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Chapter 4
The Civilization
of the Greeks:
Colonization
Polis
A bust of Pericles
Greek City- States 750-500BCE
Figure 4-1 p94
Polis - The Greek City-States
(c. 750–c. 500 B.C.E.)

Greek Polis or city-state began to emerge and increase
in power
 1. “Tyranny” rule by a non hereditary ruler
 . Oligarchy “rule by a few” as in Sparta
 3. “Democracy” Rule by the people” as in Athens
 Heart of Polis: the Acropolis
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Agora - Trading centers emerged
300 independent city-stated developed by 600 BCE
Polis – community of people
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Patriarchal
Political rights - Men
No political rights
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women & children
Slaves & resident aliens
Greek Way of War
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Hopilites
Phalanx
Colonization
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Factors that led to Colonization
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Greek Diaspora (750 – 550 BCE)
Disparity of wealth
Over population
Development of trade
Colonies
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Southern Italy and France
Eastern Spain
Northern Africa
Tyrants & Oligarchies
II. The Greek City-States
(c. 750–c. 500 B.C.E.)

E. Athens
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1. The Reforms of Solon
2. The Reforms of Cleisthenes
F. Foreign Influence on Early Greek
Culture
Classic period, 4-5 BCE
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Athens emerged as center of activity
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Established limited democracy by the end of the
6th C
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Limited to free, land owning, Athenian males
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Women’s roles increasingly restricted
 Represent an extreme
Sparta’s
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political system comprised of a Oligarchy and
dual monarchy
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Women had not formal roles in governance
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Maintained powerful, traditional roles in the community
Sparta to 500 BCE
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Militaristic, totalitarian State
 Democratic for small ruling minority
 Oligarchy (rule by aristocracy) for the majority
Every Spartan a professional soldier
 Conquered neighbors and made them Helots (state
slaves)
Infanticide – sick or deformed babies
Sons taken from families at age 7
Girls raised to produce warrior sons
Daily Life in Classical Athens
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19
Sons of native born- a citizen
 Slaves and allies no citizenship
 1 of every 6 was a citizen
 Social strains
 150,000 people, 43,000 of which were adult males
who exercised political power
Economy based on agriculture and trade
Family the central institution
Women kept under strict control
Male homosexuality a prominent feature
Athenian Society
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Majority: Women, slaves, resident aliens not citizens
 25% of Athens population slaves
Homosexuality common – rites of initiation between
adult men and prepubescent boys
Women
 Legally property of fathers, husbands
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Arranged marriages
Infanticide of girls
Moral and sexual double standard
Interpretations

Feminist historians concluded the culture
was misogynistic
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Exaltation of masculinity at the root of
constant militarism and warfare of Greek
society
Gender Relationships

Greeks believed only true friendship was
possible among equals
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Sought relationships with men – sexual
Even if they held their marriage in high
esteem
Drinking vases, used in male drinking
parties, glorified phallus
Misogynistic Voices
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Poet Hesoid
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Poem Works and Days
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Pessimistic reflection of a farmer’s life, bemoans
men’s need of women to procreate and survive
Poem Theogony
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Creation story of the gods
Hostilities between the genders for generations
Result in a shift of power from female to male
Culminates in the Reign of Zeus
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Both works tell the story of the creation of Pandora, the
firs woman, created by Zeus to be an evil for men
Re-emergence of Writing
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Writing and use of coins re-emerged
Capitalization became a major part of life
by 5t BCE
Transformed oral society of early Greece
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Writing used as aid for memory and
developing as a reference tool
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Major shift in thinking from a oral to a written
society
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How do people remember or know anything
Who are those people who have a monopoly on a
system not available to most
III. The High Point of Greek
Civilization: Classical Greece
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A. The Challenge of Persia
B. The Growth of an Athenian Empire in
the Age of Pericles
C. The Great Peloponnesian War and the
Decline of the Greek States
Plato
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Recognized prejudices against women
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spoke on behalf of equality and equal opportunity
though he believed men were generally more
talented
Revolutionary thinking for his time – not the norm
Aristotle
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believed that the courage of a man was
shown in commanding and of a women in
obeying
silence is a woman’s glory
Peloponnesian Wars
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Following allied victory against the
Persian Empire
Athens emerged as a imperialist
expansionist state igniting war with other
polities
30 year war
Intense political and military turmoil
The Great Peloponnesian War
and the Decline of the Greek
States (431-404 B.C.E.)
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14
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Sparta League Vs. Athenian Empire
Plague in 429, B.C.E., takes Pericles:
hurts Athens
Sparta builds Navy and destroys
Athen’s fleet
Surrender of Athens, 404 B.C
Effects of the wars: Anarchy &
economic depression under Sparta
Classical Literature
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Hughs:
How does the literature and artwork from
this period characterize women’s status
and roles in society?
Hellenistic Period
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Following Athens defeat and Sparta’s
domination
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First half of 4th C BCE
Periodic wars against Persians
Periodic wars between city-states
Empire of Alexander the
great
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Philip II declared king, consolidated power in
Macedonia.(359 – 336 BCE)
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338 won a decisive Battle gaining control of Greece
 Power vacuum came a new force from the kingdom
of Macedon on the northern borders of Greece.
Macedonian conquests were followed by 3 centuries
in which Greek culture spread widely in Egypt and
far into western Asia
p98
p101
p101
III. The High Point of Greek
Civilization: Classical Greece
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D. The Culture of Classical Greece
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1. The Writing of History
2. Greek Drama
3. The Arts: The Classical Ideal
4. The Greek Love of Wisdom
E. Greek Religion
F. Life in Classical Athens
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1. Economy and Lifestyle
2. Family and Relationships
p102
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p103
p107
p107
p108
p109
p112
IV. The Rise of Macedonia and
the Conquests of Alexander
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A. Alexander the Great
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1. Alexander’s Conquests
2. The Legacy: Was Alexander Great?
p113
p113
Figure 4-2 p114
V. The World of the Hellenistic
Kingdoms
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A. Hellenistic Monarchies
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1. The Seleucid Kingdom and India
B. Political Institutions
C. Hellenistic Cities
D. The Importance of Trade
V. The World of the Hellenistic
Kingdoms
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E. Social Life: New Opportunities for
Women
F. Culture in the Hellenistic World
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1. New Directions in Literature and Art
2. A Golden Age of Science
3. Philosophy: New Schools of Thought
4. Religion in the Hellenistic World
p116
Figure 4-3 p117
p118
p120
p120
p122