UII. Classical Societies

III. Classical Greece A. Geography and Greek Society 1. Mountain isolated Greeks from one another a. different communities developed distinct lifestyles, traditions b. became fiercely independent c. cause rivalries that led to warfare 2. Access to sea created a seafaring culture a. Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea b. Greeks would eventually establish colonies -would spread Greek civilization throughout the Mediterranean world

B. Earliest Civilizations (Bronze Age) 1. The Minoans a. inhabited the island of Crete btw BCE b. Used bronze to make weapons and tools c. Named after the legendary king Minos and the Minotaur d. Main city was called Knossos -very large palace that inspired the myth of the Minotaur and labyrinth 2. Minoan civilization began to disappear around 1450 BCE a. Perhaps because of a natural disaster (tidal wave, earthquake)? b. Invasion by mainland Greeks?

Palace of Knossos

B. Earliest Civilizations (Bronze Age) (cont’d) 3. The Mycenaeans a. Inhabited the southern part of mainland Greece btw 1400 – 1200 BCE b. Indo-Europeans that spread into the area 4. Government made up of powerful monarchies (kings) a. Each city had a king who lived in a fortified palace center (city-states) b. formed weak alliances that loosely unified them 5. Alliances began to break and the states began to fight each other a. this along with the possibility of major earthquakes and invaders cause its collapse by 1100 BCE

C. The Greek “Dark Age” BCE 1. After the fall of Mycenaean society a. Population and food production decreased b. Many Greeks left the mainland -sailed across the Aegean to the many islands and Asia-Minor 2. Over time trade and agriculture picked up a. the use of iron tools helped bring about the positive change b. it was during this time that Greek adopted and began to use the Phoenician alphabet 3. Homer – epic poet a. epic poems are stories about heroes and their adventures b. wrote the Illiad and the Odyssey

D. The Greek City-State 1. By 750 BCE the polis had become the central focus of Greek life a. city center and main gathering place was usually on a hill -fortified, called an acropolis -temples, palace, public buildings b. the city marketplace called an agora -usually located below the acropolis -open area with shops and stalls for goods 2. Military a. Based on hoplites -heavily armed infantry (foot soldiers) -citizens, not professional soldiers -fought shoulder to shoulder in a formation known as a phalanx

E. The Greek Colonies 1. Between BCE Greece established colonies throughout the Mediterranean world a. Southern Italy and France, Eastern Spain, and North Africa b. Most important colony established was Byzantium -located in Asia Minor, modern day Istanbul, Turkey c. spread Greek culture, language, and political organization

Greek Philosophers Socrates BCE Plato BCE Aristotle BCE *Born in Athens *Was a stonemason and a teacher *Considered to be the “father” of philosophy *Athenian gov’t arrested him and put him to death (hemlock) *Born in Athens *He was a student of Socrates *Founded the Academy in Athens, the first known university in the Western world *Plato’s student *The teacher of Alexander the Great *Until the Seventeenth century, science would be based on Aristotle’s ideas *Developed the Socratic Method : learning about beliefs and ideas by asking questions *Believed real knowledge was already present in everyone *Nothing written by Socrates survives today, all we know about him was written by his student Plato *Wrote The Republic *Believed the gov’t should control the lives of people *He divided society into three groups: workers, soldiers, philosophers *Philosophers should rule society, stature should be based on wisdom *He believed one strong and good leader should rule *He believed people learned through reason and analysis of observations *He also wrote about politics, poetry, astronomy, geology, biology, physics, etc.