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• Mountains
 impeded communication and allowed the
creation of independent city-states
 Did not prohibit creation of a single Greek
culture
• The Sea
 Natural harbors and limited arable land
encouraged the Greeks to turn to the sea
 Allowed the Greek city-states to develop trade
networks and establish colonies
• Minoan civilization
flourished on the Island of
Crete (2000-1500 BCE)
• Bureaucratic monarchy
• Trading Society- King was
chief “entrepreneur”
• Major palace at Knossos
• Contact with developing
Mycenaean culture on
Greek mainland
• Fall of Minoan civilization
due to Mycenaeans and
natural disaster
Palace at Knossos
Minoan Trade- Major trade with Egypt, Mesopotamia,
mainland Greece, and Mediterranean colonies
Linear A
The yet to be deciphered
written language of the
Minoans
• Heinrich
Schliemann
• Excavations of
Troy and Mycenae
• Growth of
archaeology
• Indo-European
people - invaded the
Greek peninsula
• Began to form citystates by 1600 BCE
• The Mycenaeans
(after the leading
city, Mycenae)
dominated the
Aegean Sea from
1500-1200 BCE
• Cities were built on
hills for protection.
• The Mycenaeans
waged war
against Troy for
dominance in the
Aegean
• The Mycenaeans conquered by the
Dorians
• Iron weapons
versus bronze
weapons
Linear B
The written language of the
Mycenaeans
Linear A
Linear B
• Period between the fall of the Mycenaeans
and the rise of the city-states (1150 - 800
BCE)
• No written records
• Simplified political patterns - village
communities led by kings (tribal leaders)
• Little to no trade (no word for merchant)
• 800-600 BCE – growth of
independent city-states
• Despite independence, a
single Greek culture was
established.
• Greek culture
characterized by
 single written language
based on the Phoenician
alphabet
 Shared polytheistic
religion
 Regular celebrations
including the Olympics.
• Greek alphabet evolved from Phoenician alphabet
• Phoenician alphabet lacked vowels (likewise
Hebrew and Arabic) so the Greeks invented them.
• Reading and writing became so simple that
literacy became widespread.
• Colonization
 The emergence of
the city-states was
sparked by revival
in trade and
increasing literacy
 Colonization
movement began
due to population
pressures
 Colonization
centered on Italy
and Sicily

Warfare
 Warfare changed
from horses and
chariots (nobles) to
infantry and the
phalanx
(commoners).
 This shift from
noble warriors to
farmer warriors
caused political
shifts
 Phalanx - tight
battle formation of
hoplites.
 Hoplite – armored
Greek citizen
soldier
• Polis (city-state) –concept
that most influenced the
lives of Greeks
• Greeks believed they had
certain rights and
obligations as citizens.
• Government varied from
city-state to city-state
• All citizens were expected
to serve in the
government.
• Acropolis - each citystate built a temple to
its patron god on the
highest hill (acropolis)
• Agora - open area
used as a meeting
place and for markets
• Ostracism - the forced
exile of a citizen for
ten years. 6,000 vote
minimum needed
The Agora in Athens today
• Oracle at Delphi – temple for Apollo where
a priestess (oracle) foretold the future
• Became a place for pilgrimage
• Greek architecture
 Indirectly influenced
by Egypt
 Greek columns
 Doric - used mostly
on mainland
Greece
 Ionic - used mostly
in Greek colonies
 Corinthian - used
most by the
Romans
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
Greek sculpture idealized the human figure
• Large territory (1,060sqm)
• Large mineral deposits
and good harbors
• Diverse commercial state
• Strong in the arts:
literature and sculpture
• Strong in philosophy:
Socrates and Plato
• Established numerous
colonies
• Use of slavery
The Acropolis in Athens
• Women in Athens
 Women secluded in the
home
 Producing children the
primary role – interval of
one child every two years
 Life expectancy 36 years
 Girls married at 14 to older
husbands
 Marriages arranged – dowry
 Household duties menial
 Women seen as inferior –
not worthy of a relationship
• Government included
oligarchy, tyranny,
and democracy
• Move towards
commercial estates
impoverished small
farmers creating
social unrest
• Solon instituted
reforms giving poor
greater voice in
government
Solon
• Social conflict led to rule of
Pisistratus (tyrant)
• Renewed conflict led to rule
by Clisthenes who
instituted democratic
reforms (assembly, vote)
• Democracy- mob rule?
Socrates thought so! Why?
Socrates
• Imperialist phase Athens dominated
Greece through Delian
League (trade
alliance)
• During its peak of
power, Athens was led
by Pericles, an
aristocrat.
• Pericles increased
democratic
institutions
Pericles
• Descended from Dorian invaders
• Militaristic state built on the slavery
(serfdom) of the Helots
• Male children raised by the state
• Mandatory military service at age 7
• Married men - age 30 could live at home
but eat at mess
• Females raised by wives
• Spartan women had more freedom than
women in other city-states
• Disdained the arts; masters of the art of
war
Spartan Hoplite
• Government
 Two Kings (to act as military leaders)
 Council of Elders (28 + 2 kings). Proposed motions to be
voted on by assembly.
 Citizen Assembly (about 8,000)
 Panel of Magistrates (5). Replaced annually by assembly
vote. Performed day-to-day business.
 System emphasized equality among the citizens (8,000
out of about 400,000)
The Persian Empire
• Greek colonies
absorbed by Persian
Empire when
Anatolia conquered
by Cyrus (546 BCE)
• Ionian Revolt – Greek
colonies revolt with
aid from city-states
Athens and Eretria
• Persians under
Darius destroy
Eretria and march on
Athens
The Persian army on the move
• Persians
defeated at
Battle of
Marathon
• Darius’ son,
Xerxes, invades
Greece
• Greek city-states
unite under
Spartans to
resist Persians
• Battle of
Thermopylae
Battle of Thermopylae – The Three Hundred Spartans
• Athens sacked by
Persians
• Persian navy
destroyed at battle
of Salamis
• Persian army
routed at battle of
Plataea
• Athens led naval
alliance (Delian
League) against
Persia and liberated
Greek colonies
Emperor Xerxes watches his defeat at the Battle of Salamis
• 431-404 BCE
• Causes: quarrels over
colonies and fear of Athenian
economic dominance
• System of alliances: Athens
especially needed allies along
waterways due to dependence
on food and timber imports.
• Pericles: strategy to remain
behind walls and supply
Athens through its navy
• Spartans laid waste to area
around Athens but could not
penetrate its walls.
• Outbreak of plague within
Athens’ city walls around
430 BCE - caused death
of one quarter of the
population
• Pericles himself
succumbed to plague in
429 BCE
• Allies deserted Athens.
• Defeat of Athenian navy
forced Athens to
surrender
A Greek Trireme
Athens
Note city walls,
walls protecting
road to port, walls
protecting port
• End result of the
Peloponnesian War –
Spartan victory but all
Greek city-states
greatly weakened.
• Greece could not
withstand invasion by
Macedonians under
Philip II.
• Greece became part
of the Macedonian
Empire
• With murder of Philip II,
Alexander became
emperor
• Alexander loved Greek
culture- tutored by
Aristotle
• Embarked on conquest
of Persian Empire
• Conquered Persia,
Egypt, and attacked
India
• Attempted blending of
Greek and Persian
cultures through forced
intermarriages
• Took on the trappings of
a Persian emperor –
alienated many in his
army
• Established Greek cities
throughout empire
• Died in Babylon in 323
BCE at age 33
• Successors carved up
empire
• Hellenistic Age
established
Alexander the Great
• Who would be Alexander’s successor?
“Hoti to kratisto” Greek for “to the
strongest”
• Alexander’s generals divide up the empire
• Generals established despotic dynasties
and ruled as semi-divine
• Greek city-states established throughout
the Middle East
• Hellenistic – from the Greek Hellenes
meaning “Greek” - the blending of Greek
and Middle eastern culture
Cassander
Lysimachus
Seleucus
Chandragupta
Ptolemy
Original division of Alexander’s Empire by his generals (yellow)
Hellenistic Philosophies
• Cynicism
“Cynic” Greek for dog – man should live
as naturally as beasts
Leader- Diogenes
Goal was self-sufficiency
Hellenistic Philosophies
• Epicureanism
Founded by Epicurus
Goal was the pursuit of pleasure
Pleasure defined as freedom from worry
and emotional turmoil
Against participation in government
Hellenistic Philosophies
• Stoicism
Founded by Zeno
Most popular philosophy
Happiness found by living in harmony
with God
Followers could bear whatever life
threw at him
Public service and citizenship seen as
noble
• The Hellenistic period - an age of
science
• A fusion of the natural curiosity
and logic of the Greeks with
Mesopotamian and Egyptian
science along with patronage of
Hellenistic rulers.
• Major advances in astronomy,
mathematics, geography, medicine,
and physics
• Aristarchus – established
the heliocentric theory in
which the planets revolve
around the sun
• Ptolemy of Alexandria –
established the geocentric
theory in which the planets
revolve around the earth
• Ptolemy’s theory became
the prevailing theory during
the Middle Ages
• Euclid - work on geometry
formed the basis of that
branch of mathematics until
the 1800’s.
• Eratosthenes - calculated the
circumference of the earth
with an error of less than 200
miles using sundials. Also
first suggested that one
could reach Asia in the east
by sailing west
• Herophilus
 Conducted human dissection
 Rejected Hippocrates’
contention that the body
consisted of four humors and
also the practice of bloodletting
 These false theories were
revived by the Roman Galen in
the second century CE
• Archimedes of Syracuse
 Discovered the law of
specific gravity
 Invented the Archimedes
screw
 Formulated the principles of
the lever, pulley, and the
screw
 Invented the compound
pulley and screw propeller
The Inventions of
Archimedes
Archimedes used
his ingenuity to
design inventions
such as the “claw”
to fight off the
invading Romans
at Syracuse.
Although Rome
was held off for a
time, Syracuse
eventually fell.
Archimedes was
killed by a Roman
soldier.
The Archimedes Screw
• The Hellenistic period was a transition
period between the decline of Greece and
the emergence of Rome as a world power
• Greek works were preserved and
expanded upon later by the Romans
• The Hellenistic Age was an age of the
Greek cosmopolitan (universal citizen)
• Travelers could go from Italy to the border
of India and all would speak Greek