Greek Thinkers, Democracy and ATG

Greek Thinkers, Democracy and ATG January 4-9, 2012

What is it and why is it important?

Socrates • Taught that people should seek other reasons for things that happen in life…not just blame the gods • Socratic method: answer a question with a deeper, probing question • Taught Plato • Condemned to death for corrupting the youth of Athens (yeah, he encouraged them to THINK!) • Drank poisoned wine and continued to teach his devoted students until he dropped dead.

Plato • Teacher and philosopher • Established a school of higher learning called the Academy • Wrote The Republic…called for a utopian society where everyone was equal, where the philosophers were the political leaders because they were best able to make decisions for the general good • Taught Aristotle

Aristotle • Attended Plato’s Academy • Left Athens when he was not selected to run the school after Plato’s death; went to Macedonia • Taught Alexander the Great • Live life in moderation, balance (like Taoism, kind of) • Reasoning: think about the logic behind something happening, don’t just blame the gods

Euclid • Father of geometry • This is a piece of text from Euclid’s book, “Elements”. It was written in about 100 AD. • Thought to have attended Plato’s Academy • Lived and taught in Alexandria, Egypt around 300 BC.

Hippocrates • Greatest of Greek doctors • Performed first autopsies to investigate how the human body worked • Determined that illness is caused by physical problems, not punishment by gods as believed • Saw body as united systems working together • Hippocratic Oath: made by doctors stating they will care for anyone who needs medical treatment no matter what their personal or financial circumstances

Archimedes • Scientist and mathematician (geometry) • Attended Euclid’s school in Alexandria, Egypt • Lived on the island of Syracuse • Created a machine called the ‘claw’; it lifted ships out of the water and capsized them

Pythagoras • Mathematician • Lived in the Greek colonies in Sicily (Italy) in the 500s BC • Proved the Pythagorean theorem • The Pythagorean Theorem says that in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two right-angle sides will always be the same as the square of the hypotenuse (the long side).

Herodotus • Greek historian • Lived in Greek colony in modern day Turkey in 5th century BC • Wrote a historical text that documented events during the rule of four Persian kings, including Darius (the one Alexander fought and defeated) and the Persian Wars (think 300) • Based his writing on oral histories offered by the Ionians

Homer • Who was he? • When did he live? • Where did he live? • What did he do? • Why is his identity unclear? • How do modern historians view him?

What is it and what was its purpose? • Hint: Archimedes invented it… • It is called Archimedes screw. It provided a way of moving water from where it was to where it wasn’t (irrigation).

Early Athenian government

Monarchy • The first government in Athens was a monarchy. • Kings ruled and the power was passed from father to son by hereditary succession.

The rocky road to Athenian democracy • Second government in Athens: oligarchy

Oligarchy • A group of wealthy landowners, or aristocrats, took power next. • A government in which only a few people have power is called an oligarchy. • The richest men in Athens had all the power. Common people had little or no say in the way things were run. • Draco created a new set of harsh laws after a small group of commoners attempted to overthrow the oligarchy. • Solon took control after Draco and created less strict laws that made all free men in Athens citizens, or people who could participate in government. • The people wanted the aristocracy dissolved.

Next step on the road to democracy… • The Athenian oligarchy was overthrown, and a tyranny was put in its place. • Peisistratus became the first tyrant in Athenian rule. • Tyrants maintain their power through military force with the support of the people of the country. • Athenian tyrants were generally good leaders. • The Athenian tyrants brought peace and prosperity to the city.

One step backwards….. • The tyranny was overthrown briefly by an oligarchy.

At last….democracy

Democracy under Cleisthenes, the Father of Democracy • All citizens had the right to participate in government: • Free, male, landowning, born in Athens Citizens met in the agora, an open area where they could discuss political issues. Voting was done by either a show of hands or a secret ballot. Sometimes the assembly was too large to make decisions. The Athenians selected citizens to be city officials to serve on a city council. The council decided what issues the assembly would discuss.

Changes in Athenian Democracy • Citizens began to serve on juries • Juries had an odd number of members to prevent ties. • As elected leader of Athens, Pericles encouraged more citizen involvement in government, and began to pay people for serving in office of on juries. • Pericles acted as leader when Sparta attacked Athens in the Peloponnesian War. He died from the plague during the siege of Athens.

End of Democracy in Athens • Athens was conquered by the Macedonians (Phillip II and his son, Alexander the Great). • While the democracy in Athens remained somewhat intact, the Macedonian king was a dictator, and no laws could be passed without his approval. • Soon this limited democracy was disbanded by the Macedonians, and democracy ended in Athens.

Direct Democracy • In a direct democracy, each person’s vote directly affects the outcome of a decision. • In Athens, all citizens, or people eligible to vote, were able to meet in one place at a given time to discuss an issue and make a decision. • This form of democracy would not work for the United States.

Representative Democracy • The United States is a representative democracy. • Citizens in the U.S. elect officials to represent them in the government and make laws, and enforce them. (Senators, Representatives, judges, magistrates, president) • Americans don’t vote on each government issue; they trust their elected Congressmen to vote for them.

Exit Slip: analogy Direct democracy is like representative democracy because _______________, but they are different because ______________ .

Greek Thinkers, Democracy and ATG