Download Journey Across Time

The Ancient Greeks
Chapter Objectives
• Describe how geography and the
Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations
influenced Greek culture.
• Compare the city-states of Sparta and
Athens.
• Identify the causes and effects of
Greek wars with Persia.
• Describe Athens under the leadership
of Pericles and reasons Athens
declined.
The Early Greeks
The Geography of Greece
• Mainland Greece is a mountainous
peninsula—a body of land with water
on three sides.
• The Ionian Sea is to the west of Greece,
the Aegean Sea is to the east, and the
Mediterranean Sea is to the south.
• Ancient Greeks were fishers, sailors,
traders, and farmers.
(page 117)
The Early Greeks
The Geography of Greece
• Although Greece’s rocky soil made it
difficult to farm, people could grow
wheat, barley, olives, and grapes in the
favorable climate.
(page 117)
The Early Greeks
The Minoans
• The ruins of the Minoan civilization, the
first civilization to arise in Greece, are
on the island of Crete.
• Artifacts at the palace at Knossos reveal
the riches of the Minoan people, such
as wine, oil, jewelry, and statues.
• The Minoan people were traders,
traveling by ship to trade with other
countries.
(page 118)
The Early Greeks
The First Greek Kingdoms
• The first Greek kings were Mycenaean
leaders, whose people invaded the
Greek mainland around 1900 B.C.
• The center of the Mycenaean kingdom
was a palace surrounded by large
farms.
• The Mycenaeans began trading with the
Minoans and learned much about
Minoan culture.
(pages 119–120)
The Early Greeks
The First Greek Kingdoms (cont.)
• Before collapsing around 1100 B.C., the
Mycenaean civilization was the most
powerful on the Mediterranean.
• The Dark Age occurred between 1100
B.C. and 150 B.C. and was a time of less
trade and poverty among people.
• The Dorians invaded Greece, bringing
new weapons and farming technology to
the Greek people.
(pages 119–120)
The Early Greeks
The First Greek Kingdoms (cont.)
• The Greeks learned about an alphabet
from the Phoenicians, one of their
trading partners.
• The Greek alphabet had 24 letters that
stood for different sounds.
(pages 119–120)
The Early Greeks
A Move to Colonize
• After the Dark Age, Greek people began
to set up colonies in other countries.
• This colonization spread Greek culture.
• Trade between colonists and the parent
cities grew, and soon merchants were
trading goods for money instead of more
goods.
(page 121)
The Early Greeks
The Polis
• A polis, or city-state, was like an
independent country.
• City-states varied in size and population.
• An acropolis, located at the top of a hill,
was the main gathering place of the citystate.
• An agora, or open area, served as a
market and as a place for people to
meet and debate issues.
(pages 122–123)
The Early Greeks
The Polis (cont.)
• The Greeks were the first people to
develop the idea of citizenship, in which
citizens of a country are treated equally
and have rights and responsibilities.
• In Greek city-states, only free, nativeborn, land-owning men could be
citizens.
• Citizens could vote, hold office, own
property, and defend themselves in
court.
(pages 122–123)
The Early Greeks
The Polis (cont.)
• The military of the city-states was made
of ordinary citizens, not nobles.
• These citizens were called hoplites and
fought each battle on foot instead of on
horses.
(pages 122–123)
Sparta and Athens
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Tyrants were able to seize power from
the nobles with the support of Greek
farmers, merchants, and artisans.
• The Spartans focused on military skills
to control the people they conquered.
• Unlike Spartans, Athenians were more
interested in building a democracy than
building a military force.
Sparta and Athens
Tyranny in the City-States
• Nobles, who owned large farms, seized
power from the Greek kings.
• Farmers had to borrow money from
nobles and often could not pay back the
debt.
• The farmers lost their land and had to
work for the nobles or were sold into
slavery.
(pages 125–126)
Sparta and Athens
Tyranny in the City-States (cont.)
• Unhappy farmers demanded changes in
the power structure of the city-states.
• This unhappiness led to the rise of
tyrants, or people who take power by
force and rule with total authority.
• Tyrants overthrew the nobles during the
600s B.C.
(pages 125–126)
Sparta and Athens
Tyranny in the City-States (cont.)
• Tyrants maintained their popularity by
building marketplaces, temples, and
walls.
• The Greek people eventually tired of the
tyrants and created oligarchies or
democracies.
• An oligarchy is a form of government in
which a few people hold power.
(pages 125–126)
Sparta and Athens
Tyranny in the City-States (cont.)
• A democracy is a form of government
in which all citizens share power.
• Sparta was an oligarchy; Athens was a
democracy.
(pages 125–126)
Sparta and Athens
Sparta
• To obtain more land, Spartans
conquered and enslaved their
neighbors, calling them helots.
• To keep the helots from rebelling, the
Spartans created a strong military of
boys and men.
• Boys entered the military at age seven.
• At age 20, men entered the regular army
and lived in the barracks for 10 years.
(pages 126–127)
Sparta and Athens
Sparta (cont.)
• They returned home at age 30 but
served in the army until age 60.
• Spartan girls were trained in sports to
become healthy mothers and were freer
than other Greek women.
• The Spartan government was an
oligarchy containing two branches, a
council of elders, and an assembly.
(pages 126–127)
Sparta and Athens
Athens
• Boys in Athens attended school to learn
reading, writing, and arithmetic.
• Athenian girls learned household duties
from their mothers.
• Some wealthy girls learned reading,
writing, and playing the lyre.
• The government of early Athens was an
oligarchy.
(pages 128–130)
Sparta and Athens
Athens (cont.)
• A noble named Solon reformed the
Athenian government in 594 B.C.
• The tyrant Peisistratus seized power 30
years after Solon’s reforms.
• Cleisthenes took power in 508 B.C.
• He created a democracy in Athens.
• Cleisthenes gave the assembly more
power.
(pages 128–130)
Sparta and Athens
Athens (cont.)
• He also created a new council to help
the assembly carry out its duties.
• Members of the council were chosen
by lottery.
(pages 128–130)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• The Persian Empire united a wide area
under a single government.
• Both Sparta and Athens played roles in
defeating the Persians.
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Empire
• Persians were warriors and nomads
who lived in Persia, the southwestern
area of what is today Iran.
• Cyrus the Great united the Persians.
• The Persians built a large empire,
conquering Mesopotamia, Asia Minor,
Syria, Canaan, and Phoenician cities.
(pages 132–133)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Empire (cont.)
• Darius came to power in 521
B.C. and reorganized the
government.
• The empire under Darius
was divided into
satrapies, each with a
ruler known as a satrap.
• The satraps
answered to the
king.
(pages 132–133)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Empire (cont.)
• The military of Persia consisted of fulltime, paid soldiers known as Immortals.
• Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia,
was founded by Zoroaster, who believed
in one god, the freedom of humans, and
the triumph of good.
(pages 132–133)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Wars
• After a failed rebellion by the Greeks,
King Darius decided to stop the Greeks
from interfering in his empire.
• The Battle of Marathon occurred in 490
B.C. on the plain of Marathon, a short
distance from Athens.
• The Persians waited there for the
Athenians.
(pages 134–137)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Wars (cont.)
• When they did not come, the Persian
commander ordered the troops back on
the boat.
• When the horsemen were on the boat,
the Greeks charged the Persian foot
soldiers and defeated them.
• After Darius’s death, his son Xerxes
became king.
• He vowed a new invasion of Greece.
(pages 134–137)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Wars (cont.)
• Athens and Sparta joined forces to
defend against Xerxes’s attack.
• The Greeks fought the Persians at
Thermopylae for two days.
• The Greeks lost the battle, but 200
ships were assembled in Athens.
(pages 134–137)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Wars (cont.)
• At the Battle of Salamis, the Greeks
used their faster, smaller ships to defeat
the Persian fleet.
(pages 134–137)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Wars (cont.)
• The Persians entered Athens and burned
the city.
• The Greek army won at Plataea.
• This was the turning point of the wars
with Persia.
• The Persian Empire fell for several
reasons.
(pages 134–137)
Persia Attacks the Greeks
The Persian Wars (cont.)
• The Persians were weakened by war,
and their rulers taxed the people and
spent the money lavishly.
• The sons of kings had little power, so
they killed rulers to get power.
(pages 134–137)
The Age of Pericles
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Under Pericles, Athens became very
powerful and more democratic.
• Athenian men and women had very
different roles.
• Sparta and Athens went to war for
control of Greece.
The Age of Pericles
The Athenian Empire
• Athens joined forces with other citystates to form the Delian League.
• The Delian League promised to defend
its members against the Persians.
• Athens eventually gained control of the
Delian League.
• The Athenians moved the Delian
League from Delos to Athens.
(pages 139–140)
The Age of Pericles
The Athenian Empire (cont.)
• Athens had a direct democracy.
• In a direct democracy, people vote
firsthand on laws and policies.
• Direct democracy worked because of
the small number of Athenian citizens.
• In a representative democracy, people
select smaller groups to vote on behalf
of the people.
(pages 139–140)
The Age of Pericles
The Athenian Empire (cont.)
• A general named Pericles led Athens for
more than 30 years.
• He promoted democracy by including
more people in the government.
• The age of Pericles was a time of
creativity and learning.
• Pericles built temples and statues in the
city after the destruction of the Persian
Wars.
(pages 139–140)
The Age of Pericles
The Athenian Empire (cont.)
• He also
supported
artists, writers,
architects, and
philosophers.
• Philosophers
are people
who ponder
questions
about life.
(pages 139–140)
The Age of Pericles
Daily Life in Athens
• In the 400s B.C., the population of
Athens was about 285,000.
• This made Athens the largest of all
Greek city-states.
• Most Athenian homes had at least one
slave, and wealthy families had many
slaves.
(pages 142–144)
The Age of Pericles
Daily Life in Athens (cont.)
(pages 142–144)
The Age of Pericles
Daily Life in Athens (cont.)
• Athenian farmers grew grain,
vegetables, fruit, olives, and grapes.
• Because there was little farmland,
Athens had to import grain from other
places.
• Herders raised sheep and goats for
wool, milk, and cheese.
• Athens became the trading center of the
Greek world.
(pages 142–144)
The Age of Pericles
Daily Life in Athens (cont.)
• Merchants traded pottery, jewelry,
leather goods, and other products.
• Athenian men worked in the morning
and exercised or attended assembly
meetings in the evening.
• Athenian women were responsible for
caring for their children and their
households.
• Poor women might work in the fields or
sell goods.
(pages 142–144)
The Age of Pericles
Daily Life in Athens (cont.)
• Athenian women had no political rights
and could not own property.
• Aspasia was a well-educated woman
who influenced Plato and Pericles.
• Although she could not vote or hold
office, she was influential in politics.
(pages 142–144)
The Age of Pericles
The Peloponnesian War
• Other city-states along with Sparta
became suspicious of Athens.
• These city-states joined together against
Athens.
• The war that broke out is known as the
Peloponnesian War.
• Pericles’s funeral oration reminded
Athenians about democracy and gave
them courage to continue fighting.
(pages 144–146)
The Age of Pericles
The Peloponnesian War (cont.)
• Athenians outside the city walls moved
inside the city to protect themselves.
• In the second year of the war, a disease
killed more than one-third of the people
inside Athens’ walls, including Pericles.
• Sparta made a deal with the Athenians
and built a navy.
(pages 144–146)
The Age of Pericles
The Peloponnesian War (cont.)
• The Spartan navy defeated the Athenian
navy, which brought supplies to the
Athenians.
• Athens then
surrendered.
(pages 144–146)
The Ancient Greeks
Section 1: The Early Greeks
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• The geography of Greece influenced
where people settled and what they did.
• The Minoans earned their living
by building ships and trading.
• Mycenaeans built the first Greek
kingdoms and spread their power
across the Mediterranean region.
The Ancient Greeks
Section 1: The Early Greeks
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Colonies and trade spread Greek
culture and spurred industry.
• The idea of citizenship developed
in Greek city-states.
The Ancient Greeks
Section 2: Sparta and Athens
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Tyrants were able to seize power from the
nobles with the support of Greek farmers,
merchants, and artisans.
• The Spartans focused on military skills
to control the people they conquered.
• Unlike Spartans, Athenians were more
interested in building a democracy than
building a military force.
The Ancient Greeks
Section 3: Persia Attacks the
Greeks
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• The Persian Empire united a wide area
under a single government.
• Both Sparta and Athens played roles in
defeating the Persians.
The Ancient Greeks
Section 4: The Age of Pericles
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Under Pericles, Athens became very
powerful and more democratic.
• Athenian men and women had very
different roles.
• Sparta and Athens went to war for
control of Greece.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Vocabulary
Define Match the vocabulary word that completes each
sentence.
__
E 1. In a(n) ___, a few
wealthy people hold
power.
__
F 2. The Greek mainland is
a(n) ___, a body of
land with water on
three sides.
__
D 3. In a(n) ___, people at
mass meetings make
decisions for the
government.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
satrap
agora
democracy
direct democracy
oligarchy
peninsula
The Ancient Greeks
Review Vocabulary
Define Match the vocabulary word that completes each
sentence.
__
A 4.
A(n) ___, acted as tax
collector, judge, chief
of police, and army
recruiter.
__
C 5. In a(n) ___, all citizens
share in running the
government.
__
B 6. Below the acropolis
was an open area
called an(n) ___.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
satrap
agora
democracy
direct democracy
oligarchy
peninsula
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 1 The Early Greeks
How did the geography of Greece
influence where people settled and
how they made a living?
The rocky mountains caused people
to settle by the seacoast and
become fishers, sailors, and traders.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 1 The Early Greeks
How did the Greek colonies help
industry to grow?
They promoted trade, industry, and
specialized goods.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 2 Sparta and Athens
Why were tyrants able to seize
control from Greek nobles?
They had the support of the
common people, many of whom
were hoplites.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 2 Sparta and Athens
Describe the differences between
Athens and Sparta.
Sparta emphasized the military and
strict living, while Athens focused on
democracy and culture.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 3 Persia Attacks the Greeks
Why did Sparta and Athens unite
during the Persian Wars?
They feared Persian conquest of
Greece.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 4 The Age of Pericles
How was democracy expanded
during the Age of Pericles?
Pericles involved more people in
government and paid officeholders
so poorer citizens could serve.
The Ancient Greeks
Review Main Ideas
Section 4 The Age of Pericles
What was the result of the
Peloponnesian War?
Athens declined. Greece grew
weaker, opening it to conquest.
The Ancient Greeks
Cause and Effect How did the
geography of Greece help to
encourage trade?
The Greek peninsula gave the
Greeks easy access to sea routes
all over the Mediterranean.
Click the map to view an interactive version.