Chapter 2- Ancient Greece & Rome 2.1- Ancient Greece

Chapter 2- Ancient Greece & Rome2.1- Ancient Greece Early Greek Civilization The Polis: Center of Greek Life Sparta Athens Classical Greece The Culture of Classical Greece Alexander the Great

Early Greek Civilization • The mountains and the seas were important geographic influences on Greece

Early Greek Civilization • Mycenaean civilization flourished between 1600 and 1100 B.C. • Greece then entered a Dark Age when population declined and there was less food.

Early Greek Civilization • The works of Homer appeared at the end of the Dark Age • The Iliad and Odyssey are epic poems • The Greeks regarded the Iliad and Odyssey as history • Homer gave the Greeks an ideal past peopled with heroes • Generations of Greek males used these poems as models of heroism and honor

The Polis: Center of Greek Life • By 750 B.C., the polis, or city-state, had become the central focus of Greek life • The polis was the town, city, or village and its surrounding countryside • The people met for political, religious, social, and economic activities

The Polis: Center of Greek Life • City-states varied in size • Most were between a few hundred and several thousand people • Athens was one of the largest, with a population of more than three hundred thousand by 400 B.C. • The polis was a community of people who shared a common identity and common goals

The Polis: Center of Greek Life • Greek states developed different forms of government • Some city-states became democracies, ruled by many • Others became oligarchies, ruled by the few • Two of the most powerful city-states, Athens and Sparta, illustrate the differences

The Greeks felt that rights also meant responsibilities. What might be some responsibilities of a citizen in a Greek city-state? Possible answers: Some responsibilities of a citizen in a Greek city-state include participating in government, paying taxes, defending the polis, and providing for others.

Sparta • Between 800 and 600 B.C., the lives of the Spartans were rigidly controlled and disciplined • Boys learned military discipline, entered the military at age 20, and lived in the barracks until they were 30 • At 30, Spartan males were allowed to vote in the assembly and live at home, but they remained in the army until the age of 60 • Spartan women lived at home while their husbands lived in the barracks • Spartan women had more power than women in other Greek city-states • Spartan women supported Spartan values, expecting their husbands and sons to be brave in war

Sparta • Two kings who led the Spartan army headed the oligarchy • Five men known as the ephors were responsible for education and the conduct of citizens • A council of elders, made up of the two kings and 28 citizens over 60 years of age, decided on issues the assembly of male citizens would vote on • The assembly did not debate, but only voted • Sparta closed itself off from the outside world • Foreigners and travel were discouraged • Spartans frowned upon new ideas and the arts • Only the art of war mattered

Athens • A king ruled early Athens • By the seventh century B.C., it was ruled by an oligarchy of aristocrats who owned the best land and controlled political life • Near the end of the seventh century B.C., economic problems led to political turmoil • Many Athenian farmers were sold into slavery for nonpayment of their debts to aristocrats • Cries arose to cancel the debts and give land to the poor • Civil war threatened

Athens • The aristocrats gave power to Solon in 594 B.C. • Solon favored reform • He canceled the debts but did not give land to the poor • This left the aristocrats in power and the poor unable to obtain land

Athens • In 508 B.C., Cleisthenes, another reformer, gained the upper hand • He created a new council of five hundred to supervise foreign affairs, oversee the treasury, and propose laws • He gave to the Athenian assembly, composed of male citizens, authority to pass laws after free and open debate • For this reason, Cleisthenes’ reforms laid the foundation for Athenian democracy

Classical Greece • Classical Greece is the name given to the period from 500 to 338 B.C. • During this time, the Greeks fought two wars • The first war was against the Persians, who were defeated by the unified Greeks • Athens took over the leadership of the Greek world after the Persian War.

Classical Greece • Athens took over the leadership of the Greek world after the Persian War • Under Pericles, the dominant figure in Athenian politics from 461 to 429 B.C., Athens expanded its empire, while democracy flourished at home • Pericles created a direct democracy • Every male citizen could participate in the general assembly and vote on major issues • This period was called the Age of Pericles

Classical Greece • The Greek world was divided between the Athenian Empire and Sparta • Athens and Sparta had built very different societies, and they distrusted each other • After a series of disputes, the second war of Classical Greece, the Great Peloponnesian War, broke out in 431 B.C. • The civil war lasted until 405 B.C. • Athens surrendered when the Athenian fleet was destroyed. • The Great Peloponnesian War weakened the Greek city-states and ruined any hope of unity among them. • For the next 66 years, Sparta, Athens, and Thebes struggled for domination • These internal struggles caused the Greeks to ignore the growing power of Macedonia, an oversight that cost the Greeks their freedom

The Culture of Classical Greece • The standards of classical Greek art dominated most of Western art history • Classical Greek art was concerned with expressing eternal ideals • The style was based on reason, moderation, balance, and harmony • Art was meant to civilize the emotions • The most important architectural form was the temple • The greatest example is the Parthenon • built in the fifth century B.C. • dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens, Athena • The Parthenon exemplifies the principles of classical architecture: calm, clarity, and freedom from unnecessary detail

The Culture of Classical Greece • The classical style of Greek sculpture depicted idealized, yet lifelike, male nudes • Greek sculptors did not seek to achieve realism

The Culture of Classical Greece • The dramas we see today are the descendants of Greek drama • Plays were presented as part of religious festivals • The original Greek dramas were tragedies, presented in trilogies around a common theme • Only one complete trilogy survives today, the Oresteia by Aeschylus • It tells the story of Agamemnon, a Trojan War hero, and his return home • Greek tragedies examined such universal themes as: • the nature of good and evil • the rights of individuals • the role of the gods in life • the nature of human beings

The Culture of Classical Greece • Philosophy (“love of wisdom”) refers to an organized system of rational thought • Early Greek philosophers were concerned with the nature of the universe • Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are considered to be three of the greatest philosophers of the Western world

The Culture of Classical Greece • Socrates developed the Socratic method • a question-and-answer format to lead pupils to understand things for themselves • based on Socrates’ belief that knowledge is already present within each of us • The task of philosophy is to call forth knowledge. • Socrates said “the unexamined life is not worth living.” • The belief in the individual’s ability to reason was an important contribution of Greek thought

The Culture of Classical Greece • Plato was one of Socrates’ students and considered by many to be the greatest Western philosopher • Plato explained his views on government in a work entitled The Republic • Plato believed that people could not achieve a good life unless they lived in a just and rational state • The ideal state has three groups: • rulers • warriors • commoners • Led by a philosopher-king, men and women would have the same education and equal access to all positions Plato established a school in Athens called the Academy

The Culture of Classical Greece • Plato’s most important pupil was Aristotle, who studied at the academy for 20 years • Aristotle had wide-ranging interests including ethics, logic, politics, poetry, astronomy, geology, biology, and physics • After studying and observing existing governments, Aristotle found three forms of government that would rationally direct human affairs: • monarchy • aristocracy • constitutional government • Aristotle preferred a constitutional government

Philip II • The Greeks viewed the Macedonians to the north as barbarians • In 359 B.C., Philip II became king of Macedonia • He admired Greek culture and wanted to unite all of Greece under Macedonian rule. • At the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C., Philip’s army crushed the Greeks • He united the Greek city-states in a league under his control and planned to conquer Persia • Philip was assassinated before he could fulfill his goal

Alexander the Great • Alexander the Great, Philip’s son, became king of Macedonia at age 20. • 334 B.C.- invaded the Persian Empire • by 331 B.C.-conquered all of the Persian Empire.

Chapter 2- Ancient Greece & Rome 2.1- Ancient Greece