Download Map of Ancient Greece

• Throughout most of their
classical history, the Greeks
were never unified politically or
militarily. They were simply a
group of independent city-states
that shared a common culture
(religion, language, traditions.)
• The Greeks fought each other
more than they fought non-Greeks
(who they referred to as barbarians;
because their language sounded like
sheep sounds).
• All this changed when a large
eastern empire (the Persians)
invaded the Greek world.
II. Persian Wars (500479 B.C.E.)
Cause:
Result:
 Persia invasions  Greece won,
but rivalry
Greece
 Battle of Marathon between the
city-states
 Battles of
caused the
Thermopolae; &
Peloponnesian
Salamis.
Wars.
Persians:
• Largest army & navy in the world.
• Poorly armored (short spears, and
wicker shields)
• Cultural differences leading to
poor motivation.
• Long time to organize, & required
a lot of supplies.
III. The Golden Age:
Greece’s victory over the Persians
gave rise to the “Golden Age” of
Greek culture.
Achievements during the “Golden
Age”:
 Democracy
- Medicine
 Philosophy
- Science
 Drama
- History
Socrates is
considered
“The Father
of Greek
philosophy”



He believed that people needed to
think for themselves by questioning
everything.
He argued that
pure truth could
never really be
discovered.
He often criticized
democracy.
Plato
A
student of
Socrates, who
believed in rule by
an aristocracy.
 Wrote “The
Republic”
Aristotle
A
student of Plato &
teacher to Alexander the
Great.
 He explored the idea of
good government (which
governments make the
best men.)
 He developed rules of
logic (men are ruled by
“natural laws”.)
Sophocles;
was a Greek
dramatist who
wrote tragedies
such as
“Oedipus Rex”
& “Antigone”
Hippocrates
was a Greek
medical scholar
who looked for
natural rather
than
supernatural
causes of
illnesses.
Aristarchus:
 Greek
astronomer who believed
in the Heliocentric theory (the
sun is the center of the solar
system.)
 His theory was opposed by
Claudius Ptolemy who taught
that the earth is the center of the
solar system (Geocentric).
Erastosthenes:
 Greek
astronomer who
calculated the circumference
of the earth with amazing
accuracy by measuring angles
of the sun.
 This information was
“forgotten” until Columbus’
incorrect estimation in1492.
Archimedes
• Greek physicist who
studied pulleys and levers.
• He developed theories of
power & force.
Aristotle
•Greek philosopher that
collected, described, and
classified plants & animals.
This was the foundations of
western botany, zoology &
anatomy.
Pythagoras
•Greek
mathematician
who developed
the Pythagorean
theorem.
Characteristics of Greek
Art
Glorified Human beings
Represented the City-state
Represented the Greek
Ideas of beauty and
usefulness
IV. Pelonponnesian Wars
(431-404 BCE)
Cause:
Result:
 Weakened city-states;
 Rivalry
thus facilitated the
between
Greek city- invasion of the
states after Macedonians lead by
the Persian (Phillip II and
Wars.
Alexander the Great)
• To protect the Aegean from
further Persian threat, Athens
formed a military alliance
called the Delian League.
• Out of fear of an Athenian
Empire, Sparta also formed a
military alliance called the
Peloponnesian League.
• It
wasn’t long until the Greeks
forgot the unity they had
enjoyed against the Persians
and began to fight each other
again.
•In 431 B.C.E. the two Leagues
went to war.
The war lasted until
404 B.C.E. with the
surrender of Athens
to Sparta.
But the war left all
of Greece weakened
and vulnerable to
outside attack.
V. Rise of Macedonia:
Known
as the Hellenistic
Age (379 – 144 B.C.E.)
Lasted from the Fall of
Greece to the Rise of Rome
Greece was finally conquered in
379 B.C.E. by the Macedonians.
Under the leadership of Philip
and His son Alexander.
Philip of
-----------Macedonia
Alexander of
Macedonia ----------
Philip of Macedonia
 Macedonia
was the northern part of
Greece. It was a buffer zone between
the Greek world and the barbarians.
The Macedonians admired Greek
culture; but most Greeks saw them as
hillbillies/rednecks.
 In his desire to be more Greek King
Philip conquered the Greeks after the
Peloponnesian War.
Alexander the Great
 He
promised the Greeks in
return for their alliance, he
would conquer Persia.
 His empire stretched from
Greece to the Indus River
 His civilization was a mix of
Greek and Eastern elements
called the Hellenistic Culture.
The End!