GREECE

Democracy was introduced

Arts and architecture
Mathematicians
Alphabet with vowels
Great Silk Road Europe Asia
Peninsula
More advancements
The Olympics
Cradle of western civilization
No concept of country = city states (separated by
mountains) <-- own laws, money, rulers
Herodotus = father of History
Homer
1. The Iliad = Achilles
2. The Odyssey = A hero on his way home to
Greece after the Trojan War

Ancient Greece
Minoan Civilization
Developed on Crete
Minoan = legendary king, Minos
Bronze and gold
System of writing, palaces (Knossos), pottery, weapons
Seafaring traders: wine, honey & olive oil
Volcanic eruption
Mycenaean Civilization
Greek-speaking Indo-European tribe
Warrior kings
Palace at Mycenae
Pottery, jewelry (same as Minoan)
At war with each other
Adopted the Minoans sea trade
Dorians illiterate; art of writing was forgotten
Aegean Civilization
Some Mycenaean kingdoms united as one
Warfare among kingdoms (Dark Age)
Hellenic Civilization
Great age of Greek civilization
Hellenic = Hellas name of their country
Farmers: wheat, grapevines, olive trees, barley
Artisans: textiles, pottery, metal tools, weapons

Fishermen/Traders: shipped wool, wine, olive oil, etc.

Trade brought in new ideas: Phoenician alphabet, Lydian coins, Egyptian Geometry
Greek myths: gods & goddesses (polythiesm)
Homers epics

City States (Lyric Age)

Sparta
Strong military maintain order
Every stage of their lives were planned
Man = 7 military barracks; 30 full fledged citizen
Women = non-citizens, gymnastics, physical endurance = bare good babies
Athens

Develop the humans

Mathematical skills balance & proportion = Parthenon
Emotions = poetry
Rule themselves = democracy
Education
Boys = school & sport
Girls = school only

Draco
o First written laws (Draconian laws = harsh)
o aristocrat
o Tyrant
o Jury system
Solon
o Reformation
o Statesman, poet, merchant
o Illegalized slavery to pay off debts
o Wise & just
Pisistratus
o Cultural
o politician
o His rule benefitted Athens
o Tyrant (rules harshly)
o Agrarian reform
o Poor and farmers
Cleisthenes
o Gave power to the people (they could point out who was a threat to Athens)
o Ostracism = broken pottery (ostrakon) exiled for 10 years (6,000 votes)

CLASSICAL AGE
Greeks considered themselves superior to all non-Greeks (barbarians)
Greece was never really united; loyal to their own polis
|
At war with one another
Threat by Persia unites Greece
Greek colonists in Asia Minor rebelled against Darius (Persian King) but were defeated (20 ships)
To punish Athens, Darius invaded Greece
Persians at Marathon: defeated by a small citizen-army. Phidippides (swiftest runner) went to Athens to announce the
victory then collapsed and died.
10 years after the defeat in Marathon, Darius son, Xerxes went to conquer Greece. The Persians made their way to the
narrow mountain pass (Thermopylae) but clashed with the Spartan King Leonidas, 300 Spartans and 700 other Greeks.
The small Greek force held off the Persians but was betrayed by a traitor who showed the Persians a path around the
pass and finally defeated the Greeks. With the path to Athens open, the Persians burned Athens down. The Athenians
fled to the nearby island of Salamis. Luckily the Athenians have a strong navy led by Themistocles who tricked the
Persians into a narrow passage where they rammed and sank the Persian ships as Xerxes watched in defeat.
The following year, the Spartans defeated the Persians at Plataea forcing them to withdraw
The defeat of the Persians stopped their attempts to expand their empire into Europe.
Development of political and artistic ideas (center was Athens)
Golden Age (Age of Pericles)
Old rivalries among city states arose once more after the Persian Wars
Sparta and Athens (150 Asia Minor, Aegean Islands | Delian League (cannot leave the alliance) Athenian Empire)
made an alliance with other city states for protection
Athens: political and cultural center of the eastern Mediterranean
Pericles: Leader of Athens
Statesman
Athens rebuilt
men
Stronger defenses
---------------- Democracy
women
Government: open to all classes (male only)
Freedom of speech and thought
Value education (Boys: private school 18 = 2 years in military, serve the government as a citizen;
Girls: home = household tasks)
Male slave = free but not a citizen

FALL OF THE CITY STATES

City states quarreled with one another = weakened
Peloponnesian War
Sparta made allies with city states in Peloponnesus
Sparta invaded Athens

Disease claimed thousands of Athenians and Pericles himself

Pericles successors = unwise decisions
Sparta won; Forced Athens to make peace
Went on for 27 years
Brought political unrest = democracy declined in Athens
Macedonia
Philip king of Macedonia
Built a strong army
Demosthenes (statesman) warned Athens of Macedonia but the city states did not unite in time
Philips forces crushed the Greek alliance = losing their independence
Philip was assassinated = 20 year old son Alexander became ruler

Alexander the Great

Great military skill
Leadership ability
Deep desire to conquer Persia
Tutor: Aristotle
Scientific curiosity
Love for Greek culture
Conquered: Asia Minor, Phoenicia, Egypt (city of Alexandria), Mesopotamia, & India without losing
Died in Babylon of a fever
Death ended the brief period of unity between Greece and the near East
His Generals cannot control the vast empire
Divided into 3
Ptolemy = Egypt
Others ruled Asia and Macedonia
Alexanders conquests encouraged Greek soldiers, merchants, officials, etc. to settle in conquered lands = spread of
Greek culture Hellenistic Age

PHILOSPHERS
Influenced modern scientific study: based on observing nature, making logical deductions, looking for proof
The growth of scientific thinking did not end traditional Greek practices
Different ways to explain the natural world
Philosophy = love of wisdom
\
Search knowledge about the universe and our place in it
*Did not accept explanations that said the gods were responsible for whatever happened

Analyze nature in an orderly way natural laws find those laws (using reason)

HELLENIC AGE
Individual as a citizen of the polis
Greeks felt superior among non-Greeks (barbarians)
I. Thales
Lived the same time as Solon
Looking for natural laws and causes
II. Pythagoras
Universe was arranged according to mathematical laws
Studied music, astronomy, and mathematics
III. Democritus
Nature was made up of tiny atoms, particles that could not be divided
Fist atomic theory
IV. Hippocrates
Separated medicine from magic
Find the cause of the disease using reason not blaming the gods
V. The Sophists
Teachers
Taught grammar, speech, poetry, math, gymnastics & music; how to make good laws, speak well, and win
debates
Interested in issues of citizenship, politics and law
Gods did not exist
Athenian Laws: not based on principles of justice but represented only the wishes of the most powerful group in
the city
Bad influence on young people; encouraged them to disobey the law
Methods for success in politics
VI. Socrates
Most extraordinary thinkers in history
Stonecutter
Agreed with Sophists that it was more important to gain knowledge of humans than nature
Continuous asking of questions (based on logic)
Knowledge and reason
Individuality
Careful thinking and questioning
Think critically about their lives
Socrates was executed for his views (Calmly drank poison and talked with his students until it took effect)
VII. Plato
Socrates most famous student
Importance of knowledge and character
Society as a whole should be regulated by reason
Laws must serve the best interests of everyone
Blamed democracy for the troubles of Athens = poor leaders and poor government
Philosopher-kings: many years getting the education to become wise and just rulers
First to analyze political systems

VIII. Aristotle
Most brilliant student at Platos Academy
Son of a physician
Studied plants, animals, astronomy, physics
Founder of Biology
Leaders: have no right to exist if all you do is sin
Tutor of Alexander the Great
Lyceum own school
HELLENISTIC AGE
Knowledge and culture from the Hellenic Age was preserved
Began with the death of Alexander the Great
Discrimination of non-Greeks lessened (because of the spread of Greek culture)
Expeditions: new knowledge about plants, animals, geography, astronomy & medicine
Alexandria = center of Hellenistic culture
Ruler: Ptolemy (Alexanders general)
Scholarships
Greatest library and research center in the ancient world
Botanical gardens, zoo, observatory, 500,000 books
Egyptian rulers supported them and their research
Important writings from all around the world
Discoveries
I. Euclid
Mathematician
Organized geometry into a logical system
Geometrical proofs
II. Eratosthenes
Scholar and head librarian
Earth was round
Oceans were connected
III. Aristarchus
Mathematician and Astronomer
Sun was the center of the universe
IV. Archimedes
Principles of the lever and the pulley, catapult
PHILOSOPHERS
Greek city states were no longer the center of political life
Greek world grew larger; settled on other lands = exchanged ideas
Individual as an individual
I. Epicurus
Epicureanism

 Writer and teacher

Define the ways in which people could live untroubled lives
Wise people should not give in to strong emotions
Enjoyment of simple pleasures
Trying to gain wealth, power or fame = increase anxiety
Epicurean = main interest is in pleasure
II. Zeno
Stoicism
Met in open walkways (stoa) in the marketplace of Athens
Dignity, self-control, and reason
Equality of human beings
Go with the flow
Acceptance

GREEK CULTURE
First people to develop the ideas of political liberty and democratic government
Questioned and analyzed everything from nature to government to the meaning of life
Valued excellence
A person should be able to discuss philosophy, understand math, appreciate art, participate in civil affairs, and stay
in good physical condition
Strive to do everything excellently
Valued moderation
Did not eat, drink, sleep too much
Did not devote their lives entirely to one thing
Balanced, well-rounded life
Poetry = Greek ideals
Expresses the Greek view of life
Homers epics people strive to live up to the standards of courage and honor
Poems: for honor victors and heroes killed

Pindar winning athlete

Sappho school of music and singing for wealthy young women
- woman poet
- poems about friendship and love
Religious festivals: poems were chanted by the chorus (group of performers) Plays
Thespis actor; part of a chorus but stepped away and spoke as an individual
Pisistratus sponsored the first drama festival
Plays were performed outdoors in a large theater into the side of a hill (capacity: 20,000)
Everybody can watch on Opening Day also a public holiday (poor, prisoners)
Performances lasted sunrise-sunset
Greek Dramas: based on old stories about gods and heroes
Playwrights used these stories to explore human problems = tragedies
Greek dramatists saw the universe as governed by fate or destiny (punishing people who were too proud)
People were free to make decisions greatness; unwisely or rashly disaster

Greatest Writers of Greek Tragedy

o Aeschylus
o Sophocles Warning against arrogance
o Euripides Peloponnesian War: Trojan Women
Comedies: about politics and common events
o Aristophanes made fun of Athenian politicians, generals, philosophers, etc.

Writing History
First to examine the past critical eye
Tried to understand peoples action and motives
o Herodotus father of history
- vivid account of Persian Wars
- included ancient stories, and legends
o Thucydides when war broke out between Sparta and Athens
- accurate record of events
- contained no
myths, legends, or
supernatural events
- searched for
human motives and natural
causes
Art and Architecture
Sculptures: human beings ideally beautiful
Well proportioned bodies

Perfect facial features

Gods and goddesses = beautiful human being form; the way the Greeks imagined them
Architecture = harmony and balance
Applied mathematical laws of proportion to fit in with its natural surroundings
Acropolis hill in the center of Athens
Parthenon temple to Athena (15 years to finish)
o Phidias sculptor
- large statue of Zeus
The Greeks set lasting standards of beauty