GREECE

Geography Greece occupies a small area in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas Made up of the mainland and numerous islands Two geographic features played a significant role in developing Greece: – Mountains Isolated Greeks from one another – different communities develop

However, rivalries between communities led to warfare that devastated Greek society – The Sea Became seafarers who established colonies that spread Greek civilizations Peninsula = land that is surrounded on three sides by water Archipelago = a chain of islands

Early Greek Civilizations The Minoan civilization (3000 – 1450 BC) – Established on the island of Crete – Named after King Minos, legendary king of Crete (the Minotaur story) – Used bronze to make weapons – Large palace at Knossos – had basic plumbing was destroyed several times and rebuilt – Sudden and catastrophic collapse around 1450 BC Volcanic eruption, tidal wave, mostly invaded – Historians can’t read the writings of the Minoans

The Mycenaean State – First Greek state, flourished between BC Mycenaeans are considered to be the first Greeks because they spoke a form of the Greek language – The Mycenaeans were Indo-Europeans who entered Greece, gained control of the Greek mainland, and developed a civilization – Mycenaean society was dominated by warfare and powerful kings Small kingdoms often fought each other, prided themselves on being a warrior people – Conquered Crete, supposedly destroyed Troy

– Had tombs built into hillsides where members of the royal families were buried – Collapsed due to famines, invasion by outsiders, war between the Mycenaean cities, and the end of trade By 1100s BC the Mycenaean cities were mostly in ruins Dark Age – Decline in population and food production People fled cities, farmers struggled to grow enough food to eat – Large numbers of Greeks left the mainland for various islands Many went to Ionia – the western shores of Turkey

– Lost the use of writing for several centuries, Greek civilization almost disappeared – 8 th century BC the Greeks adopt the alphabet from the Phoenicians Reduced to 24 letters which made reading and writing easier – Homer One of the greatest poets of all times, wrote epic poems based on the Trojan War that became the basis for Greek education system – Epic poem = a long poem that tells the deeds of a great hero Iliad – tale of the Greek hero Achilles Odyssey – long journey home of Greek hero Odysseus

Greek City-States The central focus of Greek life and society was the polis – Polis = Greek city-state – Acropolis = fortified gathering place at the top of a hill which was sometimes the site of temples and public buildings – Agora = an open area that served as a gathering place and as a market Polis = community of people with a common identity and common goals – Each polis developed independently of its neighbors, own form of gov’t, laws, and customs

Greeks were fiercely loyal to their polis and regarded themselves not as Greeks, but as members of a particular city-state – Make-up of a polis: Citizens who had political rights = adult males Citizens who had no political rights = women and children Non-citizens = slaves and foreigners – Some cities develop democracy = gov’t by the people or rule by the many – Other city-states develop an oligarchy = rule by the few

– New military system develops Based on hoplites = heavily armed foot soldiers Carried a round shield, short sword, and a thrusting spear Formed a phalanx for protection – Phalanx = a wall of shields created by foot soldiers marching close together in rectangular formation – Greek colonies established, one of the most famous being Byzantium Spread of cultural and political ideas – Two prominent city-states emerge

Athens Found on the peninsula of Attica First ruled by kings, then aristocrats – However poor people are getting poorer and they demand reform Cleisthenes creates the foundation of Athenian democracy (world’s first democracy)

Standards for voting = must be a free male over the age of 20 who has completed military training and owns land – Accounts for 10% of the population Duties of people allowed to vote: – Vote in all elections and serve in office if elected – Serve on juries and in the military during war Athenian democracy consisted of three main bodies – Council of Five Hundred who proposed laws that would be voted on by the Assembly and supervised both foreign affairs and the treasury

– Athenian Assembly – composed of all male citizens who were eligible to take part in the gov’t This assembly voted on and passed the laws Direct democracy = people participate directly in gov’t decision making and vote directly on an issue – Complex series of courts The archon served as the chief of state and was head of both the Assembly and Council Economy was largely based on farming and trade Family – primary function was to produce new citizens

Women could not own property and always had a male guardian – Chief obligation was to have children – Were expected to stay at home and out of sight, unless attending religious festivals or funerals Demographics of Athens around 430 BC – 150,000 citizens, 43,000 of whom were males with political power – 35,000 foreigners – had protection of laws and some responsibilities – 100,000 slaves

Sparta Located on the Peloponnesus, the large peninsula of southern Greece Like most city-states, Sparta needed more land, so they conquered neighboring peoples instead of starting new colonies – The Spartans turned these conquered peoples into helots = state slaves – The helots were given to Spartan citizens to work on farms – Spartans were now free to spend all their time training for war

Spartans decide to create a military state to keep control over the helots – Helots outnumbered Spartan citizens by 7 to 1 Life in Sparta was rigidly organized – Babies were examined at birth and if they were found to be weak, they were put to death – Men Taught physical toughness by parents until age seven They then entered a school system designed to teach them combat – At the end of their training, boys were sent into the wilderness and expected to survive

At age 20 the boys became hoplites in the Spartan army Allowed to marry, but had to live in barracks until age 30 – Could now live their own lives, but expected to fight with the army when needed Allowed to vote in the assembly at age 30, retired from the army at age 60 – Women Expected to exercise and raise healthy children Had greater freedom and power in the household due to separation from their husbands Could own property

Government structure – Was an oligarchy headed by two kings who led the army on its campaigns – Ephors – a group of five men elected each year Responsible for the conduct of all citizens and education – Council of Elders – composed of the two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60 Decided the issues that would be presented to the assembly – Assembly of male citizens – voted on the issues Foreigners were discouraged from visiting and Spartans were not allowed to travel abroad – Kept out dangerous ideas and discouraged new thoughts

ATHENSSPARTA Where Located Gov’t Type Military State? Accepts Foreigners? Who Can Vote? Voting Age? Life of Women

The Persian Wars (490 BC BC) Greeks in Ionia rebel against Persian rule, ask for help from other Greeks – Persian emperor Darius decides to get revenge on the Greeks First Persian Invasion – 490 BC – Battle at Marathon – Athenians attack the Persians while they are unloading and the Persians retreat – An Athenian messenger runs 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory He dies after delivering the message

Darius is furious over the humiliating defeat and starts to plan another invasion – However he dies and his son Xerxes vows to get revenge for his father Second Persian Invasion – 480 BC – Battle at Thermopylae Greeks are afraid they won’t have enough time to prepare A group of 300 Spartans decide to hold off the entire Persian army at the mountain pass of Thermopylae Are successful for several days until a local shows the Persians an alternate path through the mountain and they kill all the Spartans

– The Persians advance and burn Athens Need the Persian navy to bring additional supplies – Battle of Salamis An Athenian navy commander lures the Persian navy into the narrow Strait of Salamis Persian ships were very large and could not maneuver well Xerxes watches from a throne on the shore as his navy is destroyed – The Persian army is now stranded in Greece with few supplies – In 479 BC a large Greek army led by the might of Sparta crushes the Persians, ending the war

The Golden Age of Athens Athens and Sparta became the two most powerful city-states as leaders in the Persian Wars – Sparta not popular, Athens becomes the leading city-state Dozens of Greek city-states banded together for defense – This alliance was to be a league of equals – Athens, as the largest and richest, ended up controlling the entire alliance – Became known as the Delian League

As the League’s leader, Athens controlled its ships and money – Would not allow unhappy members to quit – Would attack rebelling members with the League fleet – The League more or less turned into an Athenian Empire Used League funds to rebuild Athens – Built the Parthenon = a grand temple dedicated to the goddess Athena Pericles – Great champion of democracy and most influential politician in Athens – Commissioned the Parthenon

– Introduced payment for those who served in public offices and juries – Believed in the superiority of Athens Trade brought much wealth to Athens – Athens at the time was the heart of Greek culture Greatest rival was Sparta – Had its own allied city-states = Peloponnesian League – Athens fears the military might of Sparta and allies – Sparta fears that the Athenian navy would stop Sparta from trading – This mutual fear led to Sparta and Athens declaring war in 431 BC

The Peloponnesian War War between Athens and Sparta – Sparta and allies dominate the land – Athens and allies dominate the sea Spartans surround Athens hoping for an open battle – Athens avoids any battles on land – Knowing they can’t compete in open battle, they hide behind their city walls, relying on supplies from their navy and colonies In 430 BC a terrible plague breaks out in Athens, killing a third of the people, including Pericles 421 truce, war breaks out six years later when Athens attacks one of Sparta’s allies

This time Sparta destroys the Athenian navy and Athens surrenders – The walls of Athens are torn down and the Empire destroyed Costs of the war – Weakened major Greek city-states Athens nearly destroyed, Sparta exhausted as well – Sparta tries to act as Greece’s dominant power Lost too many resources, defeated by Thebes who also can’t maintain control – Struggle for power in Greece led to a long cycle of warfare that left all of Greece vulnerable – Ignored the growing power of Macedonia to the north – Loss of freedom

Greek Culture Philosophy = the search for wisdom and knowledge – Greek word meaning “the love of wisdom” Socrates – First of the great Athenian philosophers – Everything known about Socrates comes from the writings of his students – Interested in broad concepts of human life – Best way to learn is to ask questions Use question-and-answer format to acquire knowledge Known as the Socratic method

– Socrates was charged with disrespect for religion and corrupting the city’s children Thought he caused children to question the actions of the gods Believed the displeasure of the gods caused Athens to lose the war – Sentenced to death by drinking a cup of hemlock, a poison Plato – Student of Socrates – His most famous work was the Republic Gov’t should be led by the people most qualified to make good decisions - philosophers

– Plato founded the Academy, a school where respected philosophers could teach their students and hold debates – Questioned reality and believed in ideal Forms Every material object in the world was only the reflection of a perfect ideal Aristotle – Student of Plato – Emphasis on reason and logic to study the natural world Reason = clear and ordered thinking Logic = the process of making inferences

– Aristotle believed in analyzing through observation and investigation People should use reason to learn about the world by making careful observations Influenced the development of science in Europe History – A systematic analysis of past events, created by the Greeks – The Greeks were one of the first people to write about and analyze the past – Herodotus – First historian, wrote about the Persian Wars

– Thucydides – considered to be the greatest historian of the ancient world Included many primary speeches and looked at his sources critically Greek Drama – Used for entertainment, two distinct forms of drama Tragedies – usually focused on hardships faced by Greek heroes Comedies – satires, written to expose the flaws of society – Several well-known Greek playwrights

– Sophocles – concentrated on the suffering people brought upon themselves Many of his characters had fatal flaws Famous play = Oedipus Rex, the story of a king who accidentally kills his father and marries his mother – Aeschylus – wrote plays based on ancient Greek myths Famous play = Oresteia, the tragedies faced by the leader of the Greek army on his way home from the Trojan War – Euripides – wrote about characters whose tragedy was brought about by irrational behavior

Alexander the Great Macedonia was a powerful kingdom to the north of the Greek city-states Philip II reorganized the Macedonian army and adopted the phalanx system – Conquered all of the major Greek city-states except Sparta and became the new leader of Greece in 338 BC, he was assassinated in 336 BC – After his death, his son Alexander came to the throne ( BC) Alexander was a great military leader and strategist

– Reestablished control in Greece due to a revolt Thebes resisted and Alexander burned down the city and sold all the people into slavery Decided to fulfill his father’s dream of conquering the Persian Empire – Destroyed the Persian army and emperor Darius III fled – he was later murdered by one of his own officers After this victory, Alexander led his army deeper into Asia – Went and conquered parts of India – When his army refused to go any further, Alexander agreed to go home

On his way back home, Alexander fell ill in the city of Babylon and died a few days later – He left no heir, so his generals began to fight for control – In the end the empire was divided among the three most powerful generals Macedonia and Greece, Persian Empire, and Egypt Legacy of Alexander – Created new cities, most of them named Alexandria Built Alexandria as the Greek capital of Egypt – important city which had a famous library – Alexander envisioned a world in which many cultures would live together

– Made a conscious effort to bring people and ideas from different places together Alexander married two Persian princesses Encouraged Greeks to move to the Alexandria cities – Created a new type of culture Blended elements of Greek civilization with ideas from Persia, Egypt, and Central Asia Created the Hellenistic Era – Hellenistic means “to imitate the Greeks” – Expansion of Greek language and ideas to other parts of the world – Massive spread of Greek colonists to Asia

Hellenistic Achievements - philosophers – Interest in Greek philosophy – Cynicism school of philosophy = cynics rejected ideas of pleasure and wealth Instead people should live according to nature – Epicureans = people should seek out pleasure and avoid pain – Stoicism – great emphasis on reason, self-discipline, and emotional control St oics believed people should identify their proper role in society and strive to fulfill that role

Hellenistic Achievements – Science and Math – Euclid = formulated many of the ideas about geometry that are still used and learned today – Eratosthenes = determined the world was round and calculated its circumference – Archimedes of Syracuse = one of the greatest inventors of the ancient world Established the value of pi, developed a compound pulley that could lift heavy loads, and used levers and pulleys to lift a ship out of the water Alexander’s empire fell apart soon after his death, and the different Hellenistic kingdoms were shortly conquered by the Romans