Download Visual Locating Greece

Visual 1
Use these images to introduce:
Athens
Socio-Political Life
Raewyn Gilmour
Polygraphia
Theme 1 – The Rise of Athens
Locating Greece
Locating Greece
• We refer to Greece as the large land mass
which divides the Aegean Sea from The
Adriatic Sea.
• It reaches down into the Mediterranean Sea
and includes the large island of Crete.
• There are also many other smaller Islands.
Identify: Mainland Greece; Mediterranean Sea;
Aegean Sea; Adriatic Sea; Crete.
The Green Areas are Plains
Communities dwelt on the green areas so they
were isolated from one another.
Geography
• Mainland Greece is mountainous.
• In classical times the mountains separated and
isolated settlements from one another.
• The communities were independent entities and were
self-sufficient.
• Examples:
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–
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Sparta in Laconia
Olympia where the games were held
Corinth on the Isthmus
Thebes in Boeotia
Athens surrounded by Attica.
The Region known as Greece.
Both ancient and modern Greece are within the blue line.
Communities – City-States
• Each city-state was developed around an
acropolis or ‘high place – high city’ or citadel.
• The acropolis was defensible in times of
danger.
• The people inhabited and cultivated the land
around the acropolis.
Right: The Acropolis at Athens
What did the Greek Communities
have in Common?
• A set of beliefs in a Pantheon of Gods
• An Oral Tradition –
– the Homeric tradition
– the stories of the Trojan War
– Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey.
• A Common Greek Language – (there were local dialects)
– Attic Greek (Athens)
– Doric Greek (Sparta)
– Ionic Greek (Asia Minor)
Competition – Not Co-operation
• The city-states competed with one another.
• They seldom co-operated except when forced
to defend themselves from a common enemy.
• They co-operated for:
– The Trojan War (in the distant past)
– The Persian Wars (in the early 5th century BC).
The Pantheon of Olympian Gods
• The gods had considerable positive and negative
influences on the lives of Greeks.
• Zeus was the father of the gods. The home of the
gods was believed to be on Mt Olympus in Thessaly.
• His brothers Poseidon and Hades had special
positions of influence.
• Among the offspring of the gods were: Apollo,
Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite...
• The Gods were particularly honoured at religious
sites or sanctuaries.
How many other Olympian gods can you name?
Zeus at Olympia
• Zeus was honoured at Olympia.
• All Greeks honoured Zeus at the Olympic Games at Olympia
every four years from 776 BC onwards.
Below: The foundations of a temple at Olympia & 2004 Modern Olympics at Olympia
Apollo at Delphi
The huge temple in the
Sanctuary at Delphi
honoured Apollo.
The foundation can be
seen below the theatre.
The Island of Delos in the
Cyclades, SE of Attica, was
considered to be the
birthplace of Apollo
Athena at Athens
The remains of the Parthenon, the temple built in the
5th century to honour Athena.
Demeter at Eleusis
• The sanctuary of
Demeter, the goddess
associated with
agriculture and corn, was
at Eleusis a few
kilometres from Athens.
• The Eleusian Mysteries
were celebrated each
year and a procession
moved from Athens to
Eleusis.
The carved altar front from Eleusis tells
the story of Demeter, her daughter
Persephone and the young prince
Triptolemos.
Homeric Literature
• How many characters can you
name from The Iliad?
• How many characters can you
name from The Odyssey?
• Recall one incident from The
Iliad.
• Tell the story from The
Odyssey about the character
on the right.
Colonisation
• As the populations of the city-states on their small plains
increased it became necessary to look for more land for
people to cultivate and settle.
• City-states sent out members to form new communities
outside mainland Greece.
• Colonies were founded on the coasts of Sicily and Southern
Italy and in the Aegean along the coast of Asia Minor.
• An example: Corinth founded the city of Syracuse in Sicily.
• The result of colonisation was an increase in trade and thus
wealth; improved skills in navigation; knowledge of other
places; new ideas which will be seen in Greek art; the
development of hoplite warfare to establish and defend the
colonies.
Social Status
• Each city-state had a style of government that
suited its own situation, tradition or recent
history.
– Monarchy; Oligarchy; Timocracy; Tyranny;
Aristocracy; Democracy.
• The aristocrats or nobles were the wealthy
class and, because they owned most of the
land, they also controlled most of the wealth
and power.
Hoplite Warfare
• In the Trojan War a warrior fought another
individual in hand-to-hand combat.
• Hoplite warfare was fought by heavily
armed men (hoplites) in close formation
forming a wall of shields. Each man was
dependant on his neighbour for protection.
• These men provided their own armour and
weapons. They were usually small
landowners. As they became vital for the
defence of the state their status increased
until they could challenge the control of the
ruling classes.
On the right is a statue of Leonidas, King of Sparta. He wears: a bronze
cuirass on his upper body; a leather kilt; bronze greaves on his lower legs; a
bronze helmet. He carries a huge bronze shield and a short stabbing sword.
Athens. Socio-Political Life
• The Textbook Athens: Socio-Political Life studies the Citystate of Athens which included the surrounding area known
as Attica.
• The textbook examines the gradual rise of Athens during
the 6th century BC and early 5th century BC.
• It examines in depth how Athenians participated in the
social, political, cultural and military activities of Athens in
the period known as ‘Periclean Athens when Athens was at
the height of her power and creativity.
• It deals with the decline of Athens from that position of
power and influence during the last years of the 5th century
BC. The creativity of Athenians continued long after this
period.