Download Mountainous Land by the Sea

Ancient Greece
Geography of Greece - Mountainous Land by the Sea
◦ Many ancient civilizations formed near rivers, while the Ancient Greeks
settled in a mountainous land of deep valleys and rugged highlands, known
as the Balkan Peninsula
◦ Little land is suitable for farming and the mountains divided the people of
Ancient Greece
◦ Greece includes several islands in the Aegean Sea, which separates Greece
from the western Asian border, known as Asia Minor
◦ Greece is surrounded by large seas, which linked its people to many
different cultures of the Ancient world
◦ Contains a long coastline with many bays and inlets with excellent harbors,
resulting in Greeks becoming excellent sailors and traders
◦ The rich soil and mild climate were perfect for raising animals and growing
Greece’s main crops – grapes, olives, and grains like barley
◦ Trade allowed Greek ideas to spread to other cultures and allowed the
Greeks to learn about other cultures – from this exchange, the Greeks
adopted their alphabet and began using coins for money
Independent Greek City-States Divided by Mountains
◦ Uniting the country was difficult because of the mountainous terrain
◦ The different communities spoke the same language and shared the same
religion
◦ Smaller communities grew into city-states that operated independently of
one another
◦ Climate in Greece is extremely mild
◦ Most rainfall occurs in the cooler winter months and the summers
are hot and dry
◦ Agoras were popular outdoor markets where many Greeks spent their time
◦ Women filled their pots with water in public fountains
◦ Men shopped the marketplace
◦ Statues of local athletes, politicians and some gods and goddesses
were placed here
◦ Greeks watched plays in open-air theaters
◦ Political meetings and athletics took place outdoors
Two of the Earliest Greek Civilizations
◦ Crete
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
An island in the Aegean Sea
People settled on the island by the year 2500 BC
Developed a written language
Learned to weave cloth and make pottery and jewelry
Known as the Minoan civilization – after King Minos
◦ Held dangerous bull-jumping shows
◦ Minoans were wealthy from trade, as they controlled trade among all
of the islands in the Aegean Sea and the cities on the coast of the
Ionian Sea
◦ By 1600 BC, the Minoans were influential to the Aegean islands and
the part of the Greek peninsula called Peloponnesus
◦ Around 2000 BC, people migrated to the Greek mainland and the
communities grew into cities
◦ Mycenae
◦ Greatest of the early Greek city-states, as it replaced Crete as the
center of civilization in the eastern Mediterranean
◦ 20 feet thick walls protected the city
◦ Mycenaean ships often captured ships of other cities and plundered
them of their valuables
Ancient Greek Mythology
 Daily life focused on keeping the ancient Greek gods and goddesses happy
 Troy was a city in the western coast of Asia Minor and its famous war, the
Trojan War, is a mix of both legend and myth
o Myths are stories that are based on the gods and goddesses
o Helen was taken from Sparta
o Homer was a blind poet who composed The Iliad and the Odyssey based
on the Trojan War
 Before writing these poems, they were a part of oral tradition –
the stories were passed down by word of mouth
 Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses and used myths to understand
the mysteries of nature and life, such as birth, death, storms, disease, and
battles
 Greeks believed that most gods lived on Mount Olympus in northern Greece
 Greek gods acted and looked like humans, but were immortal, or able to live
forever, and had special powers
 The Olympics were held every four years in honor of Zeus, the king of the gods
o Boxing, wrestling, running and other athletic competitions were held
o Greeks began competing in the Olympics about 3,500 years ago
Democracy Begins in Greece
 Some city-states of Greece had kings that ruled and others were controlled by
wealthy families, a form of government known as an aristocracy
 Around 500 BC, a democracy was formed, which is a government by the
people
o Greeks believed their people could act and think for themselves,
allowing them to rule themselves better than a king could
o Athens was the best example of a Greek democracy
 It was at first governed by all citizens over 18 years of age, known
as the Assembly
 Once the Assembly grew too large, they elected 500 citizens to
serve on a council for 1 year by using lots, or sticks with numbers
 Democracy was limited only to citizens, women, slaves and
workers born outside of Athens were not considered citizens
 They could not vote, own property or testify in court
Rival City-States: Athens and Sparta
 Citizens of Athens had responsibilities in return for their rights
o Defend the city in times of conflict
o Take part in juries and political debates on important issues
o Pericles was one of the greatest leaders in Athens
 “We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a
man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business
here at all.”
 Ordered building projects, such as the Parthenon, with money set
aside for defense against the Persians, bringing criticism from
Sparta as well as Athenians
 Sparta was a city-state in southern Greece and was, in many ways, opposite of
Athens
o Strictly ruled military state that invaded neighboring city-states and took
over land and forced the locals to become helots, or slaves
o Life centered around the army
o Government officials examined newborns to determine if they were
healthy, and if they were not, they would not be allowed to live
o At 7 years of age, Spartan boys were sent to military camps to begin
brutal training for a lifetime of service in the army and given little food
and clothing, expected to survive by stealing what they needed
o Spartan women were expected to be strong and responsible
 They ran, wrestled, and played sports
 They had to support their sons and husbands in the army and
rarely saw them
 Spartan women had more independence and spent most of their
time together
 They could own property and express their opinions on important
issues
 They managed the family’s estate and business while they were
away at war
 Spartan women could still not take part in the government
Golden Age of Athens
 While Athens grew more powerful, Persia was the strongest military power in
the world
 Persia attacked the Greek mainland in 490 BC with a large army, where they
clashed with the Greek army on a plain, northeast of Athens, called Marathon
o Pheidippides ran approximately 26.2 miles back to Athens with news of
this Greek victory against the Persians, which inspired the longest
Olympic race, named the marathon
o The Greeks knew that the Persians would attack again with a larger
army, so Sparta and Athens put their own differences aside to prepare
to fight the Persians again
o In 480 BC, a Greek army that included 300 Spartans held off a much
larger Persian army for three days at a mountain pass north of Athens
o At the naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, Athenian ships trapped and
destroyed the Persian fleet, soon ending the Persian invasion
 Athens entered the Golden Age in 479 BC after defeating the Persians
o Athens built great temples in honor of their gods
o Athenian artists created sculptures and monuments
o Greek philosophers searched for truth and knowledge
 Socrates, Plato and Aristotle searched for beauty and order in the
world
 Tried to find natural laws to explain actions in the world
 Followers of these philosophers developed a deep respect for
reason, or logical thinking, rather than believing that worldly
events occur because of the gods
o Greek physicians were among the first to study the causes of illnesses
and disease, rather than blaming it on the anger of the gods
Greeks Fight Against Each Other
 Athens became the most powerful Greek city-state during the Golden Age
 Athenian leaders formed an alliance called the Delian League and forced other
city-states to join the league
o Used its funds to build public buildings in Athens
o Generals began interfering in the affairs of other city-states, making
them angry and resentful
 Sparta became the leading city-state to fight against Athens and war began in
431 BC between the two city-states, known as the Peloponnesian War
o Athens was a great naval power
o Sparta was a great land power
 Spartans and their allies destroyed farms nearby Athens to try to
starve its people in surrendering
 Athenian navy was able to get food from other sources
 A plague, or a quickly spreading and often fatal disease, broke out in Athens,
killing thousands of its people, including its leader, Pericles
 Athenian government became unstable after Pericles’ death and in 404 BC,
Athens finally surrendered
Decline of Greek City-States
 By the end of the Peloponnesian War, Greece struggled with unemployment
 The brother of the king of Persia rebelled against the king and many Greek
men joined his army as mercenaries, or hired soldiers
 Athens was later able to gain strength in trade after many years of war and
disease
 Plato and Aristotle taught and wrote during this time
 Even Sparta weakened from war and was defeated in battle against the city of
Thebes
 Macedonia began to rise to power in northern Greece while its army grew and
strengthened and became a threat to Greek city-states in the south
Alexander the Great
 Alexander the Great became the king of Macedonia in 332 BC
 Two years after he gained power, he began to invade the Persian Empire
o Defeated much larger Persian armies in multiple battles
o Conquered Syria and Phoenicia
o Invaded Egypt in 332 BC, where Persians had been ruling for 200 years
 Became pharaoh of Egypt
 Alexander’s army won against a much larger Persian army one last time in 331
BC
o After this last victory, he led his army east into the mountains of India
and after 5 years of marching, it ended with exhaustion during the
monsoon season
o Alexander began to lead his army back to Greece, but fell ill and died
before they could return at only 33 years of age
 During Alexander’s rule of only 13 years, he created a large empire in Europe,
Asia and Africa
o Founded new cities, such as Alexandria in Egypt
o Spread Greek culture to conquered lands and adopted many Asian ways
 Hellenistic Age – the new civilization that developed from a blend of Greek and
Asian cultures
o After Alexander’s death, a power struggle began and after fighting
ended, three of his generals divided the empire among themselves
o Hellenistic culture then expanded for 300 years over a large part of
Europe, northern Africa and western Asia
o New Greek cities were founded in all parts of this empire
 These cities became centers of Greek culture and adopted Greek
laws
 Public buildings were built in Greek style
 Trade grew between the Hellenistic cities and distant parts of the
world
 People began to read the works of Homer and other Greek writers
 Alexandria, Egypt became the center of trade and education and
included more than one million people of Egyptian, Greek, Persian
and Sudanese descent
 The harbor became the busiest in the ancient world
 The library is considered the greatest ancient library in the
world
Discoveries and Inventions
 Greek science and mathematics reached their peaks during the Hellenstic Age
 Doctors in Alexandria made discoveries about how the human body works
 Hippocrates
o Doctor who searched for natural causes of disease
o Often called the father of medicine
o Stressed the importance of diet and lifestyle for good health
 Archimedes
o Most famous inventor of the time
 Invented the pulley for moving heavy loads
 Described how levers worked
 Made discoveries about floating objects
o Important mathematician
 Built on the work of Pythagoras and Euclid
 Pythagoras developed theories about numbers and music
o Pythangorean theorem
 Euclid worked out the system of plane geometry still
studied today
o Began a school that studied ideas that led to the field of geometry