leaders to set a moral example.

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• Taoism is a philosophy that encourages leaders to let nature set the laws. (Go with the flow, dude!)

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• Legalism is a philosophy that encourages leaders to make laws and strictly enforce them.

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• Emperor Qin adopted a Legalist approach. He sent enemies to work on the Great Wall of China and even buried scholars that disagreed with him.

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• Before Emperor Qin ruled, many different states fought each other in China. Emperor Qin used his army to unite China into one nation. (Now there would be just one way to write sword, instead of nineteen!)

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• Emperor Qin began construction on the Great Wall of China with the intention of keeping out invaders, especially the Mongols. (But all the Mongols wanted was a little bit of grass!)

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• Emperor Qin was buried with a terra-cotta army, designed to protect him in the afterlife. (Ironically, the Han stole the terra-cotta warriors swords and used them to topple the Qin dynasty.)

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• China’s geography had isolated the Chinese for thousands of years, but the Silk Road allowed the Chinese to mix and mingle with other cultures, including the Roman Empire. (The Chinese essentially robbed the silk-loving Romans of much of their gold.)

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• One idea that traveled along the Silk Road was the religion known as Buddhism. It started in India and soon made its way to China.

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• Buddha believed that all life is suffering. To end suffering, Buddha insisted we must remove our cravings. (Except for chocolate. You can crave chocolate sometimes.)

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• The Mayans lived in the Yucatan Peninsula, which looks like Mexico’s thumb. The Aztecs lived in inland Mexico. The Incas lived on the west coast of South America.

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• One way the Aztecs adapted to their swampy environment was building chinampas. These floating gardens created extra fertile land.

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• One way that the Incas adapted to their mountainous environment was carving terraces. These “steps” could be used to create extra fertile land.

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• The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas each performed human sacrifice. The Aztecs, in particular, believed that the gift of blood would fuel the sun god’s path across the sky.

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• The Aztec Empire became very rich by forcing weaker city-states to become tributaries. The Aztecs would deliver a codex, a document which listed the tribute that needed to be paid. The Aztecs would go to war with those city-states which refused to pay tribute.

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• The Spanish conquistadors had many reasons to conquer the Aztecs and the Incas. Most importantly, the 3Gs: gold, God, and glory.

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• Hernan Cortes had many advantages over Montezuma and the Aztecs. The Aztecs welcomed Cortes, thinking that he was Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec god. The Aztecs’ sticks and stones were no match for the Spaniard’s swords and guns. The Aztecs were not immune to smallpox either. Even though the Aztecs had 25 million people, the conquistadors still conquered.

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• The Aztecs had nearly died out one hundred years after making contact with the Spaniards. Guns and swords had killed some, but smallpox had killed most.

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• The conquistadors never destroyed Mayan structures, so you can still visit Chichen Itza today. The conquistadors destroyed most Inca structures, except for Machu Picchu, which was hidden in the clouds high up in the Andes Mountains.

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• The conquistadors destroyed Tenochtitlan and built Mexico City on top of it. However, this painting by the great Mexican painter Diego Rivera shows what Tenochtitlan may have looked like.

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• After the fall of the Roman Empire, the greatest threat to western Europe was the Muslims. The Muslims began in the Arabian Peninsula and expanded their empire all the way to the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain).

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King

Nobles

Knights

Serfs

• The medieval kingdoms of western Europe needed protection from the Vikings and the Muslims, so the kings gave land to knights in exchange for their military service. This system is known as feudalism.

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• In medieval Europe, the Pope was even more powerful than the kings. The Pope chose Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and declared a holy war against the Muslims.

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• Though most people were illiterate during the Middle Ages, one group could read and write: the monks. They copied not only the Bible, but also Greek and Roman texts. Without this service, the Renaissance may have never happened.

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• During medieval times, most art reflected Christian themes. Illiterate people could still learn about Jesus Christ just by studying paintings of him.