1. The Civilization of the Greeks
Chapter 1 Section 2

2. The Polis: Center of Greek Life
Greek city-state, or polis – central focus to Greek life
City-states varied in size
Between a few hundred and several thousand
Athens was one of the largest – 250,000
Polis was the town, city, village and surrounding countryside
People met for political, religious, social, and economic activities
Polis = means Politics to us
Polis was made up of three groups
Citizens with political rights (adult males)
Citizens with no political rights (women and children)
And noncitizens (slaves and resident aliens)

3. 7th or 6th Century B.C. – Tyrants – conflicts
Rulers who seized power by force and were not subject to laws
Tyrants were supported by rich traders & poor peasants in debt to landholding aristocrats
Hired Soldiers to maintain power
Built new marketplaces, temples, and walls
Greeks turned against the tyranny
Insult to ideal of the law
Overthrew the tyrants to form Democracy
Govt. by the people or rule of many

5. Sparta – powerful city state
Conquers neighboring peoples
Laconians and Messenians
Prevent them from rebelling Sparta created a military state
Lives of Spartans were rigidly organized and controlled
Spartan means highly self disciplined
Boys/Men
spent childhood learning military discipline and enrolled in military service at age 20
They might marry but lived in the barracks until age 30
At age 30, they could vote and live at home but stayed in the military until age 60

6. Government was an Oligarchy
Women –
Lived at home which gave them greater freedom of movement & power
unique in Greece
Expected to exercise
Bear children and raise healthy children
Expected bravery from their husbands and sons
Government was an Oligarchy
Headed by 2 Kings
Led the Spartan army on their campaigns
Council of Elders
2 Kings and 28 citizens who were over the age of 60
Power to decide on what issues would be presented to the assembly of male citizens

7. Conservative government with a Closed society
Turned their back on the outside world
Were not allowed to travel - No one in/no one out
Were not allowed to study philosophy, literature, or the arts
Anything that could encourage critical thinking
Art of war was the Spartan ideal
All others were frowned upon

10. Athens – Major city state in ancient Greece
700 B.C. was a unified polis on the peninsula of Attica
Early Athens was ruled by a king
7th century B.C. it was an oligarchy
Economic problems
Athenian farmers could not pay their debts to aristocrats
Being sold into slavery
Led to Democratic government
508 B.C. aristocrat Cleisthenes came to power
Restructured the assembly and laid the foundation for democracy
Created the council of 500 members came from local districts
All male citizens allowed to vote and elect the Council
Controlled foreign policy and the treasury
Council prepared legislation
Legislation was debated openly in the assembly
Athens had a Direct Democracy
Citizens participated directly in decision making

11. Pericles – dominated politics from 461 B.C. to 429 B.C.
Started paying salaries
Made it possible for many more citizens to serve in public office
Athenians became deeply attached to their political system
Athens became the leading center of Greek culture
New temples and statues
Art and architecture flourished

15. The Greek Love of Wisdom
Philosophy refers to an organized system of thought
Comes from the Greek word meaning “love of wisdom”
Greatest thinkers of the Western World
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle

16. Socrates was an Athenian stonemason
Education had no other goal than improving human understanding
Teaching method called the Socratic method
Presumed all knowledge was already present in each person
Careful questioning can draw it out
Question and answer format
Placed great emphasis on the ability to reason
Questioned all things… including authority
Accused and convicted of corrupting the youth by encouraging critical thinking
Sentenced to death by drinking hemlock, poison

18. Plato – one of Socrates’ students
Considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of Western Civilization
The Republic – ideas about government
Thought political life in Athens was too rowdy
Ideal state – 3 groups in society
(1) Upper class – philosopher-kings
Political power because they were wise
(2) Warriors – protected society
(3) Everyone else
Masses driven by desires, not wisdom or courage
Believed men & women should have the same education & access to all positions in society

20. Aristotle was a student of Plato
Studied at Plato’s famous Academy for 20 years
Focused on analyzing & classifying things based on observation & investigation
Wrote – ethics, logic, politics, poetry, astronomy, geology, biology & physics
Great contributions to Western society
Based largely on Aristotle until the Scientific Revolution
Thought critically about a rational form of government
(3) good forms government
Monarchy, Aristocracy & Constitutional government
Constitutional government was best for people

22. The Greeks & Western Civilization
Principal source of Western culture
Socrates, Plato & Aristotle established the foundations of Western philosophy
Rational method of inquiry was important to modern science
Established in ancient Greece
Western Literature derived from drama & poetry
Art and Architecture
Greek principles of harmony and proportion have remained
Greece being a citizen in democracy brought with it a strict sense of duty

23. Pericles – Advanced democracy - Great leader of Athens “We do not say a man who takes no interest in politics minds his own business; we say he has no business here at all.” The Greeks called such a man idiotes, meaning “idiot,” by which they meant a fool who lives in his own private world. Pg 141