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Ancient Greece

Geography
◦ Location
▪ In Europe
▪ Peninsula that sticks into Mediterranean Sea
◦ Landforms
▪ Rocky and barren
 Bad for farming
▪ Good soil on coast
▪ Many mountains and valleys
◦ Climate
▪ Mild climate
 Dry
 Warm
▪ Rain in the winter
▪ Affects on culture
 Agora (outdoor market)
 Open air theaters
 Outside sports and athletic competitions
◦ Transportation
▪ Walked
▪ Horse and cart
▪ Horse back (only the rich)
◦ Aegean, Ionian, Mediterranean, vital to life
 Sailors and traders
▪ Grew grapes, olives, and grains
 Greek City-States
◦ Early civilizations
▪ Minoan Civilization
 Island of Crete
 King of Minos
 Wealth from trade with places like Syria and Egypt
 Grew weak (earthquakes? Mycenae?)
 Moved to Greek mainland
▪ Mycenae
 Greatest of all the city-states
 Defense
◦ Walls 20ft. Thick
◦ Amazing ships
▪ Athens
 Democracy (government by the people)
◦ Voters over 18
◦ The Assembly (random group of 500)
◦ Slaves, women, and those born outside of Athens were not citizens
 Citizens must take part in defense, juries, and political debates
▪ Sparta
 Military state
 Women had more personal freedom but still little political freedom
 Greek Myths and Legends
◦ Polytheistic + (belief of many gods or goddesses)
▪ Myths
▪ Lived on Mt. Olympus
▪ Olympic games held every 4 years to honor Zeus
◦ The Trojan War
▪ Fought between Greek and Troy
▪ Helen of Sparta was taken to Troy
▪ The Greeks defeated the Trojans by building a large wooden horse and hiding inside
▪ Written about in the Iliad and Odyssey by Homer
◦ 12 Olympian God(ess)s
▪ Athena
 Goddess of crafts
▪ Aphrodite
 Goddess of love, beauty, and fertility
 magical girdle causes any man or god to fall in love with the wearer
▪ Apollo
 God of prophesy, music, and healing
 Famous for arrows and the lyre
▪ Ares
 God of war
 Depicted carrying a blood stained spear
▪ Artemis
 God of the hunt
 Arrows
▪ Demeter
 Goddess of agriculture
 Mostly seen with sheaf of grain
▪ Dionysus
 God of wine
 Often seen with a bunch of grapes
▪ Hephaestus
 God of fire and crafts (blacksmith)
▪ Hades
 God of the Underworld
▪ Hera
 Goddess of marriage and fertility
 Known as bird goddess (symbol is a peacock)
 Named chief deity of war
▪ Hermes
 Messenger god and guide to the Underworld
 Known for straw hat, snake caduceus, and winged shoes
▪ Poseidon
 God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses
 Often depicted with a trident
▪ Zeus
 God of gods and god and the sky
 Famous for thunderbolts
 Golden Age
▪ From 500-300 B.C.
▪ Great Advancements
 Monuments
 Art
 Philosophy
 Architecture
 Theater
 Literature
▪ Philosophers
 Great thinkers who study truth and knowledge
 Find natural laws to explain actions in the world
 Power of reason (logical thinking)
 Socrates
◦ Taught by asking questions
◦ Socratic Method
 Plato
 Aristotle
◦ Plato student
◦ Established a school (1st University)
◦ If used reason, could create a perfect world
◦ Small group of men (philosophers) should run government
 Persian War
◦ Persians attacked Greece
◦ Battle of Marathon
▪ Warrior named Pheidippides ran 25 miles to Athens to announce victory
▪ Today a marathon is the longest Olympic race
◦ Athens and Sparta joined forces
◦ Defeated the Persian Empire at the battle of Salamis
 Decline of Greek City-States
◦ Athens becomes powerful
▪ Forces other city-states to join Delian League
▪ Sparta leads others against Athens
▪
◦ Peloponnesian War
▪ Sparta vs. Athens
▪ Spartans were strong on land
▪ Athenians had a strong navy
▪ Plague in Athens kills many people
▪ Athens surrenders
◦ Thebes defeated Sparta
◦ Macedonia becomes a great power to the north
 Alexander the Great
◦ King of Macedonia at age 20
◦ Defeated the Persians, Syria, Phoenicia, and Egypt
◦ Began to march to India
◦ Fell ill and died (malaria)
◦ Rule lasted for 13 years
◦ Hellenistic Age (blend of Greek and Asian cultures)
 Hellenistic Age
◦ 3 generals divided Alexanders empire
◦ Many Greek cities were founded
◦ Trade with India, China and Africa
◦ Discoveries and inventions
▪ Hippocrates
 “Father of Medicine”
 Hippocratic Oath
▪ Archimedes
 Famous inventor and mathematician
 Archimedes screw
▪ Pythagoras
 Geometry- Pythagorean Theorem
▪ Euclid
 System of plane geometry