Classical Greece2000 B.C. -300 B.C.
Chapter 5
The Early Greek World
Minoan Civilization
Island of Crete. Trade routes with the Egyptians. Palace at Knossos
Fancy plumbing
Bull Leaping
This was a common ritual used as a rite of passage to manhood. One person would distract the bull while the
other did acrobatic feats over his back.
Minoans as traders
Became seafaring peopleTraded with Egypt, Syria, Sicily,
and SpainProblems with trading?
Mycenaean Civilization
Mainland of Greece Established by invaders from the north. Borrowed from Minoans After the downfall of the Minoans,
Mycenae became the commercial center.
Militaristic
Trouble with Troy
Rivals with the Mycenae in the area of trade made the two bitter enemies.
The Trojan Paris kidnapped the beautiful Helen of Sparta. Helen was the wife of the king.
After ten years of battles, Troy fell in conquest and the long war was recorded by Homer.
Did this war really happen?
The Trojan War
According to ancient Greek legend, the Trojan War began when a Trojan prince named Paris abducted Helen, the wife of a Spartan king. The Greeks set sail for Troy when Paris refused to release her. The war lasted for ten years before the Greeks came up with an ingenious plan to capture Troy. They built a huge wooden horse as a “peace offering”, fully armed Greek soldiers hid within the belly of the horse. Once they were in place, the remaining Greeks closed the trap door and rolled the huge horse up to the city walls. The then withdrew in their ships to a place out of sight of Troy to await darkness, when they would return to the city. The Trojans celebrated getting extremely drunk and careless. The Greeks inside the horse waited until everyone was drunk and took over the city burning it.
Trojan Horse
The Greek Dark Ages
Around 1200 BC, Mycenaean civilization collapsed.
The Dorians moved into the countryside. No writing 1150 to 750 BC Unknown history for the most part. How do we know anything?
Greek Mythology
Zeus overthrew his father to rule.
He was believed to be the lord of the sky, the rain god.
Married to Hera Punished anyone
who lied to him or failed to keep their oaths.
Poseidon
Brother of Zeus He was lord of the
sea according to Greek mythology
Married Amphitrite His weapon was the
trident which can shake the earth and shatter any object.
Hades Brother of Zeus He got the worst draw and
became the lord of the underworld ruling over the dead.
He is also the god of wealth due to the precious metals in the earth.
His wife is Persephone
Hera
Wife and sister of Zeus She is the Goddess of the
Hearth, the symbol of the house around which a new born child is carried before it is received into the family.
Children
Ares: disliked by both parents. god of War Athena: sprang fully grown from her father’s
forehead. goddess of the city and agriculture. Apollo: god of music Aphrodite: goddess of love, desire and beauty. Hermes: Zeus’ messenger Artemis: goddess of wild things Hephaestus: only god that was physically ugly and
lame. God of fire and forge.
WARRING CITY-STATESSection 2
Greek City-States
Role of the City-State Polis or city-state
was the basic political unit.
Relatively small
Government of the City-States
Basic forms of Government Monarchy: rule by one Aristocracy: rule by small group of
nobles Oligarchy: rule of a few Democracy: rule of the people Tyranny: dissatisfaction and unrest
of the lower classes led to this.
Sparta
Located in southern part of GreeceDorians captured the locals and made
them slaves or helots. The Spartans created a militaristic
state.
Spartans
Controlled the lives of citizens
Boys moved to army barracks from ages 7-20.
Spartans
Girls went through similar training.
Women sent their husbands and sons off to war with a motto, “Return with your shield or on them.”
Babies
Unhealthy babies were left to die on hillsides near the ocean.
What does this tell you about Spartan culture?
Athens
Nurtured creativity, commercial endeavors, democracy and individualism.
Ruled by a king during the Homeric Age.
Under the leadership of Solon, Athens moved towards democracy.
The Fateful Century
The Persian Wars Persia’s western expansion threatened
Greek independence. Greeks did not and could not tolerate
losing their freedom. The Greek colonies joined together and
rebelled and overthrew the Persian rule.
Battle of Marathon
Phalanx
Battle of Thermopylae
After Greek victory at Marathon, Darius II (leader of Persia) was furious and organized an invasion.
He died before the invasion but his son carried it out.
A force of 7000 Greeks faced 200,000 Persians.
A Greek traitor gave the Persians an advantage and the Greeks were forced to retreat…all but three hundred Spartans.
Theaters were built outside, usually along the slope of a hillside. All of the actors were men - they even played the female roles! Each actor played several parts in the play by wearing a different mask for each part.
Women's lives were closely tied to the home. They learned spinning, weaving, and other skills that would be useful in running the household. Women didn't participate in politics or public life. Serving as a priestess in one of the temples was one of the only public duties that a woman might perform. Their lives were quite secluded.
Children played games in their free time just like they do today. Lots of toys have been discovered, and they aren't that different than modern toys.
This baby rattle is made of clay.
Strigil
Greek athletes oiled and then lightly dusted their bodies. After exercising, they would scrape off the oil, dust, and sweat with a strigil. This process protected the body against the sun and served as an effective means of cleaning in a land with limited water supplies.