GREEK CIVILIZATION

BY:K. SAI PRANEETH.

B.TECH (PLG), SPA , JNAFAU.

SEMINAR-1

CONTENTS:1. INTRODUCTION.2. HISTORY.3. GEOGRAPHY.4. COLONIES.5. CULTURE.6. CITY STATES IN GREEK.7. POLITICS & SOCIETY.8. INFLUENCE OF GREEK CIVILIZATION AT

PRESENT.9. CONCLUSION.

INTRODUCTION:

Timeline 1800 BC to 300 BCPrehistoric Greece (2000 BC) – Island, coastal townsClassical Greek (1000 BC) – Mainland Cities.

INTRODUCTION:

Settlements in the form of small groups called city states or ‘polis’. Ruled by democratic ruler/monarch

Mountainous areas , so little contact between city states. Each polis had its own gods

Famous states – Argos, Corinth, Sparta, Athens

Greeks were agriculturists and traders.

HISTORY:• Greek civilization started

around 2000 B.C. -1600 B.C

• Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period, ca. 750 BC.

• In 480 B.C., the Greeks united to defeat the invading Persians, but the alliance didn’t last long.

HISTORY:• In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge

from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization.

• By the 6th century BC several cities had emerged as dominant in Greek affairs: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes

• The advent of the democracy cured many of the ills of Athens and led to a 'golden age' for the Athenians.

Only 20-30% of ancient Greece’s land was arable. The most important crops were olives, grapes, and barley.

GEOGRAPHY:

• Located in southeastern Europe, Greece is defined by a series of mountains and surrounded on all sides except the north by water.

GEOGRAPHY:• Regionalism and regional

conflicts were a prominent feature of ancient Greece.

• Numerous islands and the indented coastlines of the Greek peninsula and of Asia Minor stimulated a seagoing trade.

• The rocky soil and limited natural resources encouraged the Greeks to establish colonies abroad.

GEOGRAPHY:• Numerous mountain ranges,

which crisscross the peninsula, hampered internal communications and led to the development of independent city-states.

• The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece's climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months

• The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece's climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months. Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are moderate and rainy in coastal regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas.

COLONIES:• From about 750 BC the

Greeks began 250 years of expansion, settling colonies in all directions.

• Eventually Greek colonization reached as far northeast as present day Ukraine and Russia.

• Greek colonies were also founded in Egypt and Libya.

CULTURE:• RELIGION:• The ancient Greeks were a

deeply religious people. • They worshipped many gods

whom they believed appeared in human form.

• ART & ARCHITECTURE:• During the nineteenth

century, the Neo-classical vocabulary was heavily used for both public and private building.

• In the twentieth century, Greek architecture has followed international architectural trends

CULTURE:

• LANGUAGE:• The Greek language is the official

language of the Hellenic Republic and has a total of 15 million speakers worldwide; it is an Indo-European language.

• LITERATURE:• Greece has a remarkably rich and

resilient literary tradition, extending over 2800 years and through several eras.

CULTURE:

• EDUCATION:• Education in Greece is compulsory for all

children 6–15 years old; namely, it includes Primary (Dimotiko) and Lower Secondary (Gymnasio) .

• PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS:

• The Greek world is widely regarded as having given birth to scientific thought by means of observation, thought, and development of a theory without the intervention of a supernatural force.ducation.

City States in Greek:• what does it mean to be a greek city- state?

• Ancient greeks became too overcrowded on the greek mainland.

• They spread out to the surrounding islands and formed colonies.

• These colonies became “city-states”.

The Greeks called their city-state “The Polis”.Each Polis was an independent governing unit, and many had

different types of government.

Greek City-States

ASIA MINORATHENS

SPARTA

AEGEAN SEA

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

GREECE

Politics & society:• Political structure:• The Geography of Greece

divided and sub-divided by hills, mountains and rivers contributed to the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece.

• On the one hand, the ancient Greeks had no doubt that they were 'one people'; they had the same religion, same basic culture, and same language.

Politics & society:• GOVERNMENT AND

LAW:• Four major types of government

evolved in ancient Greece:• MONARCHY (rule of a king)

limited by an aristocratic council and a popular assembly.

• OLIGARCHY (rule of the few) arising when the aristocratic council ousted the king and abolished the assembly.

• TYRANNY (rule by one who ruled without legal authority) riding to power on the discontent of the lower classes.

• DEMOCRACY (rule of the people), the outstanding political achievement of the Greeks.

Politics & society:• SOCIAL

STRUCTURE:• Only free, land owning,

native-born men could be citizens entitled to the full protection of the law in a city-state

• SLAVERY:• Slaves had no power or

status. • They had the right to have

a family and own property, subject to their master's goodwill and permission.

Politics & society:

• EDUCATION:• For most of Greek history,

education was private, except in Sparta.

• Boys went to school at the age of seven, or went to the barracks, if they lived in Sparta.

• ECONOMY:• The average daily wage of

the Greek worker which was, in terms of wheat, about 12 kg.

Politics & society:

•WARFARE :• Unable to maintain

professional armies, the city-states relied on their own citizens to fight.

Influence of Greek civilization at present:

• Greek mythology is a collection of stories and narratives concerning their gods, heroes and mythological creatures.

• To this end, they created the first siege engines, the first alarm clock, and many other inventions.

According to tradition the first OLYMPICS took place in 776 BC. They became a central aspect of Greek culture and in many ways were the most important factor uniting the Greeks, except for their language and mythology.

CONCLUSION:• "The glory that was Greece," in the

words of Edgar Allan Poe, was short-lived and confined to a very small geographic area.

• The English poet John Milton called Athens "the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence.

• " Athens was the city-state in which the arts, philosophy, and democracy flourished”.

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