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The Rise of Greece
communities, and the city-state became the basic unit of Greek
government.
Each city-state had its own government, including monarchies,
oligarchies, and aristocracies. An aristocracy is a government ruled by a
small group of noble, land owning families.
In this period, huge economic development occurred in Greece and also
in her overseas colonies. At its economic height, in the 4th century BC,
Ancient Greece was the most advanced economy in the world.
In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages.
Literacy had been lost, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet,
modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. From about the 9th century BC
written records begin to appear.
The population grew beyond the capacity of its limited farmable land.
Starting in about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion,
settling colonies in all directions. Eventually Greek colonization reached
as far north-east as present day Ukraine. To the west the coasts of Illyria,
Sicily and southern Italy were settled, followed by the south coast of
France, Corsica, and even northeastern Spain. Greek colonies were also
founded in Egypt and Libya. Modern Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and
Istanbul had their beginnings as the Greek colonies
By the 6th century BC the Greek world had become a cultural and
linguistic area much larger than the geographical area of present Greece.
Greek colonies were not politically controlled by their founding cities,
although they often retained religious and commercial links with them. The
Greeks both at home and abroad organized themselves into independent
Social and Political Conflict
The majority of city-states were aristocracies, until the rise of the strong
economy. At that point a new class of wealthy merchants began to
challenge the land owning nobles for power over the city-states. From 650
BC onwards, the aristocracies had to fight not to be overthrown and
replaced by leaders called tyrants. Today we view the word “tyrant” as a
negative; however in Greece the word had a very different meaning. A
tyrant was a popular leader that was supported by the masses and did not
necessarily come from the elite aristocratic class.
the surrounding rural areas and smaller towns under their control, and
Athens and Corinth had become major maritime and mercantile powers as
well. Athens and Sparta developed a rivalry that dominated Greek politics
for generations.
By the 6th century BC several cities had emerged as dominant in Greek
affairs: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes. Each of them had brought
The Persian Wars
In Ionia (the modern Aegean coast of Turkey) the Greek colonies were
unable to maintain their independence and came under the rule of the
Persian Empire in the mid 6th century BC. Greek city-states, led by
Athens, aided these colonies in fighting the Persian Empire. By 478 BC
the Greeks were victorious and Athens gained more land and new allies.
Athens enrolled all the island states and some mainland allies into an
alliance, called the Delian League. The Spartans, although they had taken
part in the war, withdrew into isolation after it, allowing Athens to establish
unchallenged naval and commercial power.
Dominance of Athens
The Persian Wars ushered in a century of Athenian dominance of Greek
affairs. Athens was the unchallenged master of the sea, and also the leading
commercial power. In Athens the monarchy was abolished in 683 BC, and
the reforms of Solon established a moderate system of aristocratic
government. Eventually this government transitioned into the world’s first
democracy. In fact, the word democracy, meaning rule of the people, comes
from the Greek word demos, meaning people and kratos meaning power.
The wealth of Athens attracted talented people from all over Greece, and
also created a wealthy leisure class who became patrons of the arts. The
Athenian state also sponsored learning and the arts, particularly architecture.
Athens became the centre of Greek literature, philosophy, and the arts.
Some of the greatest figures of Western cultural and intellectual history lived
in Athens during this period.
Ancient Rome
One of the most ancient cities in Europe, Rome was founded over 2,700
years ago. Since then, it has been continuously inhabited and has had an
immense impact on the world. Many European languages are based on
Latin; many political and legal systems follow the ancient Roman model; and
buildings all over the world utilize styles and techniques perfected in ancient
Rome. The city itself contains layers of buildings spanning over two millennia.
According to the historian Livy, Romulus founded Rome in 753 BC. The story
of the founding of Rome, a creation myth based upon Roman mythology,
follows.
Roman Creation Myth:
The Story of Romulus and Remus
Before their lives began, Romulus and Remus’s grandfather Numitor and
his brother Amulius received the throne of Alba Longa upon their
father’s death. Numitor received the sovereign powers as his birth
right while Amulius received the royal treasury. But because Amulius
held the treasury, thus having more power than his brother, he
dethroned Numitor as the rightful king. Out of fear that Numitor’s
daughter, Rhea, would produce children that would one day overthrow
him as king, he forced Rhea to become a Vestal Virgin, priestesses
sworn to celibacy.
However, one night Mars, the god of war, came to Rhea in the temple of
Vesta and she bore him two twin boys of remarkable size and beauty,
later named Romulus and Remus. Amulius was enraged and had Rhea
placed in prison and ordered the death of the twins by exposure.
However, the servant ordered to kill the twins could not. He placed the
two in a cradle and laid the cradle on the banks of the Tiber River and
went away. The river, which was in flood, rose and gently carried the
cradle and the twins downstream.
Romulus and Remus were rescued by the river god Tiberinus and placed
the twins upon the Palatine Hill. There, they were nursed by a she-wolf
underneath a fig-tree. Romulus and Remus were then discovered by a
shepherd, who brought the children to his home. The shepherd and his
wife raised the boys as their own.
As they grew, their noble birth showed itself in their size and beauty
while they were still children. When they grew up they were manly and
high-spirited, of invincible courage and daring. Romulus, however, was
thought the wiser and more political of the two, and in his discussions
with the neighbors about pasture and hunting, gave them opportunities
of noting that his disposition was one which led him to command rather
than to obey. On account of these qualities they were beloved by their
equals and the poor, but they despised the king's officers and bailiffs
as being no braver than themselves, and cared neither for their anger
nor their threats. They led the lives and followed the pursuits of nobly
born men, not valuing sloth and idleness, but exercise and hunting,
defending the land against brigands, capturing plunderers, and avenging
those who had suffered wrong. And thus they became famous.
Following a series of small battles, where Romulus and Remus served as
military leaders, the king died. Romulus and Remus were offered the
joint crown. However, the twins refused to be the kings, wanting to
establish their own city upon the slopes of the Palatine Hill.
on the strategic and easily fortified Aventine Hill. They two agreed to
settle their argument by testing their abilities and by the will of the
gods. Each took a seat on the ground apart from one another, and
Remus saw six vultures, while Romulus saw twelve.
When Remus was enraged by Romulus’s victory, and as Romulus began
digging a trench where his city's wall was to run on April 21, 753 BC, he
ridiculed some parts of the work, and obstructed others. At last, Remus
leaped across the trench, an omen of bad luck, since this implied that
his city was easily breached, Romulus slew him that instant. Once the
fighting subsided, Romulus buried Remus; then he continued to build his
city. He named the city Rome after himself, and served as its first king.
Huts of Palatine Hill
But once Romulus and Remus arrived at the Palatine Hill, the two argued
over where the exact position of the city should be. Romulus was set on
building the city upon the Palatine, but Remus wanted to build the city
Roman Republic
In 509 B.C., a group of Roman aristocrats overthrew a very harsh king.
They set up a new government called a republic. A republic is a form of
government in which the power rests with citizens who have the right to
elect the leaders who make the governmental decisions. It is in indirect
democracy, in contrast to a direct democracy in which all citizens
participate directly in the government. In Rome, as in Greece, citizenship
with voting rights, were granted only to free-born males.
In the early republic two groups struggled for power. The patricians were
aristocratic landowners who held most of the power. The plebeians were
common farm owners, artisans, and merchants. The patricians inherited
their power and social status. They claimed that their ancestry gave them
the authority to make laws for Rome and its people. The plebeians were
citizens of Rome with the right to vote, but they were barred by law from
holding most important government positions. In time, plebeian pressure
on the patricians gained them political power.
Romulus was the first of seven kings. During this time period Athens
and Rome were battling for control of the Italian peninsula. Ancient
Athens was beginning to fall apart and eventually the Romans were the
victors.
Israel
Much of what we know about the early
history of the Hebrews, later called the
Jews, is contained in the first five books
of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah. In the
Torah, God chose Abraham to be the
“father” or ancestor, of the Hebrew
people. God commanded Abraham to
move his people to Canaan, an area on
the east coast of the Mediterranean
Sea (modern day Israel). This occurred
around 1800 B.C. In 1000 B.C., David,
the Jewish King, established Jerusalem
as his capital. His son, Solomon, built a
temple in the city for the faithful to
worship and make sacrifices. This is
now referred to as the First Temple.
In 1947 Israel became an independent country.
Hebrew Rule
Other groups around the Hebrews were polytheists, people who believe in
more than one God. The Hebrews, however, were monotheists. They
believed in one God. This God was perfect, all-knowing, all powerful, and
eternal. Earlier, people had generally thought that what the gods wanted
from human beings was the performance of rituals and sacrifices in their
honor. The Hebrews believed that it was God’s wish for people to live
moral lives. The religion of the Hebrews was called Judaism.
Jewish Law
Like the Greeks, Romans, and other ancient peoples, the Jews had a
written code of laws. The Bible states that God gave this code to their
leader Moses in the form of the Ten Commandments and other laws. This
event occurred sometime between 1300 and 1200 B.C. Unlike the laws of
other peoples, the Hebrews’ code focused more on morality and ethics
and less on politics. The code included rules of social and religious
behavior, to which even the rulers were subject.
The Ten Commandments
A Brief History
Four centuries after the building of the First Temple, the Jews were
conquered and forced into exile in Babylon; their temple was left in ruins.
They were allowed to return in 538 B.C. and build a second temple. But
the Holy Land remained under non-Jewish rule and eventually fell into the
orbit of the Roman Empire. After a series of Jewish rebellions, the
Romans again destroyed the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. and forced the
Jews into exile.
Throughout history many different civilizations have conquered and ruled
over the Land of Israel. The land of Israel would fall under Assyrian,
Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanian, Byzantine, Roman, and
Ottoman rule. During nearly two thousand years of exile, persecution, and
genocide, the land of Israel remained the desired homeland of the Jews.
1. I am the Lord your God … You shall have
no other gods besides me
2. You shall not make for yourself a
sculptured image…
3. You shall not swear falsely by the name of
the Lord your God.
4. Remember Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother…
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet … anything that is
your
Spread of Christianity
beliefs of Judaism and Christianity. Eventually, in 380 AD, Christianity
became the officially religion of the Roman Empire. For the next three
centuries the Holy Land was subject to Christian rule, but in the 7th
century, shortly after the death of Mohammed – who established Islam
and whom Muslims believe was a prophet of Allah, their name for God –
Muslims conquered Jerusalem.
Muslim Rule
Except for short period in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries when
Crusaders from Europe conquered parts of the Holy Land, Muslim forces
held power in the area until the Turkish Ottoman Empire disintegrated
after World War I.
As Rome expanded, its power spread throughout the Mediterranean. It
took control of Judea (Israel) around 63 B.C. By 6 B.C., the Romans ruled
Judea directly as part of their empire.
It was during the Roman occupation of Palestine that Jesus was born to
Jewish parents in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. According to the
New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth was born between 6 to 4 B.C. He was
both a Jew and a Roman subject. He began his public ministry at the age
of 30. His preaching contained many ideas from Jewish traditions.
About A.D. 29, Jesus visited Jerusalem. Because some referred to him as
the “king of the Jews,” the Roman governor considered him a political
threat. Jesus was put to death by crucifixion. Christians believe he was
resurrected from the dead three days later, and tradition holds that the
tomb was located where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is today (in
Jerusalem).
Jesus’ followers believed he is the Son of God, the Messiah whose
coming was prophesized in Jewish scripture. Jesus came to be referred to
as Jesus Christ. Christos is a Greek word meaning “messiah” or “savior.”
The word Christianity, the name of the religion founded by Jesus, was
derived from the name Christ.
In the first century after Jesus’ death, his followers began to teach this
new religion based on his message. Christianity slowly spread across the
Roman Empire. In the beginning the Roman Empire was hostile to the
Muslims, though last on the scene, exercised hegemony in the Holy Land
for more than 14 centuries. They too claim an inheritance through the
patriarch Abraham, though through a different lineage. Thus Jerusalem
holds a particular religious significance for Muslims.
Muslim tradition holds that in 622 AD, ten years before his death,
Mohammed took a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he then
ascended to heaven to converse directly with Allah – an event called the
Miraj. Mohammed then returned to earth to impart heavenly knowledge to
his followers. Muslims erected the Dome of the Rock, a shrine built upon
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to mark where this event is said to have
happened. It is considered the third holiest site in Islam.
At the base of the Temple Mount is the Western Wall, the last remnant of
the Jews’ Second Temple (the holiest site in Judaism), and less than a
mile away is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a holy location for
Christians.
Medieval England
The time period following the Middle Ages, is referred to as the Medieval
age. During the Middle Ages, England had been conquered by a few
different European groups. In 1066, a French man named William invaded
and conquered England. He claimed the English throne and began the
process of the democratization of England. One of William’s descendants
was Henry II. He is credited with making dramatic changes to England’s
government, truly moving England away from the feudal system of the
Middle Ages.
Henry had two major successes, the
development of the Jury System and the
Henry II
creation of Common Law. Under the
system of feudalism, when a person was
accused of a crime they were tried in
unfair courts, and would usually have to
survive a duel or some physically painful
or dangerous ordeal to be set free. Henry
created a system of royal judges that
would travel around the country and
would oversee trials. The royal judge
would interview 12 neighbors (jurors) of
the accused about the crime. Using this
information the judge would determine
the guilt or innocence of the accused.
King John
Over time the decisions of these judges
Following Henry’s death, were used to create “common law.”
there were a series of
Common law applied to the entire
rather unimportant kings. kingdom, and was based on the decisions
However, in the 13th
of these royal judges over time, not the
century, King John came will of the existing monarch.
to power. King John
decided to fight a war against France. England lost this war, and as a
result, England lost land and money. King John tried to raise taxes to pay
for the war, which angered British nobles. Eventually the nobles rebelled
and forced John to sign the Magna Carta.
Magna Carta The Magna Carta, or Great Charter, was a contract
between the King and nobles of England guaranteeing and protecting
individual rights and liberties. The Magna Carta implied that the king must
rule according to law. The Magna Carta had 63 clauses, many of which
have come to provide the foundation for modern democracy.
Excerpts From the Magna Carta:
Clause 12: “No tax or aid shall be imposed in our
kingdom, unless by common counsel of our
kingdom…”
Clause 20: “A free man shall not be fined for a trivial
offense; and for a serious offense he shall be fined
according to its gravity, saving his livelihood…”
Clause 38: “…no bailiff shall put anyone on
trial…without bringing credible witnesses to the
charge”
Clause 39: “No freeman shall be arrested or
imprisoned … except by the lawful judgment of his
peers…”
Model Parliament
In 1295, King John’s grandson, Edward I was king. He needed to pay for
a war against France, so rather than repeat the mistakes of his
grandfather, he decided to get permission from the people of England.
Edward called together the lords, and other leading citizens to determine
the course of action. Edward stated “What affects all, by all should be
approved.”
For centuries kings had consulted nobles,
but this was the first time that other
members of British society also
participated. Historians refer to this
gathering as the Model Parliament.
Setting the precedent for the
establishment of an advisement board for
the king. For the next few centuries
Parliament’s power continued to expand,
where Parliament was viewed as a
partner with the monarch in governing the
nation. Parliament voted on taxes,
passed laws, and advised on royal
policies.
France
Renaissance
During the late Middle Ages, Europe suffered from both war and plague.
Those who survived wanted to celebrate life and the human spirit. They
began to question the institutions of the Middle Ages, which had been
unable to prevent war or to relieve suffering brought by the plague. In
northern Italy, writers and artists began to express this new spirit and to
experiment with different styles. These men and women would greatly
change how Europeans saw themselves and their world.
This movement that started in Italy (and eventually spread to the rest of
Europe) caused an explosion of creativity in art, writing, and thought that
lasted approximately from 1300 – 1600. Historians call this period the
Renaissance. The term means rebirth, and in this context it refers to a
revival of art and learning. The educated men and women of the
Renaissance hoped to bring back to life the culture of classical Greece
and Rome. Renaissance scholars looked down on the art and literature of
the Middle Ages. Instead, they wanted to return to the learning of the
Greeks and Romans. They achieved this by studying ancient Latin and
Greek manuscripts. By studying these manuscripts, they became more
influenced by classical ideas. Yet in striving to revive the past, the people
of the Renaissance created something new as well. The contributions
made during this period led to innovative styles of art and literature. They
also led to new values, such as importance of the individual.
The study of classical texts led to humanism, an intellectual movement
that focused on human potential and achievements. Humanists urged
citizens to participate in public life, much as Roman philosophers had
more than a thousand years earlier. Such participation was necessary,
they argued, to prevent tyranny. Humanists emphasized virtue and
knowledge just as the ancient philosophers had, but now they often used
Christian and Jewish moral and ethical principles as the basic of virtuous
behavior. The philosophers of Ancient Greece had established the idea of
natural laws that could be discovered by careful observation and reasoned
inquiry. Judaism and Christianity contributed the belief in the equality of all
human beings. During the Renaissance these ideas were revitalized.
Spread of New
Ideas…
Historians credit the
invention of the printing
press in 1440 for helping
spread new ideas. The
printing press, created by
Johann Gutenberg,
allowed for the production
of books quickly and
cheaply. The cheap
production of books
created a more educated
European society.
Democratic ideas began to
spread more quickly as
books became more
readily available. For
example, books began to
be published regarding
legal proceedings that
helped make laws more
clear so that people were
more likely to understand
their rights.
The humanist ideals continued to influence political philosophers during
the Enlightenment. The Renaissance beliefs on the role of the individual
played a key role in the gradual rise of democratic ideas which were
further developed during the era of the Enlightenment.
Enlightenment
During the 1600s and 1700s, an intellectual movement called the
Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, developed. The Enlightenment
emerged from the era of the Renaissance, as well as the Scientific
Revolution. The Renaissance inspired a spirit of curiosity into many fields,
including the physical or natural world. As scholars began to study the
world around them, they began to replace old assumptions with new
theories. This era of scientific discovery, where new ideas were formed by
using careful observation and logic is called the Scientific Revolution.
Following the Scientific Revolution, and Renaissance, scholars and
philopshers began to reevaluate old notions about other aspects of
society. These thinkers built upon a long history of Western thought to
develop their ideas. They sought new insight into the underlying beliefs
regarding government, religion, economics, and education.
were predominantly writers, journalists, and teachers and were confident
that human society could be improved through rational thought.
While France was the center of the Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers
were from all over Europe.
Most Famous Enlightenment Thinkers:
John Locke
(England)
Salons
Salons were discussion
groups organized by
women during the
Enlightenment. Philsophes
would gather in the
“salon” of someone’s
home, and enjoy food,
drink, and various
discussions about the
world around them.
The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the mid-1700s. Paris
became the meeting place for people who wanted to discuss politics and
ideas. The social critics of this period in France were called Philosophes,
the French word for philosophers. The philosophes believed that people
could apply reason to all aspects of life. These nontraditional thinkers
championed personal liberties and the work of Locke and Newton,
denounced Christianity, and actively opposed the abusive governments
found throughout Europe at the time. As varied as they were, the leading
French philosophes generally came from similar schools of thought. They
Baron de Montesquieu
(France)
Jean Jacques Rousseau
(France)