1. Ancient Greece

2. Greek Geography *Greece is on a large peninsula (Balkan Peninsula) which extends into the Mediterranean. The Aegean Sea separates Greece from Asia.  Turkey is in Asia. Greece is in Europe. 

3. Mountains cover ¾ of Greece!!! This made travel and trade difficult!

4. *Greek communities often developed independently b/c of the mountains, thus they were diverse. *As a result they fought each other a lot.

5. Mountains and the Seas The unchanging geography of Greece includes mountains and sea. –Early farmers grew olives, grapes, and grain. –Raised sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. Inland the mountains isolated early peoples, who became fiercely independent. –Survived only on food they raised. Peoples on the coast developed outside contacts, which continued to be important to Greece’s development as a center for trade. –Each village formed own governments.

6. **Since Greece is a peninsula (water on 3 sides) Greece developed an AWESOME navy used for trading and fighting!**

7. *Greeks living near the Mediterranean became fishers, sailors, and merchants. *Greeks needed to look outside for trade b/c they had so few natural resources. *Location on Mediterranean allowed trade via Sea. Greeks exported olive oil, wool, and wine.

8. So… How did geography affect the way early people lived in ancient Greece? ANSWER:The mountainous land made travel and trade hard; independent communities formed their own governments; Greeks living near the sea became fishers and traders.

9. The Minoans The island of Crete is 60 miles south of the Balkan Peninsula. –“A rich and lovely land, washed by the waves on every side” –Homer (not Simpson…) Around 1900 BC the Minoans changed life on Crete by building palaces that were like small cities. They continued trade contacts and introduced new goods to the island. Their creation of a written language represented a significant change. Artist’s rendering of the palace, Knossos, built by the Minoans.

10. The Mycenaeans Power changed hands when the Minoan kingdom ended and the Mycenaeans took control of Greece, but there was some continuity. –The Mycenaeans were warlike and judged their wealth by the number of weapons they had! Many Minoan ways and beliefs were borrowed by the Mycenaeans, who also adopted Minoan writing, changing it to fit their language ( cultural borrowing). A dramatic change took place later when new peoples took over the Mycenaeans. –Unknown who these people were for sure. Between 1100 BC and 800 BC Minoan and Mycenaean learning was lost as people returned to a simpler way of life. (known as Dark Ages)

11. Mycenaean swords!

12. Ancient Stories and Legends The epic poet Homer preserved the memory of Mycenaean civilization in his poems and so created a kind of continuity with the past. –Much of what we know today about the Mycenaeans comes from Homer. –An epic is a long story-poem. Other old stories and legends also provided a record of the early people of Greece. –The Iliad tells about people’s actions during a war. –The Odyssey describes the adventures of a hero on his journey home from war. With these traditions as a foundation, Greek civilization continued to grow and change.

13. The Illiad/Trojan War Homer describes a war in the Iliad that was fought between the Mycenaeans and the people of Troy. –This is the Trojan War Myth. Legend says that fighting began when a Trojan prince named Paris kidnapped Helen, the wife of a Mycenaean king. –The king’s brother, Agamemnon, took soldiers to Troy to get Helen back. The war dragged on until the Mycenaeans came up with a plan. –They built a huge, hollow wooden horse and dragged it to the gates of Troy at night and left it there.

14. The Illiad/Trojan War (Continued) The Trojans were curious and pulled it into their city. That night Mycenaenan soldiers hiding in the hollow horse crawled out. –They opened the city gates for other Mycenaenan soldiers. –By morning Helen was rescued and the city of Troy was left burning. http://storynory.com/2006/08/20/helen-of-troy/ http://storynory.com/2006/09/17/troy/ http://storynory.com/2006/10/28/the-wooden-horse/

15. Rise of City-States Around 800 BC Greek city-states began to emerge from the dark ages and had some elements in common, such as an acropolis (fortress) and an agora (gathering place). –Fort built to protect from invaders. Greek city-states were initially ruled by either a king or a tyrant. Later they developed different forms of government and ways of life and became rivals for land and colonies. –Aristocracy (wealthy ruling class) or assembly (lawmaking group). –Greek colonies developed in other areas in Asia, S. Europe, and N. Africa b/c of overcrowding.

16. Rise of City-States (continued) The colonies provided more space for the people but also new natural resources and trade markets. –Greek ideas and customs spread through the Mediterranean region. Rivalries grew as city-states began to compete for land. –Sparta and Argos, Athens and Thebes, Sparta and Athens all fought over territory.

17. 5 of the most powerful Greek City- States…

18. Sparta The Spartans developed a unique way of life based on military strength, and they lived by strict rules. –Had 10 times as many slaves as citizens. –Fear of revolt led to a strong army to protect themselves. –Boys entered military at age 7 and trained until age 18. Served until 30. –Army camps taught Spartans to obey leaders w/o question. –No greater honor than to die for their city- state. –Women had greater rights then those in other city-states.

19. http://www.yout ube.com/watch?v =eZeYVIWz99I

20. Sparta A small ruling group (oligarchy) made all the decisions. –2 kings whose power was limited by law. The kings served as high priests and as leaders in war. –A Council of Elders (Senate), which was consulted before any proposal was put before the Assembly. –The Assembly, which held debates and voted on them. (All male Spartans) –The Board of Ephors, which was a group of overseers that consisted of 5 male citizens that were elected annually by the Assembly. Some of the duties of the ephors were summoning the assembly and initiating the members of the legislature

21. Sparta In spite of its strictness, the Spartan way of life was admired throughout Greece. Council of Elders 

22. Why did Spartans believe they needed a strong army? They were afraid the slaves, who outnumbered the citizens, might rebel.

23. Athens Athens differed from Sparta in not emphasizing military strength and in allowing its people to take part in community decisions. –Men only served in the military in times of war. The Athenians’ unique system of government was a democracy (rule by the people). –“Its administration favors the many instead of the few.” –Introduced in 594 B.C. but by 500 B.C. all men over age 20 had full political rights. –All decisions made by majority rule. Most votes wins!!!!

25. Athens As time passed, the structure of Athenian gov’t changed to allow individuals even greater participation. –Any one person was UNABLE to take control of Athens. Citizens voted to get rid of troublesome citizens. If voted out they had to leave Athens for 10 years! –Women could not take part in gov’t. –1/3 of Athenian population was slaves which made it possible for the citizens to take part in democracy.

26. How were decisions made by the Athenian Government? Majority Rule! What is this 

27. The Parthenon in Athens. It’s a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena whom the people of Athens considered their protector.

28. SpartaAthens Military Culture Oligarchy More Rights for women Society closed to outside and change Slaves Agora (gathering place in city) Acropolis (fortress) Civic Participation (voting) Democracy Few right for women Society open to new ideas and change

29. Corinth The first tyrant was named Cypselus. Temple dedicated to Aphrodite was thereAphrodite Major trading center especially for pottery; very wealthy like Athens Allied with Sparta..went against Athens and Argos

30. Argos The temple was dedicated to "Argivian Hera". Hera Did not fight in the Persian Wars The other city-states made fun of them because of it During Mycenean times, it was a strong city-state Named after Argos, son of Zeus and Niobe.ZeusNiobe

31. Elis The first Olympic festival was organized in Elean land, Olympia, Greece by the authorities of Elis in the 8th century BCE - with tradition dating the first games at 776 BCEOlympicOlympia, Greece Judges of Olympic games were from Elis

32. Greek Identity Although the Greeks identified not with a single country but with their different city-states, the Greek people had a common cultural identity. –Considered themselves Spartans, Athenians, etc… They had a common ancestor, practiced the same religion, and used a common written language. –Believed they all were related to a hero named Hellen. –Developed an alphabet based on the Phoenicians. They also laid down their differences as city-states every four years to participate in athletic events known as the Olympic Games. All of the Greeks felt a cultural identity b/c they had a common religion, written language, and belief in a common ancestor. They also had the Olympic Games where all would gather to watch the events.

33. The First Olympics First Olympics were held in the valley of Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis in 776 B.C. 40,000 people watched the action as athletes competed in one event – a footrace. Met every four years to honor the god Zeus.

34. For centuries, the Greek city-states fought over land and differences in ways of life. Then, beginning in the early fifth century B.C., a common enemy brought the Greek people together!

35. The Persian Wars In spite of their differences, the Greek city-states were able to unite against the Persians in the conflict known as the Persian Wars. –Persia was a powerful empire in Asia who had taken over Babylon, Assyria, Egypt and other lands around the Mediterranean including Greek city-states. –Persian armies greatly outnumbered all Greeks combined. Their cooperative effort to defeat the Persians was successful. –Persia started to defeat individual city-states and they quickly realized they had to work together to beat the Persian Army. It’s a good thing the Greeks won! If the Persians had won all of world history might be different! This is b/c the Greek customs, language, and ideas shaped many cultures for many centuries to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

36. The Persian Wars Afterward, some city-states continued to cooperate in leagues (groups of allies) for protection against new threats. –Feared future attacks. –Sparta led a group of city-states in the Peloponnesian League. –Athens led the Delian League.

38. What caused the Greek city- states to band together? A common enemy – the Persians.

39. The Golden Age The period following the conflict with the Persians was a golden age for Athens. The Athenian leader during this time period, Pericles, improved democracy. –“Nothing to excess.” –Led Athens w/ the help of a huge assembly who voted by raising of hands. He believed every citizen had a right to participate in the cooperative decision-making process and made it possible for poor as well as rich to hold office.  Pericles Direct Democracy Unlike America’s democracy, ancient Athens had a direct democracy. Each citizen’s vote counted on the day to day running of government. The U.S. has a representative democracy.

40. Achievements of the Golden Age The Golden Age in Athens was a time of achievement. –Pericles’ government supported the arts and sciences. The government cooperated with citizens by paying them for their creativity. –Hired the best artists and scholars and put them to work. This cooperative effort had positive results. New buildings and artwork beautified Athens, the past was preserved in writing, Athenians lives were enriched by the performance of tragedies (serious plays) and comedies (humorous plays), and their view of the world was changed by new ideas in science.

41. The End of the Golden Age During the Golden Age the sense of unity among the Greeks disappeared, and city-states cooperated only within their leagues The Golden Age ended when tensions between Sparta and Athens led to the Peloponnesian War Great teachers and thinkers continued to live in Athens after the war, but the city-state no longer paid for their work

42. Conquest of Greece Although no individual in Greece was able to unify the Greek city-states after the Peloponnesian War, King Philip II of Macedonia successfully brought the Greeks together under his rule Philip allowed the Greeks to manage their own affairs, imposing only one rule- that they live in peace

43. Building an Empire Philip’s son, Alexander, was an ambitious individual who was determined to rule the world Through a series of conquests, Alexander built a huge multi-cultural empire He created an interdependence among diverse peoples by sharing Greek culture with them and by adopting many of their customs As a result, many unique peoples readily accepted Alexander’s rule and interacted with each other within his empire

44. The Breakup of the Empire After Alexander died, no individual could hold the empire together As a result, the empire was divided The new leaders were often at war and in the end destroyed much of what Alexander had created

45. Alexander’s Legacy Hellenistic culture developed and continued after Alexander’s death Individuals such as Euclid and Archimedes mad advances in many areas The Romans, who began to dominate the Mediterranean world, borrowed heavily from Greek culture This cultural borrowing led to interdependence between the two cultures