Download Greece Athens and Sparta ppt - Hewlett

2000 BCE – 500 BCE
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Mainland is a peninsula-the Balkan Peninsula
to the north and Peloponnesus to the south
Peninsula: a body of land with water on three
sides
Ionian Sea to west, Mediterranean Sea to
south, Aegean Sea to east;
Hundreds of islands stretching to Asia
The mountainous terrain prevented Greeks
from taking up a nomadic lifestyle.
The many miles of seacoast provided
opportunities for the people to work as sailors,
fishers, and traders.
The mild climate allowed some farming, despite
mountains and rocky soil; Some places good for
wheat, barley, olives, grapes, raising sheep and
goats
Communities independent from one another
because of mountains and seas
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First civilization to arise in Ancient
Greece
Lived on the island of Crete- southeast
of mainland where
Ruins of a grand palace Knossos (that
was center of Minoan civilization)was
discovered by Arthur Evans in 1900;
revealed riches of ancient society
Minoans traded pottery and stone vases
for ivory and metals
Ships made from oak and cedar
controlled eastern Mediterranean Sea;
carried goods to foreign ports and kept
out pirates
Minoan civilization collapsed in 1450
BC; historians have many theories about
how
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Mycenaean warriors
became first Greek kings
and nobles who ruled the
people they conquered
From Central Asia
Invaded and conquered
Greek mainland ~ 1900
BCE
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Rulers lived in fortified palace
on a hill surrounded by giant
walls
Beyond walls (or fortifications)
were farms, or estates,
belonging to nobles
◦ Slaves and farmers lived on
estates and took protection
in the fortress during times
of danger
Palaces were busy with artisans
working
Government officials kept
track of wealth and collected
wheat, livestock, and honey as
taxes and stored them in the
palace
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Minoan traders visited
and Mycenaean people
learned to work with
bronze, build ships, use
the sun and stars to
navigate and began to
worship the Earth
Mother
The Mycenaean people
replaced the Minoan as
the major power on
Mediterranean
Most famous victory was
Trojan War in which
king Agamemnon used
trickery to win the war
Minoans
Lived on Crete
Both
Earned wealth from
trade
Mycenaean
Lived on Greek
mainland
Built first civilization
in Greece on Crete
First Greek kings
Worked in or with
bronze; made tools
and art
Built fortified
palaces on hills
Borrowed ideas from
Minoans; for
example bronze
tools
Earthquakes and
fighting led to the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization
Trade
slowed, poverty set in: teaching writing and craftwork stopped and resulted
in Greeks forgetting written language and how to make things
People
known as Dorians from Greece’s northern mountains moved south and
many settled in Peloponnesus:
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brought iron weapons and farm tools which were stronger than those of
bronze, leading to more advanced technology
People began
to farm again and produce
surplus food which revived trade which
led to new way of writing (adopted from the
Phoenicians)
Greek
alphabet had 24 letters that stood
for different sounds, making reading and
writing much simpler than ever before
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As Greece moved out of Dark Age, farmers could not grow enough
grain to feed everyone which led to sending people outside Greece to
start colonies
Colony: a settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to its
homeland
◦ People went to coasts of Italy, France, Spain, North Africa, and
western Asia
◦ Colonists traded grains, metals, fish, timber and enslaved people and
received pottery, wine, and olive oil from mainland
◦ Greeks began to mint coins and merchants were soon exchanging
goods for money instead of other goods
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Growth of trade led to growth of industry and people began
specializing in making certain products
At the end of the Dark Age, many large estate owning nobles overthrew
Greek kings and created city – states;
 Polis: a tiny independent country like a city state
 Acropolis provided safe refuge in case of attacks and served as religious
center where temples and altars were built to honor Greek gods and
goddesses
 Agora: an open area
that served both as
a market and meeting
place- below the
Acropolis
 City-states were
different sizes and had
Varied populations
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Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, where most people were subjects,
Greek society was made up of citizens who, in most city-states, were
free native-born men who owned land
Some city states, such as Athens, forwent the land-owning requirement
although slaves and foreign-born residents continued to be excluded.
Women and children could qualify for citizenship, but did not have rights
Rights of Greek citizens
◦ Gather in agora and choose officials and pass laws
◦ Vote
◦ Hold office
◦ Own property
◦ Defend themselves in court
Responsibility: Citizens had to serve in and run the government and fight
as soldiers for polis
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Right
Right
Right
Right
to
to
to
to
vote
hold a government office
own property
defend themselves in court
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Hoplites were ordinary citizens who fought on foot and battled with
heavy armor; carried round shields and marched shoulder to shoulder
allowing little room for enemies to cause harm
◦ Division of city-states caused pride, but also lack of unity
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There were six things each soldier promised
to protect in taking the oath.
They promised:
 1. not to dishonor their weapons
 2. not to desert their comrades
 3. to improve the fatherland
 4. to uphold and protect the constitution
 5. to honor the temples
 6. to honor the religion of their forefathers
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Nobles seized power from kings but were thrown over by tyrants
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A tyrant is a leader who came to power through force
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Tyrants arose as small farmers demanded changes in power structure
because they were losing their land and even becoming enslaved when
they could not pay back their debts to the nobles; merchants and
artisans also wanted a share in governing
Tyrants built new marketplaces, temples, and wall
People in general did not want rule by one and eventually oligarchies and
democracies arose.
Sparta – oligarchy; Athens – democracy
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In order to get
more land, the
Spartans
conquered and
enslaved
neighbors and
called them
helots
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Government controlled people of Sparta;
Boys and men trained for war constantly
The Spartans feared that one day the helots would rebel
against them, and they wanted to be ready to put down any
rebellion, so they focused on military service.
Boys went to live in barracks at age 7 and entered regular
army at age 20; life was harsh
Men returned home at 30 and stayed in army until 60 and were
never to surrender
Girls were trained in running, wrestling and throwing javelin
Wives lived at home while men were at barracks, and were freer
than other Greek women; could own property and go where
they wanted
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Oligarchy - Two kings headed council of elders which included
28 citizens over age 60 who presented laws to an assembly
All Spartan men older than 30 were part of assembly and voted
on council’s laws
This council chose 5 people to be Ephors who enforced laws
and managed tax collection
Government discouraged foreign visitors, banned travel and
disliked citizens studied literature or the arts in attempt to keep
people from questioning Spartan system
Focus on military training kept soldiers strong but resulted in
Spartans falling behind in trade, science and other subjects
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Athens was a two day trip northeast
of Sparta
Three teachers at school for boys;
one for reading, writing and
arithmetic, one for sports, one for
singing and playing lyre; males
became citizens at 18
Girls stayed home where mothers
taught them spinning, weaving and
household duties; women stayed
home to teach daughters
In wealthy families – girls learned to
read, write and play lyre
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Athenians rebelled against nobles as most farmers owed nobles money
and many sold themselves into slavery
◦ Farmers wanted an end to all debt and demanded land for the poor
Nobles turned to Solon who canceled all debts and freed those
enslaved, allowed all male citizens to become part of assembly and law
courts
Council of 400 wealthy citizens wrote laws, but assembly had to pass
them
Solon popular among common people, though farmers pressed him to
give away nobles’ land, which he refused
Following 30 years of turmoil after Solon, tyrant Peisistratus seized
power and won support of poor by dividing large estates among landless
farmers and gave them jobs building temples and other public works.
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Cleisthenes came to power in 508 BC
He reorganized assembly and gave members new powers such as
debating matters openly, hear court cases, and appoint army
generals
He created new council of 500 citizens to help assembly carry
out daily business, propose laws, deal with foreign countries and
oversee treasury;
Credited with making the government a democracy
Members of council were chosen using lottery so that the rich
were not favored
Non- citizens, including women, foreign-born men, and slaves
were still excluded from political process
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Spartan women had more freedom than Athenian
women, who could not leave their homes without a
male relative;
Spartan girls were trained in sports, while Athenian
girls were taught to spin and weave.
Both Spartan and Athenian women were expected
to care for the home and raise children, and neither
could hold office or vote.