Mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea

Approximately 1,400 islands

Geography directly shaped traditions and customs

Sea for the Greeks was like the rivers for the river civilizations

Seas were used for transportation (“liquid highways”)

Needed the sea because Greece was poor in natural resources

¾ of Greece is covered with mountains Difficult to unite Greece because

mountains separated Greeks Greeks developed small, independent

communities

Temperatures only varied from 48-80 degrees Fahrenheit, so life was outdoors

Mycenaeans were one of the first people to settle Greece› Warrior-like

Minoans lived in Crete› Seaborne people› Mycenaeans

conquered the Minoans

Mycenaeans vs. Troy According to legend, a

Greek army besieged and destroyed Troy because a Trojan youth kidnapped Helen, a beautiful wife of a Greek king

First was thought to be a myth, but archaeologists have found evidence that maybe these were true events

After Mycenaeans collapsed the Dorians came onto the war-torn countryside

Dorians were less advanced than the Mycenaeans

Appeared that the Greeks temporarily forgotten the art of writing

Homer= greatest storyteller, blind› The Iliad and The Odyssey

(about Trojan War) Epics= narrative poems

celebrating heroic deeds

= traditional stories, about their gods

Through these myths, the Greeks sought to understand the mysteries of nature and the power of human passions

• Gods, polytheistic• Attributed human

qualities, such as love, hate and jealously, to their gods

• Gods lived forever• Zeus= ruler of

Gods• Hera= Zeus’ wife• Mount Olympus=

were the gods lived

• Athena= goddess of wisdom, Zeus’ favorite child

City-state= polis, fundamental political unit in ancient Greece

Acropolis= fortified hilltop

All city-states ruled differently:

› Monarchy= rule by one

› Aristocracy= rule by elite

› Oligarchy= rule by a few people

Iron was better than bronze (which was harder and cheaper)

Citizens were expected to defend their polis

Phalanx=a military formation of foot soldiers armed with shields and swords

=powerful individuals who gained control of the government by appealing to the poor and the discontented for support

Many peasants and farmers joined together to revolt

Military state Sparta conquered locals and

these became helots (peasants forced to stay and work on their land)

Helots were required to give ½ their crops

They revolted, and even though they were outnumbered (8 to 1)the Spartans almost lost. With this fear, they built a strong city-state

2 groups governed Sparta:› 1. Assembly- elected

male officials› 2. Council of Elders-

proposed laws that assembly voted on

› 5 elected officials (ephors) carried out the laws

Men: military training› At age 7, boys left home and

moved into army barracks› Wore no shoes and marched

all day and slept on benches at night

› Ate black porridge Women:

› Women did not enter army, but they did train, run, wrestle and play sports (why?)

› Managed estates while husbands were in army

Spartans valued duty, strength, and discipline over individuality, beauty, and freedom

Democracy= rule of the people

People participated directly in political decision making

Only male adults counted as citizens

Women had no part in government, only job was to raise the family

Peasants demanded a written code of laws

These laws were unfair and soon a new aristocrat was put in power Solon

Outlawed debt slavery

Allowed all citizens to participate

Overseas trade (grapes & olives)

Greece vs. Persian Empire

Battle of Marathon:› Persian army came to

attack the Greeks. The Greeks were outnumbered, but charged. The Greek military advantages won

› Although they won the battle, they had left there city defenseless

The army chose a young runner, named Pheidippides to race back to Athens and report the victory

He brought news of the defeat, sprinting the distance of 26 miles

He gave his message, collapsed and died

10 years later, Darius the Great son, Xerxes still wanted revenge

He attacked Greece When he came to a pass, 7,000 Greeks and 300

Spartans blocked his way. Fearing defeat after a traitor told of a secret passage,

many Greeks retreated. 300 Spartans stayed and all were killed

Greek ships drove their battering rams straight into the Persian ships and sunk 1/3 of Xerxes ships

After the war, the Greek city-states had a new sense of confidence and freedom

Athens became the leader, and formed the Delian League (alliance between city-states)

Last 50 years (480-430 B.C.) Athens experienced a growth in

intellectual and artistic learning

Strengthen Athenian democracy

Hold and strengthen the empire

Glorify Athens

Increased the number of public officials Even the poorest could serve if elected Introduced Direct Democracy=a form of

government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Built a 200 ship navy, the strongest in the Mediterranean

Did this to control the seas and trade

Bought gold, ivory and marble to beautify Athens

Parthenon- artisans who worked for 15 years to build one of architecture’s noblest works

Parthenon was built for Athena, goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens

Athena statue stood 38 feet tall and contained gold and ivory

Figures sculptured during this time were graceful, strong and perfectly formed

Faces neither had a smile or laughter or anger, but were serene

Classical art- values of order, balance and proportion in art

Greeks invented drama and built the first theaters in the west

Tragedy= serious drama about themes like love, hate, war and betrayal› Famous dramatists: Aeschylus,

Sophocles, and Euripides

Comedy= contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor

Many contained satire= works that poked fun at a subject

What does Greek Drama tell us about the Greeks?

The Greeks could enjoy entertainment, and were one of the first to put a lot of effort into having entertainment

Sparta vs. Athens

Athens had the strongest sea power in Greece, but Sparta is located inland and could not be attacked by sea

Athenians were pushed back into Athens when the Spartans attacked

Pericles brought all the residents inside the walls of Athens

Plague killed 1/3- 2/3 of all Athenians, including Pericles

Even with a weaker army, Athens held in for 9 years and then surrendered to Sparta

=“lovers of wisdom”› Based their thinking of

2 assumptions: 1. The Universe (land,

sky and sea) is put together in an orderly way and subject to change

2. People can understand these ideas through logic and reason

Absolute truth and justice exist

“The unexamined life is not worth living”

Encouraged Greeks to question themselves and their moral character

Brought to trial for “corrupting the youth of Athens” and “neglecting the city’s gods.”

Jury disagreed and brought him to death. He died after drinking a slow-acting poison

Student of Socrates Approx. 28 years old

when Socrates died Wrote down Socrates’

words His most famous work,

“The Republic”› Set forth his vision for a

perfect government, which was not a democracy

› His ideal society all citizens fall into 3 groups: farmers and artisans, warriors and the ruling class

› Greatest from the ruling class would be chosen philosopher-king

Pupil of Plato Invented a method for

arguing according to rules of logic

Most famous pupil Alexander› Son of King Philip of

Macedonia› 13 years old prince› Alexander ended as a student

when he became the ruler of Macedonia and later is known as Alexander the Great

Alexander set up many outposts and new cities, all for which were heavily influenced by Greek culture

After his death, a new culture emerged

Hellenistic= blend of Greek, Egyptian, Persian and Indian influences

Center of commerce= Alexandra, Egypt

Allowed to grow because of trade ports and successful commerce

Diverse population

Greek gods on all streets Palaces Glass tomb of Alexander 400 foot bronze lighthouse Museum and library

(dedicated to Muses, the Greek goddess of art and sciences, where the word museum comes from)

Museum contained a small observatory in which astronomers to study planets and stars

Estimated that the sun was at least 300 times larger than the earth (earlier belief was that the sun was smaller than Greece)

Estimated that the earth and planets revolved around the sun, but that the earth was at the center of the universe

Euclid= mathematician who opened a school or geography in Alexandria› Wrote the book, Elements,

which has over 400 geometry patterns

› It is said, that next to the Bible, Euclid’s, Elements, is the most used and studied book

Archimedes= studied at Alexandria, value of pi (ratio of the circumference of a circle), pulley system

Founder: Greek philosopher, Zeno

Believed in a divine power who controlled the universe

Vices like human desires, power and wealth

Social unity Appealed to people of

different races, cultures and economic backgrounds

Founder: Epicurus Universe is composed of

atoms and ruled by gods who had no interest in humans

Only real objects are those you can observe by your 5 senses

Goal of all humans is to gain harmony in body and soul

1. Greece’s geography does NOT include which of the following?A. Many mountainsB. SeaC. Plenty of riversD. Thousands of islands

2. The sea for the Greeks was like a ___________ for the early river valley civilizations.A. RiverB. GodC. Food sourceD. Temple

3. In Greece, seas were nicknamed “liquid __________”.A. RiversB. HighwaysC. OceansD. Streets

4. Who were the first 2 groups of people to enter Greece?A. Dorians and TrojansB. Trojans and MycenaeansC. Mycenaeans and MinoansD. Spartans and Athenians

5. Who was Homer?A. A blind poet who is famous for his epic

talesB. One of the many Greek gods, known

for his cunning storiesC. Leader of the Spartans, who led the

famous battle of the 300D. Leader of Athens during the Golden

Age

6. Spartan became a military state because…A. Spartans were angry about the land

that they receivedB. They were told by the Gods to hate

everyone elseC. They were naturally bigger and stronger

than other GreeksD. They almost lost a battle to their slaves

when their slaves revolted

7. Describe to me the life of a Spartan man who enters into military training (include at least 3 details)

8. Spartans valued ______, ______ and _________ over individuality, beauty and freedomA. Duty, strength and disciplineB. Duty, love and strengthC. Family, Nation and StrengthD. Discipline, Military and Romance

9. Which of the following did Athens and Sparta have in common?A. They were both democraciesB. They were both military statesC. They were both city-statesD. They were both leaders of the Delian

League

10. Why was the Battle of Thermopylae so important to Greek society?A. Xerses showed his strength over the 300

SpartansB. After the Spartan defeat, Sparta stopped

focusing on military and more on democracy

C. Spartans later killed Xerses in revengeD. This was the first time Greek city-states

had fought together and not against each other