Section 1: Early Greeks and the Rise of City-States

Geography:
• Southern Balkan peninsula
• Bordered by Mediterranean, Aegean, and Ionic Seas
• Small islands, uneven coastline – close to sea
everywhere (fishermen, sailors, traders)
• Short mountain ranges cut up mainland – hard to
unify people
• Rivers were short – not good for trade or travel
• So…separate city-states arose
Minoans vs. Mycenaeans
Minoans Mycenaeans

Location Crete Greek mainland,

Crete
Dates 2000 – 1400 BC 1600 – 1200 BC

Achievements Running water, art Fort-like cities, warriors,

(frescoes), trade network, writing (linear B)
navy, writing (linear B)
Reason for Collapse Volcano, tidal wave, taken Earthquakes, war
over by Mycenaeans
 The Minoans’ commercial (trading) contact with
ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia influenced their own
culture.
 The Minoans are credited as the first European
civilization.
 The Mycenaean era is also the called “Age of Heroes”
because it is the source of the mythological heroes and
epics like Hercules, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
 Mycenaean culture had a great deal of influence with
its legends and Greek language on what later became
the splendor of Classical Greece.
 The Mycenaeans are the first “Greeks”
 After 1100 BC Mycenaean civilization ceased either
through internal fighting, or outside invasions.
 The extensive damage done to the Mycenaean
civilization took 300 years to reverse.
 We call this period “the Dark Ages” because it’s a
period of basic survival with no evidence of cultural
development
Dark Ages – 1150 – 800 BC
 Government of tribes and chiefs
 Declining population, falling food
production
 Agriculture and herding
 Not much trade
 “Survival mode”
Greek Writing
 Later in the Dark Ages (between 950 and 750 BCE),
Greeks relearned how to write once again
 Instead of using the Linear B script used by the
Mycenaeans, they adopted the alphabet used by the
Phoenicians (learned through trade).
 The Greek version of the alphabet eventually formed
the base of the alphabet we use today!
Greek city-states
 800s/700s BC – formed independent city-
states (polis)
 Concept of a polis:
 city (fort) and surrounding territory
 community (people)
 politically and economically independent
How city-states (poleis) were
alike:
1. Covered small area
2. Populations of fewer than 10,000 (mostly slaves)
3. Fort built on acropolis (hill)
4. Had an agora (marketplace, public meeting place)
 Acropolis
In Greek, Acropolis
means "Highest City".
For purposes of defense,
early settlers naturally
chose elevated ground.
The most famous
example is the Acropolis
of Athens which is
known as the Acropolis.
It contains the famous
Parthenon, built as a
temple to the Greek
goddess Athena.
Agora
The ruins of the
Agora, the
commercial
center of
ancient Athens.
5. Greeks had loyalty to polis
6. People from all poleis spoke Greek
7. All saw non-Greeks as barbarians
8. Shared many religious, cultural, and social
characteristics
How city-states were different:
 Each had its own:
 Government
 Laws
 Calendar
 Money
 Weights and measures
Section 2:
Greek Government and Society
  Few could write at this time – mostly oral
communication
 Iliad (legend of Trojan War – Troy) and Odyssey
(after Trojan War) were epics written by Homer
during this time period (700 BC)

Not this one!

This Homer!
Trojan War Horse
Religion:
 Greeks used religion to:
 Explain nature
 Explain emotions of people
 Bring them earthly benefits like long life, good luck,
good harvest
 Did not expect religion to save them from sin
 Afterlife: believed spirts went to a gloomy underworld
ruled by the god Hades
 Created myths about gods, goddesses, and heroes to
explain their world
 Zeus was king of the gods – the Olympics were held
every four years starting in 776 BC to honor Zeus
Section 3:
Sparta and Athens
 The Dark Ages are followed by the period of maturity
known as “Classical Greece”.
 Between 480 and 323 BC, Athens and Sparta
dominated the Greek world with their cultural and
military achievements.
Sparta: The Military Ideal
 Sparta was in a valley, not on a hill
 It did not have walls for defense
 This may explain why Sparta developed as rigid and
highly militarized (very different from Athens)
Spartan government:
• 2 kings – one led army, one took care of matters at
home
• Council of Elders – 28 male citizens over age of 60
• Assembly – all males over 30; voted on laws made by
Council
• 5 ephors made sure kings stayed within law; complete
control over education of young Spartans
• First system of “checks and balances”
Life in military society:
• Controlled life of citizens from birth to death
• Adult males made part of “military machine”
• Officials examined newborn babies; children deemed
unhealthy were left to die
• At age 7 – boys left home to live in military barracks;
from age 18 – 20, trained specifically for war
• Could marry at 20 but could not live at home til 30;
not allowed to trade or do business (love of money
interfered with military discipline)
• Remained available for military service until age 60
• Spartan girls had to be strong and healthy (as wives
and mothers of soldiers); received strict physical
training
• Led to strong government and almost unbeatable army
• Created very little in terms of art, philosophy, or
science
Athens: The Birth of a Democracy
 Located on Attic peninsula; very unfertile; turned to
sea and became traders
 Typical polis built around rocky hill, with strong walls
Early government:
• Aristocratic at first
• Only citizens who owned land held office
• Elected generals in war time
• Elected 9 archons (rulers with one-year terms)
• Solon (ruler – 560 BC) erased debts of poor and freed
slaves
• He divided all citizens into 4 groups based on wealth: 2
richest could hold office
• All free men could elect these officials
• Set up court of citizen jurors
Athenian democracy:
 507 BC – Cleisthenes (“Father of Democracy”) seized
power and formed a democracy
 Courts became more democratic
 “Direct democracy” – all citizens participated directly
in making decisions
 Today we have a “representative democracy” – we
choose representatives to make decisions for us
Section 5:
The Expansion of Greece
(The Persian and
Peloponnesian Wars)
Persian War
 At first, Greek city-states developed in
isolation from the nearby empires of
Southwest Asia
 They were then contacted by the Persians
 The Persian War involved
Athens and Sparta versus Persia
Persian War
Persian War
• 546 BC – Persians conquered Greek colonies on west
coast of Asia Minor
• 500 BC – Greeks rebelled against Persians
• 492 BC – Persian ruler Darius’s forces conquered
Thrace and Macedonia
• 490 BC – Battle of Marathon
• Persians invaded Greek mainland
• Athenians defeated Persians (Athenians were
outnumbered)
• Led to uneasy peace
Persian War
• 480 BC – Battle of Thermopylae
• 300 Spartans held Persians in narrow mountain pass of
Thermopylae
• Spartans were killed but bought the other Greeks more
time to prepare their forces
• 480 BC - Battle of Salamis
• Greek ships were more maneuverable and sank much of
the Persian fleet
• 479 BC – Battle of Platea
• Athens and Sparta joined forces to defeat Persians
• Ended Persian War
Delian League
 Persian empire was still powerful
 Greeks now had confidence but still felt threatened
 Need for unity – formed Delian League
 Alliance of 140 city-states
 Athens was leader
 By 450 BC, Athens had built an empire based on the
Delian League
Delian League
Age of Pericles
• Leader of Athens from 461 – 429 BC
• Athens was at its peak of power and wealth
• Athenian democracy at its height (most completely
democratic government in history)
• Strengthened and extended Athens’ empire
• Built Parthenon and Acropolis
Pericles and the Delian League
• Under Pericles, members of Delian league received
benefits but lost their independence
• Athens made all the decisions
• Pericles moved treasury to Athens and used money for
good of Athens
• Forced city-states to join League
Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
• Discontent with League grew
• Failed to unite all of Greece under Athens
• 431 BC – war broke out between Athens and Sparta
• Spartans had stronger army
• Athenians hid behind their city wall
• Athens had stronger navy and could bring in food by
ship
Peloponnesian War
• War continued for 27 years
• Plague broke out in Athens, killing many, including
Pericles
 Sparta, with Persia’s help, finally cut off Athens’ food
supply
 Athens surrendered in 404 BC
Peloponnesian War
 Greece was now unstable
 Sparta and Thebes both tried to control Greece,
both were defeated
 Greek civilization still made great advances during
this time
 Although the power of Athens was broken, it made
a recovery as a result of the Corinthian War
 Athens beat Sparta with the help of 3 other city-states
 Athens continued to play an active role in Greek politics
 The glory of Athens and Sparta was brought to an
end a few decades later when Phillip II of Macedon
conquered all of Greece.