Classical Greece

Classical Greece

Minoan Civilization (1750-1400 BC) • On the Mediterranean island of Crete • Great traders, traded with Egyptians, Mesopotamians • Capital at a fantastic palace at Knossos • Destroyed by a combination earthquake/tsunami around 1400 BC?

The Mycenaeans (1400-1200 BC) • Filled the power vacuum left by the disappearance of the Minoans • Lived in city-states on the Greek mainland • Fought the Trojan War between Greece and Troy (1250 BC)

The Trojan War • Mythological cause : Trojan prince (Paris) kidnapped a Greek queen (Helen) • Troy lost after a long war and the city was destroyed • Historic cause : Trojans and Mycenaeans were trading rivals

Homer • Blind poet who lived around 750 BC • Composed the Iliad, a story of the Trojan War • Composed the Odyssey, a story of the hero Odysseus trying to get home from the Trojan War

The Greek Polis • Polis is Greek for “city” • Many small , independent city-states separated from one another by mountains and the sea • Bound together by common culture, language, and religion

Monarchy • Rule by one, usually a king or queen • Some monarchs were elected for life, others seized power by force

Aristocracy • Rule by the landowning class • Those with the most land have the most power

Oligarchy • Rule by the wealthiest business owners, merchants, and traders • Those with the most material wealth have the most power

Democracy • Direct Democracy: every citizen votes on every law • Representative Democracy: citizens vote for representatives who then make the laws

Sparta • Had very rigid laws, designed to keep their many slaves in line • Militaristic society • Boys began training for military at age 7 • Even girls had to exercise rigorously, so as to be able to bear and raise strong children • Disliked their neighbors, had no use for the arts

Athens • Great wealth from trade • Began to move toward a democratic government with the creation of the Council of 500, the world’s first legislature • Only men could participate in government • Boys, if the family could afford it, went to school to learn to think

Greek Religion • Polytheistic religion • Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, and Aphrodite were central gods and goddesses • Extensive and elaborate mythology

Greek Xenophobia • Greeks considered themselves superior to all non-Greeks; all non-Greeks were called “barbaroi” or barbarians.

The Persian Wars • Athens incited Greeks in Ionia to rebel against Persian rule • Persians landed an army at Marathon to attack Athens, but Athens defeated the Persians despite being outnumbered 40 to 1 • Persia regrouped and attacked again 20 years later • 300 Spartans held off the Persian army at Thermopylae, allowing the Athenians time to retreat • Athenian navy ambushed and destroyed Persian navy at Salamis, ending the Persian threat

Golden Age of Pericles • Leader of Athens • Made Athens a direct democracy where every citizen had a say in government • Rebuilt Athens into a beautiful, rich, and powerful city • Went to war with Athens and its allies in the Peloponnesian War

Peloponnesian War • Fought between Sparta and Athens • Lasted 27 years • Athens was struck with a terrible plague which killed Pericles and nearly half its population • Spartans eventually won, ending Athenian golden age and the Classical Greek Era

Socrates • Believed that knowledge was gained only through inquiry and taught his students to carefully question and pick apart the answers of those they questioned (Socratic Method) • Sentenced to death for “corrupting the youth”

Plato • Student of Socrates • Documented Socrates teachings • Ran a school called the Academy • Taught his students to think rationally and logically

Aristotle • Student of Plato • Ran a school called the Lyceum • Believed in studying all branches of knowledge • Taught the “Golden Mean” or “all things in moderation” • Strong distrust for democracy, felt a strong king was a better form of government

Greek Arts • Geometric Architecture • Lifelike, yet idealistic, sculpture, with an intense interest in the beauty of the human form • Drama: • Tragedy • Comedy • Epic, religious, and romantic poetry • First true writers of history

History! • Herodotus – “father of history”; actually went and collected facts instead of just repeating stories and legends, wrote about the Persian Wars • Thucydides – wrote a fair and balanced account of the Peloponnesian War as it happened.

Architecture

Sculpture

Pottery Painting

Tragedy • Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Oedipus Cycle • Sophocles wrote Antigone • Euripides’ The Trojan Women • Stories of human suffering that always end with death and disaster

Comedy • Aristophanes’ Lysistrata • Mocked people or customs, especially political leaders and pointless wars

Sappho • 6th Century BC • Author of intensely romantic poetry • Her name, and that of her home island of Lesbos, have come to describe romantic love between two women: Sapphic love and Lesbian

Alexander the Great • Philip, King of Macedonia, conquered the Greek city-states. When Philip was assassinated, his 20 year old son Alexander became King over all of Greece • Alexander attacked and conquered Persia and marched as far as India before dying suddenly at age 32 • His new empire was quickly divided among his generals • His wars introduced Greek culture to far away lands and vice-versa; this new mixed east-west culture was called Hellenism.

Hellenistic Culture • Port city of Alexandria was built in Egypt • Great Library of Alexandria • The Pharos, or lighthouse, one of the 7 Wonders • advances in math under Pythagoras • advances in astronomy under Aristarchus and Eratosthenes • advances in invention: Archimedes perfected the lever and pulley • advances in medicine under Hippocrates

Classical Greece