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Content Outline
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Week 2 Content Outline
TOPIC AND OBJECTIVES
Ancient Civilizations and the Greek World
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Compare the cultural, political, and economic developments of the Minoan, Mycenaean, and Archaic
Greek cultures.
Compare cultural, political, and economic developments of Classical and Hellenistic Greece.
CONTENT OUTLINE
1. Early Greece
a. Minoan
1) Cultural, political, and economic developments
a) Minoan period (between 2900 and 1150 BCE)
b) Centered on the island of Crete in the Greek Aegean Sea
c) Marine fishing and trading culture
d) Named after King Minos (later mentioned by Homer)
e) Palace of Knossos excavated by archeologist Arthur Evans (1899)
f)
Syllabic writing system (Linear A) on clay tablets not deciphered
g) Strong social stratification and high status of women
h) Religion centered around female deities (mother goddess) and minor male gods
2) Developments that led to the decline of Minoans
a) Crete’s vulnerability to invaders
(1) Lack of functional military
(2) Reliance on insular safety
b) Mycenaean invasions assimilated Minoan culture.
b. Mycenaean
1) Cultural, political, and economic developments
a) Mycenaean period (between 1600 and 1150 BCE)
b) Centered on Greek mainland around city of Mycenae
c) Loosely organized city–states ruled by local kings who pledge allegiance to high king at
Mycenae
d) Warrior society with warrior ideals and highly fortified palaces
e) Women held inferior position in society
f)
Maritime trade with strong commercial networks
g) Minoan Linear A is adopted and transformed into Linear B
h) Major political event – Trojan War (ca. 1260 BCE)
(1) Homer’s writings commemorate and mythologize Mycenaean trek to Troy
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(2) Archeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated city of Troy in late 1800s, validating
Homer
i)
The record of Homer (ca. 750 BCE)
(1) Uses epic tales—Iliad and Odyssey—to describe Mycenaean ideals as they survived
400 years in the oral tradition
(2) Blends post-Mycenaean traditions
(3) Offers foundation for forming identity for Greek-speaking inhabitants of the
Mediterranean world
2) Developments that led to the decline of Mycenaeans
a) Overpopulation
b) Fragility of the agrarian base
c) Disruptions of Mediterranean commerce
d) Dorian invasions
c.
Archaic Greece
1) Cultural, political, and economic developments
a) Archaic period (between 700 and 500 BCE)
b) First Olympic Games held in 776 BCE, then every four years.
c) Development of allied yet independent city–states (polis or polei)
(1) Athens
(2) Sparta
(3) Corinth
(4) Thebes
(5) Macedon
d) City structure centered on acropolis
e) Tyranny
(1) Most prominent form of government
(2) Often received broad public support
f)
Democratic tendencies in Athens after Solon’s social and political reforms
g) Military innovations (such as the phalanx)
h) Colonization of the Western Mediterranean (Magna Graecia)
i)
Adoption and improvement of Phoenician writing system
j)
Well-defined religious system
(1) Polytheism based on Olympian pantheon of anthropomorphic deities
(2) Worship in Doric temples
(3) Dionysian cults
k) Artistic expression
(1) Black-figure pottery: scenes from religious and heroic mythology
(2) Sculpture of the kouroi – cult statues of male deities
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(3) Lyric poetry (such as by Sappho of Lesbos)
2) Developments that led to the decline of Archaic Greece
a) Ionian rebellion
b) Greek wars against Persia
2. Classical Greece
a. Cultural, political, and economic developments
1) Classical Greek period between 479 and 338 BCE (the rise of Macedon)
2) The Peloponnesian Wars
a) Greek alliance of city–states (Delian League) dissolves 2 years after defeating the
Persians
b) Divisions fought amongst themselves, mostly Sparta and Athens
c) First Peloponnesian War (460–445 BCE)
d) Great Peloponnesian War (432–404 BCE)
3) The rise of Macedon
a) Philip II of Macedon took advantage of weaknesses created by the Peloponnesian Wars
and invaded polis after polis.
b) Philip II defeats Athens (338 BCE)
c) Alexander the Great rules after Philip’s death.
4) Athenian democracy
a) Pericles (495–429 BCE)
b) Popular assembly (all eligible citizens, not elected representatives) required to approve
state decisions
c) Excluded resident foreigners, slaves, and women
5) Classical Athenian cultural production
a) Philosophy
(1) Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
(2) Inquiries into the nature of truth, ethics, knowledge, politics, and art
(3) The Sophists
(4) Herodotus’ chronicle of historical events
b) Drama
(1) Tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
(2) Theater as an institution with social goals
(a) Develop the human spirit
(b) Catharsis
(3) Provided entertainment and education
(4) Plays held in semicircular stadiums often carved into hills with natural backdrop
c) Sculpture
(1) Detailed, refined marble statues
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(2) Idealistic style
(3) Drama and pathos
d) Architecture
(1) Pericles rebuilds Athenian Acropolis
(2) Acropolis as a symbol of civic pride, genius, and the power of intellect
(3) Parthenon becomes model for numerous temples built during this period
6) Developments that led to the decline of Classical Greece
a) Peloponnesian Wars
b) Influence of Macedonian culture
3. Hellenistic Greece (338–100 BCE)
a. Cultural, political, and economic developments
1) Alexander the Great (336–323 BCE)
a) Military genius educated by Aristotle
b) Conquests stretch from Asia Minor to Egypt and India.
c) Founded over 30 new cities
d) Spread Greek culture over vast area
2) Perpetuation of Greek culture after Alexander’s death
a) Alexander’s generals continued his legacy.
b) Alexandria, Egypt, became a vibrant cultural center.
c) The library of Alexandria contained combined knowledge of antiquity.
d) Hellenistic cultural production flourished outside Greece.
3) Hellenistic philosophy
a) Epicureanism
b) Stoicism
c) Cynicism
4) Hellenistic art and architecture
a) Mostly commissioned sculpture
b) Athenian idealism replaced by sentimental naturalism
c) Highly ornamented temples, porticoes, and public buildings
5) Hellenistic math and science
a) Euclid’s geometry
b) Hydrostatics invented by Archimedes of Syracuse
c) Heliocentric theories rivaled Ptolemy’s geocentricism.
d) Maps based on mathematical astronomy provided navigational support.
e) Advances in medicine on the basis of anatomical studies
6) Developments that led to the decline of Hellenistic Greece
a) Failure to integrate Greek ideals with those of indigenous cultures of conquered lands
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b) Cultural resistance to Hellenization
c) Rise of Rome
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