Who were the ancient Greeks?

A mixture of peoples
that lived…

Physical space (Hellas):

the Balkanian Peninsula.
2nd millennium BC
 HELLAS
(Balkanian
Peninsula)
 City-states
(polis) LAWS

Each one
ARMY
had its own:

CURRENCY
They had differences:
wars were common.
They had many
similarities
 SIMILARITIES (POLIS)

ORIGIN LANGUAGE GODS AND CUSTOMS and

RITUALS WAYS OF LIFE
 ORIGIN
2 CIVILIZATIONS left an
important mark on the region:

Minoan (3rd millennium):

Crete (luxurious palaces).

Mycenaean (2nd millennium):

Peloponnese (fortified palaces).
 LANGUAGE

Greek It sprod LITERATURE Syllabic Alphabet

(same history, myths, culture…) (with vowels)
Ex: the poems of Homer
(8th century BC)
Iliad Odyssey
POLITHEISTIC GODS AND RITUALS MYTHS and LEGENDS
(many gods)
DEMIGODS Stories or fabulous
adventures of GODS/HEROS
Children of a god and a mortal.
Extraordinary virtues: strength,
bravery, wisdom…
Ex: Heracles, Achilles…
 MANY GODS
Had human form
Ordered people’s lives (anthropomorphic)

Lived on Mount Olympus Had passions, VICES and

(highest mountain of Greece) VIRTUES as HUMANS.

Had POWERS and were

INMORTAL (unlike humans)

Religious, cultural and Sporting

festivals were celebrated to honor
them.

Ex: Panhellenic festivals.

- Delphi (Apollo).
- Olympia (Zeus).
Olympic games
Mediterranean
CROPS
CUSTOMS and WAYS OF LIFE

cultivated… PEASANTS raised…

ARTISANTS
Lived in and Participated in the life
CITIES. TRADERS of the POLIS.
Same URBAN Characteristics The ARMY
STRUCTURE

Forms of
GOVERNMENT
 Upper part
Lower part
Walled
CITADEL
- HOUSES - Inhabitants
grouped in took refuge.
neighborhoods. - Main
- AGORA RELIGIOUS
(the BUILDINGS
MARKETPLACE)
- Around the
AGORA
WALLS
- Religious
buildings.
- Political
buildings.
- Commercial
buildings.
 AGORA (Marketplace)
People Commercial
met buildings

Religious
People buildings
traded Political
buildings

Religious
events
took place

Center of the community life

 Another polis
The polis defended its
Barbarians (non- Greek)
territory from:
Served as SOLDIERS or SAILORS when necessary
2 types of Ordinary
soldiers men The rest of the time they were artisans, traders,
servants, peasants…

Could have military training (they didn’t have to work)

The rich Could buy their own MILITARY EQUIPEMENT
(Elite military force)
They became HOPLITES (professional soldiers who knew how
to use the SPEAR, SWORD and SHIELD and ride HORSES.
Common people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh_MDzqd79U

The phalanx:
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
300:https://www.y U2MpDJ6nkDs
outube.com/watc
h?v=qejo1CpqRYs
Alexander the
Great:
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
Tunic =aNbqyAHCPlQ

Sandals

Troy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEmpg89OTbA
Who had the power Type of government How had the power

A man takes the power

Tyranny
by the force
1 PERSON
Monarchy Hereditary or elective

Rulers are chosen from a small

Oligarchy group of men (aristocracy)
MANY PEOPLE
All male citizens in the polis
Democracy could VOTE and be chosen by
vote or LOTTERY.
 Monarchy SPARTA
Made political decisions
King Hereditary
Oligarchy Imparted JUSTICE
“Government of the few”
Controlled the ARMY
Landowners
“Aristoi”
(“The best”) They formed a COUNCIL that…
Warrior elite Governed the city

The rest of the population were excluded from government

 From the 5th century BC… ATHENS
Different from ours
“Government of people” Democracy (not everybody could participate.
The majority was excluded)

Were responsible for Had the right to participate in

the common good
Citizens the Assembly

Could vote and be elected (or

enter a lottery) to govern the city

Public positions were paid to enable the poorest citizens to participate.

 They had political rights: they
10% of the Who were the could vote, debate, be
population elected to participate in
citizens?
government…

Children of Defended the city (war)

MEN ATHENIAN parents and paid for their own
(no foreigners) military equipment (RICH)
 Government bodies
All the Citizens
Election Lottery
Assembly (Ecclesia)

They vote laws, war

and ostracism (exile)

MAGISTRATES
Council Courts
(prepare the (judges)
Government Tax collection
laws)
Army
 Citizens Metics
Considered foreigners:
their parents (or one of
them) were not Athenian.
Women Slaves
Worked as artisans
Confined to the home Property of another and merchants
(dedicated to domestic life) person
Paid taxes but couldn’t
They couldn’t vote Considered objects
participate in politics.
(they could be sold…)
Rarely participated in
Some work in bad Could be part of the army
political life
conditions (mines) but never command.
 From the 8th
century BC…

Many Greeks left Greece and

Asia Minor to found new cities

Where did they How did they Consequences

Why did
establish their establish a colony? of the setting
they do?
colonies? of colonies
Why there?
 Why did they do?

They were An increase in the Lack of land suitable

expert sailors population for cultivation

They lived in They

Not enough
islands or in traded by
food for
the coastal sea
everybody
areas of the
Balkanian
Peninsula
 Where did they establish their
colonies?
Good access An indigenous
by sea Places with common population
characteristics
Easy to defend A water supply
Cultivate Why there? Extract raw
the land They wanted to… materials
Trade with
local people
 Where did they establish their
colonies?
Magna The shores of the
Graecia Examples
Black Sea
(Southern
Italy)
Iberian Peninsula
 Before How did they establish a Founding a colony
leaving… colony?
They Found a suitable
The voyage (journey)
consulted location.
the gods Found the new
(Oracles) Boats Cabotage city (colony)
powered by
OARS and They sailed close The colonist (people who lived
Ex: Delphi SAILS to the coast in a colony) lived from:
oracle of Apollo - Agriculture.
(Pitia) - Fishing.
- Trade with local people and
the metropolis*.
 COLONY
(new city founded by the Greeks)

Was independent from the Maintained commercial and

metropolis agricultural ties

METROPOLIS
(their city of origin)
SAILS

OARS
Trade increased The spread of Greek culture
 3 city-states controlled Hellas

Athens Sparta Macedonia

 In the 5th
century… The Persians attacked Greece Greco-Persian wars

The Athens defeated The Greek city-states They were led by

the Persians in the made and alliance Athens and Sparta
battles of Marathon against the Persians
and Salamis. to defend the Hellas
Main cities:
Mesopotamia

One of the
largest
empires of
the Antiquity
 After the victory against the Persians
Became the most Exercised its hegemony
powerful Greek city
Athens (power) over many cities

Lead the Delian To defend themselves

Alliance made by League against possible attacks
many poleis (5th century BC) from the Persians

Each polis contributed

Athens collected the Kept the money
with SHIPS and MONEY
to maintain a FLEET taxes (Treasury of Delos)
 Some polis accused Athens of accumulating too much power and they
wanted to dissolve the Delian League

Athens didn’t allow Sparta led a

the polis to leave the Peloponnesian war
coalition(alliance) of cities
alliance
to confront Athens
Athens and its allies were
defeated
 Peloponnesian war
Many cities (Athens) fell
The war left Greece in
poverty and unrest
Consequences into the hands of tyrants
(end of democracy)
End of the Golden Age
of the Greek polis.
In the 4th century BC… Macedonia In northern Greece

Ruled by and
Took advantage of the A territory… hereditarian monarchy
decline of the polis
Mainly agricultural
Conquered Greece Alexander the Great
with a powerful army (Macedonian king) End of the city-states
based on the phalanx unified all the Hellas
 Educated by the
philosopher Aristotle

Admired the myths

written by Homer
Alexander (he wanted to be like the
heroes of the legends)
Alexander continued the
His father (Philip II) conquest and created a
conquered most of Hellas great Empire

He stablished the monarchy as the

government of Greece and used
the army to maintain his power
 It lasted 10 years (334-324 BC)
The most Most
Asia Minor important powerful
(current Turkey) library of city in his
antiquity. empire
Syria
Alexander’s
Zones Egypt He founded Alexandria
empire
Most of them
hold by the Main Persian cities: Susa,
Mesopotamia Persepolis, Babylon…
Persians
He married a Pakistani
Pakistan princess
Legacy His men refused to go
India further
 Alexander died in Babylon (323BC)
Seleucid
Empire Greece
His generals divided
the empire into 4
Kingdom Pergamon
Hellenistic kingdoms
of Egypt
However, his great
expansion spread the
Greek culture (Hellenism)
Alexander founded cities
He also respected their
and built temples, Why? beliefs and customs and
theaters and palaces in
His generals did tried to identify with
Greek style.
the same and adapt to them.