1. Greek and HellenisticCivilizationChapter 3

2. Cradle of early civilization Would influence Greeks People of Crete absorbed many ideas from the oldercivilizations of Egypt and MesopotamiaCRETE 3. Early civilization on the island of Crete Success based on trade, not conquest Name Minoans was given to this civilization by the Britisharcheologist who unearthed its ruins Name comes from a legendary king of Crete, King MinosMINOANS 4. MINOANS Minoan Bronze Age civilization onisland of Crete Major influence on early Greeks History divided into: Early, Middle,and Late Minoan The central feature of thecivilization = palace at Cnossus The palace (Cnossus): Rooms for royal family Banquet halls Shrines or areas dedicatedto the honor ofgods/goddesses Working areas for artisans Walls covered with colorfulfrescos 5. By 1400 B.C.E., Minoans civilizationdisappears No unified explanation for its disappearance Some believe an earthquake may havedestroyed the palace followed by an immensewave that drowned inhabitants Some believe that ultimately fell toMycenaeansMINOAN CIVILIZATIONDISAPPEARS 6. MYCENAEANS Earliest Greek-speaking society emerged in Greece Influenced by Minoans Mycenaeans were warriors led by strong kings Palaces protected by defensive walls Many independent, well-organized monarchies Tholos tombs (large, beehivelike royal chambers made ofemourmous stones) Height of power 1400-1200 B.C.E.Built wealth as result of active and prosperous trade Sacked Troy around 1250 B.C.E. Inspiration for Homers Iliad and Odyssey 7. MYCENAEAN VIDEO 8. Origins unknownGreek legends attribute to the Dorians(invaded Greek Mainland)Tholos TombCOLLAPSE OF MYCENAEANS 9. GREEK DARK AGES Following the fall of Mycenaeans Dispersion of Greeks and Greek dark MiddleAge, lasting to 750 B.C.E. Understand Greek dark ages through Homers epic poems,the Iliad and the Odyssey Told of aristocratic society noble status being hereditary Society had three classes: nobles, thetes (landlesslaborers) and slaves Arete chief value of aristocratic world Manliness as demonstrated by competing in a contest, anargon 10. Mycenaeans are best remembered for their part in Trojan WarsAccording to Homers Iliad Trojan prince, Paris kidnaps Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greekking Mycenaeans sail to Troy to rescue Helena For next 10 years, two sides battle until Greeks seize Troy and burn the cityto the ground Trojan War considered legend until 1870sGerman businessman Heinrich Schliemann excavated the site of ancientTroyTROJAN WARS 11. POLIS Polis city-state foundationof Greek life Each polis was a state, or anindependent political unit Each polis was considered acommunity of relatives, all itscitizens were theoreticallydescendants from a commonancestor Aristotle argued that humanbeing is by nature ananimal who lives in apolis Basically, humans need thepolis to to guide them, givethem laws because withoutpolis humans are the mostdangerous of the animals 12. DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLIS Initially polis = elevated defensible rock to which farmers couldretreat when attacked example of this = Acropolis in AthensGreeks built cities on two levels, with an acropolis on the top of a hilland a walled main city below. The acropolis had temples devoted to gods and goddesses. The main city contained the marketplace (agora), public buildings, and homes. The citizens, or free residents, of citiesshared responsibilities and debated ideas. Male landowners held all of the political power. 13. HOPLITE PHALANXNew military techniqueHoplite: heavily armed infantryman who fought with a spear and alarge shieldSoldiersnwere trained to fight in close formation in a phalanx.By maintaining formation, they were almost impossible to defeatThis shared training gave citizen-soldiers a sense of unity.Hopelite battles: popular among quarreling city-states for land 14. GREEK COLONIES Tremendous expansion from 750 B.C.E. Fringe of Mediterranean Magna Graecia (Great Greece) Name given to them by Romans because of the numerous Greekcolonies in Italy and Sicily Relieved pressure and land-hunger of growing population Allowed polies to escape civil wars Panhellenic (all-Greek) spirit Common religious festivals - Olympia, Delphi Encouraged trade and industry 15. THE TYRANTS (700-500 B.C.E.) Economic expansion brought social pressures Emergence of tyrants who supported the politically powerless,newly wealthy and poor farmers Tyrant - monarch who had gained power in unorthodoxway Strong one-man rule - might be popular- Expelled aristocratic opponents and divide their landamong his supporters- Public works projects, land division