1. Classical Greece and Rome

2. Review questions
Name the two most important city-states in Ancient Greece and describe their political systems
Name the characteristics of Greek and Roman architecture
Who was Rome's opponent in the Punic Wars?
What was Rome's political system before it became an empire?
Name the 3 most important Greek philosophers

3. People and Places Pericles Alexander the Great Julius Caesar
Constantine
Athens
Sparta
Rome
Carthage

4. Beginnings of Greece RVC influence on islands like Crete by 2000 B.C.E
Greece taken over by Indo-Europeans by 1700 B.C.E
Crete influenced Mycenae(featured in Iliad)
Destroyed by more Indo-Europeans around 800 B.C.E

5. Greece overview Geography matters for city-states
Each city-state had different government
Linked by trade, Olympics(Owl house always won), Phoenician language
Colonies in places like south Italy
Cooperated to defeat Persians

6. Fall of Greece After victory over Persia was the Golden Age
Ended by the Peloponnesian Wars( B.C.E)
Macedonian kings expanded
First Philip II, then Alexander
Hellenism in places like Alexandria

7. Alexander's Empire

8. Rise of Rome
Originally a monarchy beginning around 800 B.C.E, then aristocratic republic by 509 B.C.E
Expanded over all of Italy
Victory over Carthage in three Punic Wars( B.C.E)
Civil wars between generals, eventually Julius Caesar victorious, then assassinated
Augustus Caesar first emperor in 27 B.C.E
Prosperity until death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 C.E

9. Ruin of Rome Slow decline until final fall in 476 C.E
Economic and population loss
Constantine and Diocletian tried to reverse tide
Government no longer effective
Army relied on foreigners
Destroyed by nomads

10. Politics-Greece Rule by strongmen was common
Upper-class idea of active citizenship
In Athens general assemblies met every 10 days for direct democracy
Only citizens could participate
Judges and other executives chosen
Other city-states like Sparta had aristocratic assemblies

11. Politics-rome Originally a republic with elected magistrates
Two consuls had executive power in the Senate
Dictators in times of crisis
Oratory was important
Writers like Cicero wrote extensively about different political forms and participation

12. Politics of an empire Senate became meaningless
Local autonomy prevailed
Fair and reasonable law above all
Bread and circuses
Tolerance of all religions except sometimes Christianity
Emphasis on conquest

13. Religion Same gods, different names
Gods were like a soap opera, inspiring a great literary tradition
Left people dissatisfied causing mystery religions
Thinkers like Aristotle said don't be like the gods
Upper-class searched for other ethical systems, like the Stoic idea of inner moral independence

14. Christianity Began in Roman province Judea Used Rome's roads
Scapegoats
Refused to place state first
Used by Constantine to unite

15. Philosophy
Socrates said to question conventional wisdom to improve the soul
Plato said that reason could understand True, Good and, Beautiful
Seeking rationality in the universe

16. Science The Greeks got a lot wrong Example would be Ptolemy
Geometry excellent under Euclid and Pythagoras
Romans just preserved but were great engineers
Greeks on ships, Rome on roads

17. Architecture Greece Rome Columns Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
Brightly painted
Great engineers
Domes on rectangular buildings
Villas built around central courtyard
Both loved monumental architecture

18. Architecture Examples
Greece
Rome

19. Written Arts Realism and about gods
In theater invented tragedy and comedy
Writers like Sophocles preferred tragedies
Literary epics for both
Poetry more important in Rome

20. Visual Arts Sculpture important for both, less innovation by Rome
Realistic but beautiful
Excellent ceramics
Rome known more for athlectics

21. Economy Most were farmers who were often free
Later in times of decline became tenants
Tough soil led to olive/grape farming, which caused debts
Also reason for colonies
Trade very important(state regulated grain)
Trade outside Mediterranean but imbalanced

22. Slavery Slaves were for grunt work or servants Occasionally tutors
Came from conquered peoples
Elaborate ways to justify
No need for agricultural improvements

23. Family Patriarchy though women had vital roles Female infanticide
Eventually family courts
Not as bad as China

24. Overall, though the Classical Mediterranean did not produce the lasting civilization of China or India or have the same practical outlook, the ideas of Greece and Rome are still important today, as you can tell by visiting Washington D.C.