-
5 n - T
FROM CAVES TOC O L O S S E U M S
IOAK'T IW^Ae-lNEHUMANS^ADVAMCWG- MORE THAM WE HAVE"-^WE INVENTED
FIRE. ^
i H i, ' l 'L■ H ir m NO aviLizATioM
W I L L M o v e f u r t h e rAlong- than vie have. m
tfjli% ^ m IT ■^ORT OF MARE^ VOU WONDER
___ WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.m
-
C H A P T E R S E V E NT H E C H I N E S E D Y N A S T I E S
The Myth of CreationT H E D Y N A S T I E S
The Shang DynastyThe Chou DynastyThe Ch’in DynastyThe Han and
Tang Dynasties
The Invaders
The Mings and ManchusT H E C H I N E S E C U L T U R E
The FamilyReligionOther Religions, Philosophy and
Contributions
6 2 - 7 2
C H A P T E R E I G H TT H E G R E E K S
The CretansA N E W T Y P E O F G O V E R N M E N T
The Pol is
The SpartansGovernment Reforms in A thens
The Greek and Persian WarsThe Peloponnesian WarsPhilip of
MacedoniaAlexander the GreatT H E G R E E K C U L T U R E
ReligionThe OlympicsArchitecture and the Arts
The Scientists, Historians, and PhilosophersT H E T H R E E G R
E A T P H I L O S O P H E R S
Socra tesP l a t oA r i s t o t l e
T H E B E L I E F S D U R I N G T H E D E C L I N E
7 3 - 9 1
C H A P T E R N I N ET H E Y E A R S O F T H E R E P U B L I
C
The Latins and Their MythologyThe EtrascansThe Roman RepublicThe
Twe lve Tab lesThe Roman Military MachineThe Punic Wars
H a n n i b a l
ASummary of the Romans
9 2 - 1 2 0
(iii)
-
THE LAST YEARS OF THE REPUBLICACity of Millionaires and
RabbleThe Re fo rmersThe Tr i umv i ra te
Julius Caesar Comes to PowerCaesar in EgyptThe Ides of March
Antony and CleopatraT H E R O M A N E M P I R E
Caesar AugustusThe Four SuccessorsT H E E M P I R E B E G I N S
I T S D E C L I N E
The Good EmperorsThe Decline of Rome is PostponedConstantine and
the Byzantine EmpireThe Roman Empire Collapses
ASummary of the Causes for the Collapse of the RomansR O M A N C
I V I L I Z AT I O N A N D C U LT U R E
R o m a n L a w
The Roman Conquerors and Road BuildersThe Rich and the
PoorSpartacusThe Fami l iesLiterature, Architecture, Science and
MedicineRoman Religion and Christianity
FROM CAVES TO COLOSSEU*MS
(iv)
-
C H A P T E R S E V E NTHE CHINESE DYNASTIES
The Myth of CreationAs with other early civilizations, mythology
was an important part of
China searly history. According to myth, man simply appeared on
Earth.There was no order to the world into which this man came,
only alargepiece of granite floating in space. Working with this
mass of granite, theman created the sun, the moon, and the stars.
From the man's head,mountains were formed. Wind and clouds were his
breath, and the veinsthat ran through his body became rivers. The
fields of the Earth were madefrom his flesh, and the trees and
plants were made from his hair. The rainthat fell to Earth was his
sweat. Every part of his body was used to formeverything on Earth
from rocks to flowers. When he died, insects weredrawn to his body.
The hordes of insects became the Chinese people. Andso the myth
went as to where the largest population on Earth had come.
China is on the continent of Asia, and is north of India. What
is knownof the Chinese civilization goes back to 1500 B.C. It's
earliest history hasunfolded through the artifacts that have been
found on the continent of Asia.China's recorded history begins
after both the Old Stone Age and the NewStone Age. The world had
passed into the Age of Metals before much isk n o w n o f C h i n a
.
Like every civilization, the Chinese were to have periods of
greatness andperiods when they were invaded and conquered. They had
good leaders andbad leaders. And like all civilizations, the
Chinese handed downthings from their culture that are still part of
the world in which you live.
m a n y
T H E D Y N A S T I E ST h e S h a n g D v n a s f v
The Shang people lived in northern China. The Shang family grew
insize and formed clans. The clans formed tribes. The Shang family
becamepowerful enough to conquer other tribes. Their leader became
likeemperor who was thought of as the "son of heaven,controlled the
army, and of course, was the one who was in the best positionto
talk and work with the gods.
a n
He made laws,
6 2
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It is known that during the time of the Shang Dynasty the people
believedin ancestor worship, which became the oldest form of
religion in China.Ancestor worship is the worshipping of those
relatives who have died.From the moment of the relative's death,
the living did all they could to keepon the good side of the spirit
of the deceased. The living depended on thespirits to answer
questions as to when itwas agood time to go to war,w h a t t o m o
r r o w ' s w e a t h e r
would be Uke, and whetheror not asick person wouldr e c o v e r.
W h a t e v e r t h e
Chinese wanted to know,
they turned to their ancestorsfor answers. Even the
poorestpeople had altars where theliving worshipped their deada n c
e s t o r s .
A6ouHE WEATHEj?JHAtJ MVME>
Like other civilizations, theChinese settled along rivers. The
Yellow River, an important Chinese river,provided the needed water
and rich, fertile soil for growing crops. Life washard, but simple
because most of the people earned their living as farmers
oragriculturalists. The people who lived under the Shang Dynasty
had learnedhow to domesticate animals such as cattle, sheep, goats,
and horses.Though they raised milk-giving animals, the Chinese,
like several otherAsian civilizations, never drank milk or ate
dairy products.
No one is sure if the Shangs were the first to discover how to
make silk,but it is known that very early in the history of the
Chinese civilization theydiscovered how to make silk from the
silkworm that ate only mulberryleaves. The making of silk was one
of the mostly closely guarded of allChinese secrets. Some believe
this secret was carried to other parts of theworld when aChinese
princess hid eggs of the silk moth and mulberry seedsin her
headdress and escaped from China.
Though not much is known about the Shang Dynasty, this dynasty
is thethat began what was to become Chinese civilization.o n e
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T h e C h o u D y n a s t y
No other dynasty in the history of China lasted longer than the
Chou (jO)Dynasty. It lasted four times longer than the United
States has existed, orfor over 800 years. About 1028 B.C. the Chou
Dynasty, which had itsbeginnings in western China, conquered the
Shangs. What happened is avery good example of cultural
assimilation. The Shang culture was muchmore advanced than the
war-like Chou civilization. Though the Chouconquerors were much
more powerful, they learned from the Shang peoplehow to be c iv i l
ized.
As with every civilization, the mler has to have powerful nobles
who willhelp to defend what has been conquered. China set up what
is called afeudal (few-duD system. In afeudal system the mler lets
powerful nobleshave large areas of land. In return for the land and
the power to mle over thepeople on the land, the nobles pledge to
protect the mler. When the mlerwent to war or was attacked by other
civilizations, the nobles fought for them l e r .
Feudal systems work as long as the mler is powerful and can
control thenobles. When aweak mler takes over, the nobles can
become quitepow'erful. Strong mlers would play one noble against
the other. If onenoble would not do as the mler asked, the mler
could get the support ofother nobles by promising them the land of
the disobedient noble.
Though the Chou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty,
once themlers became weak, there were others who were ready to
invade theemperor sland. Those who lay in wait were the ones who
were to giveChina its name.
T h e C h ' i n D v n a s t v
It was the Ch'in people who took power away from the Chou
Dynasty.The leader of the Ch’ins became The First Emperor, and it
is believed thatthe name China came from this dynasty. Some of
China's mlers had lived inhouses built of earth that was stacked
and shaped on wooden pillars. TheFirst Emperor rose to such
greatness that his house had 10,000 rooms! Hewas so worried that
someone might murder him in his sleep in the hope ofbecoming the
next emperor, that every night he slept in adifferent room.The
emperor needed abig house because he had 13,000 wives and 2800c h i
l d r e n !
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The emperor enjoyed his life somuch he didn't want to give it
up.He sent many of his subjects out tosearch for the magic that
wouldmake him live forever. Theysearched the Earth looking forthe
magic that would keep theemperor always young.Naturally, no one
found anysuch magic and the emperor died.He was buried in ahuge
walledmausoleum along with all living members of his family, and ah
his relatives,and all the workmen who knew where his coffm was
located.
The emperor of the Ch in Dynasty was really the first true
emperor ofChina. The title of emperor was to be handed down for
2000China the longest lasting empire that has ever existed. Despite
the fact thatthe First Emperor had 10,000 rooms to wander around
in, he still had timeto plan the building of the Great Wall. The
Great Wall was built to protectChina from invasion. It stretched
for 1500 miles, was fifteen feet thick, andbetween forty to fifty
feet high. People from aU over the world still travel toChina to
see one of the greatest structures ever built. Thousands of
peopledied in this project that took ten years. Not only were
slaves used, but theFirst Emperor put to work anyone whom he didn't
like, and theremany whom he didn't like.
years , g iv ing
w e r e
The First Emperor truly did turn China into an empire. He united
Chinaand conquered neighboring lands. He put an end to the feudal
system. Hesaw no sense in giving power to nobles when he could
control them withoutgiving them land.
The power of the dynasty passed to the Second Emperor,
whomurdered three years after taking over the dynasty. Constant
warring wenton between army generals, one of whom broke into the
First Emperor'stomb and sacked it by stealing whatever he could.
The Ch’in Dynasty,without astrong leader, simply came to an end
when the First Emperor died.
w a s
6 5
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T h e J H f a n a n d Ta n g D y n a s t i e s
From among the warring army generals came the founder of the
HanDynasty. This dynasty was to last for four hundred years. This
dynastystarted out very well because it had agood emperor who
didn’t persecutepeople. He let the educated people, called
scholars, write and speak abouttheir ideas. This emperor did not
call for the burning of books, as did theFirst Emperor.
The Han Dynasty set up something that was to become an important
partof the Chinese government: civil servant tests. Important
governmentjobs always had been given to tliose in the noble class.
More often than not,the nobles did what was best for themselves
rather than what was best forthe people. Under the Han Dynasty
well-educated scholars were allowed totake government or civil
tests. If the scholars did well on the tests, theywere appointed to
positions in the government.
The purpose of the Chinese civil servant tests was to see that
only thebest and most capable people were selected to be
"government servantsthose who worked for the people.
o r
During the Han DynastyChina began trading more andmore vHth
other parts of theworld. Chinese silks and
spices were carried to all partsof the known world. For
the first time in history otherparts of the world were learn¬ing
about the Chinese culmreand the products that the tradershad to
sell.
^ T H E S E S C H O L A R S I T M A D E .ITH\HV; l ' t\ C-QIH6-
TO LOOK INtTO
THOSE CIVIL SERVANT TESTS. ^
fi T
7I A
4*
After the fall of the Han Dynasty, China was to have many
otherdynasties, some of which were good, and some of which were
bad. Underthe Tang Dynasty, for example, China allowed
philosophers, scholars, andpeople of aU religious faiths to come
and go freely in China.
It was the Chinese who invented paper sometime around 105 A.D.,
but6 6
-
the first printed book did not come out until many years later.
Not onlythe Chinese the first to have printed books, but they also
had the first printedm o n e y .
w e r e
Under aTang emperor China reached its Golden Age. People from
aUover the world were coming to China to see its greatness. Emperor
Mingencouraged music and literature to be written. He was fair and
just, taking agreat interest in reforms, or changes that would
improve the lives of thepeople.
China could not have asked for abetter emperor. Then suddenly
hisinterest in China came to an end. At the age of 60 he met the
most beautifulChinese woman he had ever seen. He loved her so much
that he gave up aUhis interest in government and mling. Control of
China was turned over tohis sweetheart's brother who did one
horrible thing after another. First, heled arebellion against the
emperor and tried to make himself emperor. Thenthe old emperor's
army turned against the younger man. The army took theemperor’s
sweetheart prisoner and murdered her before the emperor. Theold man
was so broken hearted, that he abdicated, or gave up the
throne.Civil war broke out in China over who would be the next
emperor.
It is strange that the greatest empire China ever had came to an
end notbecause of apoor mler or because of invaders, but because of
abeautifulyoung girl.
C O M P L E T E W O R K S H E E T 1 5T h e I n v a d e r s
Other dynasties came and went,and aU feared that one day the
dreadedMongols on China's border wouldinvade China. These
fearless
fighters from central Asia spreadout all over Asia, eastern
Europe,and into India. Every Mongolmale from age 15 to 70 was
givenfour horses and taken into the army.The Mongol army was one of
the mostfeared calvary the world has ever seen. They rode their
horses nonstop.When hungry or thirsty, they pimctured the skin of
their horses, drew blood
THAT tSMlLE OFF YOORiFAcE. WE /AOH
-
drank it, and kept on riding.
When the Chinese learned that the Mongols, or Tartars, as they
alsowere called, were approaching, over ahundred thousand Chinese
drownedthemselves in the sea rather than be the victims of the
Mongol hordes ridingtowa rd t hem.
The leader of the Mongols was Genghis Khan (jeng-gis-kon),
whobecame one of the world’s greatest, but cruelest conquerors. He
sackedcities, taking everything of value. Then he burned the cities
so that all thatremained were ashes. He tortured and massacred
thousands of people. Oneof the most dreaded bits of news any city
could hear was that the Mongolswere on their way.
Strangely enough, the descendants of Genghis Khan were good
rulers.Genghis Khan's descendant, Akbar, was to become one of
India's kindestand greatest rulers. Genghis Khan's descendant in
China was KublaiKhan (koo-bU kon.)
Kublai Khan had roads and canals built. He set up p^ .offices
thatemployed thousands of riders who traveled from one part of the
empire tothe other with mail. He had the government store food to
give to the peoplein time of famine and floods. He mled wisely and
fairly.
It was during Kublai Khan's reign that Europeans became
interested intrading with the Chinese. Much of Europe's interest in
China, which theEuropeans called Cathay, came from the 20-year
visit of Marco Polo, aEuropean from Italy. Marco Polo wrote about
the beauty of Chinese cities,the silk and other wonders of China.
Marco Polo probably was responsiblefor one of the greatest of all
cultural assimilations. He introduced the thin,Chinese noodle to
Europeans. The Italians put ared sauce on this thinnoodle and the
world has had spaghetti ever since.
Kublai Kdian began aMongol Dynasty that lasted less than 90
years. Thestrength of any dynasty always depends on the leader. The
Mongol dynastywent from strong to weak leaders, and from good times
to bad times. Whenthe bad times came, and the dynasty grew weak,
others were waiting to takeo v e r .
6 8
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Thg Mings_ and Manchus
Following the collapse of the Mongol Dynasty, China lost contact
withThe West” at that time was Europe. Trade and cultural
assunilation almost came to an end. The Chinese became isolated
or shut offfrom the rest of the world. During this isolation
Europestronger and more powerful.
t h e W e s t .
w a s g r o w i n g
In China the Ming Dynasty had come into power. Toward the end of
theMing Dynasty the Age of Exploration had already begun. Explorers
from aUover Europe were finding out about distant lands. America
had beendiscovered, and the whole world was changing very
quickly.
European traders, businessmen, and missionaries made their w a y
t oChina. The Chinese thought of these people from the western
worldb a r b a r i a n s .
a s
In some ways the Chinese were right. While the Europeancities
were filthy and the people were dying from plagues and other
horriblediseases, the Chinese culmre flourished. But it was the
"barbarians" fromEurope who were to win out.
Strangely enough, it was the Chinese who had invented apowder
for thefireworks they shot off at their celebrations. The Europeans
traded thingsfor this powder and turned it into gunpowder. The
Chinese inventionlater used against them when the Europeans came to
China with weaponsthat could be used to shoot Chinese.
w a s
As the Europeans grew stronger, the Ming Dynasty gave way to
theManchus, descendants of the once powerful Mongol or Tartars who
ruledChina about three hundred years earlier. The Manchus tried to
keepEuropeans out of China, but they were doomed to failure. The
Europeanswanted to sell their products in China, they wanted
China’s naturalresources, and they wanted to trade with China. The
Europeans, and thenfinally the young American nation, were to get
what they wanted.
Control of China was divided up not by emperors, but by
Europeans andAmericans. The Manchus remained as emperors, but aU
their powergone. Finally in 1912 the last dynasty of China came to
an end. No othercivilization in the history of the world had such
long lasting dynasties.
COMPLETE WORKSHEET 16
w a s
6 9
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T H E C H I N E S E C U L T U R E
The Chinese civilization was one that clung to traditions. Alook
at Chinain the 1800s shows that China was not much different than
the China of the300s. Between the 1400s and the 1800s both Europe
and North Americagrew and developed by leaps and bounds. The
Americans had gone fromliving in log cabins in the wilderness lands
to living in large cities and ridingelevators up buildings that
were called skyscrapers. Life in China, though,remained very much
as it had been for thousands of years.
About 80 percent of the Chinese earned their living in
agriculture.Despite ail the farming that was carried on, millions
died of hunger everyyear. Flooding rivers and insects destroyed the
few crops that the Chinesegrew. Most Chinese ate nothing more than
millet, acereal grass, fish, andrice. Most woke up hungry and went
to bed hungry. If their doctors keptthem well, the doctors were
paid. When anyone became sick, the doctorreceived no money for
treating the patients. The wealthy had vegetables andfmits, as well
as some of their other favorites like grasshoppers, silkworms,and
seaweed. The wealthier Chinese began their meals with dessert,
andserved soup as the last course. Whether they were rich or poor,
they aildrank tea.
T h e F a m i l y
The Chinese had what is called apatriarchal (pA-tree-R-kuD
family, orone which was ruled by the father or male. Families had
agreat deal ofloyalty to one another. When sons married they
brought their wives home,and the wives learned from the mother of
the sons. Women were thought ofas weak and quiet, and the men were
thought of as warm, active, and rightabout everything.
When famines hit, and there were many that brought starvation to
themasses, it was the females who suffered most from the food
shortage.Infanticide, or the killing of infants, was aimed at the
female infant. Thefemales were left outside to die of hunger. If
afamily had produced toomany girls, the newborn female was killed,
and the family went on trying tohave male children.
The Chinese bound the feet of young girls because small feet
were greatlyadmired. One of the Chinese emperors was greatly
attracted to women with
7 0
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tiny feet. From that time until well into modem times the
females had theirfeet bound and wrapped when they were seven years
old so that their feetwould remain tiny. It was avery painful
practice that led to many of thewomen becoming nearly crippled.
OK i4or Another o»ae_ O F M V E h i E M l E ^ f - rMarriages
were arranged by the
parents. Sometimes the weddingof ayet unborn child was plannedby
the family. Infants wereconsidered ayear old whenthey were bom.
Everyonewas expected to get manied,and when the husband died,
the widows did not marry again. ̂Like the women of India,
someChinese women committed suicide
when their husbands died. During the time of mourning those who
grievedwore white rather than black. When feuds took place between
families ormembers of aneighborhood, the best way to get revenge
against an enemywas to go to his home and commit suicide.
r :
L
R e l i g i o nThough ancestor worship can be found in the
earliest history of China,
another belief was to have avery strong affect on the Chinese
people. Thebelief was Confucianism (kun-fU-she-un-ism). Confucius
(kun-fU-sh-us) was abrilliant scholar and teacher. People all over
the world still quotethis Chinese philosopher. Confucius made no
claim that he had talked withany gods or that he had any more
knowledge about life after death than anyother person had.
Confucius was amoral man who worried about the morality of
theChinese people. Confucius had thousands of sayings that helped
to guidethe lives of the people. One such saying was the "golden
mle," which said;"What you do not like when done to yourself, do
not do to others."Confucius was an honest, sincere, good man who
wanted the Chinesepeople to be moral and good. This included the
emperors and nobles. Someof the emperors, like the First Emperor,
for example, had the writings ofConfucius burned. Other emperors
praised Confucius and saw that his be-
7 1
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liefs and ideas were taught in the schools and memorized by
scholars. Thosewho took the civil servant tests to become
mandarins, or governmentofficials, had to know all the things that
Confucius taught.
Other Re l ig ions . Ph i losophy and Cont r ibu t ions
Buddhism also spread to China when this Asian empire began
tradingwith other parts of the world. Though some emperors
persecuted any whoturned to Buddhism, the Chinese people found it
to be avery hopefulreligion. It was comforting to believe that if
they led agood life, they couldimprove their lives through
reincarnation.
Though the Legalists were not religious people, they strongly
disagreedwith Confucius. The Legalists did not think that people
were ever going tobe morally good on their own, and the only way to
make people be goodwas to have laws that they must obey. They also
believed that peoplenot intelligent enough to rule themselves;
therefore, ail the decisions forsociety should be made by the
aristocracy or ruling class who were educatedand who knew what was
good for the people.
Though the Chinese culture was not the oldest in the world, it
lastedlonger than any other civilization. The greatest Chinese
thinkers thoughtphilosophers might think. For example, they saw
nature as athing of beautyrather than as athing that needed to be
understood. Basically, Chinesescholars had no interest in finding
scientific answers to questions about theuniverse. They more or
less simply wanted to look in wonder at the beautythat was part of
the universe.
The Chinese, though, made many cultural contributions. They
inventedsuch things as the wheelbarrow, upholstered furniture,
painted fingernails,paper, paper money, wallpaper, and the
technique for landscape painting.The Chinese had learned how to use
cold storage to preserve food, and howto use heat to warm their
homes. The hand grenades and gunpowder thatthey used for special
occasions were taken by the West and used in warfare.
w e r e
a s
And, Confucius must have known that there would be many who
wouldwant to study history when he advised, "Learn the past, and
you will
know the fumre."n o t
COMPLETE WORKSHEET 17. COMPLETE TEST PAGES 17-19.THEN COMPLETE
REVIEW TEST PAGES 20-23
7 2
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C H A P T E R E I G H TT H E G R E E K S
There have only been times afew times in history when, foror
another, many great people seemed to be gathered together at one
time inone place. That was certainly tme during the time when the
Americancolonies formed into the United States, and it certainly
was tme of the Greekcivilization. '
o n e r e a s o n
The Greek civilization was the earliest, and certainly most
important,civilLzation to form on the continent of Europe. The
Greeks, thereforethought of as aWestern civilization rather than as
Eastern or MiddleEastern civilizations such as the Chinese,
Egyptian, or Mesopotamian. It ismainly from the Greek civilization
that many of the ideas for yourculture have come.
, a r e
o w n
T h e C r e t a n s
About 3000 years ago agroup of people called the Hellenes
(h-L-Enz)moved to southern Europe in search of better living
conditions and abetterfood supply. They migrated to the large
island of Crete (krEt) which islocated in the Aegean (u-G-un) Sea,
abranch of the Mediterranean Sea.This civilization is called the
Aegean or the Cretan civilization. Thiscivilization developed at
the same time that the Mesopotamians and theEgyptian civilizations
were growing in importance. The Cretans had amonarch, or king, as
their mler, but he was not an absolute monarch as thearistocracy,
or wealthy land-owning nobles, also had power.
The Cretans lived on an island; therefore, they became
maritimetraders. Maritime means seagoing. The Cretans traded with
cultures in theMiddle East and with other places in Europe,
After the Cretans grew more powerful they invaded apeninsula to
thenorth of Crete. Apeninsula is land surrounded on three sides by
water. Thepeninsula which the Cretans invaded was Greece. They
conquered thepeople. The marriages that took place between these
two groups eventuallyproduced the people who were to do such
outstanding things and who wereto make their civilization what is
called aclassical civilization. Anythingthat is classical never
dies. It goes on generation after generation, lastingthrough
time.
7 3
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A N E W T Y P E O F G O V E R N M E N T
In order for anation to form, certain things are needed. First,
there has tobe an area of land or territory that the people share.
The people within theterritory have to have acommon language,
common customs, and commonbeliefs that will unite them. They also
can be united by apowerful tribalchief who can force agroup of
people to form anation. Though the Greeksshared acommon language
and common customs, they never formed anat ion unt i l modem t
imes.
One of the main reasons the Greeks did not form anation was
the
geography of the land kept them separated. Greece is avery
mountainousarea, and the Greek peninsula is surrounded by large
bays and gulfs ofwater. The mountains and the water, then,
prevented the people fromuniting into one nation.
Th^ PqH§Instead of having anational government, or the type of
government a
nation forms, the Greeks had city-states. Acity-state was called
apolls.From this Greek word came the English words of police,
politics, andpol icy.
At the center of the polis was an acropolis. An acropolis was
ahiU thatoverlooked the city. The temples, and the fortresses that
protected the city-state were located on the acropolis. Houses,
shops, and markets were at thebottom of the acropolis. Outside the
city were the farms or "state."
The government of Athens, one of the most important of all
city-states,was mled by an oligarchy (0-li-g-R-k^.) In an oligarchy
asmall groupof wealthy, powerful people hold the power.
A 5The Greek form of governmentw a s d i f f e r e n t t h a n w
h a t o t h e r
c i v i l i z a t i o n s h a d f o r m e d b e c a u s e
warfare had changed. Over thecenturies it had always been the
richnobles who fought the battlesbecause they were the only ones
whocould afford horses, chariots, and theequipment needed for
battle. Battles
THIS,NOU wRltHT TO VQTEklF^OUW V L U
■ti(t
/ (j
i A >
7 4
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had been fought with afew soldiers on each side. Then warfare
changedbecause new and more deadly weapons had been invented. The
moremodem warfare called for huge numbers of foot soldiers. The
rich noblescouldn't provide the mlers with all the soldiers who
were needed.
The large number of soldiers had to come from the middle and the
p o o r e rclasses. There was acatch, though. The middle and poorer
classes refusedto fight if they didn't get some rights. One right
they demanded was theright to vote, or suffrage. The mlers had to
give up some of their power inorder to raise an army. Greek
leaders, then, were more or less forced to setup atype of
government in which the common people had rights. Giving thepeople
rights was the beginning of democracy. The idea for
ademocracy,which means the people have asay-so in choosing the
leaders, came fromthe Greeks.
COMPLETE WORKSHEET 18
T h ^ g p a r t a n s
One of the most important of aU Greek cities was Athens. The
other cityof great importance was Sparta. The two cities were quite
different, and thetwo cities fought each other throughout much of
Greek history.
The Spartans lived in southern Greece and were mostly farmers.
Theyeventually conquered many of the people who lived in nearby
areas. TheSpartans annexed or added the conquered lands to their
own kingdom,which was mled by two kings. If the conquered people
obeyed theSpartans, they were allowed to go on with their lives and
do what they hadalways done, although they had no rights. If the
conquered people didn’tobey the Spartans, they became helots, or
slaves who worked as laborersa s s e r v a n t s .
o r
The Spartans had one purpose:to keep astrong army. Every
maleSpartan was raised to be asoldier.As soon as amale child was
bom,the infant was inspected. If thechild was sickly or had
anythingwrong with it, the infant was placedoutside and left to
die.
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When male children turned seven, they were taken from their
parents andsent to live in military schools. In the schools they
were taught to obey, putup with pain, and be obedient. They were
not given one single thing tomake their lives the least
comfortable. They slept on boards or they sleptoutside no matter
how cold it was.
At the age of 20 the males were taken into the army. At age 30
asoldiercould retire and marry. But even after retirement the
Spartans were watched.If they gained too much weight, for example,
they could be sent away fromSparta. ASpartan always was supposed to
be healthy and fit.
Spartans also had to marry or they were punished. Bachelors
wereattacked on the street and beaten. Since the conquered people
outnumberedthe Spartans, it was important to produce more Spartans
who devoted theirlives to the military. Though the Spartans had the
finest army in Greece,they did not have artists, writers,
scientists, or philosophers because theirtime, money, and efforts
were spent on armies and training for the military.
G o v e r n m e n t R e f o r m s i n A t h e n s
Even though many Athenians (u-thm-E-unz) had been given the
right totake part in their government, Athens still had many
periods of socialunrest. Society, of course, is the people. The
word social also has to dowith the people. When there is social
unrest, the people are rioting ormarching or refusing to work
because they are unhappy with the way thingsa r e .
At one time in the history of Athens the rulers called upon
Draco, (drA-kO) awealthy nobleman, to write acode that the people
would have to obeyso that social unrest would end. The Draconian
(drA-cOn-E-un) Codewas so harsh that people were put to death for
stealing an apple. Throughouthistory when agovernment treated its
citizens very unfairly and veryharshly, it often has been said the
Draconian Code was used.
The Draconian Code only made matters worse. The mobsviolent All
of Athens was threatened because of the violent revolts thattaking
place. Then history brought along the right man at the right time.
Hisname was Solon (sO-lun). Solon was astatesman, or one who
usedreason, wisdom, and ability to solve government problems. Solon
was the
g r e w m o r ew e r e
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Greek statesman who started the Greeks on aroad that was to
carry themtoward democracy, or agovernment in which all the people
had the right toelect the leaders. Solon is thought of as the
"father of democracy."
Athens had been governed by an oligarchy that foraied acouncil.
Theymade all the decisions for the government. The Athenians also
had whatcalled apopular assembly. An assembly is ameeting.
Apopularassembly means ameeting of the people. All free Athenians
over the age of20 were allowed to take part in this assembly. They
could vote on whetheror not to remove government officers. If you
can remember how all-powerful the kings, shahs, and pharaohs were,
you can see that givingordinary people rights was agiant step
forward for mankind.
Everything certainly was not perfect in Athens. There were those
whofelt Solon had gone too far. Civil strife, which is very much
like socialunrest, continued to take place in Athens. The civil
strife occurred betweenthose who believed Solon was right, and
those who wanted to keep thepower in the hands of an oligarchy.
w a s
About 500 B.C. the Athenians were given aconstitution, which is
aArtisans, traders, farmers,
“businessmen, the rich and the poor all were given suffrage, or
the right tovote. The popular assembly passed laws and talked about
whetherthey should go to war, and what should be done in each
polis. To keepanyone from becoming atyrant (tl-runt), or aperson
who holds agreat dealof power and who misuses the power, the
assembly ostracized (os-tm-sized) anyone who tried to become too
powerful or who tried to take awaythe rights of the people. When
aperson was ostracized, he had to leaveAthens for ten years. The
Greeks had learned from other civilizations thedanger of one person
having too much power.
guide as to how agovernment wiU be run.
o r n o t
One of the great Greek orators, or speakers, was Pericles
(pair-i-klEzl.Pericles wanted Athens to become an example of
democracy. Athens hadpure democracy, which allowed each person to
vote for or against aleader
government decision. Representative democracy was to come
muchlater in history. In arepresentative democracy the people vote
forgovernment leaders to represent them, or to speak and vote for
them onlaws and other things that affect the lives of the
people.
o r a
7 7
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Not all the people who lived in Athens were allowed to vote.
Foreigners,women, and slaves, for example, could not vote. Most
laborers and farmerswere too busy trying to earn aliving to take
part in the pure democracy thatwas offered to them. Nevertheless,
the idea of ademocracy even existingwas one of the most unusual
ideas to come along since the beginning ofc i v i l i z a t i o n s
.
C O M P L E T E W O R K S H E E T 1 9
T h e G r e e k a n d P e r s i a n W a r s
The Greeks had set up coloniesin an area of the world called
Asia
Minor, which is where thecountry of Turkey is nowlocated. The
Persians, whowere the greatest of aUconquerors, took over theG r e
e k c o l o n i e s . I n 4 9 9 B . C .the Greek colonis ts revol
ted
against the Persians. Thecolonists asked both Spartaand Athens
for help. Spartasent no help because the moon wasn't full, which
shows that the Greeks,despite all their advances, still believed
momens or signs.
NEAR 1CAN tell,ATHE ATHENIAMS won ̂
the battle of marathon.
In 490 B.C. the Athenians defeated avery large Persian army. It
amazedthe world that the Athenians could defeat the Persians. This
battle betweenthe Persians and Athenians was the Battle of
Marathon. An Athenianmnner was sent to race the 24 miles from
Marathon to Athens to tell the
Athenians the great news of the Greek victory. The Marathon
runnerdelivered the news. Then he collapsed and died. To this day
long distancerunners take part in marathons, aname that came from
the battle in which theGreeks defeated the Persians.
Several more battles between the Persians and Greeks took place
over theyears. The Greeks, though, were to win out and force the
Persians back tothe i r home land .
7 8
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Th.e_ Pe loponnes ian Wars
For defense, for trade, and for business reasons the Greek
city-statesneeded to unite. Athens formed alliances with many other
Greek city-states.Alliances are agreements between governments to
help each other in time ofneed. Athens and her allies formed an
alliance called the Delian (D-lE-yun)League.
The Spartans worried that Athens was becoming too powerful.
Todefend itself against Athens and her allies, the Spartans also
set up aleague.The city-state that joined with Sparta formed the
Peloponnesian (p-L-0-pu-nE-zun) League. Pericles believed that it
was just amatter of time beforethe Spartans tried to take control
of aU the Greek cities. Rather than wait forthis to happen, the
Athenians began aquarrel with one of the cities in thePeloponnesian
League. The Spartans went to the defense of the city-state intheir
league. And so began astmggle for power between the Athenians
andSpartans that lasted for nearly thirty years. These wars are
called thePeloponnesian Wars.
Athens took in many people who were fleeing from the Spartans.
Athensbecame so crowded that plague and other diseases broke out.
Athird of thepeople in Athens died from diseases. One who lost his
life in the plague wasPericles. The Spartans, with aid from the
Persians, finally conquered theAthenians.
The Spartans were good fighters, but they knew nothing of
governing.Social unrest and civil strife continued. There simply
was no peacethroughout Greece. What the Greeks needed was another
strong leader totake command and to unite the Greeks. No such man
came forth from
among the Greeks. To the north of Greece, though, was aleader
whomoved down upon the Greeks and ended the warring.
Pb-lUp. 9f M^q^dPhlaMacedonia (ma-s-dO-nE-u) was north of
Greece. Philip, King of the
Macedonians, was avery clever man. He also was avery good
militaryleader. Above all, Philip greatly admired the Greek
culture. As ayoungman he lived in Greece in the home of agreat
Greek general. It was fromthis general that Philip learned how to
organize an army.
7 9
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Because the Greeks couldn't put an end to civil strife and bring
unity toGreece, Philip decided to do it for them. Using his
well-disciplined soldiers,he sent one of the best-equipped armies
the world has ever seen to invadeGreece. Philip was not like most
conquerors. He didn't come to wipe outthe Greek culture: he came to
preserve it. To end the Greek's fear of Persia,Philip decided he
would conquer the Persians. Philip did not live longenough to
accomplish what he set out to do.
Philip's plan to conquer Persia and unite Greece never came
aboutbecause of the poor choice he made when he married. Philip had
severalwives, and he quarreled constantly with all the families
that he createdthrough his marriages. One of his ex-wives was not
tlie least happy with theway she had been treated by Philip. She
hired an agent to assassinate Philip.History, then, was changed by
the anger of an unhappy ex-wife.
A l e x a n d e r t h eWhat Philip was unable to do—conquer the
Persians and unite the Greeks-
-was done by his son Alexander. This was the same Alexander who
carriedGreek culture to India. Alexander was only 22 when his
father was killed.After Philip's death some of the Greek cities
tried to overthrow theMacedonians. Those who turned against
Alexander had not yet learned whatapowerful man he could be. He
simply crushed his enemies. When onecity rose up against him,
Alexander burned the city to the ground,slaughtered the men, and
sold the women and children into slavery.
Once Alexander had the Greek city-states under control, he
marchedagainst and defeated the Persians. After freeing all the
Greek colonies fromPersian rule, the Greeks turned Alexander into
ahero.
Though Alexander could be cmel, he respected learning. His
teacher hadbeen Aristotle, (^-u-stot-ul) one of the greatest
thinkers of all time.Aristotle taught Alexander that science,
literature, and philosophyimportant. Learning flourished, or
increased and spread, when Alexanderruled over his empire, which
included Asia Minor, the Middle East and partso f I n d i a .
w e r e
Alexander married aPersian princess and he encouraged his
officers tomarry Persian women. Alexander believed that the Greek
customs and Greek
8 0
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culture could be spread through the marriages of his soldiers
and thosewhom they conquered. It was Alexander's hope that all the
known worldcould be united and ruled by justice and reason.
Alexander sent Greeks to set up colonies in aU parts of the
known world.The city of Alexandria was set up in Egypt. For
hundreds of years thiscity was important because scholars from all
over the worldAlexandria to study and to exchange ideas.
c a m e t o
The death of this young, powerful conqueror came when he was in
India.His army had grown sick from the hot climate. The Indian
people rebelledagainst their conquerors, using armies of elephants
to fight against theMacedonians. Alexander’s soldiers refused to
travel any farther or to go onfighting against the Indians. Dying
of thirst, suffering from heat and sickwith fevers, the army
retreated to the city of Babylon.
Alexander grew weak from old battle wounds and came down with
afever. As he lay dying he was asked who should take over his
empire. Hisanswer was, "Whoever is the strongest,powerful and
organized as Alexander had been. In only 13 years heconquered all
there was to conquer.
But there never was to be one so
His wife, Roxane, gave birth to ason amonth after Alexander
died.She, her son, and Alexander's mother and brother were all put
to death bythe generals in Alexander's army so that none of them
could ever claim theyhad the right to take Alexander's place.
For forty years the Macedonian generals fought over the control
of theempire created by Alexander. The empire finally was divided
up into threekingdoms. Though the Macedonians tried to control the
Greeks, the Greekshad tasted liberty and freedom and they would not
bend to absolute rule bythe Macedonian generals. The problems that
Greece faced after the death ofAlexander were to go on for many
years. The fate of the Greeks was to besettled by amighty power
that was forming in Rome. The Romans were tobuild the strongest
army the world had yet known. Greece was but onemore place the
Romans were to conquer.
COMPLETE WORKSHEET 20
81
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T H E G R E E K C U L T U R E
While the governments of the city-states fought among
themselves, andthe Spartans and Athenians carried on their wars,
and Alexander created anempire, life went on for the ordinary Greek
people. From the time theircivilization formed until Alexander's
death is called the Hellenic (h-L-En-ik) Period. Following
Alexander's death until the Roman empire conqueredthe city of
Alexandria is called the Hellenistic (h-L-u-nis-tik) Period.
The Greeks of both periods believed there should be atime for
learning,relaxation and sports. Slaves and foreigners were used for
hard work suchas mining because the Greeks didn't like hard work.
The Greeks were nevercmel to their slaves as other civilizations
were. The Greeks simply believedslaves should be used to do the
work the Greeks didn't want to do.
A\F 5 U C H A H I 6 4 1 L Vf-DEVaoPEO CJMIUZATIOM, I''
-
were about 15 years older than their young wives. One custom
that has beenhanded down from the Greeks is the carrying of the
bride over the threshold.As was true of many other cultures,
couples preferred to have sons. First,the males could serve in the
army, and secondly, families didn't have toprovide adowry for their
sons. Dowries were gifts of money or propertywhich the parents of
the brides had to give to the husbands.
Compared to most civilizations, the Greeks were very well
educated.They not only learned to read and write and do math, but
they were taughtabout correct moral behavior. Being physically fit
also was very importantto the Greeks. Students attended gym classes
and took part in manydifferent types of sports.
R e l i g i Q n
Most civilizations created idols or gods that had animal or
demon-likefaces and bodies. The Greek gods had human faces and
bodies; however,the gods were like superhumans. The father of the
gods was Zeus (zoo-s).The Greeks believed their gods lived at the
top of Mount Olympus. Eachof the Greek gods had some speciality.
Aphrodite(a-frO-D-T), for example,gave advice to those whowere
having problemswith their love life; Zeus’speciality was the sky
andmaking rain; Pan mades u r e t h e w o o d s a n d t h e
trees were protected.When the Greeks had
any type of problem, theywent to the temples to talk it overwith
the god who handled that type of problem.
APrtRcOrrE,/ the oiaek for vihichS-ALEti mi5 Me HE’S/ SOU MUST
LOOK \STH0,I K L O V E W i t h t h i s c f t o s s m s - A d a r k
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The special food of the gods was nectar and ambrosia
fam-brO-z-vu).The diet of the Greek gods supposedly made them live
forever. The Greekswere never guided by anything such as the Bible
or the Koran. They had nogods that told them what was supposedly
the right or wrong thing to do.
The Greek religion taught that the people were supposed to look
for signs8 3
-
or omens that would show them what the gods wanted them to
do.Thunder, lightning, full moons, cloudy skies, watching which way
birdswere flying and things of that sort were the signs or omens
for which theGreeks looked. It didn't matter whether aleader wanted
to know if it weretime to go to war, or if awoman wanted amale
child, the Greeks went to thetemples seeking answers for the
problems by looking for signs and omensfrom the gods.
The Greeks also had their share of priests who were supposed to
knowabout omens and signs, and so the priests were paid to tell
some lessinformed person whether their dog’s death or atree falling
in athunderstormwere the signs sent by the gods.
Greek mythology was filled with stories having to do with life
and death.Though the Greeks didn't worry all that much about the
afterlife, they didhave ceremonies for the dead. Hades (hA-D-z) was
where the spirits went tolive. When people died, acoin was placed
between their teeth so that theywould have the money to pay for
aride across the river to Hades. The verygood and those who were
heroes went to another world and lived in perfecthappiness. Those
who had led abad life and did awful things went verydeep into the
earth to live forever in some t}̂ e of horrible afterlife.
Ordinarypeople went to aland of dust and darkness where there was
not much joy.
T h e O l y m p i c s
Olympia (O-lim-P-u), atemple built for Zeus and other gods
became likeareligious center. The Olympic Games were held in
Olympia. Every fouryears, beginning in 776 B.C, all fighting
between Greeks was stopped forthe Olympics. Athletes who were pure
Greek gathered at Olympia forboxing, baU games, wrestling, male
beauty contests, chariotswimming, spear-throwing and all the sports
the Greeks liked. Olympicwinners could relax for the rest of their
lives as their home towns honoredthem and supported them until the
day they died.
r a c e s ,
A r c h i t e c t u r e a n d t h e A r t s
The Greeks were among the world's greatest temple builders. In
fact,one of the most outstanding buildings ever put up was the
Parthenon (p-R-th-non). The Parthenon was built on The Acropolis
which overlooked the
8 4
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city of Athens. This huge white marble structure was put up for
Athena,one of the most important of the goddesses. The Greeks
wanted her to haveaplace to visit when she came to Athens.
The Greeks believed music greatly affected people. Music could
makepeople happy or sad or thoughtful. Because they valued music so
much,every educated Greek learned to sing and to play an
instrument.
The Greeks became famous for what is caUed epic poetry, or very
longpoems that told stories about kings, heroes, and gods. One of
theirfamous poets, Homer, who lived morethan athousand years ago,
wrotetwo epics that are still studiedtoday in most high
schools.Homer wrote The Iliad (iH-E-ad)and The Odyssey
(odd-i-seek
m o s t
THERE'S \M
HOftSEI D 6 H ' TTRUST VA
I
■n n i
The Iliad is about the TrojanWar. According to legend, Helen,the
daughter of Zeus, was carried
Im€>off by Paris, aprince in the city of
Troy. Helen is described as having"a face that launched
athousand ships,so beautiful that Paris kidnapped her, which led to
the Greeks sending shipsto rescue her. The battle between the
Greeks and the Trojans went on for tenyears. According to the
legend, the war was finally won when the Greeksbuilt agiant wooden
horse that they gave as agift to the city of Troy.Hidden inside the
horse were
This saying meant that Helen was
Greek fighters who captured Troy. Highschool football and
baseball teams often are named the Trojans, aname thatgoes back to
the Trojan War.
The Odyssey teUs of the adventures of Odysseus, aGreek king,
whowandered for ten years after the Trojan War came to an end. The
adventuresof this mythical king told agreat deal about the lives of
the Greek people.Both The Iliad and The Odyssey are classics, in
that they have lasted throughmany centuries.
The Greeks also were the first to come up with the idea of
acting in8 5
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plays in which people spoke dialogue. One of their greatest
playwrights wasSophocles (sahf-u-klEz). He was among the first to
have actors speakdialogue that told astory. Even though Sophocles
was agreat playwright,he was not ahappy, good-natured man. He
believed the most fortunatepeople were the ones who were never bom,
and the second happiest peopledied in infancy!
Euripides (your-i-p-D-z) was the first to write plays for the
purpose oftrying to make the wealthy and the government leaders see
the problems ofthe common man, the poor, the slaves, and the women.
Euripides was ahumanitarian, or one who cared about all humans and
the injustices theysuffered. It would be more than athousand years
before governments wereto concern themselves with the problems
about which Euripides wrote.
Aristophanes (air-i-stah-f-nEz) wrote comedy. His plays made fun
ofgovernment leaders and the wealthy. He also made fun of those who
alwayswere ready to go to war. Aristophanes thought wars were
unnecessary andreasonable men should find other ways than war to
solve disagreements.
C O M P L E T E W O R K S H E E T 2 1
T h e S c i e p t i s t s , H i s t o r i a n s , a n d P h i l
o s o p h e r s
The Greeks were the first to record history as it really
happened.Herodotus thi-rod-u-tus) is called "the father of
history." He wrote aboutthe Greek and Persian wars. Thucydides
(thoo-si-di-D-z), wrote veryaccurate facts on the wars between
Sparta and Athens. He not only wrotewhat happened, but he examined
why the events happened. For the Ersttime, the world was given
accurate, well-written history.
Thales (thA-lEz) was the founder of science. He said there
werescientific reasons for thunder, lightning, floods, and other
things thathappened in nature, and that none of these things
occurred because of happyor angry gods. Thales also introduced the
Greeks to geometry. Two otherfamous Greek mathematicians were
Pythagoras (pi-tha-g-rus) and Euclidtvou-klid). These men worked
with triangles and squares and othergeometric figures. All these
discoveries in the field of math opened thedoors to future
generations to invent aU sorts of things and to understand somuch
more about mathemat ics.
8 6
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The greatest of all mathematicians was Archimedes
(R-k-mE-D-z).He not only worked in the area of geometry, but he
also made discoveries inthe field of physics and algebra. The
mathematical discoveries ofArchimedes led to his inventing many
different types of machines such as thepulley, lever, and wedge.
All these machines could have been used to makelabor easier, but
because the Greeks had so many slaves, business ownersbelieved it
was cheaper to use the slaves than it was to make the machinesthat
Arch imedes invented.
Long before the Europeansdiscovered the Earth was round,Greek
scientists had figured outthat the Earth couldn't possibly beflat.
They were even putting hnesof latitude and longitude on maps.They
came within afew mhes offiguring out the exact distancearound the
Earth. Such dis¬
coveries seem like nothingnow, but at the time when
the Greeks were using reason to find answers about the world in
which theylived, other civilizations gave almost no thought to
questions about science.
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Greek scientists also were dissecting animals, describing them,
andclassifying them. They were learning all sorts of things about
body organsand the fact that the human brain was the center of
thought.
Even though the Greeks stiU worshipped ApoUo, the sun god and
god ofhealing, their physicians had learned there was no
relationship betweenreligion and whether or not one became iU or
was cured. Hippocrates (hi-pok-r-T-z) is thought of as the "father
of medicine.” He declared that everyillness had anatural cause and
that the iUness had nothing to do with demonsinside the body. He
used ointments and salves and advised people to eat andsleep right,
and to get fresh air. He was the first to state that with
certainillnesses people became sick, their illnesses reached
acrisis, and that duringthe crisis, the patient either would get
better or die.
Whether it was in the field of medicine, science or philosophy,
theGreeks used reason and logic to find answers. They wanted to be
wise and
8 7
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to leam. They wanted to know about the sun and the stars and the
Earth andthe oceans. To find answers they used what is called the
scientificm e t h o d .
The scientific method begins with ahypothesis (hl-pah-th-sis) or
idea.Ascientist then carries out experiments and makes observations
that willprove or disprove the idea or hypothesis.
The Greeks were the only early civilization to allow so much
free thinkingto find answers about the world in which man lived.
Their priests neverbecame powerful enough to hold back the
advancement of the Greeks.
T H E T H R E E G R E A T P H I L O S O P H E R S
Though the Greeks had many philosophers, none were so great
asSocrates, Aristotle, and Plato. Socrates (sah-kr-T-z) lived in
Athens. Hebelieved people should leam how to think and use reason.
If people couldthink, he said, then they would have open minds
about learning. Peoplewho thought for themselves would not cling to
tradition and myths simplybecause they were told that the
traditions and myths were correct.
Socrates believed if people knew what was right, they would do
whatwas right. He was agreat teacher who taught his students to ask
questions.He would not let his students use words such as beauty or
truth unless theycould explain what those words meant to them.
Socrates wandered the streets of Athens talking to people and
holdingclasses. Many people loved and admired Socrates. His wife
was not one ofthem. She was always annoyed with her husband because
he spent so muchtime thinking and wondering and not enough time
supporting his family.
She was not the only one who was angry with Socrates.
Governmentofficials didn't like Socrates teaching the young people
to expect absolutehonesty from government leaders. If any
government leader tried to cheatthe people or was not trathful,
Socrates spoke out against the person.
Though the Greeks allowed the people many liberties, they feared
that theteachings of Socrates would spread and that the people
would question or
8 8
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turn against their government. Socrates was arrested, and
because he wouldnot agree to stop teaching, he was forced to drink
acup of poisonoushemlock. He said to the jury that judged him,
"Thus we part and goseparate ways, you to live, and Ito die; which
is better God only knows.
o u r
PIa.t9
The teachings of Socrates were not lost when he was put to
death. Theteachings of Socrates lived on in one of his students,
Plato (plA-tO). Platowas from arich, noble family. He set up the
Academy whereand women could go to study mathematics and
philosophy.
y o u n g m e n
Though Plato wrote many things, he is often remembered for
writingThe Republic, which described aperfect government and
aperfect way oflife. The perfect place that Plato described was
caUed Utopia (ypu-tO-P-u).In Plato's Utopia everyone was educated.
At the age of 20 all the peoplewere tested to see if they were
physically and mentally fit, and if theyvery moral. Those who
passed the test went on to study for another 10years. Those who
didn't pass the test became farmers, laborers, andbusinessmen.
Those who continued in school were tested again at the age of30. If
they failed the test, they became the soldiers who protected
theRepublic. Those who passed the test continued to study until the
age of 40.After twenty years of learning and studying philosophy,
the students becamethe rulers because they were the most
intelligent and best educated.
In Plato sRepublic there were no slaves, everyone was
educated,and women had the same rights, and everything was perfect;
therefore,everyone was happy. The writings of Plato are stiU
studied in the hopes ofbetter understanding governments and the
purpose for havingA r i s t o t l e
Aristotle (air-u-stot-ul) believed that people could find
happiness ifalways guided them. Aristotle also said that everything
should be done inmoderation. For example, being acoward or being
foolhardy is carryingsomething to one extreme or the other.
Amoderate-thinking person wouldbe courageous rather than foolhardy
or cowardly. Aperson would notovereat or starve himself, but rather
eat moderately. The Greeks warnednever to carry anything to the
extreme, and it was through the teachings ofAristotle that such
ideas were handed down.
w e r e
m e n
g o v e r n m e n t s .
r e a s o n
8 9
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Aristotle did not believe, as his teacher Plato believed, that
aperfect worldwas possible. Aristotle thought that errors and evils
would always be withmankind because men by nature could not be
perfect. Aristotle said that thetype of government that people had
would depend upon the conditions of thetime. He believed that if
the masses were not intelligent and educated, ademocracy would not
work. If the people were not educated, they could notpick good
leaders or understand what their government was doing.
These three philosophers, along with the other great men who
were partof the Greek civilization, left to mankind more things to
think about than anycivilization that has ever existed. The
writings and philosophy of the Greekshave been studied at grade
schools, high schools, and universities in everypart of the
civilized world.
T H E B E L I E F S D U R I N G T H E D E C L I N E
About 2000 years ago the Greek civilization began its decline.
When acivilization begins its decline, the greatness of the
civilization is coming toend. The Greeks were no longer sure of
their own greatness; they no longerfelt patriotic toward their
city-states; no great leaders such as Solon orPericles had come
along to lead the Greeks. Everyone was searching forsomething to
believe in. Some of the beliefs at this time were selfish.
Otherphilosophers tried to come up with beliefs that would lead the
Greeks awayfrom the decl ine of their civi l izat ion.
a n
The Skeptics more or less believed that no matter what one did,
nothingwas going to work out right. They doubted almost everything,
believingsince nothing could be proved, there wasn't much sense in
believing inanything. The Skeptics said that no one would ever know
the tmth aboutanything; therefore, it didn't make much sense to
seek knowledge. Suchthinking was quite different from what many of
the great thinkers of Greecehad once bel ieved.
Unlike the Skeptics, the Cynics (sin-iksl believed that people
should stilltry to seek answers and to learn. The Cynics also
believed that the lesspeople wanted from life, the more likely they
were to get what they wanted,and that people basically were neither
honest nor good.
One of the most famous of the Cynics was Diogenes (dl-ah-j-nEz).
He9 0
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was avery brilliant man, but he chose to roam the streets, live
in atub, andchange his clothes. Diogenes is remembered as the man
who always
earned alantern as he went in search of an honest man. Diogenes
lived tobe 90, finally dying from eating raw meat from abull's
foot. The wordcynical is still used when talking about someone who
never sees the brighter,more hopefiil side of something.
The Epicureans (ep-i-cure-E-unz) believed that life should be
filled withpleasure, and that people should do only what made them
happy,example, if people chose to be loyal and patriotic, they
should be that wayonly because their loyalty and patriotism would
benefit them rather than theg o v e r n m e n t .
n e v e r
F o r
The Stoics (stO-iks) believed thateverything in life happened
becauseof fate; therefore, people had no ̂control over their
lives.
This type of thinkingled many Greeks to acceptthat the Greek
civilizationwas declining because of
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C H A P T E R N I N ET H E Y E A R S O F T H E R E P U B L I
C
T h e L a t i n s a n d T h e i r M y t h o l o g y
About 3500 years ago, or about the time the Hellenes moved south
to theisland of Crete, another group of Europeans, the Italici,
also migrated southfrom the center of Europe. The Italic! moved to
aEuropean peninsula insearch of food and better living conditions.
The peninsula to which theywent is now the country of Italy, One of
the most important of the tribesthat moved to the Italian peninsula
were the Latins. The Latins founded thecity of Rome and called
themselves Romans.
Like all early civilizations, the Romans used mythology to
explain howtheir city of Rome was founded. According to mythology,
Mars, the Romangod of war, and Rhea (rAy), the woman he loved, had
two sons. The sons,Romulus (rom-U-lui) and Remus (rE-mus) were
separated from theirmother Rhea. The boys were placed in abasket
and set adrift on the Tiber(tl-ber) River. Afemale wolf found them
and raised them until theyadopted by ashepherd. When the boys
became men, they found out theywere the sons of agod. Romulus and
Remus set out to claim their right tomle. According to mythology,
they built acity where the female wolf hadfound them. That city was
Rome. Romulus became the first king of Romeafter having killed his
brother Remus.
w e r e
Xhg EtruscansMythology seldom matches up with history, though.
The fact is that
north of Rome, where the Latins had settled, was apowerful group
ofpeople called the Etruscans (i-trus-kunz). They had afar more
advancedcivilization than the Latins. The Etmscans conquered the
Latins. The Latins,who were simple farmers, learned many things
from the Etmscans. Theylearned so weU from their conquerors that
within afew hundred years theLatins had arevolt and overthrew the
Etmscans,
T h e R o m a n R e p u b l i c
The rich Roman landowners who led the revolt against the Etmscan
kingwanted no more kings controlling the lives or the wealth of the
Latins. Thelandowners set up arepublic instead of amonarchy.
Arepublic has agovernment that allows the people to elect the
mlers.
9 2
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The wealthy class were patricians (pa-trE-shunz). The more
ordinary,average working people were plebeians (ple-B-imz). When
people havewealth, they usually have power, and that was the case
with the patricians.The patricians elected two consuls to head the
Republic. The patricians alsoset up asenate, made up of about 300
patricians. The senate made laws andguided the government.
The patricians held aU the important government offices, were in
chargeof the army, made the laws and controlled the economy. The
Romans, likethe Greeks, were affected by the way warfare had
changed. In order toincrease the size of the army, plebeians were
needed to fight for and toprotect Rome. The plebeians agreed to
fight on the condition they could takepart in the the government of
Rome.
T h e T w e l v e T a b l e s
The government officials selected by the common people to speak
forthem were the tribunes. The tribunes gained some powers for
theplebeians. One of the greatest gains made by the tribunes was to
force thegovernment to write the Twelve Tables which contained the
written lawsof the Romans. The Twelve Tables were placed in the
forum, agovernmentbuilding in the center of town, so that all the
citizens could see the laws.
The tables contained both civil and criminal laws. With the
writing of theTwelve Tables, the plebeians discovered they could
force the patricians togive them rights. For example', all the
senators in the senate were wealthypatricians who looked after
their own interests. The tribunes, though, forcedthrough laws that
made it possible for aplebeian to become asenator, oreven aconsul.
The more ordinary people had finally obtained rights andthey had
obtained away to become selected as government leaders.
Even though ordinary workers or plebeians had gained the right
to vote,select leaders, to speak out against the government, and to
take part ingovernment, they didn't have the time to become active
in the government.They had protested and they had gained rights,
but their day-to-day struggleto earn aliving kept them from
attending senate meetings or the meetings ofthe assembly. Despite
the fact the ordinary people did not take advantage ofthe rights
they gained, the Twelve Tables were important because theyshowed
that agovernment could be forced to pay attention to the
people.
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T h e R o m a n M i l i t a r y M a c h i n e
The Romans didn't start out as great warriors. In fact, they
were more orless forced to become good fighters. For one thing,
they had to deal with theGauls (g-ail-z). The Gauls were afierce,
war-like, blond-haired peoplewho hadn't even advanced to the point
of wearing clothes. These fiercepeople came riding down on the
Romans to rob and kill them.
The Romans also were surrounded by other Latin tribes who
threatenedRome. There also was afear that the Etmscans would again
try to take overcontrol of Rome. In order to defend themselves, the
Romans built an army.
At first the Romans depended on volunteer peasant farmers from
theplebeian class. When Rome was threatened, the peasants became
soldiers.As Rome's fears of being attacked grew, the government
decided Romeneeded aregular army of paid soldiers and not just
volunteer plebeians.
The Roman soldier became an obedient soldier. Those men who
didn'tobey were stoned to death or beheaded. In order to make sure
the soldierswere loyal and that they fought well, the soldiers were
given ashare of the"plunders of war." The plunders of war were the
gold, silver, land andvaluables the Romans took from their enemies.
The Romans also hadvictory parades to honor the soldiers. The
honor, the wages, and ashare ofthe plunder created loyal, obedient
soldiers who formed aRoman army thatcould not be defeated. They
became like awar machine that could not bestopped.
Dot (JET"WE FEEUhl̂out figliting to protect themselves.
[SHAr7n&Once they tasted victory, theyrealized how good they
wereat warfare. The soldiers
were formed into legions.The Romans wiU be
remembered in historyfor the fighting abilityof the legions.
The Romans, then, started
V4E DO Plowing the.LAND? i f m i
i t m .
i - ' i
COMPLETE WORKSHEET 23
9 4
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T h e P u n i c W a r s
The Phoenicians (fO-nE-shunz) were traders who set up colonies
inorthern Africa, which is separated from Italy by the
Mediterranean Sea. Asthe Phoenicians grew weaker, the colonists in
the Phoenician coloniesbecame expert maritime traders. These
outstanding sailors and tradersbecame the Carthaginians
(k-R-th-jin-E-unz) who formed the city-state ofCarthage
(k-R-thu-j).
i n
The Romans did not care in the least that the Carthaginians were
richtraders and that they were expanding or moving into other areas
until theymoved into Spain, which was avery short distance from
Roman-heldislands. It was only amatter of time before the two
powers—Rome andCarthage—went to war.Carthaginians were called the
Punic Wars because the Latin word forPhoenician was Punic
(p-U-nik). The first Punic War lasted 23
The Carthaginians were expert sailors, but the Romans were not.
TheRomans knew how to fight on land, but not on sea. The Romans
werelosing the sea battles against the Carthaginians. With the help
of Romanengineers, the Romans figured out how to turn sea battles
into land battles.They invented ahuge hook that was thrown from
their ships to theCarthaginian ships to pull the enemy close enough
to drop abridge between
Pthe ships. Roman soldiers crossed the bridges and fought on
board thejCarthaginian ships. The Carthaginians were no match for
the legions of
Rome, and they lost to the more powerful Romans.
H a n n i b a l
In the second Punic War the Romans came up against Hannibal,
aCarthaginian general. In Hannibal, the Romans met their match.
Hannibalhated the Romans and was determined to get revenge for the
defeat of theCarthaginians. He decided there would be no more sea
battles. Hannibalwas going to wage war against the Romans in their
own homeland.
The wars between the Romans and the
y e a r s .
In order to defeat the Romans, Hannibal did arather remarkable
thing.He took 50,000 men, supplies, horses, and elephants to Spain.
Leading hisarmy across two mountain ranges, Hannibal came at the
Romans from thenorth. Most of the elephants, many of the horses,
and half of his army diedon the way. By the time Hannibal reached
Italy, he was blind in one eye andhis soldiers were starved and
exhausted.
9 5
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The Gauls, who also hated the Romans, joined in with Hannibal.
Forsixteen years Hannibal lived off the land and fought the Romans
in theirhomeland. He had to fight without any help from Carthage as
hisgovernment ignored his many requests for more soldiers and
supplies.
Scipio (sip-E-O), avery intehigent Roman general, decided upon
aplanto defeat Hannibal. Scipio would take Roman legions to
Carthage andHannibal would have to leave Rome to defend his own
country. The planw o r k e d .
The well-trained, loyal, and obedient Romans were much better
soldiersthan the Carthaginian soldiers because the Carthaginians
weremercenaries, (mer-sen-air-E-z) or soldiers from other areas who
were hiredand paid to fight. The mercenaries had no loyalty to
Carthage. TheCarthaginian government didn't have the money to pay
the mercenariesbecause the wars against the Romans were costing the
Carthaginians somuch money Hannibal found himself with an army that
wouldn't fight.Hannibal finally had to give in to the Romans. In
exchange for peace withthe Romans, the Carthaginians had to give up
land to the Romans.
Even though Hannibal had given his best years to Carthage,
heforced to flee Carthage. Scipio, whom Hannibal had fought
against, thoughtHannibal was an honorable man and his life should
be spared. Scipio triedto persuade the Romans to let Hannibal live,
but they were determined to putan end to the man who had caused
them so many years of warfare. Whenthe Romans finally caught up
with Hannibal in 184 B.C, he committedsuicide rather than be taken
prisoner.
w a s
In 149 B.C. Carthage again became strong and rich through trade
andbusiness. Rome, fearing another war with Carthage, placed aU
types ofdemands on this great city. The Carthaginians were even
ordered to leaveCarthage, They refused. For three years the Romans
surrounded Carthage,allowing no one in or out. The Romans finally
captured Carthage. Only55,000 people were still alive. The Romans
had to fight these nearly starvedsurvivors for every street and
every house. To make sure that there would beno more Punic Wars,
the Romans sold the remaining Carthaginians intoslavery, burned
every building to the ground, and covered the soil with saltso that
crops would never again grow in Carthage.
9 6
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A S u m m a r v o f t h e R o m a n s
By about 145 B.C. the Romans had become the most powerful people
inEurope. They had started out as one of the Latin tribes that had
migratedthe Italian peninsula. They were conquered by the Etmscans.
Then theyoverthrew the Etruscan monarchy and set up arepublic mled
by consulswho were picked by the patricians, or wealthy
landowners.
t o
This Latin tribe that founded the city of Rome was threatened by
theEtmscans, Gauls and other Latin tribes. In order to defend
themselves, theRomans built an army of loyal, dedicated
soldiers.
As the Romans fought to defend themselves, they discovered they
weregood warriors who could win battles. They then turned from
simplydefending themselves, to conquering others. It didn't take
them long torealize how rich Rome could become by conquering other
lands and bytaking over the wealth, trade, and natural resources of
other people.
The Romans annexed, or added, Greece and Macedonia to their
lands.They defeated the Carthaginians, they moved into Egypt, they
took over thelands in Spain that had been held by the
Carthaginians, and they finallybrought the Gauls under control.
From their small village on ahill in Rome,the Romans had gained
control of southern and western Europe, centralEurope, and parts of
theMidd le Eas t . The Romans
truly had built a"war machine" that
couldn't be stopped.
YOO Mow, (rAlUS, Xl’M MOT mJ/AClMfr1Remember, whem ho
comcuosioms.WE WERE ATRIBE \BUT TO 5ft')^OF PEASANT mms.) THOSE
DAYS ARE |^ ^ ^ooME Forever. JTheir warring, and their
conquering, though, changedthe Roman cul ture. The
Repubhc was coming closeto its end and anew typeof mler was to
take over
Rome and the empire ithad bu i l t .
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T H E L A S T Y E A R S O F T H E R E P U B L I CA C i t y o f M
i l l i o n a i r e s _ a n d R a b b l e
The lands that the Romans conquered became Roman
provinces.Provinces were territories held by the Romans and
controlled by Romangovernors. The Romans let the conquered people
run their own localgovernments, practice whatever religion they
wanted to practice, and carryon with their own customs. The Romans
wanted three things from thosewhom they conquered: the natural
resources; tribute or taxes paid to Rome;and to sell Roman products
in the provinces.
Some of the conqueredlands became allies of Rome,and some of the
people weregiven some of the same rightsas Roman citizens. One of
the
most valuable things anyonecould have was Roman
citizenship. To be aRomancitizen or to have some of the
rights of aRoman meant beingprotected by the power andstrength
of Rome.
VOUV l t T t tRomAVI
CITIZEN*
The Roman conquerors grew rich from the tribute and taxes they
collectedin the provinces. The richer they became, the greedier
they became. The taxcollectors were called publicans. The Roman
government had set certainamounts that the publicans in the
provinces were supposed to send to Rome.Whatever else tlie
publicans and governors could get out of the provinces,they could
keep. Such amethod of collecting tribute led to bleeding
theprovinces of everything of value.
The rich grew richer from the money coming in from the
provinces.They had the money to buy out the small farmers and
create huge estates.They used slaves to run the farms and to
manufacture goods. Slavesplentiful that they took away jobs from
the Roman people.
w e r e s o
Because the wealthy were taking over the land and the things of
value in9 8
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the provinces, there was not much left for the Roman soldiers
who had beenpromised land and ashare of the plunder taken from the
conquered lands.The soldiers lost their feelings of loyalty to the
Roman government becausethe government did not keep its promise to
give land and ashare of theplunder to the soldiers.
The farmers who had been so important in the development of
Rome, andthe plebeians who had helped Rome grow strong by their
hard work, allfound themselves without land and without work.
Because of the greed ofthe rich who wanted to become richer, Rome
became acity filled with twotypes of people: the millionaires and
the rabble or unemployed.
C O M P L E T E W O R K S H E E T 2 4
T h e R e f o r m e r s
Unable to find work, the peasant farmers began leaving the
countryside tocome to Rome, which was already filled with the
unemployed. In order tokeep the rabble from causing trouble, the
government officials and thewealthy gave the people food and free
entertainment. The common saying,when anyone raised the question
about what to do with all the unemployedwandering around Rome was,
"Give them bread and circuses."
Imperialism, then, had changed the entire culture of the Romans.
Hardworking people were replaced by slaves. The masses lived in
filthy slumsand gained nothing from the wealth coming into Rome
from the lands andpeople the Romans had conquered. The patricians,
the governors in theprovinces, the senators who governed Rome, and
the publicans grew richwhile the average people grew poorer.
Not all of the Roman aristocracy felt the answer to the problem
of what todo with the poor was to "Give them bread and circuses."
There were somewho realized that something had to be done to help
the poor and theimemployed. Two such aristocrats were the Gracchi
(grak-I) brothers.They were the grandsons of the great Roman
general, Scipio.
One of the brothers said that the only way to keep Rome strong
andhealthy was to have land reform, which meant that some of the
lands heldby the rich had to be given to the poor, landless Romans.
The senators fear-
9 9
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ing that Tiberius (tl-bear-E-us) Gracchi might be successful in
bringingabout land reform, figured out away to trap Tiberius into
leading arevolt.Tiberius and 300 of those who supported him were
killed and thrown intothe Tiber R iver.
Gaius (gl-us), the brother of Tiberius managed to get himself
elected as atribune so that he could speak for the common people.
Just as his brotherhad led areform, Gaius also tried to get land
reform and other aid for theunemployed farmers and laborers. The
senate turned against him andthousands of his followers were killed
in battle. Rather than face capture,Gaius had his slave kil l
him.
What happened to the Gracchi brothers shows what was happening
toRome. Law and order were breaking down and violence was being
used tosolve the problems caused by unemployment. Greed became more
importantthan justice and more important than solving the problems
of the Romans.
T h e T r i u m v i r a t e
Because Rome had become filled with mobs of rabble who couldn't
becontrolled, the government was taken over by two military leaders
who weredespots. Adespot is like atyrant in that despots will not
allow anyopposition to or disagreement with his decisions. Two
despot-like generals,Marius and Sulla, came to power. They killed
thousands of people in a"reign (rain) of terror," which is the use
of fear to control the people.Eiuring a"reign of terror" no one
feels safe because anyone who goes againstthe government leaders or
anyone who causes any trouble can be arrested,tortured, and
killed.
The "reign of terror" came to an end when Pompey (pom-pay)
tookcontrol of Rome. Like many military men, Pompey knew about
winningwars, but he did not know how to solve government problems
or handles o c i a l u n r e s t .
Pompey turned to two men who had an understanding of some of
thethings that needed to be done to bring peace to Rome. OneMarcus
Crassus (kra-sus), the richest man in Rome. In fact, Crassusowned
so much property, he had to have his own fire department to
protectall that he owned. The other man was Julius Caesar
(see-zur). Caesar is
m a n w a s
1 0 0
-
remembered as aclever, talented, intelligent, and fair
leader.
Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar formed atriumvirate (tri-um-vi-mt)
ormle by three. When they came to power, Rome was almost without
law.Gangs roamed the streets murdering people and burning down
buildings.Mobs screamed that they wanted food and jobs. Some
politicians, orgovernment leaders, who wanted to gain power formed
armies of slaveswho battled each other in the streets.
The triumvirate and their legions finally were able to bring
much of Romeunder control. Then it became necessary to deal with
the provinces ofRome. While Rome was trying to keep the masses from
rioting, the Romanswere losing control of the provinces.
Crassus and his troops went to the eastern provinces. Crassus
wascaptured in Mesopotamia and had his head cut off. His captor
heard howCrassus was the richest man in Rome. As alast bit of
cmelty, the easternmler had melted gold poured into Crassus'
head,
lu l ius Caesar Comes to Power
While Crassus went east, Caesar went west to act as governor of
Gaul,which is now the country of France,murdered Crassus. Caesar
took over all of Gaul, marched into what is nowGermany, and sent
troops to Britain. Caesar was amilitary genius whocould do no
wrong. He was away from Rome for many years, and while hewas gone,
the triumvirate came to an end when Crassus was murdered.Pompey and
Caesar were about to compete for the leadership of the
Romanempire.
Caesar was much luckier than the
Pompey had an edge over Caesar because he already was in Rome.
Hewarned Caesar that he must give up command of his army before he
returnedto Rome. The last thing Pompey wanted was the very popular
Caesarmarching into Rome with alarge army.
Caesar talked with his soldiers, he treated them fairly, and
they adoredhim. Caesar also knew how to talk to the ordinary masses
of people. WhatCaesar had were loyal followers who would do
anything for him. Caesarwas cheered on by the army and the
masses.
101
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With so much popularsupport, Caesar left Gaula n d c r o s s e d
t h e R u b i c o n
River, which was theboundary between Gauland Italy. The
crossingof the Rubicon River has
gone down in histoiy asan act that changedRoman history.W h e n
C a e s a r
c rossed the Rub icon
he let it be known that he was willing to fight for control of
the empire.Pompey realizing that Caesar was going to defeat him,
fled to Egypt.
\aJHAT mo Vou *SAVTHIS ihVER, WE’RECR0S5WG- IS ^
"T CALLED? )
THE RuBlCOMfX K E E f m U M ( rVOU, IT^ THESLUBlCoMf J
C a e s a r i n E n v p t
Caesar and his legions followed Pompey to Egypt to do battle
with him.The rulers in Egypt were Ptolemy (p-towl-u-mel and his
beautiful sisterCleopatra (k-lE-O-pa-tm). Ptolemy sided with Caesar
and had Pompeymurdered. In the end, siding with Caesar didn't help
Ptolemy becausehistory was changed by the beautiful Cleopatra, who
was in astmggle withher brother to control Egypt.
Cleopatra’s servants wrapped her in bedding, and secretly
brought herbefore Caesar. Her charm, lovely voice, and beauty won
him over to herside. Not only was Caesar interested in Cleopatra,
but he wanted the wealthof Egypt.
Caesar’s legions defeated the Egyptian army. Caesar had King
Ptolemydrowned in the Nile River. Before returning to Rome, Caesar
traveled toAsia Minor because one of the provinces was having
arevolt against theRomans. In only five days Caesar put an end to
the revolt, sending back toRome one of the shortest, but most
famous messages ever written:Isaw, Iconquered."
I c a m e .
In 47 B.C. Caesar returned to Rome, taking along Cleopatra and
theirson. He was welcomed as aconquering hero. There was no one
left tochallenge him as the new mling power of Rome.
1 0 2
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T h e I d e s o f M a r c h
The senators made Caesar adictator for one year. Adictatorship
isformed when ail the governing power is given to one person. More
oftenthan not, dictators bring on a’’reign of terror" in order to
get rid of allpossible enemies, and dictators usually misuse their
power. Caesar didneither. He was an intelligent person who knew
that he had to do somethingto save Rome. After serving as an
appointed dictator, Caesar finallynamed adic ta tor for l i fe
.
w a s
He reduced the number of slaves so that Roman citizens were
hired andpaid wages; he gave unused farm lands to former soldiers
and to the poor; hebegan many building projects to put the
unemployed to work, and heabolished or ended debtor prisons. The
common people loved Caesar.
The rich senators were jealous of Caesar’s power and success.
Theyorganized aplot to have him assassinated. Two of the plotters
were Brutusand Cassius, both of whom had been Caesar's friends. To
this day thenames of these two men have come to stand for
betrayal.
On March 15, 44 B.C., which is called the Ides (I-d-z) of
March,Caesar stood in the Roman Senate surrounded by the senators
who hadplaimed Caesar’s assassination. In front of astatute of
Pompey, Caesarwas stabbed to death.
Caesar’s body was taken to the Roman Forum. Antony, Caesar's
mosttrusted lieutenant, spoke at the funeral of Caesar. The masses
were angrywhen they found out that Caesar had been assassinated.
Antony’s eulogy,or funeral speech angered the masses even more.
Thousands of people werekilled as riots broke out in Rome because
of the assassination of Caesar.
C O M P L E T E W O R K S H E E T 2 5
A n t o n y a n d C l e o n a t r a
Those who had plotted the death of Caesar were not the ones who
gainedthe power to rule over Rome. Another triumvirate was formed.
The threewho made up the second triumvirate were Antony, Ledipus,
andOctavian (ok-tA-V-un). Ledipus went off to North Africa to make
sure theprovinces were governed properly. Antony went east, but
ended up in
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Egypt, and Octavian, the eighteen-year-old nephew of Caesar who
inheritedhis uncle's wealth, stayed in Rome. Octavian made the
wisest choice.
Antony had met thebeautiful Egyptian queenwhen she was with
Caesar.
When Antony visited Eg}q)t,he again came mcontactwith Cleopatra.
As muchas Antony liked the gorgeousqueen, he knew he had to
returnto Rome or he would lose his
power. When he returnedto Rome he married Octavia, the sister of
Octavian.
ANTONI A lWA' IS deepIN TH0U(rHTA5TdHovJ V
—^HE CAN GET^jggPOVJER AvJAV ̂8̂; FROM 0CTAVm2JJ,
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Antony found Octavia boring compared to Cleopatra. He could not
forgetthe beautiful Egyptian queen. Antony divorced Octavia and
hurried back toEgypt and the woman he loved. Not only did Cleopatra
have ahold on oneof Rome's leaders, but she had ason by Caesar. The
Romans feared thatshe and Antony might try to take over the mle of
Rome.
By the time Antony returned to Cleopatra, Octavian had grown
tomanhood and had learned agreat deal about governing. He knew he
had toput an end to Antony and Cleopatra, or he would be threatened
by them foras l