Chapter 9: Ancient Greek Civilization

Chapter 9: Ancient Greek Civilization

Section 1: War in Ancient Greece This picture depicts the formation of the phalanx. Image taken from: edsitement.neh.gov

The Persian Wars: Darius Invades Greece • The Persians didn’t need to wait long to invade the Greek city-states in their quest for world domination. The Athenians burned down the city of Sardis to help the Ionian people in their fight against the Persians. This was the perfect excuse for the Persians to invade Greece! • The plain of Marathon was the perfect place to act as the battlefield for the Persians, because it would be advantageous for Persia’s cavalry, or soldiers on horseback.

Battle of Marathon and the Origin of the words Marathon • At the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians attacked the day after the Persians arrived. • The Athenians did not give the Persians enough time to form a strategy and thus their attack was one of a surprise. In panic, the Persians fled to their ships. • The word marathon was originated from the Battle of Marathon. Legend says that a man ran 26 miles to carry news victory of the Battle at Marathon. The man died right after letting the Athenian people know of their victory. Since then the word marathon has been used to describe a challenging footrace.

Xerxes • Xerxes was the son of Darius. • He wanted revenge in the name of his father, who had initially tried to take over Greece, but failed. • Xerxes was successful at the Battle at Thermopylae, but only because a Greek traitor advised the Persians the location of the Greek army.

Battle at Salamis • The Battle of Salamis, the Persians thought that they would win, because they outnumbered the Athenians in everyway an army could outnumber another, with the exception of strategy. • The Athenians waited until the Persians filled the strait and attacked them. The Persians had nowhere to go and was defeated.

Delian League • The Delian League consisted of Athens and other city-states that formed an alliance in which they promised to protect each other from Persian invasion and provide money or ships for defense. • The Delian League was initially located on the island of Delos, but was eventually moved to Athens.

Athens and the Delian League • The Athenians were obviously the most powerful members of the Delian League, even though each member should have equal standing. • Athens behaved arrogantly towards the other members by taking money to build an army even in times of no war. They also requested only money be given to help the cause instead of ships, which was one way of contributing. The last straw of arrogance came when Athens moved the headquarters of the Delian League’s treasury to Athens. The Athenians started using the League’s money to rebuild Athens instead of focusing on their initial goal. These events led to several members to have resentment towards the Athenians.

Peloponnesian League • The purpose of the Peloponnesian League was to show unity against the Delian League. • The Peloponnesian League feared the power that Athens was gaining and their style of government. In 433 B.C. the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League came into conflict, because Athens placed a ban on trade with Megara, this act opened up a can of worms and war was soon to come.

The Peloponnesian War • The war between Athens and Sparta was essentially coming and there was no stopping it. • The war started when Sparta marched onto Athens… • The Athenian leader, Pericles instructed the farmers living in the surrounding area to move into the city’s walled area for safety. The Athenians also prepared for the Spartan camping outside their walls, by building two long walls to line the four-mile road that connected Athens to its port city. They were able to get food through their ships, by this strategy.

Peloponnesian War Continued… • After a year of living in hiding in the city, a contagious disease broke out killing thousands of Athenians. This disease probably became even more contagious, because the city became over crowded. The disease even took the life of Pericles, Athens’ great leader. The Spartans eventually decided that they needed to leave the city’s region or risk getting the plague. • The Persians saw that the Athenians were weakened by continuous war and so they gave money to the Spartans to build their navy to destroy Athens. The Athenian navy did all they could to defend their city-state, but they eventually had to surrender, because the Spartan army was blocking ships from brining in food, which led to the Athenian people starving. The Spartans made the Athenians gave up their democratic government and the long wall built during the first Peloponnesian war.

Section 2: Alexander’s Empire Alexander with his horse. Image taken from: wso.williams.edu.

The Rise of Macedonia and Philip II • Philip’s brother was king of Macedonia, when he died his infant son could not take the throne. Due to this, the nobles of Macedonia elected Philip as their king. • In order to enhance the ability of his army, Philip organized his infantry into phalanxes. He then armed each man with a pike, which is a 18-foot long spear. Finally, Philip trained his men to change direction without loosing formation. This allowed Philip’s army to achieve greatness beyond belief.

Philip II Continued.... • Philip had initially tried conquering Greece through peaceful means, but failed. • He then went to war and won. Philip was not a cruel ruler and let the Greek city-states keep their forms of government, but they were expected to fight with him against the Persians.

Alexander’s Conquest • Achilles inspired Alexander to become a great leader and a good person. • Alexander quickly squashed rebellions by the Greek city-states and to discourage future rebellions, Alexander burned the city of Thebes to the ground. • The Egyptians welcomed Alexander into their country, as they hated the Persians and was grateful to Alexander for liberating them from the Persians. They named Alexander pharaoh of Egypt. Alexander then built the great city of Alexandria.

Alexander Continued…. • Alexander was called “Alexander the Great” because he built a vast empire in just 11 years. • Alexander’s horse died in battle and that event led to the demise of Alexander and his empire. Alexander wanted his troops to continue on their quest for world dominance, but his troops were tired and mutinied against Alexander. He finally gave in to their wishes. When he reached Babylon, he died of malaria.

Hellenistic Culture • The Hellenistic culture was created due to Alexander the Great conquest of lands and his implementation of Greek culture and customs upon each conquest. All philosophers of the Hellenistic culture are pictured here. Image taken from: abyss.uoregon.edu.

Section 3: Ancient Greek Beliefs and Arts Picture depicting Greek religious beliefs. Image taken from: historyforkids.org.

Greek Mythology • The Greeks believed in polytheism, which is the belief in many Gods and Goddesses, or a deity. • The Greeks expressed their religious beliefs through myths or stories that people tell about their Gods or heroes. The myths the Greeks told expressed why there is so much suffering in the world, the changing of seasons, human behavior, and finally how heroes behave.

Greek Gods and Goddesses • The Greek Gods and Goddesses each had a specific role. There were 12 Gods and Goddesses that the Greeks believed were the most important. They lived on Mount Olympus and were known to behave as a human, but were immortal. • The Greeks favored Athena, because they believed that she gave them the olive tree and protected them at war.

Honoring Greek Gods and Goddesses • The Greeks honored their Gods and Goddesses by having public and private religious rituals. • On holy days, Greeks made sacrifices in front of their Gods temples. • They participated in athletic contest in which they displayed their skill and strength to honor the Gods. • Finally, they honored their Gods and Goddesses at sacred sites such as Mount Olympus and Delphi.

Olympic Games and Sacred Sites • The purpose of the Olympic games was to honor Zeus. Athletes from all over the city-states came together for the Olympic games in hopes of winning. City-states had a truce during the time of the Olympic games, so the games can be held in peace. Finally, those who won in the Olympic games often became overnight celebrities throughout the city-states. • The temple of Apollo held the Delphic oracle. This oracle could predict the future of those who came to her. Often, people left the oracle confused, because she would answer their questions with a puzzling statement.

Ancient Greek Art • Greek artist portrayed their work in a realistic point of view. They created an impression of depth and perspective in their work. • Greek sculptures were influenced by Egyptian sculptures, but their sculptures were more realistic in nature. Greek sculptures also portrayed created images of humans and deities that inhibit an ideal world of calm and peace. • The proportions of the human body and the drive for perfection inspired Greek sculpture and architecture.

Greek Art Pics Greek Vase. Image taken from: fc.nbsc.org. Sculpture depicting the God Apollo. Image taken from: tccl.rit.albany.edu.

Literature • Greek tragedies portrayed the downfall of heroic figures caught in violent conflict with their family, their city, or the Gods. • Greek comedies portrayed happy endings that dealt with current events and made amusing observations about the Greek society. • The purpose of a fable was to teach a moral lesson. Aesop was known for writing fables that taught the Greek society lessons on how they should behave and live their lives.

Section 4: Ancient Greek Learning Bust of Plato. Image taken from: departments.bucknell.edu.

The Importance of Reason • The questions the Greek philosophers asked to seek out wisdom were: What is the nature of the universe? What is a good life? How do we know what is real? How can we determine what is true? • The Greeks believed that they could answer questions using the power of reason. They also believed that through reason, they could answer questions more clearly.

Socrates • The purpose of the Socratic Method was to utilize a form of questioning that a person uses to guide another person to think more clearly. • The leaders of Athens became very upset with Socrates, because by using the Socratic method, he challenged accepted beliefs. This was of course unacceptable behavior for the leaders and they charged Socrates with corrupting the young. He was sentenced to death for his beliefs.

Plato • Plato contributed the concept of the nature of reality. • He also founded a school on philosophy called, the Academy.

Stoicism • Stoics were a group, founded by Zeno, who believed that people should live in harmony with nature and work on controlling their emotions.

Greek Historians • Herodotus is known as the “father of history”, because he asked why events happened. • Thucydides visited battle sites and interviewed participants. This type of research was known to gain more accurate information, rather than assumed information. Thucydides wanted to teach people about the past, so they would avoid repeating historical mistakes.

Political Thinkers • Plato did not approve of the Athenian democracy. • He thought philosopher-kings, who had wisdom and the right to make decisions, should run the government. • Aristotle thought that the best governments are ones that avoid extremes. He also noted that in order for a government to work appropriately, all citizens must participate in it.

Natural Sciences • Thales encouraged other scientist to use logic to develop answers, even if they were incorrect answers. • Aristotle, who was a student of Plato and attended the Academy, sought knowledge through observation. • He analyzed data about plants, animals, rocks, governments, and the arts and then made his decision about how he felt about them using logic.

Math and Medicine • Pythagoras contributed the Pythagorean theorem. This mathematical formula is used in geometry. • Hippocrates wrote many medical books and ran a school teaching new doctors how to practice medicine. He taught his students to question patients and make observations of the patient so they could learn about the symptoms the patient is having. He also contributed the Hippocratic oath, which is when medical students take an oath promising that they would only use their knowledge in ethical ways. Today this oath is still used to guide doctors.

Medicine Continued… • The study in human anatomy resulted in the Greeks finding that the optic nerves linked the eyes to the brain, the brain was the center of thought, and the pulse sent blood through arteries.

Hellenistic Learning • Alexander required that all of the lands he captured be transformed to look like a mini Greek city. • He also encouraged the people living in those lands to practice Greek culture. • This led to the creation of Hellenistic learning.

Chapter 9: Ancient Greek Civilization