GREECE:THE BIRTHPLACE OF

DEMOCRACY AND MUCH,MUCH MORE!!!

HOW DID GEOGRAPHY AFFECT GREECE?• Most people lived in the mountainous Balkan

Peninsula and the Peloponnesus Peninsula and the island of Crete.

• Its many rough mountains separated the different city-states.

– ¾ of land is mountains– Mt. Olympus is the highest (home of the gods)– Made transportation difficult (took Sparta nearly a

week to travel 60 miles to Olympics)– Affected political life with a collection of small

independent city-states, not one large government• No navigable rivers—the people could not trade

over land• Great weather• The men stayed mostly outdoors in the market

(agora), gymnasium, political meetings, civic andreligious meetings, theatre

• Easy to take part in civic life

• Long coastline with inlets

• People lived around the seas.–The Mediterranean Sea, in particular,

affected Greece like the rivers affected the early river valley civilizations.

–The Agean, Ionian, Black and Mediterranean Seas (“The Waterways”) united Greece.

MINOANS

• The Minoans were a seafaring civilization thatthrived on trade. The isolation of the islandcreated safety.

• Women enjoyed more equality than in othercivilizations.

• Had a very advanced society

–Flushing Toilets

–Used Bronze

–Festivals and Sporting Events

WHO WERE THE MYCENAEANS?

• Migrants from India and Mesopotomia

• The Kings had advanced weapons and tools ofbronze, but ordinary people still used woodand stone tools.

• The villages of the Myceneans were ruled bywarrior kings who built stone fortresses andlived within them.

THE MYCENEANS WERE CONSTANTLYAT WAR THE MOST FAMOUS OF WHICHWAS THE TROJAN WAR.

THE DORIANS MOVED IN• The Dorians were far less advanced than the

Myceneans.–Not good craftsmen–Not good traders–Could not read or write

• Became known as the Dark Ages• Without written language, people relied on

oral tradition to pass on stories. These long oral poems about heroes are known as epics. Example: Homer - The Odyssey

GREEK RELIGION• The Olympics were held in honor of the gods

• The Greeks imagined their gods to be a lot likehumans

• They had their passions/weaknesses (love,hate, fear, jealousy)

• They were quarrelsome, but they wereimmortal.

• Greeks developed myths about their gods andgoddesses and used these myths to understandthe mysteries of nature/life.

GREEK CITY-STATES

• After the Dark Ages, the “polis” developed -that is a city-state (a city and its surroundingland).

• All citizens (free adult males) were expectedto serve the polis

– Meetings were held in the agora (marketplace) or the Acropolis (the fortified hilltop).

– Armies of citizens formed and made ironweapons.

– Every citizen was expected to be a soldierfor his polis.

– Hoplites (foot soldiers with armor, spear,and shield) developed.

– The phalanax developed - the most powerfulfighting machine of its day.

Sparta• Spartans worked to create a strong city-state:

– only healthy children were allowed to live– boys were trained for the army at 7– life in army training was harsh to toughen the

soldiers up– men remained in the army until the age of 30;

then in reserves– women were healthy and vigorous; exercised

and played sports; could not vote– created such a strong army, left little time to

be creative in the arts– military valued duty, strength, and discipline.

AthensAthens created a democracy through the

reforms of two men.

• Solon 594 BC– all male citizens were allowed to attend

assembly

– all citizens were responsible for justice

• Cleisthenes 508 BC

–increased the power of the assembly

–created the Council of Five Hundred to propose new laws and advise the assembly; every citizen could serve

Results of the Persian War

• Persian invaded Athens and the Athenians won.

• Athens emerged as the most powerful city-state.

• Athens became the leader of the Delian League with the purpose of preventing future Persian attacks.

Golden Age of Greece

Around 461 BC, Pericles (a hero from the Persian wars) became the leader of Athens.– He strengthened democracy

• increased the number of paid government positions

– Increased the wealth and power of Athens• used the Delian League’s dues to build up the navy

– Beautified Athens• built the Parthenon (built in classical architecture

and filled with classical art)• drama is invented to show civic pride and to pay

tribute to the gods

Peloponesian War

City-states began to resent Athens. In 431 BC Sparta invaded Athens. In 404 BC, Athens was defeated by the Spartans. This brought an end to the Golden Age of Greece.

Socrates believed you could find truth byasking questions - Socratic method.

Philosophers

Plato: one of Socrates pupils; searched for answers to questions like, “What is love? What is ethical behavior? and What is the best kind of government?” Writings are in the form of dialogues; a famous dialogue is The Republic.

Aristotle: one of Plato’s students; tried to find truth by studying the natural world around him; used scientific method.

Peloponnesian War

• Seriously Weakened the two strongest city-states in Greece

• Sparta and Athens

• However, since many city-states aided them as well, they too became embroiled in the fierce conflict

• The Delian League and the Peloponnesian League

Philip II of Macedon

•Became King at age 23

•Brilliant General and ruthless politician

•He created a powerful army out of peasant farmers

•Increased the number of infantry in the phalanx and doubled the length of the spears

•He then augmented his infantry with cavalry

•He used this to unify Macedonia then he turned to the rest of Greece

“For the Sake of ruling and wielding power, he has had an eye gouged out, his shoulder crushed, both his hand and his leg mutilated; he jettisons whatever part of his body fate wants to take away so long as he can live in honor and glory with what is left. . .”

Demosthenes

So why do we not remember Philip?

• Because his son just happens to be one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever seen!

• Alexander, the Great• Became king at the age

of 20• Taught by Aristotle• He would conquer the

Persian Empire, the ancient enemy of Greece

• Here Alexander is depicted riding his legendary horse Bucephalus

• Here Darius III is depicted at the Battle of Gaugamela

• He looks sad

Alexandrian Legacy: Hellenism• While Alexander was a

Great General, his most lasting achievement was a melding of Greek and Eastern Culture called Hellenism

• Could it be argued that while Greece conquered Persia, Persian Culture conquered Greece?

Greek Persian

Egyptian Indi

an

Hellenistic Culture

Antigonus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy divided Alexander’s empire. Why do you think that they scorned the traditional Greek methods of democratic governance and chose to rule with complete power?

Alexander also fostered huge city building projects such as the City of Alexandria

This is the legendary Pharos or light tower of Egypt

Match-up:•Proposed that the earth and other planets revolve around the Sun

•Taught that the greatest good and pleasure can come only from virtuous conduct and absence of pain

•Invented the study of geometry

•Accurately estimated the value of pi•Calculated the Earth’s true size

•Believed that People should live harmonious lives in communion with natural law

Look in section 5 to find each Hellenistic thinker!