Objective To review how Pericles led Athens during
Objective: To review how Pericles led Athens during the Golden Age To tour Athens during its Golden Age and create a video using guided hand outs and station materials. Standard: 8. 4. 9 B Identify and analyze the importance of historical evidence
Ancient Map of city:
notes • Athens is considered one of the most important ancient Greek city-states. Known as the birthplace of democracy, Athens also gave modern society its foundations in art, literature, and philosophy. Athens is on the Attica peninsula in southeast Greece. It sits on a plain about 4 miles from the sea and is surrounded by mountains. Its seaport, Piraeus, located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, was connected to Athens by 4 miles of protected walls built by Pericles after Persian Wars. Climate is mild and allowed farmers to grow various crops. It as not very fertile land Athens had to trade for many essential food items. Greek speaking tribes first came to Athens around 2000 BCE, perhaps from Asia Minor. The city was named after Athena, the Greek Goddess of wisdom and military victory. During the Mycenaean period aka the Bronze age (@1600 -1200 BCE) Athens was a second-rank city, overshadowed by Mycenae Thebes and other city-states. Over the next several hundred years, Athenians resisted invading armies from other Greek city-states and eventually united as a democracy @500 BCE. During the Golden-Age that followed (brought on by reforms from Solon and Cleisthenes. ), Athens became the center of Greek commercial and cultural power. By the late 400’s BCE the Athenian population numbered approximately 150, 000 people.
Athens
notes • The physical layout of ancient Athens was dominated by surrounding mountains and rocky coasts. situated on a plain about 4 miles from the Aegean Sea, Athens was a city state enclosed by defensive walls. It was close enough to the sea to have the advantages of a harbor, yet far enough from other coastal settlements to discourage sudden naval invasion. The city’s location has always provided a strong defensible position, particularly because of its most prominent geographic feature- the Acropolis, or high place of the city, an oval-shaped hill of rock that rises about 300 feet above the city. Over the centuries, Athenians erected religious temples, alters, and statues at the top of the city’s special protector, or patron, the Goddess Athena. Two other important features of Athens were the Theater of Dionysus on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis, and the marketplace, or Agora, located at the base of the Acropolis. Athens was a densely populated city. Its narrow streets and alleyways were not laid out in any formal plan, and were often dirty and crowded. Outside the center of the city were industrial suburbs. For example, the metalworking district was located on a low hill west of the Agora. The potters’ quarter was located northwest of the Agora, outside of the city’s gate, in an area known as the Ceramicus. The graveyards of the aristocratic families were also located at the outer edge of this neighborhood.
agora
notes • • • The Agora, or marketplace, was the center of Athenian life during much of its Golden Age. Reconstructed after the end if the Persian Wars in 479 BCE, the Agora contained temples, government buildings, and several columned buildings called stoas. On the walls of the most beautiful stoas, artists depicted various historical events, such as the Battle of Marathon, and religious scenes. On any given day the entire Agora was bustling with noisy activity. In the large, open center, merchants sold their wares- haggling with customers over the prices for everything from food, clothes, and animals to pottery, chariots, and furniture. Public officials regularly patrolled the farm stalls and craft displays to check the quality of the goods. Any merchant found to be selling inferior merchandise was fined. Beautiful public buildings and temples lined two sides of the Agora. Citizens used public buildings to debate and vote on important political issues. The Agora also served as a place for recreations. In the afternoons, men often visited the outdoor sports complex, or gymnasium, to exercise. The gymnasium consisted of a running track, a wrestling court, fields for throwing javelin, or light spear, and discus, or flat circular plate over long distances. There was also rooms for changing and oiling down the body. In the evenings men remained in the Agora to socialize. One popular gathering place for men was the barber shop. Greek men went there for the latest hair styles, and to pick up the latest news and gossip circulating through the busy city.
Athens Acropolis http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=y 9 z. Wm. URQcyc&sns=em virtual tour link
Funerary amphora
Hydria
Pyxis
oenochoe
Lebes Gamikos
Amphora (grain)
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