Download The Story of Ancient Greece

The Story of Ancient Greece
Geography of Greece
• Greece is a small country
in Europe.
• Greece is near the
Mediterranean Sea.
• The main part of Greece in
on a peninsula.
• A peninsula is a body of
land surrounded by water
on three sides.
• The rest of Greece is made
up of islands.
Greek City-States
• Because Greece is made up of many
islands, and has many tall
mountains, the Greeks began to
build city-states instead of one
country.
• A city-state is a city with its own
laws, rulers, and money.
• City-states were cities that acted
like countries.
Technology results from
necessity
• Since Greek coastal
cities were
sandwiched
between the ocean
and the sea, they
developed an
awesome navy for
trading and
Sparta
• Sparta was a Greek city-state.
• Sparta was very powerful and had
its own army.
• Sparta conquered other city-states
to gain wealth and power.
• There were three classes of people
in Sparta.
• Citizens, non-citizens, and slaves.
Sparta’s Classes
• Only men born in Sparta were citizens.
• Women were not allowed to become citizens,
however, women were allowed to own land
and businesses, which gave them more
freedom than other Greek city-states.
• The second class in Sparta was people who
came from other city-states or other
countries. They could own businesses but not
become citizens.
• The third class was slaves.
Sparta warriors
• Learning to read and write in Sparta was not
very important.
• Training to become a good soldiers was
important.
• Young boys at age 7 were taken from their
parents and trained to be soldiers as well as
good in sports such as running.
• Girls were also trained to be good in sports.
Athens
• Athens was another important Greek citystate.
• The people of Athens wanted to rule
themselves and not have a king or queen.
• Athens became the world’s first democracy
around 508 B.C.
• A democracy is a government in which all
citizens can vote and have equal say in what
happens.
Democracy in Athens
• Athens was a democracy because all citizens
could vote, but only half the people in Athens
were citizens.
• Women, people born outside of Athens, and
slaves could not vote.
Megara
• Megara was a coastal city-state.
• Megara was highly respected in the ancient Greek
world.
• Megara was similar to Corinth. They people were
ruled by a king. They had their own coinage. They
had public work programs to keep people employed.
Megara had beautiful statues and open air arenas for
plays. Their boys went to school. Their girls learned
at home; there was a great deal of freedom in
Megara. You could move there from another citystate and rent a home, or even buy one.
Megara
• Like all the Greek city-states,
Megara loved to establish new
towns.
• They were great sailors,
trading with other Greek citystates. Megara, like all the
Greeks, were trained
warriors.
• Megara was famous for its
textiles. Richly colored and
beautifully designed fabrics.
Thebes
• Strategically situated on a low
plateau commanding the
surrounding plains of Boeotia.
• Thebes (also known as Kadmeia)
was first inhabited around 3000
BCE.
• From 2500 BCE there is evidence
of food and wool production and
storage - grinding stones and
terracotta loom-weights and
spools, and bronze carpentry
tools.
Thebes
• Following the Dark Ages in Greece (c.1100 to 700
BCE), Thebes re-emerged as an influential Greek
city-state and for the next four centuries the city
would be a constant rival to Athens and Sparta for
regional dominance.
• In 480 BCE Thebes sided with Persian when Xerxes
invaded Greece.
• The city was a major protagonist in the
Peloponnesian War from 431 to 404 BCE, siding with
Sparta against Athens.
Corinth
• Located on the isthmus which connects
mainland Greece with the Peloponnese.
• First inhabited in the Neolithic period (c. 5000 BCE),
the site became more densely populated from the
10th century BCE. The historical founders of the city
were the aristocratic descendants of King Bacchis,
the Bacchiadae, in 750 BCE.
Corinth
• Bacchiadae ruled as a body of 200 until in 657 BCE.
• The popular tyrant Cypselus took control of the city,
to be succeeded by his son Periander (627-587 BCE).
• Cypselus funded the building of a treasury
at Delphi and founded colonies which included
Ambracia, Anactorium, and Leucas.
• These added to the existing Corinthian colonies of
Corcyra (Corfu) and Syracuse in Sicily which had
been founded in 734 BCE.
Delphi
• Delphi was an important ancient Greek religious
sanctuary sacred to the god Apollo.
• The site was first settled in Mycenaean times in the
late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BCE) but took on its
religious significance from around 800 BCE.
• 560 BCE The oracles of Delphi and Thebes both tell
King Croesus of Lydia that if he attacks the Medes,
he will destroy a great empire. Seeing this as a
good omen, he goes to war, loses, and the Lydian
Empire is destroyed.
Oracle's Prophecy
The oracle stated that if
Croesus went to war then a
great empire would surely
fall. Reassured by this, the
Lydian king took on the
mighty Cyrus. However, the
Lydian were routed
at Sardis and it was the
Lydian empire which fell, a
lesson that the oracle could
easily be misinterpreted by
the unwise or over-confident.
Oracle's Prophecy
• In 480 BC, when Xerxes, the son of Darius the Great of
Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in
which his father had failed, the Athenians consulted the
oracle. They were told:
•
Now your statues are standing and pouring sweat. They shiver with dread. The black blood drips from
the highest rooftops. They have seen the necessity of evil. Get out, get out of my sanctum and drown
your spirits in woe.
• It was unambiguous. When persuaded to seek advice a
second time, the oracle gave a way for the Athenians
to escape their doom.
• When Athena approached her father to help her city,
Zeus responded that he would grant that
•
"a wall of wood alone shall be uncaptured, a boon to you and your children."
The oracle again advised the Athenians to flee:
Await not in quiet the coming of the horses, the
Oracle's Prophecy
• The oracle again advised the Athenians to flee:
Await not in quiet the coming of the horses, the marching feet, the armed host upon the land. Slip
away. Turn your back. You will meet in battle anyway. O holy Salamis, you will be the death of many a
woman's son between the seedtime and the harvest of the grain.
• Meanwhile, the Spartans also consulted the oracle and were
told:
The strength of bulls or lions cannot stop the foe. No, he will not leave off, I say, until he tears the
city or the king limb from limb.
• or in a version according to Herodotus:
Hear your fate, O dwellers in Sparta of the wide spaces;
Either your famed, great town must be sacked by Perseus' sons, Or, if that be not, the whole land of
Lacedaemon Shall mourn the death of a king of the house of Heracles, For not the strength of lions or
of bulls shall hold him, Strength against strength; for he has the power of Zeus, And will not be
checked until one of these two he has consumed
Oracle's Prophecy
• The Spartans withdrew in consternation, wondering
which fate was worse. The Delphians themselves then
asked how Persia could be defeated. The oracle
replied:
Pray to the Winds. They will prove to be mighty allies of Greece
OUTCOME
• Events overtook the prophecy when the Persian army
assaulted Thermopylae Spartan-led coalition and
allies held the pass against them.
• King Leonidas, the Lion, resisted the Persian advance
until betrayed by treachery.
• Refusing to retreat, the entire Spartan contingent,
including their King (as foretold), lost their lives, but
in so doing gained immortal fame
•
•
OUTCOME
The Persian armada then sailed to nearby Cape Artemesium,
where they were met by the Athenian fleet. The Athenian ships
fought against great odds, but in three battles managed to hold
their own.
A tremendous storm then arose at Artemesium, with the most
violent winds attacking the ships for three days. The Persians
lost about 20% of their warships and perhaps the same number
of transport vessels to the storm. The stormy winds and huge
waves did not harm the Athenian ships.
OUTCOME
• Back in Athens Themistocles argued that the wall of
wood referred to the Athenian navy and persuaded
the Athenians to pursue their policy of using wealth
from their Attic silver mines at Laurium to continue
building their fleet
• On the grounds that the oracle referred to the
nearby island of Salamis as "holy", he claimed that
those slain would be Greece's enemies, not the
Athenians. For these the oracle would have said "O
cruel Salamis".
• Athenian fleet and its allies destroyed the Persian
fleet at Salamis.
Olympia
• Olympia is the birthplace of the Olympic Games and Zeus'
sacred place
• Olympia has cultivated ideals since ancient times.
• It was never just the games, but also the honor, the peace,
the struggle and the body - all in one.
Pericles
• Pericles was the leader
of creating democracy
in Athens.
• He had many buildings
constructed.
• Pericles had the
Parthenon and the
Acropolis built.
Parthenon and Acropolis
Education in Athens
• Education was very important in
Athens.
• Boys went to school to learn to read
and write. They also learned many
sports.
• Girls were not allowed to go to school
or learn to play sports.
The Greek Alphabet
• The Greeks borrowed their alphabet from
the Phoenicians.
• Most European languages, including English
borrowed ideas from the Greek alphabet.
Socrates
• Socrates was a
philosopher of Ancient
Greece.
• A philosopher is
someone who tries to
explain the nature of
life.
• Socrates taught by by
asking questions. This
method of questioning
is still called the
Socratic method.
Plato
• Plato was a student of
Socrates.
• He started a school
called The Academy.
• Plato’s writing took the
form of a dialogue
between teacher and
student.
Aristotle
• Aristotle was
another Greek
philosopher and
student of Plato.
• He wrote about
science, art, law,
poetry, and
government.
Alexander the Great
• Alexander the Great
was the son of King
Phillip II of Macedonia.
• Alexander conquered
Persia, Egypt, the
Middle East and
Northern India.
• He died at age 33,
historians believe from
malaria.
Greek Military
• This is a
catapult, a
Greek
invention.
• It could throw
300 pound
stones at walls
and buildings
Greek Military
• This is a hoplite, a
Greek infantry
soldier.
• Hoplites were
middle-class
freemen who had to
pay for their own
weapon and shield.
Greek Military
• This is a phalanx.
• Soldiers get in a
tight box. They
each have a large
shield and a 9
foot long spear.
Flamethrower!!!!!
Alexander’s Empire