CONFLICT IN THE GREEK WORLD Chapter 4.3 & 4.4

Conflict Greek city-states were often at odds with each other –Minor conflicts between them The Greeks were able to put aside problems and join forces against the Persians –Persians had conquered part of the Greek empire, including the city-states in Ionia (Asia Minor) –499 B.C. – Ionian Greeks rebel against Persian rule. Athens sends ships to help Beginning of the Persian Wars

PERSIAN WARS Persians crush the main rebel cities in Asia Minor –Was not the end of the fighting Darius I (Persian King) was furious at the role of Athens in the uprising –Sends forces across the Aegean to attack Athens –Landed at Marathon in 490 B.C. –Athenians receive little help from neighboring city- states

PERSIAN WARS Persians outnumbered Athenians –Citizens came out to defend, and continued against the better armed Persians –Persians were overwhelmed and retreated to their ships Athenians celebrated the triumph, but knew it would be short lived –Athenian leader THEMISTOCLES urged them to build a fleet of warships and prepare other defenses for the Persian return.

PERSIAN WARS Athens was able to persuade Sparta and other city- states to join the fight Darius son Xerxes sends a larger force to conquer Greece (480 B.C.) –Persians were able to first defeat the Spartans at Thermopylae. –Persians the marched to Athens and burned the city. Citizens had withdrawn to safety –Greeks used the ships they had been urged to build and led the Persians into a fight on the sea. Greeks defeated them in a large battle, as Xerxes watched his fleet defeated from the shore –Greeks would ultimately defeat the Persians on land in Asia Minor, ending the Persian invasion

DELIAN LEAGUE Delian League – alliance between Athens and other city-states for protection Dominated by Athens –Used their position to create an “Athenian Empire” –Moved league treasury to Athens from island of Delos Used that money to rebuild city Forced members who were upset to remain in the Alliance

“AGE OF PERICLES” AND DIRECT DEMOCRACY “Golden Age of Athens” – B.C.E –Led by statesman PERICLES –Economy thrives –Government becomes more democratic

ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY “Periclean Athens” = DIRECT DEMOCRACY (vs. Representative Democracy as in United States) –Citizens handle and take part in day-to-day affairs of government –Athenian Assembly – 500 people chosen by lots; met many times a month –Pericles believed all should be able to serve (men) so he set up a stipend for all members of the Assembly.

ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY Other aspects –JURY – panel of citizens who have the authority to make final judgment in a trial Could be hundreds to thousands of people Citizens over 30 years of age served for one year –OSTRACISM – citizens could vote to banish the one public figure they felt was the biggest threat to public democracy Person with largest numbers of votes was “ostracized” (forced to live outside the city) for usually 10 years

ATHENS AND CULTURE Culture and the arts thrive in the time of Pericles –Rebuilding of the Acropolis –Public festivals –Theatre –Building projects created jobs for artisans and workers

PELOPONNESIAN WAR Many Greeks resented the Athenian domination Sparta and other enemies of Athens formed the PELOPONNESIAN LEAGUE –431 B.C.E – war begins between the leagues –Would encompass all of Greece for 27 years Sparta would defeat Athens in the war –Had better land army –Forced all citizens inside the city, leading to plague and death, including Pericles –Sparta would ultimately align itself with Persian for naval superiority –This ends Athenian domination of the Greek world, but Athens remains cultural center of Greece

THE GLORY OF GREECE Philosophy, Art, Literature, History

Philosophers: Lovers of Wisdom Many Greeks believed events were caused by the whims of the Gods Some thinkers began to use observation and reason to find the cause for events –“Philosopher” = lover of wisdom “Big Three” –Socrates –Plato –Aristotle –Explored all subjects (math, music, logic {rational thinking]) to explain events –Modern science traces many its roots to this –Hottest topics Ethics Morality Rhetoric

SOCRATES First of the “great” philosophers in Greece Questioned tradition and peoples beliefs –“Socratic Method” –Get people to examine the implications of their beliefs Ultimately put on trial for “corrupting Athenian youth and failure to respect the Gods” –Accepted sentence of death, as being loyal to the laws of Athens

PLATO Student of Socrates Left Athens for 10 years on the death of Socrates –Returned to set up a school – the “Academy” –Taught the importance of reason Argued a government should regulate EVERY aspect of the citizens life to provide for their best interest –Suspicious of democracy Three classes of people –Workers –Soldiers –Philosophers

ARISTOTLE Student of Plato Analyzed all forms of government and found positives and negatives for each –Like Plato, suspicious of democracy –Favored a strong, single ruler Believed in the “golden mean” of things (moderation) –Developed a school (the “Lyceum”) to promote the idea –Many European universities would be developed on subjects taught by Aristotle writings

Architecture and Art Plato argued all items had an ideal form –Aristotle called it the “golden mean” –Ratio of 1:1.6 Architects would try to portray this harmony and balance in everything –Parthenon –Relaxed human forms

Literature Began with epic poems –Iliad –Odyssey Took many forms – most famous was drama –Tragedies – stories of suffering that ended in disaster –Comedies – Humorous plays that often mocked people or customs Greatest authors –Tragedies – Sophocles, Euripides –Comedies - Aristophanes Also included historians –Herodotus