Download Ancient Greece was made up of a lot of different poleis or city

Ancient Greece was made up of a lot of different poleis or city-states. There were
great distances between these city-states. These distances caused each poleis to
be very independent. They shared a common language, religion, and culture,
however, each city-state had its own laws and its own government. They were
independent, and each had its own self-interests. They perceived each other as
rivals and were often at war with one another. There were four basic types of
government in ancient Greece.
Monarchy
Tyrant
Oligarchy
Democracy
Government by a single person.
The rule of a single strong man.
Government by a small group of people who exercise control
Government of the people for the people
The road to democracy in ancient Athens was long and full of challenges. Four key
figures, however, played an especially important role. These figures are Draco,
Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles.
Draco
Solon
Cleisthenes
Pericles
Introduced the first set of written laws and consequences.
Revised Draco’s laws and opened government to different
classes of people. Laws became the foundation of Athenian
democracy.
Assembly made and enforced laws – laws could not be
appealed.
Council of 500 selected by lottery and advised the assembly
and supervised the actions of the archons
Citizens have a responsibility to vote on all matters.Ten
percent of the citizens had to show up in order for a vote to
take place.
Admiral in the navy that believed sailors and soldiers should
be paid for their service.
Created a secular government; separating the legislative,
judicial, and executive powers of government.
Formed the Delian League with other Greek city states to
ward off invasions.
Ancient Greek had a huge impact on how the United States government was
established.
Ancient Greece
Archon (President) 30 years as the
minimum age
Council of 500 - ensured the same
number of representatives for each of
the ten tribes
The Assembly - The assembly was made
up of all land-owning men in Athens
(roughly 50,000)
Judicial System – Judge & jury of 200
Direct Democracy - people determine
the laws and policies by which they are
governed
Citizenship limited - women, slaves, and
foreigners
United States
35 years as the minimum age to be
president.
The U.S. Senate has two people to
represent each state.
House of Representation –
representation based on a states
population.
Judicial System – Judge & jury of 12
Indirect Democracy – Citizens vote for
people whose job it is to vote on every
issue.
Citizenship limited originally to male
landowners over 18 years of age
Athens was located in a region called Attica. Attica borders the Mediterranean
Sea and the Aegean Sea. Sparta, on the other hand, was in a region of Greece
called Laconia. Laconia was part of a larger region called Peloponnesus which is
located in modern day Europe. Athens could not raise enough crops to support
the economy. The mountains made it hard to travel and trade by foot. So
Athenians also came to rely on sea trade. Spartans did not rely on the sea as
Athenians did. Instead of a navy, the Spartans built a powerful army. This army
was the center of their economy. Spartans were able to support themselves with
crops and did not engage in as much sea trade as the Athenians did.
Both Athens and Sparta were built around an acropolis. An acropolis was a large
hill where residents could seek shelter in times of war. Near the acropolis was an
agora. This was a clearing that citizens used as a market and a meeting place. In
Sparta, farmers gathered in the agora to do business. In Athens, craftsman and
merchants also gathered there to sell their goods. In both places, leaders met
here to make important decisions for the city-state
Sparta’s government was very different than Athens. Athens had a democracy.
Sparta had an oligarchy. The army was the center of Spartan life. Spartan
children were encouraged in physical fitness and discipline. Boys began military
training at age seven. Athenian children went to school to learn how to read and
write. Reading, writing and science were valued in Athens.
The social classes of Athens and Sparta were also different;
Athens
Aristocrats
Citizen
Family of Citizen
Sparta
Citizen
Freeman
Helot (State
owned slave)
Freeman
Slaves (privately
owned)
Persia was a major empire during this period and they wanted to add Greece to
their empire. The Persians began by taking a few Greek colonies on Ionia (present
day Turkey). The colonies rebelled and asked for Greek support. Athens and
Eritrea sent a small part of their navy to help the Ionian Greeks. It was
Themistocles who had encouraged the Athenians to build up their navy for
protection. The Persians were victorius, but they did not forget about the Greeks.
The Persian King Darius I invaded Greece. The Greek city state fought together
against the Persians. In the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, the Greeks defeated
the Persian Army, forcing them to withdraw from Greece.
The Persians vowed to return. To prepare, the Greek city states formed the
Peloponnesian League led by the Spartans. When Xerxes of Persia launched his
invasion in 480 BCE, he first attacked at Thermopylae with an army of over
100,000. Thermopylae was a mountain pass north of Athens. The Greeks sent a
force of less than 10,000 to stop them. Amazingly, the Battle of Thermopylae
lasted for three days. The turning point of the invasion was The Battle of Salamis.
The smaller, more agile Athenian navy defeated the Persian navy by tossing
burning wood onto the deck of the Persian ships. Their confidence had been
boosted by the Greek priestess Pythia who fore told of their victory. Seeing his
navy burning, Xerxes fled back to Persia and never again threatened the Greek
people.
The Greek communities learned many lessons from the Persian Wars; preparation
is important, they are stronger together than separate, and that it is important to
have both a army and navy. To ensure their safety, the Greeks created the Delian
League. This league was made up of Sparta, Athens, and surrounding city-states.
Athens collected the money and kept the alliance safe. Soon it became clear that
Athens was getting richer, stronger, and more powerful with the money it
collected from other city-states. Sparta and other city-states declared war on
Athens. This became known as the Peloponnesian War. The Athenian general
Pericles had a wall built around Athens. This was a mistake as the Spartans and
their allies trapped the Athenians in the city. There was a shortage of food and
clean water, along with a lack of cleanliness in Athens. Soon, an unknown plague
struck the city. Within two years, one-third of Athens’ population had died.
Athens lost the Peloponnesian War.
The Hellenistic Age was a time when Greek culture spread throughout the lands that Alexander had
conquered. This age started upon Alexander's death in 323 BCE and lasted for 300 years or more. The
term Hellenistic comes from a Greek word meaning "to act like a Greek" or "to speak Greek." Alexander
and his soldiers, of course, did both. However, the exchange of cultures was not a one-way street. NonGreeks also influenced the Greeks. The resulting culture was Hellenistic. It was a blend of Greek and
non-Greek customs and traditions.
The ancient Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses. Each god or goddess
had a different personality and powers. They were said to live on Mount Olympus.
Zeus
Apollo
Athena
Poseidon
Hades
King of the gods. Law, power, and rule were his symbols.
Son of Zeus, was one of the most important gods to Greek culture. He
was known for his care of animal flocks and herds.
Daughter of Zeus, the goddess of war and wisdom
Brother of Zeus, commanded the seas, earthquakes, and horses.
Brother of Zeus, ruler over the underworld.
Greek thinkers, called philosophers, explored many subjects, such as morality,
ethics, mathematics, music, and logic. They used reason and observation to look
for universal laws. Modern science, literature, and education owe much to the
following great thinkers:
Socrates
Aristotle
Famous philosopher from Athens that taught by using questions.
He wrote about many subjects from natural science and physics to
ethics and politics. He also criticized democracy.
Herodotus "father of history"
Hippocrates “father of medicine”
Euclid
Greek mathematician that lived during the Hellenistic Age and
wrote a book about geometry.