Western Civilization

To state off let’s begin with a definition –

What is a “period” in terms of history?

A rather large interval of time that is meaningful in history because of its

particular characteristics

What are the three periods of Western

Civilization as used in this class?

1.Ancient Greeks and Romans

2.Christian Middle Ages

3.Modern Western Civilization

Period 1

Classical Antiquity

Greeks And

Romans

What the heck does that mean?!

1.The quality of being ancient; ancientness: a    bowl of great antiquity.

2.Ancient times; former ages: the splendor of    antiquity.

3.The period of history before the Middle Ages.

4.The peoples, nations, tribes, or cultures of ancient times.

How’d it all start?The Aegean Sea

How’d it all start?

•Greek myth referred to the existence of an early civilization on the island of Crete; archaeologists have since unearthed remains of this Minoan civilization, which flourished from about 2500 to 1450 B.C. The Minoans were the first in the Aegean Region.

•British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans who discovered Minoan remains about 1900 A.D.

Minoan civilization

How’d it all start?

•The Minoan civilization, which earned its living from sea trade, reached its peak around 1600 B.C.; it collapsed about 250 years later.

Both men and women curled their hair, bedecked themselves with gold jewelry, set off narrow waists with wide metal belts.

Minoan woman enjoyed a higher status than many other civilizations. Minoan ships help keep the seas free from pirates

What was the first civilization in the Aegean Region?Minoan Civilization

How’d it all start?

• Minoan ships dominated the Mediterranean

• Ships protected coast—no need for walls

• The destruction or collapse of the Minoan civilization believed by a tidal wave after an earthquake or from attack from Mycenaeans

Minoan civilization

How’d it all start?Mycenaean civilization

•Mycenaeans took control of Crete by 1500 BCE

•Mycenaeans’ main political centre was Mycenae (mainland Greece)

How’d it all start?Mycenaean civilization

How’d it all start?Mycenaean civilization

•More interested in war as pottery and grave sites reflect hunting, weapons, armor and war as well as fortified palace walls

•Used swords made of bronze

•Slowly Minoan culture and traditions disappearedFortify - Strengthen (a place) with defensive

works: "a fortified manor house".

How’d it all start?End of Mycenaean civilization

• Shift in climate leading to drought forcing Myceanans to migrate to more fertile lands

• Tribe of nomadic warriors from north of Greece (Dorians) destroyed Mycenaeans

Myceneaen walls weakened by civil war

Dorians had iron weapons

How’d it all start?Greek Dark Ages

• Historians call the next 300 years of Greek history a “dark age” because overseas trade stopped, people lost skills, and poverty increased.

•Large numbers of “Greeks” flee the Dorian influence and go to Aegean islands and across the Aegean Sea to Asian Minor and a place called Ionia.

How’d it all start?Ionian Rebirth

• By 750 B.C. the Ionians reintroduced culture, crafts and skills to Greece… mostly Mycenaean.

•New Greek culture called Hellenic flourished from 700s until 336 B.C.

How’d it all start?Ionian Rebirth

• Ionians introduce Phoenician alphabet and other cultural elements in Ionia and their former homeland.

• The Phoenician alphabet limits Greek reading and writing to just 24 letters and made learning simpler.

How’d it all start?Ionian Rebirth

How’d it all start?Phoenician Alphabet

• During “Dark Ages”, bards—singing story tellers—kept Mycenaean traditions alive

How’d it all start?Ionian Rebirth