Ancient Greece Brief History Climate and Culture Brief

Ancient Greece Brief History Climate and Culture

Brief History of Greece l The first great civilization in Greece and Crete was the *Minoan. l It lasted roughly from 2000 BCE until 1400 BCE. l Around 1400 BCE, the *Mycenaean civilization replaced the Minoan, and dominated Greece until about 1100 BCE, when barbarians known as *Dorians invaded.

Brief History of Greece l Mycenaeans became the 1 st culture to arise in Greece. – Mycenaeans were ruled by powerful warrior- kings. – Mycenaeans adopted much of its traditions from the Minoan culture. l Including writing and religious beliefs. – According to legend the Mycenaeans fought a long war with the people of Troy (Trojan War)

Brief History of Greece l The culture of the Mycenaeans fell about 1200 -1150 B. C. – Sea raiders destroyed the Mycenaean palaces. l As a result Greece went into a decline. – So deep that no written records exist from this period. l New group of people known as Dorians moved into this war-torn countryside.

Geography of Greece l Lives of Ancient Greeks were shaped by the geography of their land. – Greece is a rocky land with high mountains and deep valleys. Difficult to move over this land. l Greeks living in different areas could not be easily united. l

Geography of Greece l Good farmland only covered about ¼ of Greece and could not support many people. – As a result the easy access to the sea became very important. Greeks became excellent sailors l Trade became very important l l Climate – Very mild climate l Much time and business was held outside.

Greek Culture l Lacking the written documentation of the Dorian time period many stories got passed down my word of mouth. – Events such as the Trojan War were passed down through spoken word. – The Greatest storyteller according to Greek tradition was named Homer.

Homer l Little was known about Homers personal life but it is known that he was a Blind Man. l Homer composed Epics-Narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds. – The Trojan War is the basis for Homer’s tow great epic poems, The Iliad and the Odyssey.

Greek Myths l Greeks developed a rich set of mythstraditional stories, about their gods. – These myths helped to understand the mysteries of nature and the power of human passions. l Example: Myths explained the changing of seasons l Greeks attributed human qualities, such as love, hate, and jealously. – Gods fight with each other constantly.

Emergence of the Polis, or Greek City-State l Starting around 800 BCE a new civilization, the Hellenic, became dominant in Greece. l The Hellenic civilization was composed of two strands, the Dorian and the Ionian. l This civilization gave rise to a new form of social/political organization: the polis.

The Polis l The polis was an independent, selfgoverning city of between 50, 000 and 300, 000 people. l Several dozen polises (Greek “poleis”) dotted the Greek countryside l In each polis, politics, religion, and social life were closely intertwined.

Types of Government l l l Two types of government were used in the Greek Polises. The Dorians generally had an oligarchic form of government. The Greek word oligarchy means rule by the few. The Ionians developed the first democratic form of government. Democracy means rule by the people.

Sparta and Athens Generally speaking, the Dorians depended upon agriculture, while the Ionians were seafarers and merchants. l The two primary polises were Sparta and Athens. l Sparta was Dorian, oligarchic, and had an agriculture-based economy. l Athens was Ionian, democratic, and depended on seafaring and trade. l

Sparta Vs. Athens Activity • Using your class notes and p. 115 -119 (orange book) or 127 -133 (Blue Book) Answer the following question: • How was living in Athens different from Living in Sparta? *Think about-Roles of citizens, type/form of government, and societal values. l Then make a poster representing either Sparta or Athens.

Greece at War

Challenge of Persia l As the Greeks spread throughout the Mediterranean, they battled with the Persian Empire to the East. l After Darius, leader of Persia died, Xerxes became the new Persian King. l Xerxes vowed and planned to invade Greece.

Persian Wars

Ready for War Greek states formed a defensive league under the Spartans. l Xerxes led a massive invasion force into Greece. l – Included 180, 000 troops and thousands of warships. l In spite of their differences, Athenians, Spartans, and other Greeks joined to fight against the Persian Invaders.

300 l The Greeks tried to delay the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. – 300 Spartans were extremely brave in holding off the Persian army. – When told that Persian arrows would darken the sky in battle, one Spartan responded, “That is good news. We will fight in the Shade!” l Unfortunately, a traitor told the Persians how to use a mountain path to surround the Greek force.

Persian Defeat l. A few months later, in 479 B. C. , the Greeks defeated the Persian army at Plataea. l Greece fought two Persian wars. won both wars and ensured that the roots of western civilization would include Greek thought.

The Great War l After the Persian Wars, Greece was divided into two power blocs. l One, the Peloponnesian League, was led by Sparta. l The other was the Delian League, led by Athens. l These power blocs fought a great war, from 431 -404 BCE.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, 431 -404 BC During the war, the soldiers of the Peloponnesian League (Sparta) besieged the cities of the Delian League (Athens) by land. l The Delian League used its navies to supply itself with food, and to harass the home cities of its enemies. l The Spartans and their allies finally defeated Athens and its allies. l

Effects of Peloponnesian War l Peloponnesian War weakened the major Greek States and all would struggle to dominate Greek Affairs. l Still Greek States would continue to have their petty wars, ignoring the growing power of Macedonia, a Greek State to their North.

Greek Culture

Greek Philosophy l After its defeat, Athens became home to several philosophers who tried to understand human life. l The work of many of these Greek philosophers are still influential today.

Socrates and The Rise of Political Philosophy l One of the greatest contributions of Hellenic Civilization was its origination of political philosophy. l Just before and during the Great War, an Athenian citizen, Socrates, began raising questions such as, “What is justice? ” l Socrates asked these questions of his fellow citizens, in public places.

Socrates (c. 469 - 399 B. C. E. )

The Socratic Method l Socrates’ mode of inquiry, asking questions and analyzing the answers, became known as the Socratic Method. l Socrates was perceived by many Athenians as a threat to their settled way of life. l He was finally put to death by Athens for impiety and corrupting the young.

Death of Socrates Jacques-Louis David (1748– 1825)

Plato (c. 429 - c. 349 B. C. E)

Plato l l l Socrates’ most famous student was Plato, who wrote the first great works of political philosophy. Plato’s most famous work is The Republic, Plato’s books are written as dialogues, or conversations. These conversations are usually between a character named Socrates, and other Athenian citizens. In the Republic, Socrates is portrayed as talking to two young men, Adeimantus and Glaucon.

Plato and Aristotle from School of Athens by Raphael

Aristotle l l l Plato started a school, called The Academy. His most famous student was Aristotle wrote many works of philosophy, and made the first systematic effort to collect and organize information on a wide variety of topics. Aristotle might be considered the first scientist. His works are written as treatises, which are more systematic, but much drier than dialogues. One of these is the Politics, the first systematic treatise on politics.

Other contributions of Greece l Greece gave rise to the Olympics games – Allowed soldiers and athletes a way to compete and gain glory and honor through competition.

Theater Based upon Heroic stories and sagas theater began to become popular. (Comedies and Tragedies) -Stories such as The Trojan War were immortalized. Once believed to be mythical, no researchers have found proof that this existed. -Homer wrote: The Odyssey and the Iliad.

Sciences l Along with theater and philosophy, other things were gaining importance in studies. Astronomy, Astrology, Medicine, left lasting effects of this great Greek societies.

Representative Democracy Most importantly was the idea started by the Athenians known as a Democracy or a representative government.