The Early Greeks: The Ancient Greek World Lesson Module

The Greek World Click to enlarge

Iron Age Governments Based on agriculture and centered on rivers King owns everything and has a special relationship with the gods Priests control writing and knowledge Aristocratic nobles control the military Peasants work the land and are owned

Iron Age Religions Bound up with idea of fertility and harvest Usually some sort of afterlife with rewards for the virtuous Deeply connected to the government – king is divinely chosen and laws are divinely given Patriarchal in nature

Greek Government Greek towns are small and isolated by both mountains and sea Isolation results in small city-states and a range of government types Kings exist but their power is not absolute Size allows for democracy

Greek Religion The Greek Gods are not connected to any human royal line Greek Gods are unique in their humanity Mystery religions popular in Greece Orpheus descends to Hades and returns with divine knowledge

Greek Advantage: The Alphabet Earliest alphabets are pictorial and complex Phoenicians (1200 BCE) develop a phonemic alphabet – each symbol represents a sound Greeks improve upon Phoenician by adding vowels (800 BCE) Easy to learn – there are only 24 symbols Infinitely flexible

Greek Advantage: Trading Many Greeks were traders, exchanging goods between colonies and Iron Age empires Superior naval technology like the trireme made trade efficient and profitable Primary exports are wine and olive oil

Greek Advantage: Coinage Nearby Lydia was the first to use currency in the form of gold coins but the Greeks soon followed Money is more efficient than barter causing trading to increase Greeks had easy access to rich gold mines, allowing for seigniorage Distinctive Athenian “owl” coin (5 th century BCE)

The Persian Wars 499 to 494 BCE: Ionians revolt against Persian control with help from Greek city-states 490 BCE: Persian invasion of Athens repelled at Marathon 480 BCE: Xerxes leads second invasion and is turned back at Salamis (sea) and Plataea (land)