Ancient Persia and Greece: Definitions and Governments

1. Ch 4 • Persia and Greece 1

2. Definitions • city-state or polis: A small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic and Classical Greece, Phoenicia and early Italy • empire:

3. Persian Empire550 - 334 B.C.E. • 530 B.C.E. - by this year Cyrus creates Empire • 522 - 486 B.C.E. - rule of Darius • 480 - 479 rule of Xerxes - invades Greece “This is Sparta” • 334 - 323 Alexander the Great conquers Persia • 323 - 30 Hellenistic Era

4. Persian Empire • Achaemenid Empire • Present-day Iran • Cyrus creates empire by 530 B.C.E. between Egypt and India - military conquest - Darius extends it to NW India

5. Darius maintains unitysee same pattern in Rome and Han China • capital - Persepolis - center of bureaucracy • satrapies = provinces, strapas = governors • military troops and tax collectors watched over satraps • standardized tax collection and coinage • built road system - Persian Royal Road • ceremonial life of emperor, removed from day to day governing of empire - sons of aristocrats educated or held as hostages at capital 5

6. Zoroastrianism • Ahuramazda or Ahura Mazda - supreme deity • good v. evil • humans rewarded or punished in afterlife according to their choice of good v. evil • may have influenced ideas of Judaism and later, Christianity

7. Ancient GreecesPrIte • A Ionia The Acropolis at Athens

8. Main eras: • Dark Ages 1150 - 800 isolation period - Dorians enter • Archaic period 800 - 480 Phoenicians pull them out of isolation and Greek trade beings again • Classical Period 500 - 323 (Athenian democracy to death of Alexander the Great) • Hellenistic Period - Greek culture in Persia

9. Governments of Ancient Greece • fragmented • polis = city state, lots of poleis = city-states • hoplites warfare between city-states 9

10. Expansion = colonies • due to overpopulation - sounds familiar? • Hellenes v. barbaroi (sounds like....?)

11. Society • aristocrats or nobles - wealth based on inherited lands • free peasants - own small farms • middle class: urban artisans and merchants • peasants - worked lands allowed to keep a portion of what they farmed • debt-slavery - couldn’t pay off loans • slaves = helots - agricultural work • patriarchal - Spartan women a bit higher status • stratified? based on a hierarchy?

12. Many city-states = many governments • monarchy = Minoan and Mycenaean civs. • aristocracy = rule by landowners, nobles • tyrant = tyranny • oligarchy = rule by the rich • democracy = rule by all free adult males • not an empire - only overseas colonies which set up different city-states

13. Sparta v. Athens • Sparta - militaristic due to large helot population • Athens - birth of “democracy” • Athens v. Sparta in Peloponnesian War 431 B.C.E. Pericles 13

14. Reforms of Pericles: • Peak of democracy: • the Assembly - all free male citizens - open debates - salaries paid for service • the Council of 500 • People’s Courts - chosen by lot • We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as a harmless but as a useless character.” Pericles’ Funeral Oration.

15. Religion • Polytheistic • mythology • anthropomorphic gods • sacrifice animals not people like...? • oracles - sacred sites where gods communicated with man - Oracle of Apollo at Delphi • next...

16. Economy • Rocky geography = Trade = spreads Greek culture • next....

17. Intellectual Developments • secular ideas reflected in art and literature • rationalism - rational thinking - the use of reason to understand the world • individualism - “I did this, I did that” like Odysseus in the beginning. Leads to concept of individual rights - opposite of...? • humanism - glorification of man’s talents

18. Greek Philosophers: • Socrates - questioning to uncover truths • Plato - striving for the ideal state • Aristotle - • man should rely on reason and senses to understand the world • slavery is a natural human condition - barbaroi lacked the capacity to reason and thus were better off under the direction of rational Greek owners 18

19. Hellenistic AgeHellenistic Empire • Hellenes + Persian cultures • cosmopolitan • universities, libraries, museums • Alexandria in Egypt • Ptolemy Dynasty after Alexander’s death rules Egypt • Pythagorus, Archimedes, Euclid - math and science

20. Art and Architecture • symmetry, balance, columns, the ideal state

21. Greek Frescoes

22. Tyrants came to power in many Greek poleis as a result of: • inheritance • warfare between the poleis • direct elections • popular support

23. Answer: • E. • This word carries a different meaning today than it did during the classical Greek era. It simply meant someone who came to power by irregular means such as popular support rather than birthright.

24. A key difference between helots in Sparta and chattelslavery is that helots • a. could not be bought and sold as property • b. could serve in the Spartan army • c. were not mistreated • d. had some rights as citizens of Sparta.

25. Answer: • A. • Chattel slavery is the concept that slaves are a commodity. They can be bought or sold as property and do not exist as people. The helots in Sparta could not be bought and sold, but they also were not free to leave the land they worked. In some ways, the helots were closer to serfs than slaves.

26. Athens reached its democratic zenith under the leadership of: • A. Alexander • B. Solon • C. Pericles • D. Aristotle

27. Answer: • C • Pericles built on Solon’s reforms which had opened councils to any citizen regardless of lineage; he also supported appointment of commoners to public offices, financed building projects throughout the polis which created jobs and loyalty, and promoted the arts to bring renown presige to his city.

28. Which of the following civilizations had the greatest impact on the Greek’s written language? • A. Egyptian • B. Babylonian • C. Phoenician • D. Latin

29. Answer: • C. • The Phoenicians had developed a written syllabic, phonetic language which was easy to learn and thus a huge asset to business and trade. The Greeks who relied on maritime trade for survival recognized the benefits of the Phoenician system over the Egyptian hieroglyphics or Babylonaian cuneiform, added their own symbols for vowel sounds, and developed a flexible and beautiful written language.

30. Unlike many slaves in ____ which were used for human sacrifice, slavesin ____ provided the agricultural labor necessary to feedthe polis. • A. China, Athens • B. Harappan society, Sparta • C. Maya culture, Sparta • D. Maya culture, Mycenaean culture

31. Answer: • C • The Maya used prisoners of war as slaves and frequently as human sacrifices. Helots, Spartan slaves, were used to produce food for the polis as male Spartan citizens were serving in the military for most of their lives.

32. Remember the Greeks for... • political developments • intellectual developments - philosophy = secular ideas such as humanism and individualism reflected in their art and literature - • Plato - always searching for the ideal beauty in everything