Download GREECE Geography: Mostly mountainous, mild weather, natural

GREECE

Geography:
o Mostly mountainous, mild weather, natural harbors. Trade in wine & olive oil
important. Lack of land meant Greeks were always trying to establish colonies
for raw materials, needed to be militarily powerful.
o Small size of river valleys fostered participation in political life for all;
independence of city states contributed to internecine warfare that ultimately
destroyed Greece.

2800-1450 BCE – Minoan Crete
o Enormous palace excavated at Knossus
o King Minos – legend of Perseus and minotaur
o Bronze weapons
o Much sea travel
o Sudden destruction in 1450 – tsunami or invading Mycenaeans

1600-1100 BCE – Mycenae
o Legend of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, sacking Troy
o Warriors, potters, traders

1100-750 BCE – Greek dark ages
o Farm production fell, many Greeks left for islands or Ionia.
o Toward end, iron replaced bronze, villages became city-states, Greeks
adopted Phoenician alphabet, Homer wrote his epics.
o Iliad & Odyssey – Greek values of courage, honor, cunning; patient & faithful
women.

750-500 BCE – Greek City-States
o Polis – autonomous units; commanded loyalty, but also distrust of eachother.
o Much diversity in forms of Greek city-state gov’t.
o Hoplites fought in phalanxes; heavily armored, effective fighters as long as
they stayed in formation. Aristocratic cavalryman became outdated.
o Much migration due to rich-poor gap, overpopulation. This led to increased
trade and merchant class.
o Tyrants came to power – not in our sense of the word, but meaning they came
to power unlawfully. They were supported by the merchants and peasants
who opposed oligarchy of aristocrats. They were finally extinguished because
the Greeks believed in the rule of law.

Sparta
o Lycurgus was legendary leader who traveled widely to find what made
countries great; concluded it was hard work and no luxuries. Instituted the
following.
o Non-perfect babies left to die.
o Boys raised to be warriors. Ate black broth, given little food and encouraged to
steal, played naked, barefoot, one coat per year, few baths, beds of rushes,
terse speech. Trained in barracks from ages 7-20. At 20 enrolled in military,
allowed to marry but still lived in barracks until 30. After 30 lived at home, but
in military till 60.
o Women lived at home; had more freedom of movement and power than other
Greek women.

o Learning, arts, travel and visitors were frowned upon. They did not want new
thought, but a regimented society.
o Politics: ruled by two kings/military leaders and a council of 28 elders (over 60)
called gerousia, who served for life; proposals were presented to apella, an
assembly of all male citizens.
o Conquered much of Peloponnese; subjects called helots.
o Organized and controlled Peloponnesian League by 500 BCE.
Athens
o Theseus was legendary founder – legends of minotaur, amazons, golden
fleece, Oedipus.
o Draco – called in to restore order, because Greece was so divided
between rich and poor. Code of Draco. Draconian laws. Any infraction was
punishable by death.
o 776 – first Olympic games. For Olympics – five days – temporary truces to
wars. Began & ended with parade, prayers, sacrifices. Naked athletes.
Running, chariot racing, discus.
 Statue of Jupiter at Olympia was Wonder of World.
o 700 BCE – Solon became ruler; given full power to deal with crises. He
cancelled land-debts, freed peasants who had been sold into slavery
because of their debts to landowning aristocrats, rescinded Draconian
laws. But did not redistribute land.
o 560 BCE – Pisistratus – tyrant – not cruel or unjust, but seized power.
 Had Homer’s epics written down.
o 508 BCE – Clisthenes, laid foundations for democracy.
 Created Council of 500, chosen by lot. They prepared legislation for
full assembly.
 Every man, rich or poor, got one vote, for first time.
 Started ostracism.
o 500-338 BCE – Classical Greece.
o 499 BCE – Ionian Greek cities rebelled against Persia with help of Athenian
navy, unsuccessful
o 490 BCE – Battle of Marathon.
 Athenians, led by Miltiades, crushed Persians under Darius.
10,000 Greeks against 120,000 Persians.
 Pheidippides first ran 150 miles to Sparta to seek help; then back; then
to Athen (26 miles) to announce victory; then died.
 Athenians followed Themistocles in developing a navy of triremes.
o 480 BCE – battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.
 Persians under Xerxes attacked with massive army (150,000) & navy
(1000 ships).
 Spartans under Leonidas held them off at pass of Thermopylae for
two days; then were betrayed.
 Oracle told Athenians their city was doomed, but they would be saved
by wooden walls.
 Athenians abandoned their city and it was burned.
 Greek fleet defeated Persian fleet at Salamis.



o 479 BCE – Battle of Plataea
 Greek assembled huge army and defeated Persians for good.
o 478 BCE – Formed formed Delian League to liberate all of Greece from
Persia.
o 461 BCE – Pericles came to power; expansionist.
 Expanded democracy. Lower-class citizens eligible for all offices;
some offices paid, so poor people could participate in politics. All males
in assembly, which met every 10 days. Probably 43,000 members, but
about 6,000 attended at any given time.
 City had 10 directors, elected, known as generals, usually
wealthy aristocrats. Pericles reelected 30 times.
 Large body of magistrates, chosen by lot, handled routine
administrative tasks.
 A third of the population was slaves.
 Massive rebuilding of buildings and statues that had been burned
by Persians.
 Pericles boasted Athens was the “school of Greece,” but other Greek
city-states were alarmed by this.
o 454 BCE – Moved headquarters of Delian League from Delos to Athens.
Athenians were in control of it; had created an empire.
o 430 BCE – Peloponnesian War began. Went on for 27 years.
 Athens retreated behind city walls & let Sparta ravage countryside.
 Defeated by plague, defeat at Syracuse.
 Sparta was kind to Athens.
History
o Herodotus wrote History of the Persian Wars. Some made up.
o Thucydides wrote History of the Peloponnesian War. Was an Athenian,
had been a general in that war, but was exiled after a defeat. He wrote only
what he witnessed or a first-hand witness had told him.
o Polybius – 100’s BCE – Hellenistic historian – wrote 40 volumes.
Greek mythology – unique in that gods possessed human failings.
Age of Pericles (Athens)
o Direct democracy.
o Athens rebuilt
 Architecture symbolized ideals of reason, moderation, symmetry,
balance, harmony.
 Parthenon dedicated to Athena, patron goddess of Athens.
 Doric, Ionic, Corinthian columns.
o Art
 Sculpture – not realism, but search for ideal beauty.
 Sculptures of Phidias (Athena – wonder of world)
 Greek art & architecture is still the basis of ours.
o Philosophy – love of wisdom.
 Socrates - Socratic questioning, leads to happiness.
 Plato – forms; Republic: three classes driven by wisdom [leaders],
courage [warriors] or desire [masses].

o
o
o
o
o
o
Aristotle. Empirical research, systematic investigation, rational
thought, ethics, observation & classification.
 Sophists – traveling teachers – emphasized rhetoric, believed in
ethical relativism.
Drama
 Tragedies of Sophicles (Oedipus the King), Aeschylus (Oresteia),
Euripides (more realistic; skeptic).
 Three actors in masks, male chorus. Presented in trilogies.
 Part of religious festivals.
 Parallels between Greek tragedy and Christianity – listen to Greek
Tragedy tape from Teaching Co.
 Aristophanes – comedy.
 Our literary forms based on Greek literature and poetry.
Math & science: Archimedes, Hippocrates, Euclid, Pythagoras. Basis of our
science.
Literature: Homer.
Religion
 No focus on morality or hereafter.
 Rituals, gifts and sacrifices were important, to get gods to look on
men favorably.
 Festivals – Olympics to honor Zeus, etc.
 Oracles – Delphi and others. Answers in enigmatic verse.
Women – had to stay at home, unseen; no education, though many managed
to learn to read and play instruments; must be accompanied by a man if out of
house to attend a funeral or festival.
Everything about our society can be traced to the Greeks: government,
science, philosophy, art, literature. Everything except religion.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT







360 BCE – While Greeks fought each other, Phillip unified Macedonia, formerly
rural tribes. Then conquered Greece. Preserved & promoted Greek culture.
Assassinated.
Alexander the Great conquers Egypt, Anatolia, Persian Empire, Indus Valley,
Palestine, Babylon. Took titles of Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Egypt. Divided it into
three empires, ruled by monarchs.
Hellenism – conquered lands adopted Greek language, learning & customs.
New cities: Alexandria – Egyptian culture preserved, became new cultural center
o the world. Alexandria Museum & Library contained the most scrolls in the world.
Alexander used “natives” as administrators, but those after him used GrecoMacedonian ruling class. Many Greeks sought their fortunes in the Middle
East; Greek architects, engineers, actors in demand.
Hellenistic rulers patronized writers, beautified cities, Hellenistic sculpture more
realistic and emotional – old women, drunks, children playing.
Philosophy
o Athens remained the center for philosophy.

o Epicureans – Epicurus. Self-interest, happiness through freedom from
emotional turmoil & friendship.
o Stoics – Zeno.
Religion
o Greek religion waning in vitality.
o Mystery cults popular, like Egyptian cult of Isis. They all taught that
people could achieve salvation through devotion to a god who had died
and risen again.