Classical Civilization

of Greece
Geographic Setting
Greece is located in Southeastern Europe. It is
bounded by Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, in the
Northwest by Albania, and in the Northeast by
Turkey.
Greece is a country made of peninsulas.
Peninsula, an area of land surrounded by water on
three sides.
In the east is bounded by the Aegean sea,
Mediterranean Sea in the south, and Ionian Sea in
the west.
Geographic Setting

Thalassocracy or sea civilization, is the kind of

civilization that was developed by the Greeks with
its direct relationship with the sea.
Maritime trade became an important pillar of great
life especially in the face of limited land resources.
Greeks imported copper from Cyprus, horses and
wood from Syria and ivory and glass from Egypt,
and timber from the forest of Crete.
Geographic Setting

Greek mainland was made-up of rough mountains

that represented almost 2/3 of the entire land area
and barely 1/5 of the land was arable.
Greece enjoys a Mediterranean climate with
moderate temperatures; it never gets very cold or
very hot.
Minoan Civilization (2000-1400 BCE)

Sir Arthur Evans, an English archaeologist,

discovered the earliest evidence of Minoan
Civilization in 1900-1905
Minoan refer to the ancient civilization
found on the island of Crete attributing to
the legend King Minos, ruler of the island.
Minoan Civilization (2000-1400 BCE)

Palace of Knossos ruins was found on the

island of Crete and it is a monumental
symbol of Minoan civilization, due to its
construction, use of luxury materials,
architectural plan, advanced building
techniques and impressive size.
1400-1200 BCE, collapsed of the Minoan
civilization due to a speculated natural
disaster either an earthquake or volcanic
eruption.
Mycenaean Civilization (C. 1600-1200 BCE)

Mycenaean Civilization flourished in the

Peloponnesus.
Mycenaean was coined by Heinrich
Schliemann, refers to the discoveries found
at the site of Mycenaea in Northeastern
Peloponessus in 1876 CE.
Mycenaean Civilization (C. 1600-1200 BCE)

Mycenaean Civilization marked the Bronze

Age in Greek history. Excavation sites
revealed the protective walls implying that
the Mycenaean were in the constant war or
under threat of war.
Bronze was the primary metal for warfare.
Due to limited resources, Mycenaean
colonized neighboring islands in the Eastern
Mediterranean and Knossos around 1450
BCE.
City of Troy

Heinrich Schliemann excavated in 1871 the ruins of

Troy in the Ionian peninsula in present-day Turkey.
9 cities were discovered buried on top of each
other.
Trojan War revolves around the kidnapping of a
Greek queen, Helen, by Paris, the Trojan prince and
also the rescue launched by Agamemnon, the
Mycenaean king.
City of Troy
The siege of Troy by the Greeks lasted for 10 years.
The Greeks built a huge horse (Trojan horse) that hid
the number of Greeks and offered it to the Trojans
as a gift.
Trojans interpreted the Trojan horse as an offering
of peace and an acknowledgment of defeat by the
Greeks.
Greeks won the war.
Dark Ages (c. 1150-750 BCE)

Mycenaean Greeks experienced repeated

attacks from invaders destroying their
palaces and weakening their political and
economic hold over the Peloponnesus in
1200 BCE.
Dorian Greeks, invading groups who
exerted enough pressure on the
Mycenaeans with their superior weapons of
iron.
Dorian Greeks’ dominance over the
Peloponnesus marked the beginning of the
so-called “Dark Ages” of Greece.
Dark Ages (c. 1150-750 BCE)
During the occupation of the Dorians, a lot
of the achievements of the Minoans and the
Mycenaeans were lost, including:
The long-range maritime trade that the
Mycenaeans maintained disappeared.
The cities deteriorated and vanished.
Production of bronze was reduced to
the subsistence level.
Monumental architecture was
discarded.
The system of writing was forgotten.
 Age of Homer

The Dorian invasion altered the elements of Greek

life. It also paved the way for the showing of the
essential components of Greek culture.
Despite losing the art of writing, the Greeks
learned to rely on the spoken word, to transfer
knowledge from one generation to another, and to
propagate values through epics and stories.
 Age of Homer
The Greeks produce some of the greatest bards,
wandering poets, whose tales often depicted
heroes who embodied their ideals as a people.
The greatest of the bards was Homer.
The Iliad and Odyssey were two of his greatest
epics that told of the heroic deeds of Hector and
Achilles and Odysseus.
 Age of Homer

Arete literally means excellence, but the values that

it would take on would vary and change in the
course of the development of Greek culture.
During the age of Homer, heroism is the ultimate
expression of arete.
Classical Period (750-300 BCE)

Arts of civilization was discovered in

classical period.
The Greeks were able to rebuild from the
shadows of the Dark Ages.
 Greek Polis
Polis or the city-state is one of the most
important pillars of the Classical Age and it
is where life revolved.
Acropolis it was a fortified hill that served
as a place of refuge when the polis was
under attack or siege.
Citizenship

Citizenship meant membership in a polis as well as

participation in its political and religious activities.
Citizenship meant one’s acceptance of its laws as
well as the right to own land.
Citizenship was only extended to the males, women
were not considered citizens in Ancient Greece.
Citizenship

Citizenship, after 450 BCE, both parents had to be

citizens for their children to be citizens, unlike
before when citizenship was passed on from father
to son.
Citizenship, one had to be an adult make who was
free and could afford the arms needed to become a
member of Phalanx.
 Political institutions

Political institutions was an important

unifying factor for the citizens of a polis.
Citizenship, allowed citizens to establish or
made up an assembly or ecclesia wherein
Greeks would argue and discussed their views
on their affairs and voted on proposals by a
simple show of hand.
Discussions were being conducted in the
Agora, traditionally a market place, but would
eventually mean the market place of ideas.
 Political institutions

Aerophagus in Athens, the traditional

Council of Elders composed of ex-archons
who were members for life.
Council of Elders, founded by Solon, served
as the guardians of the law and exercised
judicial powers.
 Archons
Archons, the state officials that were charged with
the principal task of presiding in courts, governing
the city-state, and traditionally, commanded the
army.
Archons, previously elected by the Ecclesia, and
then were chosen by lot from a shortlist produced by
the tribes.
Archons, at first, eligibility was socially limited but it
became open to any citizen by the fifth century
BCE.
Archons, served for once a year only.
 Political Rights
Political institutions provided the opportunity for the
Greek people to exercise their political rights. The
political rights are the following:
1. Right to vote
2. Right to elect officials
3. Right to be elected to serve as officials
Infantry phalanx was made up of citizen-soldiers or
hoplites, derived from the name of their shield, the
hoplon.
 Olympic Games

The Greeks demonstrated their skill and courage in

athletic contests called the Olympic Games or
Panhellenic games. The games were dedicated
to Zeus. Women were not allowed to compete.
Married women were not even allowed to watch
the games.
Heraean Games, were the games held exclusively
for women which is dedicated to Hera. It was held
every four years at the stadium of Olympia.
Religion

The Greek religion was polytheistic, with 12

principal gods known as the Olympian gods primarily
because they were believed to live in the palace of
Zeus on top of Mount Olympus.
The Greeks also believed that their gods were
anthropomorphic, meaning they saw their gods in
the shape of human beings and believed them to be
capable of human emotions and frailties.
Olympian Gods
Zeus - Sky God; Father of the Gods
Hera - Goddess of Marriage; Wife of Zeus
Poseidon - God the Sea
Athena - Goddess of Wisdom; Handicraft
Apollo - God of Reason and Intellect, Medicine and Music
Aphrodite - Goddess of Love and Beauty
Olympian Gods
Dionysus - God of Wine
Artemis - Goddess of Chastity, the Moon, and the Hunt
Demeter - Goddess of Agriculture
Hermes - Messenger of the Gods
Hephaestus - God of Fire and Metalcraft
Ares - God of War
Oracle at Delphi
Oracles were sacred sites where people went to
consult with certain articles for answers to questions
about life.
Oracle at Delphi is the most famous since it is
where the temple of Apollo is found.
 Hellenic Age
The Hellenic Age refers to the Greek
expansion across the Mediterranean Sea
that resulted in the spread of Greek culture
throughout the Mediterranean basin. It is
caused by the pressure of population
growth that pushed the Greeks to look for
lands where they could settle.
The colonies established by the Greeks
during this period reached Southern Italy,
Sicily, Southern France, Southern Spain, and
North Africa. These colonies were referred
to as Magna Graecia or Greater Greece.
 Hellenic Age
The use of the alphabet that the
Phoenicians first developed and which the
Greeks modified to 24 letters facilitated the
commercial expansion of the Greeks.
Emergence of Athenian Democracy
One of the most important foundations of
western civilization was the tradition of
democracy.
Democracy is the rule of the people or the
rule of the many. Its essential tenets are
equality and freedom.
During the 6th century BCE, as a direct
result of wealth brought about by the
commercial expansion of the Greeks and
their active contact with one another and
other peoples of the Mediterranean, Greek
society began to change.
Emergence of Athenian Democracy
Social dislocations created strains that
needed to be addressed, wherein some
became rich while others remained
marginalized.
In the face of these challenges, two types of
Greek leaders emerge: the reformers and
the tyrants.
Reformers were legitimate rulers chosen to
be officials to run the city state.
Tyrants were illegitimate rulers who seized
power through popular support.
Emergence of Athenian Democracy
Solon, as a reformer, instituted important
economic policies that were meant to
alleviate the plight of the poor and expand
opportunities to engage in trade and to
safeguard and strengthen the foundation of
Athenian democracy.
Solon prohibited debt slavery that reduced
a person in debt to the status of slave. In so
doing, he was able to preserve the freedom
of that person, which was a fundamental
requirement of citizenship.
Emergence of Athenian Democracy
Pisistratus, and his son, Hippias were
tyrants who redistributed land confiscated
from their noble rival to small farmers. They
launched large building projects to provide
work for the poor. These measures were
significant in strengthening the foundation
of Athenian democracy, primarily because
they provided the opportunity for the poor to
have income that would have allowed them
to buy armor and weapons needed to
become members of the infantry phalanx.
 Sparta: Garrison State
Sparta was located in the southern portion
of the Peloponnesus. It established a police
state where the interests of the state took
precedence over the rights of individual
citizens. Lycurgus became one of its most
important leaders, creating laws that
shaped Sparta as an authoritarian state.
The conquest of Laconia around 700 BCE
paved the way for creating three distinct
social classes. At the highest rank were the
original Spartans known as Spartiatai
(Spartiates), below them were Perioeci
(Perioikoi or dwellers around) and the lowest
rung were the serfs or Helots.
 Sparta: Garrison State
Perioeci were the descendants of the
original dwellers in Laconia. They were
considered second-class citizens
obligated to pay taxes and to serve the
army. They did enjoy certain rights, such as
the right to own properties, but were
excluded from participating in political
processes.
Helots or serfs worked the farmlands to
provide the Spartans the necessary food
resources to maintain the Spartan army.
Spartan women were also expected to be
physically fit like the men, primarily because
of their function, which was to bear healthy
and strong children for the state.
Persian War
The Persian Wars were a series of wars fought between the
Persians and the Greeks from 492 BC to 449 BC.
The Persian Empire was the largest and most powerful
empire in the world at the time of the Persian Wars. They
controlled land that stretched from Egypt all the way to
India.
The Greeks were made up of a number of city-states such as
Sparta and Athens. Typically these city-states fought each
other, but they united to fight against the Persians.
Persian War

The Ionians were Greeks that lived along the coast of Turkey.
They were conquered by the Persians. When the Ionians
decided to revolt they asked Athens and other Greek cities
for help. The other Greek cities sent ships and weapons, but
were quickly defeated.
Spartans defeated the advancing Persian army.
 Golden Age at Athens
Pericles was given much of the credit for
ushering the Golden Age of Athens. Pericles,
as a leader of Athens, pursued three basic
goals.
The first was to strengthen Athenian
democracy by providing salaries to those
who serve in the assembly and the Council,
who were chosen by lot.
Second, he worked to build a
commercial empire with Athens at the
helm.
Third, he sought to glorify Athens through
a program of beautification during his
administration.
 Golden Age at Athens
During this period, the features of the classical
art were defined namely: order, balance and
proportion.
Two literary styles and genres became popular
during this period: tragedy and comedy.
Tragedy was a play that became a popular
public drama in which men and women of strong
character meet their downfall due to their pride
and greed.
Comedy was another literary form that became
popular with the early comedies written by
Aristophanes, the greatest classical Athenian
writer. Comedy was deemed remarkable
because of the violent satire he used to ridicule
the Democratic world leaders.
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War was a war fought in ancient
Greece between Athens and Sparta—the two most
powerful city-states in ancient Greece at the time (431 to
405 BCE). This war shifted power from Athens to Sparta,
making Sparta the most powerful city-state in the region.
The war featured two periods of combat separated by a six-
year truce.
The Peloponnesian War showed that not even the strongest
of the city states could hope to dominate the others for long
and that the Greek states would reassert their independence
and freedom.
 Greek Philosopy
Greek philosophy, as it develops, was
influenced by three basic assumptions.
First was that the universe was organized in
an orderly way.
Second was that there were laws operating
in the universe that provided this order, and
that these laws were constant and absolute.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, was
that the people could understand these laws
by using their reason.
 Greek Philosopy
The Greeks were believed to be the first to
acknowledge that reason enabled human
beings to discern facts, accumulate
knowledge, make informed decisions, and
participate responsibly in government and
society.
Sophists were a group of thinkers who
emerged in the climate drive for questioning
and inquiry. They were lecturers on culture,
rhetoric, and politics. Sophists focus on
winning and not on discovering or
establishing the truth.
 Greek Philosopy
Three of the greatest Greek philosophers were
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Socrates advocated the view that a good
person never knowingly does wrong. He believed
true knowledge could be gained or discerned
through dialogue and systematic questioning.
Plato was the pupil of Socrates and the teacher
of Aristotle. One of his most important works was
The Republic, where he advocated that the best
ruler was a philosopher king. He also established
a school called the Academy.
Aristotle became the tutor of Alexander the
Great. He advocated reason as a primary tool to
discover the essence of knowledge derived from
sense experiences.
Hellenistic Period
It lasted from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. until 31
B.C., when Roman troops conquered the last of the
territories that the Macedonian king had once ruled.
Certain distinctive characteristics marked the Hellenistic
age. One was the use of the Greek language that became
the lingua franca throughout Alexander's empire. Second,
was the ascendance of the religious, of the Near East over
the Olympian gods of ancient Greece. Third was the
advantage of the knowledge of astronomy.
Major Contributions of Greece Civilization
The Greeks made significant contributions to humanity in
mathematics and science.

Eratosthenes estimated Earth’s circumference.

Euclid systematized previous discoveries based on axioms,
definitions, and theorems. He is considered the father of
geometry.
Archimedes calculated Pi's value and developed the lever and
pulley principles. He was framed to say, "Give me a place to
stand, and I can move the earth."
Pythagoras formulated the theorem that bears his name, stating
that in a right triangle, “the square of the hypotenuse is equal to
the sum of the square of the other two sides.”
Major Contributions of Greece Civilization

Democritus formulated the first atomic theory.

Hippocrates was a Greek physician, often called the father of
medicine. He believed that health could be maintained through
cleanliness, moderation in eating and drinking, letting nature
take its course, and living where the air is good.
Aristarchus theorized that the sun was the center of the
universe.
Thales believed that the water was the basic element of nature.
Major Contributions of Greece Civilization

In the field of history, Greece produced two great historians.

Herodotus, known as the “father of history,” wrote the history of
the Persian Wars. He tended to explain historical processes in
terms of faith in divine predestination.

Thucydides wrote the history of the Peloponnesian Wars. He

proved to be more objective in his accounts and believed that
the historical process was not determined by the gods but by
natural causes.
Major Contributions of Greece Civilization

In the area of literature, the tragedians, Aeschylus, Sophocles

and Euripides were the significant writers, while Aristophanes
was considered as the greatest comedy writer of ancient
Greece.
Menander was another comedy writer and his works include The
Arbitrants and The Curmaudgeon.
Major Contributions of Greece Civilization

The Greeks blazed a trail in the development of classical art.

Phidias is credited for the sculptures in the Parthenon and the

ivory-gold representations of Zeus and Athena.
Polycleitus mastered the art of using counterpoint that
effectively shows the rest and movement of the human body
simultaneously.
Praxiteles was known for his sculpture of Aphrodite, Cnidos and
Hermes. He succeeded in showing the humanity of the gods in
his works.
Major Contributions of Greece Civilization

In the area of philosophy, the Greeks were the first to emphasize

reason as a basis for understanding. The works of Socrates,
Plato and Aristotle continued to inspire further study and
reflection to this day.

The most significant contribution of the Greeks to humanity is

democracy.