1. Ancient Greece

2. Geography Mountainous Peninsula
Rugged Terrain – difficult transportation & communication.
Excellent harbors – thriving trade.

3. Government At first, Monarchy = government headed by a king.
Aristocracy = small, privileged upper class who ruled the government.
Later, Democracy = government by the citizens.
Direct Democracy = all citizens have the right to vote in the assembly.
Did ALL citizens really have the right to vote?
No! Not aliens, slaves, or women.

4. Leaders
Greek City-States were often at war. Peloponnesian Wars = dominant city states fought Athens because they resented their success/power. Sparta ended up defeating Athens. (431 B.C. – 404 B.C.)
Pericles = leader of Athens at it’s peak.
Alexander the Great = World Conqueror of Macedonia. Created Hellenistic Civilization = blend of Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations.

5. Two Great City-States: Enemies
Athens
Sparta
Larger Population
Direct Democracy
Assembly open to all
Strong Navy
Democratic Lifestyle
Military isn’t that strong
Smaller Population
Oligarchy (small group of people running area)
Assembly open to few
Strong Army
Militaristic Lifestyle
Educated Militarily
*Both powerful city-states. *Both promoted athletics. *Both had assembly and council.

6. Achievements Socrates = Philosopher
Developed Socratic Method = question and answer technique, examines beliefs using reason.
Parthenon = temple of Athena in Athens. Shows elegance in architecture.
Tragedy = plays that focused on the suffering of a major character and usually ended in disaster.

7. Video Clip
The Parthenon

8. Ancient Rome

9. Republic in Red

10. Roman Republic
509 B.C. Romans overthrew Etruscan rulers and set up their own government.
Republic = government in which citizens have the right to vote for their leaders. Republic lasted 500 years.
Two Groups of people: Patricians & Plebeians.
Patricians = wealthy landowners who controlled the government.
Plebeians = common citizens. Majority of Population.

11. Conflict
Ancient Rome was often at war. Other civilizations were envious of Rome. Rome also wanted to expand their territory.
Punic Wars = when Rome defeated Carthage, thus gaining power in the western and later, eastern Mediterranean.
Greco-Roman Civilization = Rome took the civilizations they conquered and blended their traditions with those of Rome.

12. Empire Expansion in Gold

13. Peace
Pax Romana = 200 years of Roman peace and prosperity. (27 BCE – 180 BCE)
Efficient, stable governments
Powerful navy and army
Grew in wealth and power
Population of Rome reached 1 million
Trade and Commerce flourished
Rome = international city

14. Leaders
Julius Caesar is the Greatest Roman Republic leader. (49 B.C.) Why?
Restored order
Made Reforms
Extended Roman Citizenship to many
Redistributed land to the poor
Roman Republic ended when he was assassinated.
Roman Empire begins when Augustus starts ruling.
Created a strong, stable government.

15. Leaders Diocletian ruled after Augustus.
Introduced reforms to restore order & solve basic economic problems.
Divided the empire into the eastern and western roman empires.
Constantine ruled after Augustus.
Continued Diocletian’s policies.
Moved the capital to Constantinople.

16. Divided Empire

17. Roman Advancement Sculptures – more realistic portraits
Mosaics = pictures formed from chips of colored stone.
Use of Columns and Arches
Invented the dome – roof formed by round arches
Learned how to mix Concrete
Built aqueducts = canal like stone structures that tunneled through mountains and spanned valleys.
Built strong roads and bridges
New style of writing – art of persuading an audience
**Major architectural structure = Colosseum (amphitheater)

19. Colosseum

20. Law Changes Innocent until proven guilty
Judges base decisions only on evidence presented in court
Supposed to have a fair trial.
Punishments less severe than under republic

21. Christianity in Rome
Before Jesus, Romans were polytheistic = believed in many gods.
When Jesus was born, many thought Jesus was the Messiah = savior chosen by God.
Jewish and Roman authorities thought Jesus was a troublemaker and didn’t like the attention he drew.
Jesus condemned to death by crucifixion.
Jesus taught how to show kindness to others using parables = short stories with simple moral lesson.
Many persecuted Christians because Romans didn’t like that Christians didn’t worship the emperor. Christians died as martyrs = people who suffer or die for their beliefs.
By 395 AD Christianity becomes official religion of Roman Empire and Edict of Milan is issued (called for toleration of Christianity)

22. Roman Empire Declines Costly to govern Taxes increased
Cut back size of army due to cost = weakened defense
Always fear of invasion. (Germanic & Hun)
Economy suffered
Imported more than exported
New coins issued (gold and lead) – devalued coins
Prices rose
Inflation = increase in money supply followed by an increase in prices
No effective way for emperor to succeed.
Many civil wars

23. Key Point
Ancient Greece & Rome established standards of excellence against which later civilizations were judged.