UNIT 3: ANCIENT GREECE

1. UNIT 3: ANCIENT GREECE

2. Some interesting facts about the Ancient Greeks • Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers of Ancient Greece, was forced to commit suicide by drinking hemlock after he was found guilty of "corrupting the youth of Athens". He did so willingly as it was the judgment of the people

3. NIKE BRAND- “nike, alas” the last words of Pleidipes after battle of Marathon “we won!”. Also the length of a marathon is based on his run. Dropped dead after his announcement. • It was not uncommon for men of ancient Greece to exercise naked in the streets

4. The first person we know who realized the Earth couldn't be flat was the Greek philosopher Anaximander. Around 560 bce., he suggested that the Earth had a cylindrical shape. By 350 bce, the concept of a spherical Earth was generally accepted by scholars even in the absence of direct proof. Eighteen more centuries would pass before a direct proof, in the form of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition to circumnavigate the globe, occurred

5. Ancient Greece’s Geography:

6. Geographic Features Sea:Aegean, Ionian – trade, cultural exchange Mountains:more than ¾ of Greece’s surface area – isolating effect, prevents communication Islands:more than 2000 islands - Crete largest – led to isolation and trade Climate:mild wet winters, hot dry summers = long growing season The POLIS emerges – independent city states, Athens and Sparta most powerful

7. RESOURCES • grain • fine cheese made of goat’smilk • timber • wild game • wool of sheep = cloth • MOST IMPORTANT CROPS • olives = oil • grapes = wine • grain • clay = pottery

8. 3 Major Periods of Ancient Greek Civilization Early Civilizations (7000 – 800 BCE)Minoans (Crete) and Mycenae (mi se ne) Classical Greece (800 – 338 BCE) Flourishing of arts, literature, philosophy; domination by Sparta and Athens 3. Hellenistic Age (338 – 31 BCE) Macedonian Empire and Alexander the Great Greek culture spreads far and wide

9. Early Greeks: The Minoans c. 3200 -1100 BCE Island of Crete DevelopedLinear A script Palace ofKnossos Artistic expressions and grand construction Advancements inbronze

10. Palace of Minos at Knossos (K-NOSS-oss) • Knossos-most powerful monarch for Minoans • Palaces controlled all agricultural goods and products by storing in large storerooms • Palaces became the centres of exchange for Minoan economy • Palaces had dozens of interconnecting rectangular rooms on two or more storeyswhich were grouped around a large open courtyard (administrative and religious)

11. Frescoes of bull leaping – Myth of the Minotaur?

12. THEORIES FOR DECLINE OF MINOANS 1750 BCE- earthquake destroys Minoan palaces 1628 BCE- volcano erupts at Thera 1400 BCE- War between Minoans and Myceaneans led to decline of power

14. Enter the Mycenaeansc. 1700 – 600 BCE Mycenaeans took control of Crete at Knossos by 1500 BCE Controlled mainland Greece = political centre Mycenae More interested in war pottery and grave sites reflect hunting, weapons, armour and war fortified palace walls Developed Linear B Slowly Minoan culture and traditions disappeared

15. Trojan War Approximately 1194-1184 BCE The Mycaenean king, Agamemnon united city states to conquer Troy The Illiad and the Odyssey tell parts of the story

17. THEORIES FOR DECLINE OF MYCEANEANS Shift in climate leading to drought forcing Myceanans to migrate to more fertile lands Tribe of nomadic warriors from north of Greece (Dorians) destroyed them

18. Dark Ages – 1100-750 BCE • No written records exist for 350 years • Minstrels would retell heroic tales of Jason, Achilles, Hector, and Herakles • Eventually evolved into the poems of Homer which mark the end of the Dark Ages of Greece

19. Archaic Period - 750 – 500 BCE National literature Homer Resurgence of trade Olympic Games -776 BCE Large stone sculptures of human figures Greek script produced Discobolus competition British Museum Girl competing in the Heraia foot race at Olympia