Download Regents Review - Ancient Greece

Background Information
• Mediterranean Empire
• Mountainous terrain, Coastal plains
– Isolated and Protected
• Mild climate with rainy winters
• Sea trade was the prevalent occupation
The Geography of Greece
Bronze Age Greece
Crete: Minoan Civilization
(Palace at Knossos)
• Located on Crete
• A.D. 1900: Sir Arthur Evans unearthed
“Minoan” remains
• King Minos’ palace was discovered
– Hallways formed a labyrinth (maze)
• Minoan information:
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Minoan women had a higher status than others
Minoans earned a living from the sea
By 2000 B.C. – controlled the Eastern Med. Sea
Civilization peaked @ 1600 B.C.
Destroyed by tidal waves or the Mycenaeans
Knossos: Minoan Civilization
Minoan Civilization
The Mycenaean Civilization
• Originated in C. Asia – moved @ 2000 B.C
• Intermarried with the Hellenes
• Built hilltop fortresses surrounded by walls
– Served as administrative and business centers
• Minoans began to trade with the Mycenaeans
– Resulted in cultural diffusion
• 1450s B.C. – conquered the Minoans
• 1100s B.C. – turmoil led to self-destruction
• Invaded by the Dorian's (the “Dark Ages”)
– Thousands fled to Ionia (the coast of Asia Minor)
Homer: The “Heroic Age”
A New Start for Hellenic Greece
• 750 B.C. – Ionians reintroduced culture,
crafts, and skills (Phoenician alphabet)
• The new civilization flourished between
750-300 B.C.
• Bards (story-tellers) kept culture alive
• The Greeks began to record epic poems
that had been passed down by bards
– The Odyssey and Iliad: taught in Greek
schools
– Be proud of Greek heritage
– A love of nature
– Importance of husband-wife relationship
– Meet fate with dignity
The Mask of Agamemnon
Athens
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Descendants of the Mycenaeans (Attica)
Named in honor of Athena
Forced to reform government in (600s B.C.)
Metics – non-enslaved foreigners in Athens
Expanded citizenship to include more men
– 507 B.C – constitution stated that all free
Athenian-born men were citizens
• Athenian Education:
– Citizens educated their sons (Odyssey/Iliad)
– Studied Math, Art, Music, Gymnastics
– Served in the military for 2 years (age 18)
Early Athenian Lawgivers
– Draco:
• 612 B.C.: Issued a code of harsh laws
(draconian)
– Solon:
• Cancelled land debts
• Extended citizenship to foreign artisans
– Peisistratus:
• Divided estates among landless
– Cleisthenes:
• Est. a democracy for Athens
• The Assembly increased its’ power
• Ostracism was established
Persian Wars: 499 BCE – 480 BCE
Persian Wars: Famous Battles
$ Marathon (490 BCE)
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26 miles from Athens
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Surprise attack
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6400 Persians died to 190 Greeks
$ Thermopylae (480 BCE)
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300 Spartans at the Mountain pass
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led by Leonidas
$ Salamis (480 BCE)
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Athenian navy victorious
Golden “Age of Pericles”:
460 BCE – 429 BCE
• 461-429 B.C: art/science achievements
• Led by Pericles – rebuilt Athens
– Built the Parthenon as a temple to Athena
• Athenian Daily Life:
– Public buildings were lavish
– Men worked in the morning – afternoon
activities
• Exercise, the Assembly, Symposiums
• Athenian Women
– Stayed close to the home – few privileges
– Aspasia, a metic, gave advice to women
• Was prosecuted for impiety (disloyalty to the gods)
The Parthenon
Great Athenian Philosophers
$ Socrates
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Know thyself!
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question everything (absolute truth)
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only the pursuit of goodness brings
happiness.
$ Plato
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The Academy
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The Republic  philosopher-king
Great Athenian Philosophers
$ Aristotle
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The Lyceum
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“Golden Mean” [everything in moderation].
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Logic.
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Scientific method.
Athens: The Arts & Sciences
$ DRAMA (tragedians):
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Aeschylus - Oresteia
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Sophocles – Oedipus Rex
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Euripides – Trojan Women
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Aristophanes - Comedies
$ THE SCIENCES:
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Pythagoras  a² + b² = c²
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Democritus  all matter made up of
small atoms.
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Hippocrates  “Father of Medicine”
Athens: Greek Historians
• Herodotus: “The Father of History”
– Used the Persian Wars as his subject
– Recorded his discoveries in Historia
• Offered supernatural explanations
• Wrote about outstanding
individuals/events
• Thucydides: first scientific historian
– Wrote about the Peloponnesian War
– Was as accurate and impartial as possible
• Visited battle sites; firsthand accounts
– Believed future generations could learn
from the past
SPARTA
• Descendents of the Dorians (Peloponnesus)
• Invaded neighboring city-states
– Helots (slaves) were acquired through invasion
• Perioecis worked for the Spartans
• Combined the helots/perioecis outnumbered
the Spartans 20:1
– 650 B.C. – helots revolted against their masters
• Military Society: only way to maintain power
– Life revolved around the military
– Newborns were examined by officials
– Began military training at the age of 7
• Spartan Women:
– Wanted women to be healthy and strong
– Married later than other Greek women
– Had more freedoms than other women
• Spartan Government
– Set up by Lycurgus in the 800s B.C.
– Two kings ruled jointly; an Assembly passed
laws
• Results of Militarism:
– Maintained control for 250 years
– Lagged behind other city-states in
economically
– Were exceptional Olympic athletes
– Played key roles in defending Greece against
invaders and prevented helots from revolt
SPARTA
Helots  Messenians enslaved by the
Spartans.
Greek Religion
• Polytheistic = more than one god
• Able to approach gods with dignity
• Humanized the Gods
– Jealous of one another
– Quarreled and played tricks on each other
• Gods lived on Mt. Olympus
• Festivals to honor gods (Olympic Games)
• Gods and Goddesses (over 50 total gods)
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Mythography | Olympians - Greek Gods and Goddesses in Myth and Art
Olympians
Aphrodite (Venus) goddess of love and beauty
Apollo (Apollo) god of the arts, archery, and divination
Ares (Mars) god of war
Artemis (Diana) goddess of the hunt and protector of children
Athena (Minerva) goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts; patron of Athens
Demeter (Ceres) goddess of agriculture and fertility
Dionysos (Bacchus) god of wine, mysteries, and the theatre
Hephaistos (Vulcan) god of smiths and metal-workers
Hera (Juno) goddess of marriage; consort of Zeus
Hermes (Mercury) god of merchants; messenger of Zeus
Poseidon (Neptune) god of the sea and earthquakes
Zeus (Jupiter) god of the sky; ruler of Olympus
Greek Polis
• City-state: basic political unit of Hellenic
society
• Typical polis (city-state):
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City and surrounding fields
Acropolis (center of polis) at the top of a hill
Agora at the bottom of the hill (public square)
Citizens were native born, landholding, freeman
Greek women had no political rights
The Acropolis Today
The Agora
• Greek colonies and Trade
– 700 B.C.E. – not enough crop production
– Colonies were set up in coastal regions (support)
– Economic Growth: trade throughout the region
• 600s B.C.E – money system replaced barter system
• Political and Social Change
– 700s B.C.E – kings lost power to landholding nobles
– Aristocrats gave loans to farmers
– Tyrants took control due to political unrest
• Seized power; single-handedly ruled
– After 500 B.C.E city-states became either:
• Oligarchy (Sparta): ruled by a few wealthy people
• Democracy (Athens): government by the people
• Greek Art (emphasized the individual)
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Murals were painted (nonexistent today)
Pottery artifacts (red and black)
Scenes from everyday life
Sculptors
• Myron – idealized (Discus Thrower)
• Phidias – in charge of the Parthenon’s
sculptures
• Praxiteles – after the “Golden Age”
– Favored life-like opposed to idealized
– Emphasized grace rather than power
The Classical Greek “Ideal”
Olympia
The Ancient Olympics:
Athletes & Trainers
Peloponnesian Wars
• Delian League formed to protect city-states
– Started by Athens (treasury was at Delos)
– Athens dominated other city-states
• The Anti-Athens Alliance – led by Sparta
• Spartans deal with Persians
– Return Ionia in exchange for a fleet of warships
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430 B.C.E – plague strikes Athens
Athenian allies switch sides
404 B.C.E – Athens surrendered to Sparta
Effects of the War
– Decline in population & rise in unemployment
– 371 B.C.E an alliance led by Thebes overthrew the
Spartans
– 350s B.C.E Greeks were defeated by the Macedonians
Macedonia Under Philip II
Alexander the Great
• Tutored by Aristotle
• Imperial Goals:
– Punish Persia for its invasion of Greece
– Unite Asia and Europe and combine cultures
• 334 B.C.E – led 35,000 men into Persia
• Expanded his empire (Asia Minor & Egypt)
– Was declared a pharaoh
– Established Alexandria
• Defeated Darius at Gaugamela
– Declared himself ruler of the Persian Empire
• 327 B.C.E – reached the Indus River
– Was forced by his men to turn back
• 323 B.C.E – died of malaria
Alexander the Great’s Empire
The Hellenization of Asia
Pergamum: A Hellenistic City
The Economy of the Hellenistic World
Hellenistic Philosophers
$ Cynics
§ ignore social conventions & avoid luxuries.
§ citizens of the world.
§ live a humble, simple life.
$ Epicurians
§ avoid pain & seek pleasure.
§ all excess leads to pain!
§ politics should be avoided.
Hellenistic Philosophers
$ Stoics
§ nature is the expansion of divine will.
§ concept of natural law.
§ get involved in politics, not for personal
gain, but to perform virtuous acts for the
good of all.
§ true happiness is found in great
achievements.
Hellenism: The Arts & Sciences
$ Scientists / Mathematicians:
§ Euclid - geometry
§ Archimedes - pulley
$ Hellenistic Art:
§ More realistic; less ideal than Hellenic art.
§ Showed individual emotions, wrinkles,
and age!
Breakup of Alexander’s Empire
• Empire divided between 3 Generals
– Ptolemy: ruled Egypt, Libya, and Syria
• The most “prestigious” domain
• Later ruled by Cleopatra
– Seleucus: ruled part of Syria,
Mesopotamia, Iran, and Afghanistan
• Forced to withdraw to Syria
– Antigonous: ruled Macedonia and Greece
• City-states declared independence
• Conquered by the Romans in the 100s B.C.E
The Breakup of Alexander’s Empire