Ancient Greece Geography of Greece Mountainous allowed for

Ancient Greece

Geography of Greece • Mountainous: allowed for the Greek City. States, or Polis to become isolated and independent of one another. • Seas: Greek city-states and its people became seafarers due to the close proximity of the Aegean & Ionian Seas • Each Polis had an acropolis, agora, and citizens

• Minoans Early Settlers ~ 1 st Greek civilization under King Minos ~ est. Greek Mythology; Earth Mother creator of life ~ peaceful society; focused on sea trade • Mycenaean ~ from Central Asia; conquered Minoans ~ adopted Minoan religion and technology ~ more warlike than the Minoans ~ conquered by Dorians in 1100 s BCE b/c of superior iron weapons • Dorians ~ Greece enters a Dark Age; many fled to Ionia on Asia Minor ~ Bards kept culture alive through storytelling: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey ~ Ionians reintroduced culture ending the dark age

Ancient Greece • Spans two different eras. – Greek Golden Age: Occurs during the leadership of Pericles in the 5 th Century BCE. The achievements were mainly confined to the city-states of Athens where a strong economy and good government created the conditions necessary for such advancements. – Hellenistic Age: occurs under the leadership of Alexander the Great, who conquered an empire stretching from the Greek mainland all the way to the Indus River Valley. Hellenistic society was a blending of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and many other cultures that gave rise to advancements in math, science, art, and literature.

Religion • Polytheistic • Greeks used myths and gods to explain nature • Mt. Olympus- home of the gods • Supreme god - Zeus • Greeks held festivals to honor gods, i. e. Olympic Games

Athens vs. Sparta • Athens ~ dev. Democracy ~ eventually all free, Athenian-born men were & citizens could participate in govt. ~ women, slaves, and foreign-born men were excluded ~ focused on trade, agriculture, & overseas colonization • Sparta ~ invaded neighboring states and enslaved local people to gain resources - instead of trading ~ After a slave revolt, Sparta est. a military society ~ men became soldiers, women became the mothers of soldiers – best military in Greece ~ boys began military service at 7 and retired at 60 ~ govt. run by a few men - Oligarchy

Government • First to use democracy as a form of government. • Under Pericles, male citizens in Athens participated in the daily running of government. • This form of direct democracy excluded all non-citizens, such as women and slaves. • 4 forms of govt. existed in Ancient Greece

Philosophy • Greek philosophers, or "lovers of wisdom, " used observation and reason to study the world around them. Famous philosophers: Socrates Plato Aristotle Socratic Method of questioning as a learning tool. Wrote The Republic Favored a strong, controlling government Developed ideas on government Favored the one strong and wise rule as best form. Considered to be first western philosopher Society has three classes: Philosophers, Soldiers, and Workers Human Reason was the key to learning

Literature • Early Greek literature was in the form of plays developed for religious ceremonies. • Famous writers, such as Aeschylus and Sophocles, wrote tragedies and comedies about human conflict and interaction between the gods and man. • Became the basis for modern literature. The Greeks were also the first. • Herodotus, known as the Father of History, wrote books chronicling historical events, such as the Persian War.

Art & Architecture • Greek artists portrayed the human figure in idealized realism. • Paintings and sculptures show humans in the perfect form. • Greek architects build elaborate buildings using marble and the Greek column. • The most famous example of Greek architecture is the Parthenon in Athens. • Many buildings around the world today use Greek architectural ideas.

Math & Science • Greek mathematician Pythagoras, developed a formula to calculate the relationship between the sides of a right triangle, a method still in use today. • Aristarchus, a Greek astronomer, discovered that the earth rotated on its axis, and revolved around the sun. • Eratosthenes discovered that the earth was round, and accurately calculated its circumference. • Euclid wrote a book called The Elements, which is the basis for modern geometry. • Archimedes tried to use science for more practical matters, he showed how the use of a lever and pulley system could lift just about any weight.

Medicine • Hippocrates, a 5 th century BCE physician, studied the causes of illnesses and experimented with various cures. He is also credited with creating a set of ethical standards for doctors called the Hippocratic Oath.