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Classical Greece and Hellenization
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Classical Greece (750-336 BCE) Independent and combative city-states (polis) – Suspended conflict every four years for the Olympic games Isolated by geography – Mountains and poor soil limited food production – Colonies for iron and food: Black Sea, Italy, Spain
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Greek Colonization
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Classical Greece
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Greek Government Solon and Cleisthenes removed power from Athenian aristocracy in the 500s BCE – Strengthened democracy: rule by the people Tyrant: occasional ruler who seized power Assembly was center of public life for citizens Public officials chosen by lot and paid Citizenship: all free, adult Greek males who had completed military service (10% of population)
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Greek Women and Slaves Athens – Women had no political rights, restricted to the home – Slaves were 1/3 of the population, almost every household owned slaves Sparta – Women were revered for having children – Women governed Sparta while men are at war – Helots: conquered and enslaved peoples owned by the state, outnumbered Spartans 10:1
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Greco-Persian Wars (499-449 BCE) Ionian cities revolted against Persia – Supported by Greeks – Persia invaded twice Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) – Darius was defeated Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis (480 BCE) – Xerxes was defeated
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Greco-Persian Wars (499-449 BCE)
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Golden Age of Athens (478-404 BCE) Athens used victory to build an empire Greek theatre thrived Massive building projects
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Greek Mythology Gods had human characteristics – Represented specific aspects of life Mount Olympus, Cult of Dionysus Rise of history, philosophy in 5 th Century BCE began to erode the importance of the gods
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Greek Rationalism Emphasized argument, logic, questioning of assumptions – Confidence in human reason Relied on observation and evidence (instead of the gods) to explain the world
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Greek Philosophers Socrates (ca. 470-399 BCE) – Constantly questioned his students’ logic – Challenged wealth and power, favored wisdom and virtue – Charged with “corrupting” Athenian youth Plato (428-348 BCE) – Championed rule of society by highly- educated elites Aristotle (384-322 BCE) – Valued empirical observation – Wrote about nearly every subject
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Greek Thinkers Herodotus – Tried to explain history without using the gods Pythagoras – Proponent of spherical earth and heliocentric model of the solar system Democritus – Believed matter was formed by tiny, uncuttable particles Hippocrates – Imbalance in the “four humors” caused sickness, diagnosed epilepsy
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Four Humors/Temperaments Phlegmatic – Phlegm – Water, Melancholic – Black bile – Earth Choleric – Yellow bile – Fire Sanguine – Blood – Air
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Greek Drama Tragedy and comedy – Used to mock vanity of leaders, show interactions between gods and men Greek playwrights: Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles
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Greek Art
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Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE)
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Sparta fought against growing Athenian empire Sparta and its allies defeated Athens – All of Greece was weakened
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Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) Macedonian king and general – Became king of Macedon at age 20 Defeated the Persian Empire Extended empire as far as the Indus River Never lost a battle Adopted Persian customs and dress – “Shahanshah” and proskynesis – Incorporated Persians into his army – Required generals to marry Persian women
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Alexander’s Military
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Battle of Issus (333 BCE)
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Alexander’s Empire
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Hellenization Spread of Greek culture and fusion with local cultures Over 20 cities founded – Monuments, theatres, markets, assemblies, gymnasia – Alexandria in Egypt: bustling port, library Greek became the language of culture, the elite Greek immigration throughout the Middle East
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Hellenistic Cultures Greeks became the ruling class throughout the Middle and Near East Ptolemy: ruled Egypt as a pharaoh – Preferential laws for Greeks in Egypt Seleucus: ruled Mesopotamia Menander: later Greek ruler of Bactria who converted to Buddhism
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Division of Alexander’s Empire
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Influence on Art Greek influence on Indian art – Buddha was first shown in human form – Clothing and face resembled Greek god Apollo
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