The Early Greeks Sparta and Athens 2000 BCE

The Early Greeks Sparta and Athens 2000 BCE – 500 BCE

How did the Geography of Greece influence where people settled and what they did? How did geography affect the way Greeks made their livings? Mainland is a peninsula-the Balkan Peninsula to the north and Peloponnesus to the south Peninsula: a body of land with water on three sides Ionian Sea to west, Mediterranean Sea to south, Aegean Sea to east; Hundreds of islands stretching to Asia The mountainous terrain prevented Greeks from taking up a nomadic lifestyle. The many miles of seacoast provided opportunities for the people to work as sailors, fishers, and traders. The mild climate allowed some farming, despite mountains and rocky soil; Some places good for wheat, barley, olives, grapes, raising sheep and goats Communities independent from one another because of mountains and seas

Who were the Minoans and where did they live? First civilization to arise in Ancient Greece Lived on the island of Crete- southeast of mainland where Ruins of a grand palace Knossos (that was center of Minoan civilization)was discovered by Arthur Evans in 1900; revealed riches of ancient society Minoans traded pottery and stone vases for ivory and metals Ships made from oak and cedar controlled eastern Mediterranean Sea; carried goods to foreign ports and kept out pirates Minoan civilization collapsed in 1450 BC; historians have many theories about how

Who founded the First Greek Kingdoms? Mycenaean warriors became first Greek kings and nobles who ruled the people they conquered From Central Asia Invaded and conquered Greek mainland ~ 1900 BCE

What Were Mycenaean Kingdoms Like? Rulers lived in fortified palace on a hill surrounded by giant walls Beyond walls (or fortifications) were farms, or estates, belonging to nobles ◦ Slaves and farmers lived on estates and took protection in the fortress during times of danger Palaces were busy with artisans working Government officials kept track of wealth and collected wheat, livestock, and honey as taxes and stored them in the palace

How did the Mycenaean people gain power from trade and war? Minoan traders visited and Mycenaean people learned to work with bronze, build ships, use the sun and stars to navigate and began to worship the Earth Mother The Mycenaean people replaced the Minoan as the major power on Mediterranean Most famous victory was Trojan War in which king Agamemnon used trickery to win the war

Compare and Contrast the Minoans and Mycenaeans Minoans Lived on Crete Both Earned wealth from trade Mycenaean Lived on Greek mainland Built first civilization in Greece on Crete First Greek kings Worked in or with bronze; made tools and art Built fortified palaces on hills Borrowed ideas from Minoans; for example bronze tools

What Was the Dark Age of the Early Greeks? Earthquakes and fighting led to the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization Trade slowed, poverty set in: teaching writing and craftwork stopped and resulted in Greeks forgetting written language and how to make things People known as Dorians from Greece’s northern mountains moved south and many settled in Peloponnesus: They brought iron weapons and farm tools which were stronger than those of bronze, leading to more advanced technology People began to farm again and produce surplus food which revived trade which led to new way of writing (adopted from the Phoenicians) Greek alphabet had 24 letters that stood for different sounds, making reading and writing much simpler than ever before

Why did the early Greeks begin to colonize the surrounding areas? As Greece moved out of Dark Age, farmers could not grow enough grain to feed everyone which led to sending people outside Greece to start colonies Colony: a settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to its homeland ◦ People went to coasts of Italy, France, Spain, North Africa, and western Asia ◦ Colonists traded grains, metals, fish, timber and enslaved people and received pottery, wine, and olive oil from mainland ◦ Greeks began to mint coins and merchants were soon exchanging goods for money instead of other goods Growth of trade led to growth of industry and people began specializing in making certain products

What was the early Greek Polis? At the end of the Dark Age, many large estate owning nobles overthrew Greek kings and created city – states; Polis: a tiny independent country like a city state Acropolis provided safe refuge in case of attacks and served as religious center where temples and altars were built to honor Greek gods and goddesses Agora: an open area that served both as a market and meeting place- below the Acropolis City-states were different sizes and had Varied populations

What Was Greek Citizenship? Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, where most people were subjects, Greek society was made up of citizens who, in most city-states, were free native-born men who owned land Some city states, such as Athens, forwent the land-owning requirement although slaves and foreign-born residents continued to be excluded. Women and children could qualify for citizenship, but did not have rights Rights of Greek citizens ◦ Gather in agora and choose officials and pass laws ◦ Vote ◦ Hold office ◦ Own property ◦ Defend themselves in court Responsibility: Citizens had to serve in and run the government and fight as soldiers for polis

What rights were granted to Greek citizens that American citizens have today? Right to to vote hold a government office own property defend themselves in court

Who were the citizen soldiers of Greece? Hoplites were ordinary citizens who fought on foot and battled with heavy armor; carried round shields and marched shoulder to shoulder allowing little room for enemies to cause harm ◦ Division of city-states caused pride, but also lack of unity

What was included in The Athenian Soldier’s Oath? There were six things each soldier promised to protect in taking the oath. They promised: 1. not to dishonor their weapons 2. not to desert their comrades 3. to improve the fatherland 4. to uphold and protect the constitution 5. to honor the temples 6. to honor the religion of their forefathers

What is tyranny and how did it occur in the City-States of Ancient Greece? Nobles seized power from kings but were thrown over by tyrants A tyrant is a leader who came to power through force Tyrants arose as small farmers demanded changes in power structure because they were losing their land even becoming enslaved when they could not pay back their debts to the nobles; merchants and artisans also wanted a share in governing Tyrants built new marketplaces, temples, and wall People in general did not want rule by one and eventually oligarchies and democracies arose. Sparta – oligarchy; Athens – democracy

Who were the Spartans? In order to get more land, the Spartans conquered and enslaved neighbors and called them helots

What was Sparta’s Government Like? Oligarchy - Two kings headed council of elders which included 28 citizens over age 60 who presented laws to an assembly All Spartan men older than 30 were part of assembly and voted on council’s laws This council chose 5 people to be Ephors who enforced laws and managed tax collection Government discouraged foreign visitors, banned travel and disliked citizens studied literature or the arts in attempt to keep people from questioning Spartan system Focus on military training kept soldiers strong but resulted in Spartans falling behind in trade, science and other subjects

Why did the Spartans place so much stress on military service? • • Government controlled people of Sparta; Boys and men trained for war constantly The Spartans feared that one day the helots would rebel against them, and they wanted to be ready to put down any rebellion, so they focused on military service. Boys went to live in barracks at age 7 and entered regular army at age 20; life was harsh Men returned home at 30 and stayed in army until 60 and were never to surrender Girls were trained in running, wrestling and throwing javelin Wives lived at home while men were at barracks, and were freer than other Greek women; could own property and go where they wanted

What Was Life in Athens Like? Athens was a two day trip northeast of Sparta Three teachers at school for boys; one for reading, writing and arithmetic, one for sports, one for singing and playing lyre; males became citizens at 18 Girls stayed home where mothers taught them spinning, weaving and household duties; women stayed home to teach daughters In wealthy families – girls learned to read, write and play lyre

Why was Athens considered a “Budding Democracy”? Athenians rebelled against nobles as most farmers owed nobles money and many sold themselves into slavery ◦ Farmers wanted an end to all debt and demanded land for the poor Nobles turned to Solon who canceled all debts and freed those enslaved, allowed all male citizens to become part of assembly and law courts Council of 400 wealthy citizens wrote laws, but assembly had to pass them Solon popular among common people, though farmers pressed him to give away nobles’ land, which he refused Following 30 years of turmoil after Solon, tyrant Peisistratus seized power and won support of poor by dividing large estates among landless farmers and gave them jobs building temples and other public works.

Who was Cleisthenes and why is he important to democracy? • • • Cleisthenes came to power in 508 BC He reorganized assembly and gave members new powers such as debating matters openly, hear court cases, and appoint army generals He created new council of 500 citizens to help assembly carry out daily business, propose laws, deal with foreign countries and oversee treasury; Credited with making the government a democracy Members of council were chosen using lottery so that the rich were not favored Non- citizens, including women, foreign-born men, and slaves were still excluded from political process

Compare the lives of Spartan women and girls to the lives of Athenian women and girls. Spartan women had more freedom than Athenian women, who could not leave their homes without a male relative; Spartan girls were trained in sports, while Athenian girls were taught to spin and weave. Both Spartan and Athenian women were expected to care for the home and raise children, and neither could hold office or vote.