1. Chapter 2- Ancient Greece & Rome 2.1- Ancient Greece
Early Greek Civilization
The Polis: Center of Greek Life
Sparta
Athens
Classical Greece
The Culture of Classical Greece
Alexander the Great

2. Early Greek Civilization
The mountains and the seas were important geographic influences on Greece

3. Early Greek Civilization
Mycenaean civilization flourished between 1600 and 1100 B.C.
Greece then entered a Dark Age when population declined and there was less food.

4. Early Greek Civilization
The works of Homer appeared at the end of the Dark Age
The Iliad and Odyssey are epic poems
The Greeks regarded the Iliad and Odyssey as history
Homer gave the Greeks an ideal past peopled with heroes
Generations of Greek males used these poems as models of heroism and honor

5. The Polis: Center of Greek Life
By 750 B.C., the polis, or city-state, had become the central focus of Greek life
The polis was the town, city, or village and its surrounding countryside
The people met for political, religious, social, and economic activities

6. The Polis: Center of Greek Life
City-states varied in size
Most were between a few hundred and several thousand people
Athens was one of the largest, with a population of more than three hundred thousand by 400 B.C.
The polis was a community of people who shared a common identity and common goals

7. The Polis: Center of Greek Life
Greek states developed different forms of government
Some city-states became democracies, ruled by many
Others became oligarchies, ruled by the few
Two of the most powerful city-states, Athens and Sparta, illustrate the differences

8. The Greeks felt that rights also meant responsibilities
The Greeks felt that rights also meant responsibilities. What might be some responsibilities of a citizen in a Greek city-state?
Possible answers:
Some responsibilities of a citizen in a Greek city-state include participating in government, paying taxes, defending the polis, and providing for others.

9. Sparta
Between 800 and 600 B.C., the lives of the Spartans were rigidly controlled and disciplined
Boys learned military discipline, entered the military at age 20, and lived in the barracks until they were 30
At 30, Spartan males were allowed to vote in the assembly and live at home, but they remained in the army until the age of 60
Spartan women lived at home while their husbands lived in the barracks
Spartan women had more power than women in other Greek city-states
Spartan women supported Spartan values, expecting their husbands and sons to be brave in war

10. Sparta Two kings who led the Spartan army headed the oligarchy
Five men known as the ephors were responsible for education and the conduct of citizens
A council of elders, made up of the two kings and 28 citizens over 60 years of age, decided on issues the assembly of male citizens would vote on
The assembly did not debate, but only voted
Sparta closed itself off from the outside world
Foreigners and travel were discouraged
Spartans frowned upon new ideas and the arts
Only the art of war mattered

11. Athens A king ruled early Athens
By the seventh century B.C., it was ruled by an oligarchy of aristocrats who owned the best land and controlled political life
Near the end of the seventh century B.C., economic problems led to political turmoil
Many Athenian farmers were sold into slavery for nonpayment of their debts to aristocrats
Cries arose to cancel the debts and give land to the poor
Civil war threatened

12. Athens The aristocrats gave power to Solon in 594 B.C.
Solon favored reform
He canceled the debts but did not give land to the poor
This left the aristocrats in power and the poor unable to obtain land

13. Athens
In 508 B.C., Cleisthenes, another reformer, gained the upper hand
He created a new council of five hundred to supervise foreign affairs, oversee the treasury, and propose laws
He gave to the Athenian assembly, composed of male citizens, authority to pass laws after free and open debate
For this reason, Cleisthenes’ reforms laid the foundation for Athenian democracy

14. Classical Greece
Classical Greece is the name given to the period from 500 to 338 B.C.
During this time, the Greeks fought two wars
The first war was against the Persians, who were defeated by the unified Greeks
Athens took over the leadership of the Greek world after the Persian War.

15. Classical Greece
Athens took over the leadership of the Greek world after the Persian War
Under Pericles, the dominant figure in Athenian politics from 461 to 429 B.C., Athens expanded its empire, while democracy flourished at home
Pericles created a direct democracy
Every male citizen could participate in the general assembly and vote on major issues
This period was called the Age of Pericles

16. Classical Greece
The Greek world was divided between the Athenian Empire and Sparta
Athens and Sparta had built very different societies, and they distrusted each other
After a series of disputes, the second war of Classical Greece, the Great Peloponnesian War, broke out in 431 B.C.
The civil war lasted until 405 B.C.
Athens surrendered when the Athenian fleet was destroyed.
The Great Peloponnesian War weakened the Greek city-states and ruined any hope of unity among them.
For the next 66 years, Sparta, Athens, and Thebes struggled for domination
These internal struggles caused the Greeks to ignore the growing power of Macedonia, an oversight that cost the Greeks their freedom

17. The Culture of Classical Greece
The standards of classical Greek art dominated most of Western art history
Classical Greek art was concerned with expressing eternal ideals
The style was based on reason, moderation, balance, and harmony
Art was meant to civilize the emotions
The most important architectural form was the temple
The greatest example is the Parthenon
built in the fifth century B.C.
dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens, Athena
The Parthenon exemplifies the principles of classical architecture: calm, clarity, and freedom from unnecessary detail

18. The Culture of Classical Greece
The classical style of Greek sculpture depicted idealized, yet lifelike, male nudes
Greek sculptors did not seek to achieve realism

19. The Culture of Classical Greece
The dramas we see today are the descendants of Greek drama
Plays were presented as part of religious festivals
The original Greek dramas were tragedies, presented in trilogies around a common theme
Only one complete trilogy survives today, the Oresteia by Aeschylus
It tells the story of Agamemnon, a Trojan War hero, and his return home
Greek tragedies examined such universal themes as:
the nature of good and evil
the rights of individuals
the role of the gods in life
the nature of human beings

20. The Culture of Classical Greece
Philosophy (“love of wisdom”) refers to an organized system of rational thought
Early Greek philosophers were concerned with the nature of the universe
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are considered to be three of the greatest philosophers of the Western world

21. The Culture of Classical Greece
Socrates developed the Socratic method
a question-and-answer format to lead pupils to understand things for themselves
based on Socrates’ belief that knowledge is already present within each of us
The task of philosophy is to call forth knowledge.
Socrates said “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
The belief in the individual’s ability to reason was an important contribution of Greek thought

22. The Culture of Classical Greece
Plato was one of Socrates’ students and considered by many to be the greatest Western philosopher
Plato explained his views on government in a work entitled The Republic
Plato believed that people could not achieve a good life unless they lived in a just and rational state
The ideal state has three groups:
rulers
warriors
commoners
Led by a philosopher-king, men and women would have the same education and equal access to all positions
Plato established a school in Athens called the Academy

23. The Culture of Classical Greece
Plato’s most important pupil was Aristotle, who studied at the academy for 20 years
Aristotle had wide-ranging interests including ethics, logic, politics, poetry, astronomy, geology, biology, and physics
After studying and observing existing governments, Aristotle found three forms of government that would rationally direct human affairs:
monarchy
aristocracy
constitutional government
Aristotle preferred a constitutional government

24. Philip II The Greeks viewed the Macedonians to the north as barbarians
In 359 B.C., Philip II became king of Macedonia
He admired Greek culture and wanted to unite all of Greece under Macedonian rule.
At the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C., Philip’s army crushed the Greeks
He united the Greek city-states in a league under his control and planned to conquer Persia
Philip was assassinated before he could fulfill his goal

25. Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, Philip’s son, became king of Macedonia at age 20.
334 B.C.- invaded the Persian Empire
by 331 B.C.-conquered all of the Persian Empire.