1. Mediterranean Society: The Greek Phase
Greece
Mediterranean Society: The Greek Phase

2. Early Development of Greek Society
Minoan society
Island of Crete
Major city: Knossos
Center of maritime trade
Series of natural disasters after 1700 B.C.E.
Earthquakes, eruptions, tidal waves
Foreign invasions
Crete falls under foreign domination – Mycenaean

3. Classical Greece, B.C.E.

4. Chaos in the Mediterranean
Trojan War, ~1200 B.C.E.
Homer’s Iliad, Odyssey
Political turmoil, chaos from B.C.E.
Mycenaean civilization disappears
Allows for development of individual city-states

5. The Polis City-state Urban center, dominating surrounding rural areas
Highly independent character
Monarchies
“Tyrannies,” not necessarily oppressive
Early democracies

6. Sparta Highly militarized society Subjugated peoples: helots
Serfs, tied to land
Outnumbered Spartans 10:1 by 600 B.C.E.
Military society to control threat of rebellion

7. Spartan Society Authoritarian Boys removed from families at age seven
Received state sponsored education/training
Active military service follows
Some relaxation of discipline by 400 B.C.E.
Women enjoyed more freedoms than other Greek city-states
Slaves performed most
household chores

8. Athenian Society
Maritime trade brings increasing prosperity beginning seventh century B.C.E.
Aristocrats dominate smaller landholders
Increasing socio-economic tensions
Small landowners fell into debt
Created class conflict

9. Solon and Athenian Democracy
Aristocrat Solon mediates crisis
Aristocrats to keep large landholdings
But forgive debts, banned debt slavery
Removed family restrictions against participating in public life
Instituted paid civil service

10. Athens Development of early democracy the Ekklesia the Boule
“Rule by the people”
Free adult males only
Women, slaves, foreigners excluded
the Ekklesia
a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy
the Boule
a council of 500 representatives from the ten Athenian tribes
Chosen by lottery
the Dikasteria
the popular courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors.

11. Pericles r. 461-429 B.C.E. High point of democracy
Aristocratic but popular
Massive public works
Improved Athens
Provided jobs
Encouraged cultural development

12. Greek Colonization & War
Population expansion drives colonization
Coastal Mediterranean, Black Sea
Leads to conflict – Persian Wars ( BCE)
Greek city-states (Ionia) revolted against Persia
Darius (then Xerxes) invaded Greece
Battle of Marathon (490 BCE)
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE)

13. Classical Greece and the Mediterranean Basin, 800-500 B.C.E.

14. The Peloponnesian War Civil war in Greece, 431-404 B.C.E.
Escalated from rivalry resulting from Persian War
City-States allied with either Athens or Sparta
Athens forced to surrender
Left Greece weakened
Macedonians (led by Philip II r B.C.E) conquers Greece by 338 BCE

15. Alexander of Macedon Hellenistic Era – “to imitate the Greeks”
“Alexander the Great,” son of Philip II
Rapid expansion throughout Mediterranean
Conquered
Syria
Egypt
Turkey
Persia
NW India
Hellenistic Era – “to imitate the Greeks”

16. Alexander’s Empire, ca. 323 B.C.E.

17. The Hellenistic Empires
After Alexander’s death, competition for empire
Divided by generals
Antigonus: Greece and Macedon
Ptolemy: Egypt
Seleucus: Persian Achaemenid Empire
Economic integration

18. Philosophy Socrates (470-399 B.C.E.) Plato (430-347 B.C.E.) Aristotle
The Socratic method
Plato ( B.C.E.)
The Republic
Philosopher kings
Theory of Forms or Ideas
Aristotle
Emphasis on empirical findings, reason
(observability, experience)

19. Science and Mathematics
Use of observable evidence, rational thought (Aristotle)
Pythagoras - systematic approach to mathematics
Hippocrates - human anatomy and physiology

20. Greek Theology
Polytheism
Zeus principal god
Religious cults

21. Tragic Drama Evolution from public presentations of cultic rituals
Major playwrights (fifth century B.C.E.)
Aeschylus
Sophocles – Antigone, Oedipus
Euripides
Comedy: Aristophanes