Ancient Greece The Cradle of Western Civilization

Greece’s Influence on the Modern World  The Olympics The Olympics  Theater  Architecture  Democracy

Geography  Located on the Southern Baltic Peninsula in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas  ¾ of land is rocky mountains and islands.  The indented, rocky coast makes for many natural harbors for boating/fishing/trading.  The climate is mild with rainy winters and hot summers.

Geography of Ancient Greece

Geographic Advantages  Mountains protect the people from foreign invasions.  The weather allows for almost year round farming.  Natural sea harbors made fishing and trade easy.  Across Greece, language, religion, and some customs were very similar.

Geographic Disadvantages  The mountains made travel and communication difficult between Greek communities.  Each city-state set up their own governments and they never united as one nation or Empire.  The isolation from each other created an environment of almost constant conflict or warfare.

The Minoans BC The First Greek Civilization

Minoans  Civilization grew on the island of Crete.  Women held a high status (most gods were female and Minoan chief deity was Mother Goddess)  They were sea traders.  Their culture mysteriously died out, possible due to volcanic eruption, tidal waves, earth quakes, invasions, or a combination of all.  (Minoans were though to be a Greek myth until Sir Author Evans, and archeologists unearthed King Minos’s palace and Labyrinth on Crete in )  Minoan Civilization Minoan Civilization

The Mycenaean Civilization BC

The Mycenaeans  Moved into the Balkan Peninsula and intermarried with the local Hellenes people of Greece.  Conquered the Minoans in 1450 BC and adopted the Minoan culture of seafaring and trade.  The culture was highly educated and grew wealthy through trade.  Began fighting among themselves which left them open to invasion. The most remembered battles were the Trojan Wars.

Growth of Mycenaean Civilization  Due to successful farming practices, the population of Greece swelled.  Greece has few fertile farming lands and many states were unable to produce enough food themselves. colonies  Many Greeks went to set up colonies on Ionia to start farms and grow more food to send back to their parent polis.  This method was very successful, but Mainland Greece’s parent states relied to heavily on this trade relationship.

Helen of Troy & The Trojan War Troy Clip Troy Clip  Research the Trojan War and the Odyssey  Discuss a Rewrite based on one of these stories.  Your story must be set in modern times  Can be done as a short story, graphic novel, or comic strip.

The Greek Polis

City - States  Each city-state was called a polis.  Each polis was built around a hill. At the top of the hill, or acropolis were temples and public buildings.  Many city-states were run by an Oligarchy, or a government ran by a few people or Tyrants.  Over time people wanted a say in how they were governed. In this democracy was born.  Although there were many city-states in Greece, the 2 well known were Sparta and Athens.

Sparta The Warrior City-State

Sparta  Located on the Peloponnesus in Southern Greece. Economy based on Agriculture.  Descendants of Dorian Invaders. They were a military society. They shut themselves off from the rest of Greece.  They conquered the people around them and enslaved them. These slaves were called Helots.  The only job in Spartan society was a soldier. Why a military society? Simple; their slaves outnumbered them 20 to 1. (Revolt 650 BC)

Sparta Cont.  After the 650 BC slave revolts (which lasted 30 years!) The Spartans decided to create a military society to protect themselves.  All life centered around the army. It was every man’s goal to be a first rate soldier. Every woman aspired to give birth to first rate soldiers for the polis.  Did not allow visitors without permission and did not allow Spartans to leave.

Spartan Women Spartan Girl Spartan Girl Spartan Girl   Brought up to be healthy and strong  Fed the same as boys as children  Trained in gymnastics, boxing, and wrestling.  Not allowed to marry until 19.  Had more freedom than other Greek women.  Duty was to produce strong Spartan soldiers.  Could own property, go in public alone, divorce, and fight men.Could not be in Government.  Could own property, go in public alone, divorce, and fight men. Could not be in Government.  Sparta Sparta

Closing Task: Review Questions  At what age did boys begin military training?  What was life like at the military barracks for Spartan boys?  At what age were men considered soldiers and ready for marriage?  What was the role of Women in their society?  How did Sparta enforce its isolation both socially and culturally?  What social problems might arise from a place completely centered on its military and live in almost complete isolation to the outside world? Are their any nations similar to this in our world today?

Athens The Birthplace of Western Civilization

Origins and Government  Named their polis after the goddess Athena.  First ruled by Tyrants who improved on the government. Cleisthenes  IN 508 BC, a Tyrant named Cleisthenes created the first democracy.

Citizenship and Democracy  Women and slaves were not considered citizens.  All citizens could vote and hold public office.  Birth of Democracy Birth of Democracy Birth of Democracy  Believed that all citizens were capable of holding government office.  No one was voted in. The name of all citizens were place and a lottery names were drawn (500 each year)  People were tried in a jury of citizens. Considered innocent until proven guilty.

Education in Athens  A week after birth, all boys were given a name and enrolled as citizens.  Boys were sent to school to be educated. Girls were taught how to maintain a household, cook, & were married by 14.  School started at age 7 and end at 18. They learned reading, writing, math, geometry, music, drawing, gymnastics, and public speaking. They had to learn the Iliad & Odyssey epics by heart.  At 18 they entered the Army for 2 years & took an oath to defend Athens at all costs.

Think –Pair – Share Think –Pair – Share Athenians vs. Spartans Athenians vs. Spartans  In your partnered groups think about the information you just learned on Sparta and Athens.  Discuss Which society is better equipped to deal with the challenges of their time and be prepared to explain to class.  To help you with this, develop a pros and cons of each city state.  You will have 3 minutes to complete.

Compare/ Contrast  Create a chart comparing/contrasting the cultures of Athens and Sparta (at least 15 items).  What advantages might Sparta have over Athens (and vice-versa)?  How might these places (if still in existence) be viewed by today’s standards (both Sparta and Athens)?

Persian Wars (Causes)  Persia had the largest Army in the world at the time and were the super power.  The Persians conquered all of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Ionia.  The Greeks on Ionia did not like the Persians and planned a revolt with the help of Athens.  Athens sent soldiers, ships, and supplies to aid the revolt, but Persia crushed it.  Persia became enraged with Athens and vowed revenge.

Size of Greece compared to Persian Empire

Battle of Marathon (490 BCE)  Angered, King Darius I sent envoys to all Greek city-states demanding they submit to them (Gifts of soil and water).  Many cities submitted, but Athenians threw the messengers of a cliff & the Spartans throw the envoy down a well.  Darius invaded the Greek City-States 1 at a time.

Persian Wars (Continued)  King Darius dies shortly after the Persian loss at Marathon.  His son, Xerxes would attempt to conquer the Greeks, but failed (at the Battle of Salamis).  After losing to the Greeks a 2 nd time, the Persians never invaded Greece again.  Because Athens survived against Persia, Democracy continued and western civilization continued.

Discuss & Share (2 Minutes)  In your partnered groups, discuss what the world would look like now if the Greeks had lost the Persian Wars.  Each group will be prepared to discuss their thoughts.  Remember to base your thoughts on how Greece influences the Western World now and how that might have changed.

Peloponnesian War  War fought between Athens and Sparta and their allies for control of Greece.  Sparta won, but were poor leaders and Greek society declined.  A new leader in Northern Greece emerged from Macedonia named Alexander, who would go to conquer most of the known world.  He would Spread Greek culture to North Africa, Persia, and India in what is called Hellenism.  When Alexander died, his kingdom fell apart.

Cultural Diffusion- the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another.  Crash Course Greece & Persia Crash Course Greece & Persia