Ancient Greece

Ancient Civilizations 6

Warm-Up (29 March 2011)

• Look at the map on page 167– Answer the Identify

– Draw conclusions question

• How did the geography of Greece effect the way in which people lived?

Warm-Up

• Look at the map on page 167– Answer the Identify

– Draw conclusions questions

• How did the geography of Greece effect the way in which people lived?

Greece’s Geography

• Peninsula with smaller peninsulas and islands

Greek Geography

• Most if Greece is mountainous • Only about 1/5 of Greece is good for farming• Greeks=islanders– Real islands surrounded by H2O or land islands– Each community developed its own customs and

beliefs• ***All Greeks shared a common heritage, spoke same

language and worshipped same gods

Santorini

Warm-Up (31 March 2011)

1. Why was Crete an ideal location for the Minoan civilization to develop trading connections with people from other countries?

2. Where did the geographical center of influence shift when the Mycenaens came to power?

3. Why were the Illiad and the Odyssey important to the Greeks?

Minoan Civilization

• Lived on Crete from 3000-1100 BC• Developed a sea-trade network– Traded with Greece, Greek islands, Egypt and Sicily

• Advanced culture– Writing, lavish homes, statues of goddesses

• Probably invaded by Mycenaens

Minoan Civilization

• Lived on Crete from 3000-1100 BC• Developed a sea-trade network– Traded with Greece, Greek islands, Egypt and Sicily

• Advanced culture– Writing, lavish homes, statues of goddesses

• Probably invaded by Mycenaens

Mycenaeans

• Mainland and island cultures blended• Located on the mainland of Greece• 1400 BC controlled the Aegean Sea a parts of

Med. Sea• Developed an early form of the Greek

language• Main source of power=conquest– Ex. Trojan War (story based on a true story)

Dark Ages of Greece

• 1100s-750 BC dark ages of Greece– Follows Trojan war and collapse of Greek

civilization• People were poor, forced to move to Asia

Minor • So concerned with survival, they forgot writing– Forced to depend on word of mouth to keep

traditions and history=myths

Greek Dark Ages

• Families resettled in places to grow crops and raise animals– Favored places with rocky and protected hills– Built fortified cities on hills=acropolis (meaning

“upper city”)

Warm-up (4 April 2011)

1. How did aristocrats use their wealth to get power?

2. Why would the middle class want some say in the government of their cities?

3. How do you think that voting helped strengthen Athenian democracy?

City-states of Ancient Greece

• 750 BC villages in Greece grew into city-states• Originally most city-states were ruled by

aristocrats– Eventually military strength shifted from

aristocrats to merchants/artisans– The shift resulted the overthrow of the aristoctaic

gov. by tyrants

Democracy

• Rule of many tyrants=too harsh, so they were overthrown and cities adopted democracy

• Athens: first city-state to fully develop a democracy– 594 BC Solon, an Athenian, won the power to

reform laws• 1. canceled all debts or monies owed to others and

freed citizens enslaved bc of debt• 2. male 18 or older able to debate important laws

Citizenship in Athens

• 1 in 5 people were citizens• Rich or poor• Only males• Must have an Athenian mother and father

• Enslaved, women or foreigners could not be citizens

Warm-Up (12 April 2011)

• What was the goal of Greek art?

• What is a tragedy?

– Who were some important authors of tragedies in Ancient Greece?

• Why did the Greek architects use the Golden Rectangle?

The Parthenon

• Acropolis in Athens was destroyed in 480 BC then rebuilt including the Parthenon by Pericles in the 5th century=height of Greek architecture

• Parthenon-temple to Athena– Made of marble, used golden rectangle, columns – Statue of Athena and sculpted scenes filled the

inside• Characteristics:

Dramas

• First people to write dramas• Great plays produced during Athens Golden

Age • most famous Greek dramas= tragedies• Important authors: Euripides, Aeschylus,

Sophocles• Role of the chorus? • Performances were during the festivals

Comedies

• Written to make fun of well-known citizens and politicians or jokes about the day

• Most famous author of comedies= Aristophanes

Warm-Up (13 April 2011)

• What was the purpose of Athenian comedies?

• What is an agora?

• Where might the Agora be located in Athens?

• Why do you think the Agora was the center of public life in Athens?

Class work• With a partner, read pages 186-187• Answer the following questions:– Which building in the agora would Athenians

probably have gone to for a religious ceremony? Why?

– Where would Athenians probably have gone to conduct business?

– How was the layout of the agora of Athens different from some others? What do you think accounted for this difference?

– What are some historic events that took place in the Athenian agora?

Warm-Up (4 May 2011)

• How did Alexander earn the title of Alexander the Great?

• Why do you think that Alexander the Great named so many cities after himself?

• When did the Hellenistic Age begin?• What was the greatest of all Hellenistic cities?

Why?

Macedonia

• 359 BC King Philip unites Macedonia – He builds an army even stronger than Sparta

• 336 BC King Philip was assassinated and Alexander (his son) becomes King

• Alexander the Great rules Macedonia until 323 BC

Alexander the Great

• Invaded and conquered the much of the Persian Empire

• Spent all of his time conquering new lands, establishing cities that he named after himself

• Army finally grew weary and tired-refused to travel further east than Babylonia

• 323 BC Alexander the Great dies of a fever

Hellenistic Age

• Alexander’s empire began to decline– His empire was divided up into three kingdoms

(Hellenistic) – Hellenistic comes from Hellas Greek for “land”

• Greek culture was predominantly in the Hellenistic kingdoms– Cities modeled after Greek cities– Greek language– Greek kings– Greek temples and agoras

Alexandria, Egypt

• Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC• Considered to be the learning capital of the

Greek world• Math and science flourished – Geometry– Astronomy (Aristarchus concluded that the earth

revolved around the sun in 250 BC)