Classical Greece

_________________________ of Greece Greece is mountainous Greek communities developed independently

because of the mountains, thus they were diverse As a result, they had their own government, laws,

and customs. Access to the Mediterranean allowed for trade

with neighbors

________________________ Civilization (1750-1400 BC?)

On the Mediterranean island of Crete Great traders, traded with Egyptians,

Mesopotamians Capital at a fantastic palace at Knossos Destroyed by a combination earthquake/tsunami

c. 1400 BC

The ______________________________ (1400-1200 BC) Replaced the Minoans as great traders Lived in city-states on the Greek mainland Fought the ___________________________ War between Greece and Troy (1250 BC)

- Mythological cause = Trojan prince Paris kidnapped Greek queen Helen- Real cause = Trojans and Mycenaeans were trading rivals- Troy lost after a long war and the city was destroyed

____________________ Blind poet who lived around 750 BC Composed the Iliad, a story of the Trojan War Composed the _______________, a story of the hero Odysseus trying to get home from the Trojan

War

Classical Greece Many small ______________________ separated from one another by mountains and the sea ______________________________, or rule by kings (750-500 BC), gave way to ↓ ______________________________, or rule by land owning elite, but as the middle class (artisans,

merchants) grew in numbers, this gave way to ↓ ______________________________, or rule by a small, powerful

elite from the business class ______________________________, Direct Democracy: every

citizen voted on every law- Representative Democracy: citizens vote for representatives

who then make the laws

The two most powerful city-states: Sparta and Athens____________________

- Had very rigid laws, designed to keep their slaves in line- Slaves outnumbered Spartans- Militaristic society

o Sickly babies abandoned to die

o Boys began training for military at age _____o Males lived in military barracks until 30o Even girls had to exercise rigorously, to be able to bear and raise

____________________- Disliked their neighbors, had no use for the arts

____________________- Great wealth from trading- Began to move toward a democratic government under the leadership of Solon in 594

BC- Process continued under Cleisthenes in 507 BC, who created the Council of 500, the

world’s first legislature- Still, only _________________________ could participate in government, and much of

Athens power came from a base of slavery- Boys, if the family could afford it, went to school and were encouraged to learn and

think

Polytheistic religion; Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, and Aphrodite were central gods Greeks considered themselves superior to all non-Greeks; all non-Greeks were called “barbaroi” or

barbarians. (Xenophobia)

The ____________________ Wars 499 BC – Athens tries to help Greek city-states in

_______________ rebel against Persian rule Persians crush rebellion, decide to attack Athens

for helping King Darius I of Persia landed an army at

Marathon in 490 BC to invade Athens Themistocles of Athens, though greatly

outnumbered, leads the Athenian army to victory at Marathon

480 BC, Darius’ son Xerxes leads ____________________

A small group of Spartans, led by their king Leonidas, hold off the Persian army at Thermopylae, allowing the Athenians time to retreat

After finally defeating the Spartans, Xerxes captures and burns an abandoned Athens Athenian navy ambushes and destroys Persian navy at Salamis, ending the Persian threat

The Golden Age of ____________________ Leader of Athens from 460-429 BC - Made Athens a direct democracy where every citizen had a say in government Rebuilt Athens into a beautiful, rich, and powerful city 431 BC Sparta and its allies went to war with Athens and its allies in the

_________________________ War

- War lasted 27 years (3 stages)- Spartans eventually won in 404 BC, ending Athens golden age

_________________________ the Great Philip, King of _________________________, a small land to the north of Greece, conquered Greece

between 359-338 BC. When he was assassinated, his 20-year-old son ____________________ became King over all of Greece

Alexander attacked and conquered _______________ and marched as far as India before dying suddenly at age _______

His new empire was quickly _______________ among his generals His wars introduced Greek culture to far away lands and vice-versa; this new mixed east-west

culture was called Hellenism

_________________________ Culture Great city of Alexandria was built in

Egypt- Great Library of Alexandria- The Pharos, or lighthouse, one of

the 7 Wonders Advances in math under Pythagoras Advances in astronomy under

Aristarchus and Eratosthenes Advances in invention: Archimedes

perfected the lever and pulley Advances in medicine under

Hippocrates The word “Hellenistic” comes from the

word Hellazein, which means “to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks”