Download The Greek Roots of Democracy

Chapter #1 – Section #1
Ancient Greece
• The Classical Age of Greece began around 500B.C., a period
•
•
•
•
of great artistic and literary development.
Greece’s geography greatly influenced its history.
The region’s mountainous terrain restricted overland travel,
and it limited farming.
The Greeks turned to the sea, becoming fishers, sailors, and
traders.
Many Greeks also became thinkers, writers and artists which
Western civilization would draw heavily on the ideas
produced during this era.
The Rise of Greek City-States
 The geography of Greece influenced how its centers of power developed.
 The Greeks, isolated in mountain valleys or on islands, built small independent




city states.
A city-state is a political unit made up of a city and the surrounding lands,
As their world expanded, the Greeks evolved a unique version of the city-state,
which they called the polis.
A typical city was built on two levels:
1. On a hilltop stood the acropolis, or high city, with its great marble
temples dedicated to different gods and goddesses.
2. On flatter ground below lay the walled main city with its marketplace,
theater, public buildings and homes.
The population of each city-state was fairly small, which helped citizens share a
sense of responsibility.
Greek Acropolis
Changes in Warfare
 Changes in military technology increased the power of the




middle class.
By about 650B.C., iron weapons replaced bronze ones.
Because iron was cheaper, ordinary citizens could afford iron
helmets, shields and swords.
A new method of fighting emerged called the, phalanx, in
which a massive formation of heavy armed foot soldiers, in
which each soldier protected another soldier to his left using
their shield.
This formation required hours of practice and intense
training that created a sense of pride among citizen-soldiers.
Spartan Phalanx
Greek City-States
Sparta
Athens
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
300 movie clip
Rulers of Greece
Rulers
Ideas
Solon
1.
2.
3.
Pisistratus
1.
2.
3.
Cleisthenes
1.
2.
3
Pericles
1.
2.
3.
4.
Philosophers of Greece
Philosophers
Ideas
Socrates
1.
2.
3.
Plato
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Aristotle
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Alexander and the Hellenistic Age
 Following the death of Plato, Aristotle moved out of Athens.
 In 345 B.C. he traveled to the place of his birth, the kingdom





Macedonia.
There he began tutoring Alexander, the 13 year-old son of
King Phillip II of Macedonia.
King Phillip II loved Greek culture and dreamed of
conquering the prosperous Greek city-states to the south.
The Greek city-states of Athens and Thebes joined forces,
but were defeated by King Phillip II and Macedonia.
Phillip then brought all of Greece under his control.
King Phillip’s next goal was to conquer the Persian Empire,
but he was assassinated.
Conquest of Persia
 At age 20 Alexander took the throne after his father’s murder.
 He was an experienced soldier, who shared his father’s ambition of





conquering Persia.
In 334 B.C. he organized an army of Greek and Macedonian soldiers and
set out across the straight separating Europe from Asia Minor.
He moved rapidly from victory to victory, using brilliant tactics to
overcome the Persian forces.
Alexander’s army marched through Asia Minor into Palestine and
south into Egypt.
Turning back toward the east, he took Babylon and then seized the
other Persian capitals.
By 327 B.C., he had conquered an empire that stretched more than 2,000
miles from the Mediterranean Sea across the Middle East to Central Asia
and India, thus becoming Alexander the Great!
Macedonia
The Legacy of Alexander
 Four years after the conquest
of Persia, Alexander the Great
died from a sudden fever one
month short of age 33.
 Three generals divided up his
empire.
 For the next three hundred
years, their descendants
competed for power over the
lands that Alexander had
conquered.
Alexander’s Legacy
 Alexander had unleashed changes that would ripple
across the Mediterranean world and the Middle East for
centuries.
 Alexander had founded many new cities (Alexandria), as
Greek soldiers, traders, and artisans settled these new
cities.
 Local people absorbed Greek ideas, and in turn, the
Greek settlers adopted local customs.
 Gradually, a blending of eastern and western cultures
occurred, combining Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and
Indian influences called the Hellenistic civilization.
Hellenistic World
 In the Hellenistic world, only a few democratic city-states
survived.
 For the most part, powerful individuals or groups ruled the
cities, distant governors managed them, and a king held
ultimate control.
 In this changing political world, earlier Greek codes no
longer seemed relevant.
The Rise of a New Philosophy
 These uncertain times contributed to the rise of new




schools of philosophy.
The most influential philosophy was Stoicism, founded
by the Athenian, Zeno.
Zeno urged people to avoid desires and disappointment
by calmly accepting whatever life brought.
Stoics preached high moral standards, such as the belief
in the dignity and equality of all.
Stoics also preached that all people, including women and
slaves, though unequal in society, were morally equal
because all had the power of reason.
Witness History Video
 Alexander the Great