1. Classical Greece Mr. Cross World History 2009-2010

2. Wars with Persia Revolts in Asia Minor by Ionian Greeks against the Persians in 499 B.C.E. Assisted by the Athenian Navy Persians led by Darius seek revenge, attack the Athenian Greeks at Marathon (26 miles from Athens) in 490 B.C.E. Athenians win decisively Pheidippides runs to Athens to give the news Xerxes, son of Darius, vows revenge against Greece in 480 B.C.E. Sends a force of 180,000 troops, and thousands of warships and supply vessels to attack

3. Wars with Persia Athens, under the lead of Themistocles, builds a massive navy of over 200 ships “Hide behind wooden walls” All Greek city-states (Sparta, Athens, etc.) band together to repel the Persian Invasion 480 B.C.E. – 7,000 Greeks led by the “300 Spartans” hold off 180,000 Persians for two days at a mountain pass (hot gates) near Thermopylae 480 B.C.E. – Combined Greek fleet crushed the Persian navy at Battle of Salamis 479 B.C.E – The largest Greek army ever amassed defeats the remaining Persians at Plataea

4. Daily Life in Athens 478 B.C.E - Athenians form an alliance called the Delian League to protect themselves from future Persian attacks Ran by Athenian leadership Liberate all Greek city-states under Persian control Athens becomes the most powerful city-state in all of Greece – “Athenian Empire” Led by Pericles, Athens enjoys its height of power and brilliance “Age of Pericles” 461 B.C.E. – 429 B.C.E.

5. Athenian Society Direct Democracy Every male citizen participates in government through elections and mass meetings Ten officials directed government policy Like a modern city council Ostracism exiled trouble makers for 10 years Voted on by citizen body Slavery was a common practice in Athens and in all of Greece Family was primary social unit Have kids, increase the population

6. Male Dominated Society Women were excluded from public sphere Women stayed at home, domestic sphere Women must have companion if they leave the house Women could not own property Always had a male guardian Women received no formal education Women did not work unless their family was poor Women could only work in unskilled trades

7. Peloponnesian War 431 B.C.E – 405 B.C.E. Sparta and Athens become the two dominant city states after defeating Persia, clash for power Athenians had the more powerful navy, chose to stay within the city walls Spartans had the more powerful army, surrounded Athens, and wanted to fight outside the city walls Plague weakens the Athenians in 430 B.C.E. Pericles dies in 429 B.C.E. Athenian fleet destroyed at Aegospotami 405 B.C.E. by the Spartans, destruction of Athens In-fighting continues, Macedonia grows stronger to the North…

8. Greek Religion Affects every aspect of daily life Temples/statues everywhere dedicated to Gods 12 chief gods and goddesses Live on Mt. Olympus, Greece’s highest peak No religious texts, no focus on morality Greek Gods and Goddesses Wanted to win favor of the gods Rituals, festivals, special locations, Olympics 776 B.C.E. Zeus at Olympia, Apollo at Delphi Oracle at Delphi could communicate with Gods Revealed future/predictions through Priest/Priestess Answers were often vague and puzzling

9. Greek Arts and Literature Art influenced by Greek Gods/Goddesses Architecture Column Designs Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis Temple dedicated to Athena Historians Thucydides Athenian general who served in Peloponnesian War Used factual basis for historical accounts of wars, politics and human interactions Herodotus Master storyteller, History of the Persian Wars Persian aggression v. Greek freedom

10. Greek Arts and Literature Drama Greek tragedies set around a trilogy of plays with a common theme, usually with “moral to the story” Aeschylus, Oresteia Story of Agamemmnon, Trojan War hero Sophocles, Oedipus Rex Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother, despite warning from the Oracle of Apollo Philosophy (“love of wisdom”) Pythagoras Study of Geometry Pythagorean Theorem Universe could be explained through numbers/math

11. Greek Arts and Literature Philosophy (cont.) Socrates The goal of education was to improve the individual Taught his pupils ethics and moral behavior Socratic Method Question and Answers, use reason to find out for yourself Questioned authority, accused of corrupting youth of Athens Sentenced to death by drinking poisonous Hemlock Plato (student of Socrates The Republic, Plato’s ideas/views on Athenian democracy Questioned what justice truly is Individuals could not live a good life unless they lived in a just and rational state Different parts of a person’s soul must work together to create an ethical individual, (metaphor for government, democracy)

12. Greek Arts and Literature Philosophy (cont.) Aristotle Student of Plato Classifying things through observation and analysis Father of modern “Scientific Method” Sophists Rejected ideas of Pythagoras, Isosceles Encouraged importance of rhetoric (debating skills) No true “Right or Wrong,” relative to the individual Many viewed them as dangerous to the values of young people