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Ancient Greece
1900-133 B.C.
Early Civilizations in Greece
4.1
Impact of Geography
• The mountains that divided Greece led to
cultural and political divisions between
Greeks. However, the seas linked Greece to
the rest of the world
Mountains
• 80% mountains
• Olympus highest peak
• Isolation in small river valleys between high
mountains
– Developed own way of life
– Rivalry led to warfare
Seas
• Aegean Sea, Mediterranean, Ionian Seas
– Surround pensula
– Many small islands
• Seafarers
– Setup colonies
– Contact with other people
Minoans and Mycenaeans
• The Mycenaeans created the first Greek
civilization
Minoan Civilization
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2700 B.C.-1450 B.C. Bronze Age
Island of Crete
Not Greek but influenced Greek mainland
Palace at Knossos
– Center of sea empire
• Destroyed by Greeks or Tidal wave from
earthquake from volcanic eruption
Mycenae: The First Greek State
• 1600 B.C.-1100B.C.
• Powerful monarchies
– Lived in walled palaces
– Royal families buried in tombs
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Warrior people
Spread empire to Crete and Aegean islands
Homer’s story of Troy
1100B.C. empire collapses from civil war and
invasion by other Greek-speaking peoples
Greeks in the Dark Ages
• Greek civilization was slow to recover from the
several centuries of instability that followed
the fall of the Mycenaens.
• Called so due to lack of records for this time
Changes of the Dark Ages
• Left mainland for islands, and Ionia
• Aeolian
– North and central Greece
• Dorians
– South and west Greece
• Increase in trade, and iron use, increase in
food
• 700 B.C. adopt Phoenician alphabet (24
letters)
Homer: Poet of the Dark Age
• Epic poems: Illiad and Odyssey
• Story of Troy
• Later Greeks looked at stories as true history
– Taught courage and honor
– Model of heroism and honor
– Taught to be proud of heritage
The Greek City-States
4.2
Polis: The Center of Greek Life
• The polis or city-state was the central focus of
Greek life. The citizens of a polis had defined
rights and responsibilities, as well as a strong
identity and loyalty that kept the city-states
divided
Organization of the City-State
• Gathering place was a hill
– Fortified area at Top of hill- acropolis
• Place to go during attack
• And religious center
– Open area below acropolis-Agora
• Place to assemble
• Market place
• Varied by sizes 300,000- a few hundred
Community of the City-State
• Shared common identity and goals
– Citizens with political rights (adult males)
– Citizens without political right (women and
children)
– Noncitizens (agricultural laborers, slaves, and
resident aliens)
• Military service changes
– Hoplites- heavily armed foot soldiers
• Fought as a unit phalanx
Greek Expansion
• The search for farmland and the growth of
trade resulted in colonization and the spread
of Greek culture and political ideas.
• 750 B.C.-550 B.C.
Greek Colonies
• Southern Italy, Southern France, Eastern
Spain, Northern Africa west of Egypt
• Spread culture and political ideas
• Led to increased trade and industry
– Exported pottery, wine, olive oil
– Imported grains, metals, fish, timber, wheat,
slaves
– Increased trade increased wealth
• Lead to conflict between aristocrats and new rich
Tyranny in the City-States
• Tyrants are not necessarily bad, just people
who seized power
• Kept power by hired soldiers
• Rule of tyrants end rule of aristocrats
– Once rule was over, new people were allowed to
participate
– Democracy
– Oligarchy
Two Rival City-States
• Sparta and Athens developed different
systems of government.
Sparta
• Conquered Laconia for land and larger Messenia
– Made them serfs (helots)
– Made military state to control serfs
• Strict lifestyle
– Men
• served in Military until 60
• at 30 vote in assembly
– Women
• lived at home, head of home life
• Expected to be healthy to raise children
• Oligarchy
– Two kings: led army
– Ephors: 5 elected men
• Educate young and conduct of citizens
– Council of Elders
• 2 kings and 28 citizens over 60
• Presented information to assembly
– Assembly: Men over 30
• Voted on issues, did not debate
• Not allowed to Travel
• Outsiders not welcome
• Discouraged from studying philosophy, literature,
or arts.
• Studied Art of War
Athens
• Early Athens ruled by King
• 7th Century B.C. oligarchy under aristocrats
– Owned best land
– All citizen assembly had few powers
– Framers sold into slavery civil war seemed likely
• Aristocrats give full power to Solon
– Cancels all debt and freed those sold in slavery
– Refused to give land to poor
• 560 B.C. Peisistratus seized power
– Increased trade to please merchants
– Gave aristocrats land to peasants
– 510 overthrew Peisistratus’s son
• 508 Cleisthenes with people’s support
– Created council of 500
• Supervised foreign affairs
• Oversaw the treasury
• Proposed laws
– Athenian assembly: all males
• Passed laws after free and open debate
– Foundations of Athenian democracy
Classical Greece
4.3
The Challenge of Persia
• The Greek states of Athens and Sparta formed
alliances to defeat the Persian invaders.
• Ionian Greek fall to Persians
– 499 B.C. Ionians and Athenian Navy revolt
– Darius wants revenge
– 490 Persians land in Marathon
• Athens defeats Persians
• 486 Xerxes becomes king
– 480 invades Greece
– Persians defeat Greeks and Athens flees city
– 479 B.C. Largest Greek army is assembled and
defeat Persians
Athenian Empire
• During the Age of Pericles, Athens became the
center of Greek culture.
• Athens creates Delian League
– Defense alliance
– Headquarter at Delos
– Many Athenians in leadership
– Liberated Greek colonies
– 461 moved treasury to Athens
The Age of Pericles
• Pericles dominant Athenian 461-429 B.C.
– Created direct democracy
• All male citizens participated
• Meet every 10 days
• Allowed poor to hold office by paying officers
– Large body of officials ran government on daily
basis
– Ostracism: anyone who received 6,000 votes was
kicked out of the city for 10 years
– Athens the center of Greek culture
Daily Life Classical Athens
• Largest pop
• Slavery was common
– Most people owned at least one
– State owned slaves worked on public projects
• Most residents of Athens were not citizens
Economy and Society
• Economy based on farming and trade
– Grapes, veggies, fruit, sheep, milk, dairy products
– Exported olive oil and wine
– Imported 50-80 percent of grain
• Family
– Husband, wife, children, slaves, other dependants
– Producing children was main goal
Family cont.
– Women were excluded from public life
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Had to have male companion to leave house
Work in house or supervise slaves who worked in home
Could not own property or other personal items
Only worked outside home if poor
Male guardians
No formal education
The Great Peloponnesian War
• The creation of an Athenian empire led to
tensions with Sparta and, eventually war.
• Sparta and allies
– Distrusted growing Athens
– Disliked Athenian way of life
• Athens and allies
– Disliked Sparta way
• Athens planned to stay inside cities walls and
Sparta hoped Athens would come out and
fight
• 2nd year of war plague broke out
• Killed 1/3 of people
• Pericles dies
• Lasted 25 years
• Athens fleet defeated 405 B.C.
• Athens surrendered
• Navy disbanded
• Walls torn down
• Thebes, Sparta, and Athens struggled to lead
– War ruined chance of cooperation
– Weakened most city states
– Ignored threat of Macedonia to the north
The Culture of Classical Greece
4.4
Greek Religion
• Greek religion was fundamental to Greek
society and is remembered today for the
Olympic Games and Greek drama, which were
part of religious festivals
• Religion necessary to well-being of state
• Temples major building in Greek cities
• 12 chief gods lived on Mt. Olympus
• Gods
– Zeus-chief god and father of gods
– Athena-goddess of wisdom
– Apollo- god of sun and poetry
– Artemis-goddess of moon and hunt
– Ares-god of war
– Aphrodite goddess of love
– Poseidon- god of sea and earthquake/Zeus’s
brother
• Spirits of most people went to Underworld
ruled by god Hades
• Rituals with prayers and gifts
– I gave to you, you will give to me
• Festivals to honor gods/goddesses
– Olympic festival 776 B.C.
• Oracles revealed future from gods
– Priest or priestess
– Apollo at Delphi most famous
Classical Greek Arts and Literature
• Greece produced groundbreaking art and
literature that is till considered relevant.
• Based on religion, no longer practiced
• Passed down by Romans
• Human being object of great beauty
Architecture and Sculpture
• Temple most important
– Originally made of wood, 5th century B.C. marble
– Open structures
– Parthenon
• Built 447-432 B.C.
• God Athena
• Calmness, clarity, and freedom from unnecessary
detail.
• Sculpture: human ideal figure
Drama
• Basis of western drama
• Plays presented in outdoor theaters
• First were tragedies
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Trilogy
Aeschylus- only trilogy remaining
Sophocles- Oedipus Rex
Euripides-challenged traditional values
Question: good and evil, rights of individual, nature of
divine forces, nature of human beings
• Comedies
– Entertain and provoke a reaction
The Writing of History
• Herodotus-wrote History of the Persian Wars
– First real history
• Thucydides- wrote history of Peloponnesian
War
– General who fought in war
– Saw war and politics as act of men and gods
– Emphasis on accuracy
Greek Philosophy
• Three great Greek philosophers- Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle- established the
foundations of Western philosophy
• Pythagoras- thought music and numbers
explained the universe.
Sophists
• Wondering teachers
– Impossible for people to understand universe;
improve self
– Sold services as teachers
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Rhetoric-persuasive speaking and writing
No absolute right or wrong
Purse one’s own good
Thought dangerous to values of young people
Socrates
• Took no pay
• Left no writing
• Goal of education was only to improve the
individual
• Ethics- living moral lives, could be taught
• Socratic method- question
• Sentenced to death for corrupting youth
Plato
• Student of Socrates
• Wrote a great deal
• The Republic
– Democracy bad- people can not lead self
Philosopher King
Warriors
Rest
• Men and women should be educated equally and
equally access
• Reason, courage, and desire work together
• Opened Academy
Aristotle
• Academy most famous student
• Created
– Study of logic, biology, and physics
– First steps of Scientific method
• Looked at 158 constitutions
– Monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional
governments best
Alexander and the Hellenistic Era
4.5
Macedonians Invade Greece
• Under Alexander the Great, Macedonians, and
Greeks conquered the Persian Empire
Philip and Alexander
• In 359 B.C. Philip II built a powerful army
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Wanted all of Greece under their control
Athens and Greeks fear Philip
338 B.C. Greeks crushed
Controlled Greece
Forced Greeks to join him against Persia
Philip assassinated
• Alexander was 20
– Moved quickly to attack Persia for burning Athens in
480 B.C.
Alexander’s Conquests
• 334 B.C. entered Asia
– 37,000 troops, 5,000 cavalry
• 335 B.C Freed Ionian Greek cities
• 332 B.C. Conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt
– Built Alexandria as Greek City State
• 331 B.C. Take rest of Persian empire
• 326 B.C. Reaches India
– Soldiers want to turn back he agrees
• 323 B.C. Dies due to wounds, fever, alcohol (32)
Alexander’s Legacy
• Conquest brought wealth to Macedonia and
Greece
• Creation of Monarchies
• Spread Greek language, architecture,
literature, and art spread throughout
Southwest Asia.
• Greeks absorbed aspects of Eastern culture
Hellenistic Era
• As a result of Alexander’s conquests,
Hellenistic cities became centers for the
spread of Greek language, art, architecture,
and literature.
• Hellenistic- to imitate Greeks
Hellenistic Kingdom
• Empire falls after death
• Breaks into 4 kingdoms
– Macedonia, Syria in east, Pergamum (western
Asia), Egypt
– Everything done in Greek/ Greek ruling class
– Encouraged Greeks to move to new cities in
kingdoms
• Soldiers and administrators
Hellenistic Arts and Literature
• Alexanderia and Pergamum
– Libraries and museums
• Scholars, artist, philosophers, scientists
• Built baths, theaters, and temples
• Built thousands of statues
• Less about ideal form and more real
• Subsidized writers
– Little has survived
– Argonautica- Jason’s search for golden fleece
• Short poems instead of epic
• Athens the center of theatre
– New comedies to only entertains
Science and Philosophy
• Eratosthenes circumference of earth
• Euclid- Elements textbook on plane geometry.
• Archimedes-Geometry of spheres and cylinders,
pi, Archimedes’ screw (pump).
• Epicureanism- pursuit of pleasure
– Freedom from emotional turmoil and worry
– Centered on friendship away from public life
• Stoicism
– Harmony with gods
– Public service noble (good citizen)