1. RISE of the Greeks Minoan way of life Located on the island of Crete
Society based on naval prowess
Had huge palaces
Based on Egyptian, Syrian, and Mesopotamian models
Knowledge about Minoans comes from Frescoes

2. Rise of the greeks Mycenaean way of life Located in Greece mainland
Greece described in Homer’s Illiad
Agamemnon was a Mycenaean king
“Discovered” by H. Schliemann

3. Rise of the greeks Mycenaean way of life Borrowed heavily from Minoans
Fortified hilltop citadels
Linear B leaves us a record of Mycenaean practices
Uniform culture (sea trade networks and piracy)
Exported olive oil, weapons, slaves and mercenaries

4. GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
Rise of the greeks
GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
The areas inhabited by the Greeks relied entirely on rainfall.
Limited land, thin topsoil, and sparse rainfall supported only small populations
Greeks develop small independent city-states

5. GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
Rise of the greeks
GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
The difficulty and expense of overland transport, the availability of good anchorages, and the need to import metals, timber, and grain drew the Greeks to the sea.

6. GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
Rise of the greeks
GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
Food importation and trade networks lead to a population increase
The effects of population growth included urbanization, specialization, and the development of the polis.
Excess populations led to the need to colonize various areas – sharpens “Greek” identity

7. GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
Rise of the greeks
GEOGRAPHY AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS
What a polis looked like:
Urban center and its surrounding rural territory
Features included an acropolis, an agora, and fortified walls.

8. TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Rise of the greeks
TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Increasing prosperity and the growth of a middle class in Archaic Greek society led to the emergence in the mid-seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. of tyrants, individuals who seized power in violation of normal political institutions.

9. TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Rise of the greeks
TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Athens had an unusually large hinterland (Attica) that supported a population of about 300,000 by the fifth century B.C.E.
Leads to a larger land controlling aristocracy
Athens went through a period of rule by tyrants in the sixth century B.C.E. (Pisistratus)

10. TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Rise of the greeks
TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Greeks had begun to develop the concepts of individualism and humanism.
In the late sixth and early to mid-fifth centuries B.C.E., Athens ejected the tyrant family and developed a democracy.

11. TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Rise of the greeks
TYRANTS LEAD TO DEMOCRACY
Why democracy over Tyranny?
Tyrants were disgruntled aristocracy
Oftentimes this lead to political privilege by the wealthy in society
People chose the individualism of democracy over the oligarchy of a tyranny

12. LIFE IN SPARTA AND ATHENS
Rise of the greeks
LIFE IN SPARTA AND ATHENS
See Handout: Sparta vs. Athens