UNIT 2 Ancient Greece Ancient Rome

Greece’s lack of natural resources and location on the Mediterranean Sea encouraged Greek trade with neighboring societies The Greeks were skilled sailors, which linked the various Greek states with neighboring countries

Mountains covered about 75% of Greece; these barriers divided the Greek people into separate mountain valleys and made unifying Greece nearly impossible

The Greek people were divided into independent city-states (called polis) within each valley and its surrounding mountains

Greek city-states had an agora (a massive marketplace) that was the center for trade and government City-states had an acropolis, a temple on a hill dedicated to one of the sacred gods or goddesses

Differences Among Greek City-States Some polis like Athens had a direct democracy, a government ruled by citizens who vote on decisions

GREEK DEMOCRACY The foundation of America’s democratic republic began with Athens’ direct democracy Athenian citizens (free adult men) participated in government decisions by voting Ancient Greek ballots

Athenian society focused on wealth & culture Philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle questioned assumptions, quested for knowledge, and used logic to find answers to questions

The Greek cultural contributions (especially from Athens) to philosophy, art, entertainment, literature, architecture, science, education, and democracy formed the foundation of Western civilization

GREEK MATHEMATICS Ancient Greek mathematicians developed important math concepts that are still used today Scientists use pi to find the circumference of circles Euclid developed proofs that became the basis for modern geometry

GREEK MATHEMATICS Pythagoras tried to explain everything in mathematical terms He created a theorem about the relationships between the sides of a triangle called the Pythagorean Theorem The Theorem is still used all over the world Use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for “c”. The value of “a” is 3 and “b” is 6

GREEK PHILOSOPHY Aristotle was a student of Plato and became a brilliant teacher of the sciences Aristotle created the basis for the scientific method: every truth is followed by other logical truth Together with the work of Socrates and Plato, Aristotle’s work provided a basis of Western civilization

The society of Sparta focused on military strength, not freedom, art, and learning (like Athens)

The Spartans showed their strength during the wars with Persia

King Darius’ army was defeated by several Greek city-states when some Greeks living in the Persian Empire’s territory revolted Persia’s next king, Xerxes, never forgot this defeat and decided to teach Greece a lesson; he led his massive forces in an invasion of Greece

The war between Sparta and Athens was called the Peloponnesian War (named after the southern part of Greece, where Sparta was located) Sparta won, but the war left all of Greece weakened

Alexander the Great

In 338 B.C.E., King Philip II of Macedonia attacked and conquered the Greeks, but he was assassinated soon after this (possibly arranged by his wife)

King Alexander of Macedonia Alexander was only 20 years old when he became king The well-educated Alexander was just as ambitious as he was brilliant at military strategy Once he cemented his power, he began to expand his empire

Alexander set his sights on the Persian Empire and began his attack by conquering Egypt; Egyptians viewed Alexander as a liberator, freeing them from the Persians

In 331 B.C., Alexander attacked and defeated the mighty Persian army led by King Darius III Alexander destroyed the Persian capital of Persepolis

When Alexander died without an heir, his empire was divided among his top generals, who fought each other Alexander's empire was the largest of the Classical Era, but it was short-lived (only 13 years) and was never fully unified

Alexander brought Greek colonists and culture to Persia, India, and Egypt, blending the cultures together; this created a new culture called Hellenism The term “Hellenism” comes from the sun goddess Helen, which the Greeks thought themselves the children of; they called Greek culture “Hellenism”

Alexandria in Egypt was the most significant of these cities and best represented Hellenism (the spread and blending of Greek culture) Alexandria became the center for Hellenistic culture and trade for the Mediterranean world Alexandria had a museum and library that preserved Greek, Egyptian, Persian, Indian cultures and attracted scholars for centuries

Ancient Rome

In addition to Greece, another significant classical civilization was ancient Rome

The Geography of Rome Rome was located on the Italian peninsula along the Mediterranean Sea The Romans were influenced by the Greeks and a neighboring tribe called the Etruscans

The Culture of Ancient Rome Roman religion was polytheistic and based on the Greek gods (usually only the names changed)

Roman Language Roman conquest spread their language, Latin, through much of Europe; over time, different regions in Europe developed their own languages based in Latin Languages based in Latin are known as the Romance languages

The Culture of Ancient Rome Like Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum for markets and public gatherings

Ancient Roman Society Roman society was divided into three major groups At the top were the nobles (called patricians); they controlled most of the land and held key military and government positions

Ancient Roman Society Most Roman people were commoners (called plebeians); they were farmers, shopkeepers, or peasants

The Government of Ancient Rome A republic is a form of government in which citizens have the power to elect their leaders

The Government of Ancient Rome In 451 BCE, government officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables, which were hung in the forum for all citizens to see The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that all citizens of Rome had a right to the protection of the law

The United States also has a republican government, very similar to the one of Ancient Rome

The Roman Army was made up of full-time professional soldiers; the highly organized command structure ensured that legions could be rapidly deployed against the enemy

Advances in military technology (such as catapults) enabled the professional Roman soldiers to not only defend the Romans’ territory, but to expand it

With Carthage’s defeat, the Romans were then the most dominant power in the Mediterranean, carving out an enormous empire THE PUNIC WARS

PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues: The new lands brought more slaves, which created a job shortage for Roman citizens Generals who controlled the army became more powerful than Senators

PROBLEMS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC Rome’s expanding territory brought wealth, but also brought issues: People flocked to the big cities from farms, which created food supply shortages Struggles for power led to a series of civil wars between Romans

JULIUS CAESAR From the turmoil within the Roman Republic, a new political leader emerged: a general named Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar partnered with two other Roman politicians to take control of Rome (they formed a triumvirate) Julius was extremely popular with the Roman people, due to his great military victories Determined to fix the problems of the Roman Republic, he reduced the Senate’s power, named himself dictator-for-life, and forced enactment of his reform programs

Fearing that he was becoming too powerful, members of the Roman Senate conspired to assassinate Caesar

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Julius Caesar’s death changed Rome; the people no longer trusted the Senate to rule the Roman Republic

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Octavian exacted revenge on the Senators who assassinated Julius Octavian soon became undisputed ruler of Rome, renaming himself Augustus Caesar “Augustus” means “exalted one”; Julius Caesar’s last name became the title for “emperor”

FROM ROMAN REPUBLIC TO ROMAN EMPIRE Augustus did away with the Senators’ power, eventually ending the representative government of Rome and becoming Rome’s first emperor The Senate still met, but the emperor had all of the real power

THE PAX ROMANA Pax Romana Pax Romana Augustus’ 41 year reign marked the beginning of a 207-year era of peace, wealth, and expansion called “Pax Romana” (the “Roman Peace”) from 27 BCE to 180 CE The Empire was over 3 million square miles in size and contained about 80 million people

ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION Rome’s location on the Mediterranean Sea allowed for trade and cultural diffusion (blending of cultures) with other people and nations

ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION Through the cultural diffusion, the Romans were able to borrow the best ideas from other civilizations (especially the Greeks) and improve upon them

Roman Engineering: Roads At first, the roads were built to move soldiers quickly, but eventually the roads served many people for many purposes, especially as trade routes

Roman Engineering: Aqueducts One of the Romans’ greatest engineering feats was channeling water to their cities throughout the Empire Roman engineers built the aqueducts to move the cold, clear water from springs to towns; sometimes they would be up to 250 miles long

The Roman Calendar This new calendar (called the “Julian Calendar” after Julius Caesar) had 365 days and one extra day every fourth year July was named after Julius because it included his birthday

Roman Government They elected a Senate, made up of 300 men, that made laws; they also elected two consuls, men who commanded the army and ran the day-to-day affairs of Rome

Roman Architecture The Romans were tremendously skilled builders; they improved upon Greek designs with two new architectural features: arches and domes The Romans built great structures such as the Pantheon and the Coliseum

The Influence of the Greeks and Romans The influence that the Greeks and later on the Romans had on Western civilization cannot be overstated Many facets of modern American life can be traced back to the innovations of the Greeks and Romans: things like government, language, religion, law, education, entertainment, literature, art, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, science, buildings, customs, traditions, sports, philosophy and medicine all can trace their roots back to Greece and Rome

Rome would have a wide range of different emperors over the years ROMAN EMPERORS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY

In 63 BCE, the Romans conquered the Hebrew kingdom of Judea and allowed “Romanized Jews” (who showed respect to Roman gods and obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea But, the Jews were monotheistic and many refused to pay respect to the Roman gods

Many Hebrews began to resist Roman rule; they believed that God would send the Messiah to restore the kingdom to the Jews

Jesus did good works, performed miracles, and delivered his religious teachings Jesus preached a religion based on the Jewish belief in a single God (monotheism)

Jesus proclaimed there would be eternal life in Heaven for those who repent their sins He based much of his good works and teachings on the Hebrews’ Ten Commandments

In the year 29 CE, Jesus was arrested on charges of blasphemy against the Jewish religion and defying Roman authority

Christianity spread quickly due to roads, numerous trade routes, and common language throughout the Roman Empire; the peaceful time of Pax Romana made travel safe for those spreading Jesus’ teachings

Persecution of Jews and Christians Christians and Jews were persecuted by the Romans; many were crucified, exiled, or killed during gladiator events (such as by being fed to lions)

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH Teachings that the Christians believed in (Jesus’ teachings as well as some of Judaism) were collected into one official text called the Bible

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The early Christians organized a hierarchy of leadership Priests were supervised by regional bishops; the overall head of the Church was the Pope Popes later operated from the city of Rome (and still do to this day)

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED Despite Roman efforts to suppress it, Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and gained popularity In the year 312 CE, Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal after recognizing that the Christian religion was becoming the dominant one in his empire

The Decline of the Roman Empire The decline and fall of the Roman Empire happened gradually, in three stages FIRST STAGE: internal problems with politics, the economy, and the military began an era of decline SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end

Rome’s Internal Problems POLITICAL and SOCIAL The empire was too large for one emperor to control

Rome’s Internal Problems ECONOMIC The government raised taxes and minted new coins which led to inflation The economic decline left many Romans very poor Rome had a trade imbalance (they bought more than they produced)

Rome’s Internal Problems MILITARY The Roman military was growing ineffective due to poor leadership: generals had their own interests and were challenging the authority of the emperors

Rome’s Internal Problems MILITARY Germanic tribes from Northern Europe, outside of the Roman Empire, were gaining strength

Attempts To Reform The Roman Empire EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN Diocletian’s most important reform was dividing the Roman Empire into two parts: the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire

Attempts To Reform The Roman Empire EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN The Roman Empire was divided by language: the mostly Latin-speaking Western half and the mostly Greek-speaking Eastern half Western Eastern

Attempts To Reform The Roman Empire EMPEROR CONSTANTINE In 330 CE, Constantine made a change that would have far-reaching consequences for the world: he moved the capital of the Roman Empire and his seat of power from Rome to a Greek city called Byzantium

Byzantium, the new capital Rome, the old capital Byzantium was perfectly located to be the center of trade between East and West Given its location on the Bosporus Strait, the city was also in a more easily defensible position from Northern invaders than Rome was

The Fall of the Roman Empire A marauding barbarian tribe from Central Asia called the Huns began the invasions The Huns swept into Northern Europe, conquering all in their path

The Fall of the Roman Empire To avoid the Huns, the Germanic tribes moved south into the Western Roman Empire’s territory; the Germans attacked and eventually conquered the Western Roman Empire

The once-united Western Roman Empire broke up into numerous smaller kingdoms and territories, each ruled over by different Germanic groups

The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of numerous small kingdoms led Europe to the Middle Ages

The Eastern Roman Empire, now known as the Byzantine Empire, not only remained together but survived for nearly a thousand more years

The Importance of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire kept alive the cultural achievements of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome at the same time as Han China and Gupta India were creating their own great civilizations The combination of Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic (the blend of Greek and Asian cultures) achievements are known as Greco-Roman culture If the Byzantine Empire also fell, it is possible that the great innovations and achievements of these great civilizations could have been lost forever Greco-Roman achievements are the foundation of Western civilization, the culture Americans live in today