Ancient Greece

Greek Timeline 776 BC - First Olympic Games 500-300 -Golden Age of Greece Great advances in Science, Mathematics, Philosophy, Architecture 480 BC – Battle of Thermopyale 431-404 – Peloponnesian War (Athens vs Sparta) 338 BC - Philip II of Macedon takes control of Athens 336 BC – Alexander the Great takes control and conquers great new territories for Greece 146 BC – Rome conquers Greece and

Greece under Alexander the Great

Geography of Greece Mountainous/Rocky land made farming and travel difficult Barley, olives and grapes are main crops, Goats were main animals Olive oil was most prized export. Sailed the seas for trading (wheat, iron ore, timber) Trading between islands and throughout Mediterranean with the Phoenicians The soil was not very fertile along the coastline. The ancient Greeks used systems of irrigation and crop rotation to help solve that problem.

Climate of Athens Write a short fact about the climate of Athens

Ancient Greece Vocabulary City-State: A central city and surrounding villages that follow the same laws, government, language, religious beliefs and ways of life (Specific to Greece) Examples: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Megara, Argos Empire: Large group of people & states ruled by an Emperor Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Civilization : Name for a group of people who have a place to gather, a language

Types of Government Oligarchy: Form of Government where power is held by a few (Sparta) Direct Democracy: Form of government where everyone votes on every issue (Athens). Why is this good? Why is this also difficult Representative Democracy: Voters choose elected officials to make decisions for them (USA)

Athens Academic capital of Greece – based on education Largest City-State, present day capital Citizens could vote and be in government Direct Democracy – people would vote on every issue Only Athenian born free males over the age of 18 could vote (Slaves, Women, Foreigners couldn’t vote) Strong Navy Girls stayed home to do domestic duties. They were told to “see little, hear little, and ask no more questions than was absolutely necessary.” Boys studied reading & writing, practiced boxing and wrestling.

Sparta Ruled by two Kings Great Military Power Monarchy : Ruled by a King Oligarchy: Ruled by a few Great Military Power Boys went to military training at age 7 Girls trained to be strong mothers in order to have strong children Enemies with Athens (Peloponnesian war)

Shared Culture of Athens & Sparta Both Were Independent states (City States) Both Speak Greek and use the Greek Alphabet Participated in ancient Olympics Worshiped the same gods and goddesses Both are enemies with the Persian Empire

Other City States Corinth Argos Megara Corinth was a monarchy. The people were ruled by a king. To solve the problem of foreign money pouring into their polis, the government of Corinth created its own coinage. They forced traders to exchange their coins for Corinth's coinage at the bank of Corinth, for a fee of course. Argos Many scholars credit Argos with the invention of coinage in ancient Greece, an invention that made trade much easier. Megara They were famous for their glorious textiles, which were the envy of other Greek city-states, did a great deal of trading. Also founded the city of Byzantium, (Constantinople/Istanbul) in 630 BCE

Greek Democracy Democracy means the rule of the people (in Greek). The earliest democracy in the world began in Athens, in 510 BC But Who Gets to Vote? Athenians developed the idea of Citizenship  Greek leaders decided that only men who owned large plots of land were citizens. Women, slaves, foreigners and people with little or no property were not given the rights and responsibilities of Athenian citizenship. While the Ancient Greeks restricted democratic rights to a small portion of the population, the idea of democracy was born. 

Philosophy Ancient Greece gave the world Philosophy Study of why the world is the way it is = WHY Socrates, Plato, Aristotle All three of these lived in Athens for most of their lives, and they knew each other.  One of the reasons that Athens was the Academic Capital

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Socrates came first, and Plato was his student, around 400 BC. Socrates was killed in 399 BC, and Plato began his work by writing down what Socrates had taught, and then continued by writing down his own ideas and opening a school.  Aristotle was more interested in Science than Socrates or Plato, maybe because his father was a doctor. He wanted to use Socrates' logical methods to figure out how the real world worked; therefore Aristotle is really the father of today's scientific method.

Socrates Felt an urge to think about the world around him, and try to answer some difficult questions. "What is wisdom?" , What is beauty?“, "What is the right thing to do?” Socrates soon had a group of young men who listened to him and learned from him how to think. Plato was one of these young men. Questioned the Government, and thought the smartest people should make the decisions for everyone. Father of Philosophy – Put to death for outspoken views

Plato Taught by Socrates and learned how to think and what to question Upset when Socrates was killed, and began writing down Socrates’ ideas Everything we know about Socrates comes from Plato Began forming his own ideas about the world, government Tried to think about better forms of Government for Athens Plato’s Republic Thought most people were stupid Only the best should vote and make Decisions Plato

Aristotle Another Greek Philosopher & teacher Tried to learn about everything possible Walking encyclopedia Studied at Plato’s academy Teacher of Alexander the Great “It is doubtful whether any human being has ever known as much as he did"

Major Achievements Art Architecture Culture (Poetry and Plays) Created great statues and pottery Architecture Competition to see which City-State had the greatest temples Culture (Poetry and Plays) Created outstanding literature, poetry and mythology. Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey Greeks famous for plays that were Comedies or Tragedies

Major Achievements Math, Science and Technology Greeks understood world was round Had advanced Astronomy Archimedes Gold Crown Story Greeks were very skilled at math Invented rules of Geometry Pythagorean Theorem Thought medicine & science was important Hippocrates known as the Father of Medicine

Major Achievements Political Life & Ideas Military Strategy Developed Worlds First Democracy Created Citizenship Different ways to Govern people Military Strategy Great stories of war from Ancient Greece Trojan Horse 300 Spartans at Thermoplye

Trading in Ancient Greece Being on the water helped Ancient Greece becoming an important trading partner Use of coins increased trade Exports: pottery, bronze, silver and gold vessels, olive oil, wine, and textiles Imports Timber, animal skins, luxury items and exotic raw materials Influenced other cultures across the Mediterranean

Military Power of Greece Each City-State had their own army Wars were common, always fighting over borders Sometimes City States would join leagues as allies There are four main wars (How do we know?) Trojan War (about 1250 BC, but might be made up) Persian Wars (490-480 BC) Peloponnesian War (441-404 BC) Campaigns of Alexander the Great (331-323 BC).

State Authority Taxes Slavery Commonly collected on sales of houses, slaves, herds and flocks, and other goods. Sometimes city-states would tax the very rich – usually in times of war. Slavery Cleaned and cooked, worked in the fields, factories, shops, in the mines, & on ships, even as police. They could not go to school, or enter politics, or use their own name. They were the property of their owner, not citizens . Some were captured in battle, some were the children of slaves and some children were sold into slavery by poor families.

Laws in Ancient Greece Each City-State had their own laws Most were written laws Sparta was the exception Athens had juries for their courts Famous lawyers made people think about the purpose of laws Draco – Harsh punishments, thought to deter crime Solon – More sensible laws, punishment fits crime

Religion in Ancient Greece Ancient Greeks practiced Greek Mythology Polytheistic Religion (Poly – Many, Theos-God) Greek Poluqeos 12 main Gods lived on Mount Olympus Zeus was the Supreme God

Ellhniko Alrabhto Greeks had their own language and alphabet The Greek Alphabet Used since 8000 BCE Similar to what we have today Important Because… Helped develop written record Allowed for communication Writers, poets, stories & plays Helped advance society

Modern Greece Population: 11 Million Capital: Athens Language: Greek Member of the European Union Trouble with Debt (spending more than they collect in taxes Trouble with extremist political parties

Historical Understanding Political: Had a variety of governments Sparta: Oligarchy, Athens: Democracy Economic: Being near other big civilizations helped trade. Also had their own currency to help trade with others. Water/boats were very important. Religion Believed in Greek Mythology – Gods & Goddesses who controlled the world

Historical Understanding Science/Technology: Great at Math (Pythagoras) and Astronomy Written Language Used the Greek Alphabet and had a spoken language Education Stronger in some city-states (Athens) than others Philosophy was important as was literature & drama Family Life Different for each City State (Athens vs Sparta)