1. History of Ancient Greece
Greek History
Hellenistic Period
Early Greece
City States
Minoans
Sparta
Athens
Philip II
Alexander
“the Great”
Mycenaeans
Persian Wars
Peloponnesian War
Dorians
“Dark Age”

2. Early Greek History

3. Minoans
Crete was home to the earliest civilizations in Greece: the Minoans, the Myceneans, and the Dorians.

4. Ancient Greece the Beginnings
A. The MINOANS (Cretans) 1. Civilization rose around 2800 B.C. on the Isle of Crete. 2. Good carpenters and metal workers-built ships *earned living from trade rather than farming. 3. By 2000 B.C.-Crete had become the world’s first important seafaring people.

5. 4. The People
*Small people with bronzed skin & long hair.
*Wore fancy clothes and jewelry.
*They loved sports (boxing and bull leaping)
5. Cities and Palaces
*Minoan cities had a palace at their center.
*No walls were built--sea and navy provided protection.
*Knossos was the largest city on Crete.
-it included a 5 story palace with a labyrinth
-Labyrinth=Double Axe... “House of the Double Axe”

6. 6. Rulers and Religion
*Rulers were Priest-Kings.
*Rulers interpreted what gods wanted people to do.
*Minoans were Polytheistic.
-Main goddess was the Great Goddess.
7. Fall of the Minoans
*Their decline is uncertain.
*Legend explains the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.
*Around 1400 B.C. control of Crete passed
to the Myceneans.

7. King Minos’ Palace at Knossos

8. Aerial View of the Palace at Knossos
Ruins of Palace at Knossos

9. Minoan Traders

10. Minoan Bull Leaping
The Minotaur

11. Mycenaean World
Mycenaean Ruins

12. Mycenaean Ruin
The Megaron

13. B. The MYCENEANS
1.Background
*From the lowland of mainland Greece.
*They built fortress-palaces on hilltops for kings.
-In times of danger people took shelter within
the palace walls.
*Main feature of the palace was the Megaron.
-A square room with a hearth at its center.
*Land was divided into estates farmed by slaves
or tenants.
*Landowners gave goods to the king in exchange
for protection (ex..horses, chariots, wheat)

14. 2. Traders and Pirates
*Myceneans borrowed several aspects of Minoan culture (bronze work, writing, fashions...)
*Most important..how to build and navigate ships
*They became rich through the growing and
trading of Olive Oil.
*They were a warrior people.
-had pirate fleets in the Mediterranean.
*By 1400 B.C. they replaced the Minoans as the
main power of the Aegean world.
*They remained strong for about 300 years.
*They were then conquered by the Dorians.
*Many Myceneans fled and settled in the Aegean
islands on the western shores of Asia Minor.
*This area came to be called Ionia.

15. The Dorians – Dorian Migration

16. Dorian Building & Dorian Ruins

17. C. The Dorians & the Dark Age
1. The Dorians conquered the Myceneans around
1100 B.C.
*They used iron swords rather than bronze.
2. Dorians were not interested in advancing
civilization.
*It slipped into a “Dark Age” for over 300 years.

18. 3. This was a period of wandering and killing.
*Overseas trade stopped.
*People forgot how to write and keep records.
*Herding and farming became the main way of
life.
4. Local leaders called themselves kings (more like
chiefs)
*The local kingdoms became fixed making each
an independent community.
*The people of these communities began to call themselves Hellenes or Greeks.

19. Sparta: a Military City-State

20. Sparta: a Military Way of Life

21. The Spartan Warrior

22. In Sparta, War was a way of life.

23. Athens – birthplace of democracy

24. Acropolis in Athens - Today

26. Athens- today

27. Democracy was born in Athens

28. Athens had a strong military, too.

29. Battle of Marathon

30. The Greeks defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon making them the dominant power in the Mediterranean world.

31. Battle of Thermopylae

32. 300 Spartans at Thermopylae

33. Map of the Delian League

34. The Delian League
A. As a result of the Persian Wars the Greeks formed a defensive league.
B. The headquarters were on the Island of Delos.
1. It was called the Delian League.
2. Sparta did not join.
C. City-states could not withdraw unless all other
members agreed.

35. D. It had a common navy built and crewed by
Athenians, but paid for by all.
E. It turned into an Athenian Empire.
1. Athens controlled many aspects of other city-
state’s business.
2. Money from the league was used for building
projects in Athens.
3. Other members of the League resented Athens.

36. Peloponnesian War Map

37. Peloponnesian War Map 435 B.C.

38. Peloponnesian War A. In 433 B.C., Athens invoked a trade embargo
against Megara, an ally of Sparta.
B. Sparta and their allies declared war on Athens.
C. The war was fought on the Peloponesus
Peninsula--Peloponnesian War.
D. The War lasted for almost 30 years.

39. E. In 404 B.C., Athens which was facing starvation
surrendered to Sparta.
1. Athens lost over 1/4 of its population due to
the war and a plague that struck during it.
2. Sparta chose 30 Athenian men to rule Athens.
3. It was a puppet government.
F. Athens eventually revolted against the puppet
government and set up a democracy.
1. They never regained their former strength.
2. The end of the war brought a loss of unity
among many Greeks.

40. Alexander “The Great”

43. Macedonian Phalanx

44. Phalanx