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2. Ancient Greece. Objectives. Describe important Greek developments in the arts. Discuss Greek achievements in history, politics, biology, and logic. Summarize how Alexander the Great created an empire. Describe how Hellenistic kingdoms became centers of learning and culture.
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Objectives • Describe important Greek developments in the arts. • Discuss Greek achievements in history, politics, biology, and logic. • Summarize how Alexander the Great created an empire. • Describe how Hellenistic kingdoms became centers of learning and culture.
Geography shapes Greek Civilization • Greece is a peninsula, which means that it is surrounded on three sides by water. • Greece is one big peninsula made up of a series of smaller peninsulas, in addition to many small islands, which means Greece enjoys many natural harbors.
Mountains and Settlements • Because mountains cover much of Greece, there are few flat areas for farmland. • People settled in those flat areas along the coast and in river valleys. • They lived in villages and towns separated by mountains and seas.
Mount Olympus • Greece is covered with mountains. They are not huge mountains but if you are trying to go from place to place in Greece, you'll find the mountains a bit of a hindrance. • The highest mountain in Greece is Mount Olympus.
Mountains and Settlements • Traveling across the mountains and seas was difficult, so communities were isolated from one another. As a result, the people created their own government and ways of life. • Even though they spoke the same language, Greek communities saw themselves as separate villages.
Seas and Ships • Since travel across the rugged mountains was so difficult, the early Greeks turned to the sea. • On the South was the huge Mediterranean Sea, to the west the Ionian Sea, and to the east was the Aegean Sea.
Seas and Ships • The Early Greeks used the sea as a source for food and as a way of trading with other communities. • The Greeks became skilled shipbuilders and sailors.
The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece's climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months. Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are moderate and rainy in coastal regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas.
Volcanic • Another important aspect of the Greek environment is that it is very unstable. • Greece is in the middle of a very volcanic zone, between the European and African tectonic plates. • There are several active volcanoes and earthquakes are common.
The Climate • The climate is Mediterranean. • The Mediterranean Sea affects the Greek climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in winter. • The warm summers are cooled by a seasonal breezes from the Mediterranean.
Soil and Plants • Vegetation is dependent on geographical regions. • Due to the variety of land, there a some 6,000 indigenous species in Greece. • In Ancient Greece, farmers grew olives, figs, grain, fruit and grapes in the fertile valleys.
Agriculture Olive grove in rocky Greek soil
Soil and Plants • However, other parts of Ancient Greece had drier soil and less vegetation, particularly around the cities. • Although surrounded by sea water, they found it difficult to find fresh water away from the valleys. • The high mountains also prevented large-scale farming, so the Greeks were forced to look beyond their own country for fertile land.
Capital City • The capital city is Athens. It is famous for beautiful beaches and the sea.
Physical Geography • The Land • Mountains dominate land; cross land travel difficult • Fertile river valleys were center of settlement • River valleys formed basis of polis • No place more than a few miles from sea • Outdoor life common due to temperate climate • The Sea • Greece is a series of peninsulas, islands • Sea travel easier than land communication • Most Greeks took to the sea • Economy • Agriculture: Grains, honey, olives, grapes • Herding: Goats, sheep, cattle • Trade: Necessary to make up for lack of resources
Trading Cultures Develop • Many cultures settled and developed in Greece. • Two of the earliest were the Minoans and the Mycenaens. • By 2000 BC the Minoans had build an advanced society on the island of Crete. • These two civilizations influenced the entire Aegean region and helped shape later cultures in Greece.
The Minoans • Minoans had build an advanced society on the island of Crete, in the eastern Mediterranean. • Because they lived on an island, the Minoans spent much of their time at sea. • They were among the best shipbuilders of their time.
The Minoans • Although Crete’s location was excellent for Minoan traders, sometime in the 1600s BC a huge volcano erupted just north of Crete. This eruption created a giant wave that flooded much of Crete. • The eruption threw up huge clouds of ash, ruining crops and burying cities. This eruption led to the end of Minoan civilization.
The Mycenaean • Although they lived in what is now Greece and influenced Greek society, historians don’t consider the Minoans to be Greek. • This is because the Minoans didn’t speak the Greek language.
The Mycenaeans • The first people to speak Greek, and therefore the first to be considered Greek were the Mycenaeans. • By the mid-1400s B.C., the Myceneans took over Crete and become the major traders in the eastern Mediterranean. • They set up colonies in northern Greece and Italy from which they shipped goods to markets around the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
The Mycenaeans • The Mycenaeans didn’t think trade had to be conducted peacefully. They often attacked other kingdoms. • Some historians think the Mycenaeans attacked the city of Troy, possibly starting the legendary Trojan War.
Minoans Vs. Mycenaeans Minoans • They spent much of their time at sea, trading in the Mediterranean. • Ships carried goods such as wood, olive oil, and pottery all around the eastern Mediterranean. • They became the victims of a huge volcano that erupted north of Crete. • They were not considered to be Greek, since they didn’t speak Greek. Mycenaeans • They were the first people to be considered Greek. • They lived inland and built fortresses. • They were more violent in their trade. • They took over Crete and became the major traders in the eastern Mediterranean. • They developed colonies in northern Greece and Italy, from which they shipped goods around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Greeks Create City-States • About 300 years after the Mycenaean civilization crumbled, the Greeks started to join together in small groups for protection and stability. • Overtime these groups set up independent city-states. • The creation of city-states marked the beginning of what is known as Greece’s classical age.
Life in a City-State • Not everyone who lived in the city-state lived inside the city walls. • Farmers, for example, lived near their fields outside the wall. • Life in the city focused on the marketplace • Because it was a large open space, the market also served as both political and religious meeting place.
Life in the City-State • The city-state became the foundation of Greek civilization. • Beside providing security for its people, the city gave them an identity. • People thought of themselves as residents of a city, not as Greeks.
City-States and Colonization • Groups from city-states around Greece began to set up colonies in distant land in search of trade or to deal with over population. • Once they are established, these colonies become independent City-State.
Patterns of Trade • Although the colonies were independent, they often traded with city-states on the mainland.
Aristocrats and Tyrants Rule • Greece is the Birthplace of democracy, a type of government which people rule themselves. • Before democracy in Athens, kings rules the city-state. • Later, a group of rich landowners, or aristocrats took power.
Aristocrats and Tyrants Rule • The aristocrats dominated Athenian society. • As the richest men in town, they ran the city’s economy. • They also served as generals and judges. • Common people had little say in the government. • In the 600s BC, a group of rebels tried to overthrow the aristocrats. • They failed • Their failure resulted in harsher laws.
Athens Creates Democracy • Around 500 BC Cleisthenes overthrow the aristocrats and created a new form of government – Democracy. • All citizens (men) had the right to participate in the assembly.
Changes in Athenian Democracy • As time passed, citizens gained more power. • They served on juries to decide court cases. • Athens remained a democracy for about 170 years. • It reached its height under Pericles. • Pericles encouraged the Athenians to take pride in their city. • He believed that participation in government was as important as defending Athens in war.
End of Democracy in Athens • In 330s BC Athens was conquered by the Macedonians from north of Greece. • The king ruled like a dictator. No one could make decisions without his approval. • The assembly still met to make laws, but it had to be careful not to upset the king. • Eventually, a new king took over and ended Athenian democracy altogether.
Sparta: A Nation of Soldiers • The Spartans were Dorians who conquered Laconia. • The region lies in Peloponnesus, the Southern part of Greece. • The invaders turned the conquered people into state-owned slaves, called helots, and made them work the land. • Because the helot greatly outnumbered their rulers, the Spartans set up brutal system of strict control.
Spartan government • The Spartan government included two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. • As assembly made up of all citizens approved major decisions. • Citizens were male, native-born Spartans over the age of 30. • The assembly also elected five ephores, officials who help the real power and ran day-to-day affairs
The Rigors of Citizenship • From childhood, a Spartan prepared to be part of the military state. • Every new born was examined and the sickly children were abandoned to die. • At the age of seven, boys began training for a lifetime in the military. • Toughened by a coarse died, hard exercise, and rigid discipline, Spartan youth became excellent soldiers.
Women • Girls had a rigorous upbringing. • They were expected to produce healthy sons for the army. • They therefore were told to exercise and strengthen their bodies. • Spartan women had to obey their fathers or husbands. But they had the right to inherit property. • Because men were occupied with war, some women took on responsibilities such as running the family’s estate.
Sparta and Its Neighbors • The Spartans isolated themselves from other Greeks. • They looked down on trade and wealth, forbade, their own citizens to travel, and had little use for new ideas or the arts.
Forces for Unity • Strong local ties, an independent spirit, and economic rivalry led to fighting among the Greeks city-states. • Despite these divisions, Greeks shared a common culture. • They spoke the same language. • Honored the same ancient heroes. • Worshiped the same gods. • Participated in common festivals.
The Persian Wars • In 492 B.C. King Darius I of Persia cast an eye across the proud Greek city-states. • Seeking revenge for a Greek insult, he sent messengers throughout Greece demanding gifts of “earth and water.” – Symbols of submission to Darius.
