Ancient Greece

isthmus

harbor

A small strip of land, withwater on both sides, thatconnects two larger areas ofland.

A sheltered place with deepwater close to shore.

trireme A large fighting ship used bythe Ancient Greeks and othersbeginning in the late 6th

century B.C.

• Greece is located on the Balkan Peninsula in

southern Europe.• Seas – The Agean to the east between

Greece and Turkey The Mediterranean Sea to the

south The Ionian Sea to the west

• The southern part of Greece is thePeloponnesus and is connected to themainland by an isthmus.

• About 2000 islands in the surrounding seaswere part of Greece.

• The largest island was Crete, southeast ofthe mainland.

• Colonies of Ancient Greece spread acrossthe seas and were located on the coastsof Northern Africa, Spain, Italy, andAsia Minor.

• ¾ of the land is covered by mountains• The Pindus Range runs north and south

through the center of Greece.• There are narrow valleys and small plains• Inland travel/trade was very difficult• Rivers often dried up making travel

impossible• Villages were very independent and had

little contact with other Greek villages.

• Mt. Olympus was thought to be the homeof Zeus – the most powerful of the gods.

• The sea brought people together.• Greece had many natural harbors.• The sea was a source of food.• Trade was possible.• The sea made it possible to form new

colonies and to trade ideas.

• Conflicts with other nations over trade andand colonization made it necessary forGreece to develop fighting skills andships.

• Large ships for fighting were called triremes.• The culture of Greece was influenced by the

sea.• The sea allowed travel and connected Greeks

to the outside world.• Many Greeks became fishermen and traders.

• Greece had thin soil and a dry climate.• Only 1/5 of the land was good for farming.• Small amounts of wheat and barley were

grown.• The main crops were grapes and olives.• Olive oil was traded for other products.

Vocabulary:cultural borrowing Adapting customs

from one culture foruse in another.

epic A long story-poem.

• Minoans lived on the island of Crete.• British archaeologist, Arthur Evans,

discovered the ruins of the ancientkingdom. He called it the Minoancivilization in honor of the legendaryking of Crete called Minos.

• Minoans built huge palaces that may havebeen the center for governing and forreligion.

• The palaces were like mazes.• Many houses were built around them.• Beyond the palaces were small towns,

villages, and farmland.• The remains of four palaces have been found.• The largest is called Knossos and probably

stood at least 3 stories high.• It probably covered an area as large as 20

football fields.• As many as 12,000 people may have lived

there.

• Paintings of peaceful scenes decorated the walls of palaces.

• The art showed that the Minoans loved music,dancing, and sports.

• Men and women wore long hair and woregold jewelry.

• Religion was important to them.• Paintings and other archaeological evidence

suggests that Minoans were expert sailorsand sea traders.

• Goods were traded for copper, tin, and gold.• The metals were mixed to form bronze and used to

make bowls, axes, and other items.

• Minoans developed a system of writing.• The only remaining records were written on

clay tablets.• No one knows what caused the decline of

the Minoan civilization.

• Mycenaeans lived in Mycenae, a city nearthe coast of Peloponnesus.

• They were war like people.• They traded with the Minoans and learned

much of their culture. (cultural borrowing)• They changed Minoan art styles to make them

more warlike.• They changed the Minoan written language to

match their own.

• Mycenaeans eventually controlled Crete.• They also built huge palaces and walls to

protect them.• Trade lead to the establishment of many

colonies.• No one knows why this civilization weakened.• Some believe the Dorians marched through

burning villages and palaces.• Others believe that “Sea Peoples” attacked

Mycenae.

• Homer is the author of two of thegreatest Greek epics.

• The Iliad – a story about a great war-possibly the Trojan War.

• The Odyssey – the story of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home.

Vocabularypolis

acropolisagora

a city-state in ancient Greece-a city and the farms, towns, andvillages around it.

a walled fort built on a hillan open-air market and gathering place in Greek city-states

tyrant

aristocracy a wealthy ruling class

a cruel ruler, someone whousually took control of agovernment illegally and ruledalone

helot a slave owned by the state inancient Sparta

myth a story passed from generationto generation that usually tellsabout an ancient god or hero

oligarchy

democracy

majority rule

a system in which a smallgroup controls the government

rule by the people

a system in which the ideas and decisions supported by the mostpeople are followed

City-States such as Megara, Argos,Corinth, Athens, and Sparta, weremade up of a city, small towns,villages, and nearby farms. A City-State was called a polis.

Most Greek communities built a fort on top of a large hill

called an acropolis. The acropolis was the center of religion in the city-state. People met in the agora to trade and

discuss the news. Kings (tyrants) ruled the city-states

of early Greece. Later each city-state developed its

own form of government.

In some city-states the aristocracyshared authority with the king.

In other city-states democracies wereformed and male citizens tookpart in assemblies to make laws.

Most city-states had fewer than5,000 people.

When they became too crowded,some city-states set up colonies.

Greek ideas were spread throughoutthe Mediterranean area throughtrade and colonization.

City-states began to compete for tradepartners and land.

Both Sparta and Argos wanted to control Peloponnesus.

Athens and Thebes wanted to controlnortheast Peloponnesus.

Sparta and Athens were not rivals inthe beginning, but they had differentideas and lifestyles.

Located in the southern Peloponnesus Simple life – much physical activity Descendents of Dorian settlers Slaves (helots) were the captured

people who had lived in the areabefore the Spartans.

Helots were owned by the state. Sparta had 10 times as many slaves

as citizens.

Military strength was used to controlthe city-state.

Boys were taken from home at age 7for training.

Training continued until age 18. Boys were often tortured by older

boys, beaten in front of otherswithout crying out, and made tosleep on bare floors to make themtough.

Men served in the army until the ageof 30.

They were trained to believe thatthere was no greater honor than todie defending Sparta.

Girls were trained at home in gymnastics and running.

Women had fewer rights than men, but more rights than women in other city-states.

They handled business matters. Their most important role was

raising strong children.

Spartans lived a simple life anddidn’t want change.

They were afraid travel and tradewould bring unwanted changes totheir society.

Sparta had 2 kings Kings had little authority except in war Each king was part of a 30 member

senate (all 60 years or older) All male citizens were allowed to

participate in the assembly 5 wealthy landowners were elected to

handle daily governing (euphors)

Senators and euphors held the mostpower.

A small group like this is an oligarchy. Spartan government was admired by

other city-states.

Located in Attica – northeast part ofPeloponnesus Peninsula

Men served in the army during wartimes.

Citizens were encouraged to participate in government.(democracy – rule by the people)

Every free man over the age of 20 hadfull political rights and took partin the assemblies.

Each man had one vote and themajority ruled.

Persons causing trouble could bevoted out of the city-state for aperiod of 10 years.

Women could not vote, but they wereconsidered to be citizens.

Slaves in Greece made up one-thirdof the population.

They were owned by private citizens. They did much of the work and had

no rights as citizens.

Greeks were loyal to their city-states. Greek city-states had a strong cultural

connection – belief in a commonancestor, common language, andreligion

Olympics brought all the city-statestogether.

They believed Zeus and the other godscontrolled the events in the world.

They shared a common alphabet – probably influenced by the Phoenician

alphabet.

Vocabularyleague a group of allies

tragedy

comedy

a serious play with anunhappy endinga humorous play

plague a deadly sickness

a person who appeals to the emotions and prejudices of people in order to arouse discontent and advance his or her own political purposes

demagogue

Around 540 B.C. Persia conqueredGreek cities in Asia Minor.

About 500 B.C. the Greeks rebelledagainst Persia.

Athens sent army to help the colonies,but they couldn’t defeat the Persians.

Persia’s King Darius I sent troops toattack Athens.

Athenians met Persians on the plain ofMarathon.

Persia had more men, but Athens wasable to defeat them in one day.

Darius I died, and his son Xerxes tookover as king.

In 480 B.C. Xerxes sent 200,000 soldiersin 800 ships to attack Greece.

The Greek city-states joined their armies and navies to fight Persia.

The Greeks won the war even though they had less men. Greek city-states formed leagues in

case of future attacks. Sparta led the Peloponnesian League. Athens led the Delian League.

A time of achievement Pericles was the leader of Athens. He felt that every citizen had the

right to vote – not just the wealthy. He arranged for jurors to be paid so

they would not lose money beingaway from their jobs.

He offered support to those workingin the arts and building trades.

Writers and scientists were encouraged Great thinkers such as Socrates lived

in Athens at that time.Socrates

Greek Columns

Peloponnesian war Athens and Sparta were not satisfied

with their power Peloponesian League supported Sparta

Delian League supported Athens War lasted 27 years Sparta attacked Athens Citizens of Athens moved into the city City became crowded and disease and

starvation weakened the people

One fourth of the Athenian army died. Pericles also died. Demagogues (bad leaders) took over. Athens surrendered to Sparta in 404

B.C. Sparta replaced Athen’s democracy

with an oligarchy. Athens rebelled and returned to a

a democracy.

Some of the greatest thinkers andteachers lived in Athens duringthe end of the Golden Age and after.

Socrates taught by asking questions. He made his students think rather than

giving them the information. Socrates often criticized Athenians

in an effort to get them to return totheir former greatness.

The Athenian court accused Socratesof teaching dangerous ideas toyoung people.

He was sentenced to death by drinking poison.

He drank the poison because hefelt it was more important to obeythe law than to save his life byrunning away.

Plato was a student of Socrates. Like Socrates, he was disappointed

with the leadership in Athens. Plato said that the leader should be

a good person because good peopleare just and wise.

He thought it was possible to becomea good person by studying hard andloving wisdom.

He thought the philosophers (lovers ofwisdom) would make the best rulers.

In 385 B.C. Plato started a school called

the Academy.

Philosophers could attend the Academy

and learn all they needed to govern

wisely. Plato also had thoughts about what it

takes to be a good citizen. A good citizen thinks and feels and then

takes action.

He thought people should be well informed, understand other

view points, and be responsible for their own behavior. Plato’s ideas about citizenship are

shared by many people today.

Aristotle was a student of Plato’s. He was interested in how things were,

not how he wanted them to be. He entered the Academy at 18 and

studied for 20 years. Aristotle studied law, economics,

astronomy, science, and sports. He left the Academy when Plato died. Aristotle and Plato disagreed about

many things, but they both believedthe best life was spent searching fortruth and knowledge.

Vocabularyalliance

Hellenistic

multicultural

an agreement to cooperate

Greek like

relating to many cultures

HelenisticAge

Discoveries in Astronomy

Spread of GreekLanguage &

Religion

Alexander theGreat

New Ideas inMathematics

Study of Medicine

and Surgery

Multicultural Empire

Phillip II of Macedonia defeated Athensand its allies gaining control of most ofGreece.

Phillip greatly respected Greek culture andwanted to preserve it.

Phillip died, his son Alexander took over asking at the age of 20.

Alexander dreamed of world conquest. He created the largest empire of the time.

His empire was multicultural.

He spread Greek culture.

He built cities that became great centers oflearning.

When he died, his empire crumbled because his generals fought for control.