The Birthplace of Democracy Ancient Greece The Birthplace of Democracy

Geography of Greece Greece is a mountainous peninsula about the size of Louisiana. The mountains caused small, independent communities (city-states) to form. There are also many Greek islands around the mainland, especially in the Aegean Sea. Since Greece has many good natural ports, many Greeks became seafarers sailing the Aegean, Black, and Mediterranean Seas.

Importance of Ancient Greek Civilizations Led to the development of Western Civilization in Europe and America Made outstanding contributions to mathematics, science, art, literature, philosophy, and government.

The Minoan Civilization By 2800 BC, a Bronze Age civilization developed on the island of Crete. This became known as the Minoan civilization after King Minos. The capital of this seafaring civilization was Knossos. The Minoans grew wealthy from trade between Egypt and Greece. Around 1450 BC, the Minoan civilization was destroyed by tidal wave from the volcanic explosion of Thera, and by invasions of the Mycenians.

The city-states of Greece: Reasons for city-states Cities were separated by mountains and bodies of water which kept them from uniting into one country. The Greek term for a city-state is a polis. Instead of one ruler for all of the city-states together, the Greeks preferred having their own government in their own community. The main gathering place in Greek city-states was the acropolis, a fortified area on a hill. Below was the agora, an open area for people to assemble and for a market place.

The First Greek City-State: Mycanae The Mycanean civilization thrived from 1600 -1100 BC. The Mycaneans were a confederation, a powerful alliance of several monarchies, each with city walls and a tholos, bee-hive shaped tombs for the ruling family. The Mycaneans were a warrior culture. The epics by Homer, The Illiad and The Odyssey, tell of Mycaenae’s war with Troy. After the fall of Mycanae was Greek’s Dark Age with no great cities rising up for another 100 years.

The city-state of Sparta Art, literature, mathematics, and philosophy did not appeal to the Spartans. They were mainly interested in military life which prepared boys and men for self-defense and war. Spartan soldiers were called hoplites. They fought in a military formation called the phalanx.

The city-state of Sparta (continued) The 25,000 Spartan citizens had to prepare to defend themselves against a revolt by the 500,000 “helots.” Helots were people who had been taken prisoner during war and forced into slavery. Helots farmed the soil and were forced to give part of their crops to their master. This angered the slaves and led to occasional rebellions. Once a year, Spartans declared war on the helots, thereby giving them an excuse to kill suspected troublemakers.

The city-state of Sparta (continued) Boys were trained for the army beginning at age 7. Instead of learning to read and write, time was spent jumping, running, wrestling, and using a weapon. Men between 20 and 30 became cadets who policed the country and kept the helots under control. At age 30, a man was given the rights of a citizen, including the right to hold office, attend meetings, and get married. Military careers ended at age 60, whereupon a Spartan took a public service job or helped train the young.

The city-state of Sparta (continued) The women of Sparta lived a much freer life than women elsewhere. Besides caring for the home, many of them time to participate in sports. Women were also allowed to own businesses and property.

The city-state of Athens Athens was a democracy in which people took part in the government. The Assembly, which made the laws, included all adult make citizens. The Assembly met once a week. Male citizens took turns being government officials who were responsible organizing the cities defenses, keeping up the food supply, and maintaining public buildings. Male citizens also set on juries during court trials. Citizens enjoyed freedom of speech, including the right to criticize their leaders. Women, slaves, and foreigners were not given the rights given to male citizens.

The city-state of Athens (continued) Unlike the people of Sparta, Athenians were very much interested in art, literature, mathematics, and philosophy. Public buildings were beautifully designed; homes were small and plain. People gathered in the marketplace to visit and discuss daily news.

The city-state of Athens (continued) Athletics were important to the Athenians. Sports helped develop strength and coordination. Athletes from all over Greece competed every four years in various sporting events at Olympia. This led to the present-day Olympic Games. Winners of Olympic events became heroes throughout Greece.

The city-state of Athens (continued) The prisoners of war were used as slaves, a common practice in countries of the ancient Near East. Women had different roles than men. Their place was in the home caring for children. They could not be government officials or members of the Assembly. Women did not go to school and were not taught to read and write.

The city-state of Athens (continued) Temples were built to honor the gods, although religion did not influence people’s lives as much as with other civilization. Athens developed a civilization that was far ahead of other civilizations on earth at the time.

Greek colonies The seafaring and trade of the Greek city-states led to the development of trading posts and colonies throughout the Mediterranean world. Many of these colonies developed in Ionia, what is now western Turkey. The land was then under the rule of the Persian Empire.

War with Persia In 499, the Ionian Greek cities in western Asia Minor revolted against the Persian ruler Darius. The Persians defeated the Ionian Greeks and attacked the Greece. In 490 BC the Persians were defeated at the Battle of Marathon, only 26 miles from Athens. The Persian king Xerxes was able to burn the city of Athens, but the Greeks united to defeat the Persians in 479 BC.

The Growth of Athens After the defeat of the Persians, a defensive alliance called the Delian League was formed on the island of Delos with Athenian leadership. The league moved its treasury to Athens in 454 BC. Under Pericles, Athens expanded its empire and developed into a direct democracy. Every male citizen could vote on every issue. The Age of Pericles is also called Athen’s Golden Age because of the wealth, architecture, and philosophy that developed. The Athenians developed ostracism. If 6,000 people voted so, a person was banned from the city for 10 years.

War breaks out between Sparta and Athens Causes of the Peloponnesian War Individual city-states sometimes fought wars against each other as they competed for power. Although the many Greek city-states united to defeat the Persian army in 479 BC, they were unable to unite permanently into one strong nation. Fighting started when Sparta became concerned that Athens was trying to become the most powerful city-state in Greece.

Important events of the Peloponnesian War Both Sparta and Athens had the help of other city-states. Sparta had the strongest army. Athens had the best navy and the most money. When the war began, a plague struck Athens and killed one out of every four people. After 27 years of fighting, Athens’ navy was captured and the city was starved until it surrendered.

Results of the Peloponnesian War Thousands of Greeks were killed and wounded, and the destruction of property was widespread. The war weakened the power of Greek city-states and led to them being captured by invaders from Macedonia. Alexander the Great of Macedonia not only captured Greece, but also took control of the Persian Empire, Egypt, and other lands of the Near East. Despite being conquered, Greek civilization continued to spread to other parts of the Mediterranean World.

Conclusion Ancient Greece is often called the birthplace of western civilization. Even though the Greeks were defeated by the Macedonians, Alexander adopted Greek ways and spread Greek culture throughout the Middle East.