Classical Greece

Greece’s Geography The physical geography of the land directly shaped Greek tradition and customs. The Sea: people lived close to the sea, with few natural resources, they relied on the sea for travel and trade The Land: ¾ of Greece is mountains. 20 % of the land was arable. Climate: Climate ranged from 48 degrees in the winter to 80 degrees in the summer.

Greece’s Geography Continued.. What affect did the amount of arable land have on Greece? How do you think the climate of Greece affected daily life?

Mycenaean's The Mycenaean's settled on the Greek mainland about 2000 B.C. About 1200 B.C. the Mycenaean's fought a 10 year war against Troy.

Trojan War According to legend the Greek army destroyed Troy because a Trojan kidnapped the wife of a Greek king The Trojan War was believed to be a legend until an archeologist discovered remains of a city in the area where Troy was.

Epics of Homer The greatest storyteller in Greek tradition was a blind man named Homer. Epics were narrative poems that celebrated heroic deeds. The Iliad was an epic about the Trojan war and Achilles.

Epics of Homer continued.. The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his journey home after the Trojan war.

Polis By 750 B.C., the city-state, or polis, was the basic political unit in Greece. It was made up of a city and the countryside surrounding it. There were many ways to rule a Greek polis. (Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Oligarchy)

Monarchy Political unit run by a king

Aristocracy Government ruled by a small group of noble land owning families.

Oligarchy Government ruled by a few powerful people.

Phalanx The phalanx was the most fearsome and powerful army formation in the ancient world.

Sparta Sparta was a strong military state. Spartan boys began military training at age 7. Spartan women had more freedom than other women of Greece

Athens A much more artistic polis than Sparta One of its biggest contributions was democracy, rule by the people

The Persian Wars Darius was a Persian king who wanted to expand his empire. At the battle of marathon he was defeated by Athenians. Ten years later Darius had died and his son Xerxes tried to crush Greece.

Persian Wars Continued.. The battle of Thermopylae involved 250,000 Persians, and 7000 Greeks, including 300 Spartans. The Greeks were led by a king named Leonidas. The Persians lost many men until a traitor showed them a path to get behind the Greek army. The Spartans stayed behind to fight so the other Greeks could retreat.

Greece’s Golden Age Greece reached a golden age under a strong ruler named Pericles. Pericles had 3 goals: strengthen Athenian democracy, hold and strengthen his empire, and glorify Athens.

Philosophers Philosophers (lovers of wisdom) were great thinkers determined to seek the truth.

Socrates Socrates believed it was important for people to question their values and actions. Doing this that people gained knowledge about themselves. Socrates was condemned to death for “corrupting the youth.”

Plato Plato was a student of Socrates Plato believed people should be governed by a person who has great intelligence and insight.

Aristotle Aristotle was a student of Plato. He would question the nature of the world, and questioned human beliefs, thoughts, and knowledge.

Empire Builders Philip II

Macedonia (The Ugly Red Headed Step Child) Just north of Greece was the kingdom of Macedonia. Macedonia had a king who was a brilliant general and ruthless politician named Phillip II. Phillip II dreamed of one day taking control of Greece, and the Persian empire.

Macedonian Phalanx Macedonia also had a strong cavalry. It helped finish off the Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea

Philip’s Death Philip had planned to invade Persian next, but on the day of his daughters wedding but was stabbed to death

Alexander the Great 336 B.C., 20 year old Alexander became king of Macedonia. Alexander had been taught science, geography, and literature by Aristotle. Alexander was an incredible military leader

Conquering Persia In 334 B.C., Alexander led 35,000 troops into Persian lands vs. Darius III’s army of between 50,000-75,000 men. Although Alexander was outnumbered he chose his best troops to attack and broke through a weak point in the Persian lines.

Conquering Persia continued… Darius offered Alexander the western third of his empire. Alexander wanted more… In 332 B.C., Alexander marched into Egypt (which was a Persian territory) and conquered it. After leaving Egypt Alexander moved east into Mesopotamia to confront Darius.

Conquering Persian continued… Darius raised an army of 250,000 men and the armies fought at Gaugamela. Alexander launched a massive phalanx attack followed by a cavalry charge. As the Persian lines crumbled Darius fled again. Alexander’s victory at Gaugamela ended Persia’s power.

Alexander’s other conquest Alexander continued east wanting to expand his empire and capture Darius. Alexander reached the Indus valley where he fought an Indian army that included 200 elephants. After winning a fierce battle Alexander’s soldiers marched 200 miles more, but they were ready to go home.

Alexander’s Death In spring of 323 B.C., Alexander and his army had returned to Babylon. He became seriously ill with a fever, and died a month short of his 33 rd birthday.

Alexander’s Empire

Hellenistic Culture Greek blended with Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences creating the Hellenistic culture. Alexandria was at the center of all this. Major contributions include advances in astronomy (Eratsothenes calculated the earth’s true size), Geometry (Archimedes calculated the value of π), and Philosophy (stoicism was founded)

Colossus of Rhodes Hipparchus Lighthouse of Alexandria