Download Ancient Greece Eras

Ancient Greece Eras
Minoan - First Greek Civilization (c. 2700 BC – 1450 BC)
Civilization where bronze weapons were being utilized was in place on the Greek island of Crete (SW of mainland) by
2800 B.C. The Minoan civilization disappeared around 1450 B.C. likely due to invasion from the mainland.
First Greek State: Mycenae (c. 1600 BC – 1100 BC)
The Mycenaean Greeks were Indo-Europeans who came to the area around 1900 B.C. They were warriors and took over
the mainland of Greece. The Mycenaean fought against one another. This, coupled with an earthquake and invasion
from the north, resulted in a collapse of the civilization by 1100 B.C.
Greeks in a Dark Age (c. 1100 BC – 750 BC)
After the fall of the Mycenaean there was a time when little is recorded about the Greeks. The population and food
production dropped and many of the people moved out to islands or to the western shore of Asia Minor (then called Ionia,
now Turkey). It was during this time Homer is thought to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey. These works were more
like novels than non-fiction, but they were standard reading for young men as a means of instilling national pride.
Archaic Period (c. 750 – 500 BC)
During this era Greek city-states evolved politically. Adult men were considered citizens with political rights. Women and
children were considered citizens but had no political rights. Slaves and resident aliens were considered non-citizens.
Citizens had rights but also reciprocal responsibilities which discouraged free loading. Clan and family allegiance was
replaced by allegiance/patriotism to the city-state. This led to conflict among city-states. Advent of the polis precipitated a
new form of military by 700 B.C. based on hoplites (heavily armed infantry that carried a shield, short sword, and 9 foot
long thrusting spear). They went into battle in a rectangular formation known as a phalanx which created a wall of shields.
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Greek Colonies
Historically and generally speaking, a colony is a conquered or controlled area of land and people utilized for the
extraction of raw materials and the sale of processed materials. 750-550 B.C. Because they lacked the ability to be
self-sufficient, Greeks struck out looking for good farmland. They were also interested in trade opportunities. They
established colonies along the southern coastlines of Italy, southern France, eastern Spain, and northern Africa west
of Egypt. Each colony was a polis. In the north they set up colonies in Thrace. They also established colonies/cities
along the shores of the Black Sea on Hellespont and the Bosporus. The most notable colony was Byzantium which
was later known as Constantinople and is present day Istanbul. Colonization spread Greek culture and political ideas.
It also led to increased trade. Exports included pottery, wine, and olive oil. The Greeks imported grains, and metals
from the west and fish, timber, wheat, metals, and slaves from the Black Sea region. Trade made for some wealthy
merchants, but they found it difficult to gain traction in city-state politics dominated by the aristocratic oligarchies
(political system ruled by a few wealthy individuals).
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Tyranny in the City States
Tyrants were individuals made wealthy by trade who seized power from the aristocrats. They had the support of the
peasants who, like the tyrants, were tired of the aristocratic ruling class. They maintained power by using hired
soldiers. They made themselves popular by building new marketplaces, temples, and city walls (public works). By
the end of the 6th century B.C. they had fallen out of favor because Greeks actually believed in the rule of law. Their
actions opened up voting to more people and in some city-states democracy (government by the people or rule of the
many) manifest itself. Other city-states continued to be governed by an oligarchy (rule by the few)
Classical Greece (c. 500 BC – 323 BC)
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Military
Greece put down an invasion from Persia at Marathon 499 BC. They won another decisive battle against invading
Persian forces 479 BC. Athens headed up a Greek alliance of City States called the Delian League designed to
defend against future Persian invasions. The military persuasion of Sparta compared to the intellectually bent Athens
led to irreconcilable differences. By 431 BC they clashed in the Great Peloponnesian War. The war between Sparta
and Athens lasted over 25 years and in 405 BC Athens surrendered and its walls were torn down. Despite the
Spartan victory, a power struggle for control of the region continued between Sparta, Athens, and a new Greek power
called Thebes.
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Religion
Participating in religious activities was considered necessary to the wellbeing of the state. Large temples and
structures were constructed in honor of their gods. They were polytheistic having 12 chief gods thought to live on Mt.
Olympus. Among those were 1) Zeus (chief god and father of the gods) 2) Athena (wisdom and crafts) 3) Apollo (sun
and poetry, 4) Ares (war), 5) Aphrodite (love), 6) Poseidon (brother of Zeus and god of seas and earthquakes). Often
a city state would have a patron god they identified with more than others. This might be influenced by geography
and served to create a type of unity and identity now known as nationalism (how an individual or society thinks of
them-selves).
Greek religion was all about keeping the gods pleased so they would smile on the people. The afterlife was thought
to be the same for everyone, a sad existence in the underworld governed by the god Hades. They also held festivals
to honor the gods including events such as athletic games (first Olympic festival 776 BC). They had oracles (sacred
shrine where a god was believed to reveal the future through an oracle priest or priestess) the answers were often
ambiguous and might be interpreted multiple ways. Leaders asked questions such as “should I go to war”.
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Drama
As part of religious festivals the Greeks produced plays. Tragedies presented in a trilogy (set of three) were the
earliest Greek plays. The only complete example that survives is Oresteia composed by Aeschylus. Sophocles was
another great Greek playwright authoring Oedipus Rex. In his plays, Euripides took an unpopular view of war and its
collateral effects. Greek comedies came later and were used to make fun of politicians and intellectuals.
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Art and Architecture
Most artwork was of human beings in a balanced form. Greek architecture is exemplified in temples. The most wellknown (Parthenon) was built 447 – 432 BC and dedicated to Athena the patron goddess of Athens. The U.S.
Supreme court building bears a striking resemblance.
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Writing and History
Herodotus wrote History of the Persian Wars which is considered to be the first real history of Western civilization (it
may have been somewhat opinion oriented and included ideas of divine preference). Thucydides, an exiled Athenian
general, wrote History of the Peloponnesian War which, according to him, was an unbiased personal account and
based on other eye-witness accounts without bias or allusion to the supernatural.
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Science and Technology
One of the most famous innovations credited to the Greeks is the Pythagorean Theorem. Greek thinker Pythagoras
(571 – 495 BC): is said to be the author of the first known mathematical formulation, the Pythagorean Theorem which
states that the square of the longest side of a right triangle (hypotenuse) equals the sum of the squares of the other
two sides. The concept of all matter being made up of atoms was also a Greek innovation as proposed by Leucippus
(5th century BC) and Democritus (5th century BC).
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Philosophy
Philosophy is said to be an organized system of thought and has an etymological connotation of the “love of wisdom”.
Early Greeks were very interested in development of critical or rational thought about the nature of the universe.
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Sophists - Greek philosophical school of thought dismissed ideas that the universe could be understood. They
traveled around offering their services to young men in the art of public speaking and debate. They believed one
should essentially look out for one’s self and that there were no universal rights and wrongs.
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Socrates was a critic of the Sophists. He was a sculptor but primarily a philosopher known for his teaching. He
did not write, so what we know about him comes from his pupils, one of which was Plato. He taught by use of
question and response trying to draw out reason (Socratic Method). He believed all real knowledge was present
it just had to be drawn out by examination. “The unexamined life is not worth living” is a quote attributed to him.
His questioning extended to authority which got him in trouble. After their defeat in the Peloponnesian War,
Athenians were not open to authority being questioned and Socrates was seen as corrupting the youth of Athens.
He was sentenced to death but given the opportunity to avoid the penalty by promising to stop his teachings. He
chose rather to die and did so by drinking hemlock poison in 399 BC.
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Plato, a student of Socrates, is thought by many to be the greatest philosopher of Western Civilization. Plato left
Athens for a time disillusioned by the treatment of Socrates. He later returned and founded the Athens Academy
where he mentored numerous aspiring philosophers including Aristotle. He wrote a great deal and was
fascinated with the question of reality. He portrayed his ideas about government in The Republic. He did not
trust democracy and thought people should be divided into three groups 1) philosopher-kings, 2)
warriors/protectors, 3) masses (driven by desire) artisans, tradespeople, and farmers. Plato is famous for his
Theory of Forms which includes the idea that man is born with an innate knowledge of the eternal perfect realm of
Forms. Plato contended that man’s knowledge of Forms occurred due to exposure to those Forms in a pre-birth
existence. An example of a Form would be beauty. In Plato’s theory, nothing is beautiful, but rather it might
reflect various attributes of the perfect Form of beauty. In his theory the ability to identify aspects of true Forms is
very desirable should be pursued. He proposed that those who strive to develop recognition of various perfect
Forms can most appreciate what is true and what is right. Consequently, philosopher kings would be the best
qualified individuals to rule over society and a democracy would be a poor Form of government.
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Aristotle attended Plato’s “Academy” in Athens for 20 years. He believed in “analyzing and classifying things
based on observation and investigation”. Western science was based on his ideas up to the 17th century. He
studied governments and concluded that a constitutional government, ruled by a philosopher king, would be the
best. The eventual ruler of Greece and world conquer (Alexander the Great) was tutored by Aristotle.