3. Feature Names Cultural Impact
Mountains Mt. Olympus Greeks built small, independent
communities with different ways
of life
Black Sea
Aegean Sea
Ionian Sea
4. Seas Aegean, Ionian, Greeks became seafarers
Mediterranean, establishing colonies and trade
Black throughout Mediterranean World
5. By 2800 BC, Minoan
civilization was
established on Crete.
The Minoans flourished
between 2700 -1450 BC.
15. Mycenaean civilization was
controlled by an alliance of
powerful monarchies.
Monarchs lived in fortified centers
within large stone walls on top of
mountains and the population
lived outside the walls.
16. Most archeological evidence of the Mycenaeans comes from the Tholos (tombs)
where the royals families were buried.
20. The Mycenaean were weakened by war and earthquakes which damaged their
civilization. Mycenaean civilization collapsed around 1100 BC, after new waves
of invaders moved into Greece from the north.
21.
22. The period from 1100-750 in Greece is called the Dark Age.
Both population and food production fell.
Many Greeks emigrated to Ionia and other colonies around the Mediterranean.
23. Iron replaced bronze during the Dark Age, improving weaponry and farming.
During the 8th century BC, the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet.
27. Both of Homer’s poems gave the Greeks an ideal past and a set of values.
The basic Homeric values were courage and honor. The Greek hero struggled
for excellence, or arête, which is won in a struggle or contest.
28. Around 850 BC,
farming revived.
By 750 BC, the polis
(city-state) became
the central focus of
Greek life.
29. The main gathering
place in the polis
was usually on a
hill, topped with a
fortified area called
the acropolis.
30. Below was the agora, an open area for people to assemble and for a market.
31. City-states varied in size. Most were between a few hundred and a several
thousand people. Athens’ exceeded 300,000 by the 5th century BC.
Greek society was divided into three classes in each polis:
• citizens with political rights (adult males)
• citizens without political rights (women and children)
• non-citizens (slaves and resident aliens.)
32. The city-states were fiercely patriotic and distrustful of one another.
The city-states’ were highly independent and
often warred helping bring Greece to ruin.
33. A new military system based on hoplites
developed by 700 BC.
35. Between 750-550 BC, many Greeks, driven by trade
and the desire for good farmland, settled distant lands.
Greek colonies were founded in Italy, France, Spain,
north Africa, and the shores of the Black Sea.
36. The most notable colony was Byzantium, which
later became Constantinople and then Istanbul.
37. Also, increased trade with the Greek colonies led to a new
wealthy class of merchants who wanted political power.
38. The most powerful city-state in classical Greece was Sparta which called itself
the “natural protector of Greece”. According to legend, the Spartans were
descendents of Hercules.
39. Sparta gained land through the conquest of their neighbors. Conquered
people became serfs called helots, from the Greek for “capture.” The helots
performed all labor in Spartan society.
40. To maintain power over the helots, Sparta created a military state.
Boys began military training at age seven. From ages 20 to 60, all Spartan males
served in the army.
41. Spartan women lived
at home while their
husbands lived in
military barracks.
Women in Sparta had
more freedom of
movement and
greater independence
than women in other
Greek city-states.
42. A female’s education was as brutal as a male's and included
similar harsh physical training.
A Spartan woman was expected in times of war to manage
her husband's property and guard it against invaders.
43. A Spartan woman
would meet with her
husband almost
exclusively for
procreative reasons.
Spartan women were
expected and driven
to produce strong
and healthy children
who were then raised
by helot servants.
Babies who displayed
any sign of weakness
were left to die.
44. The Spartan government was an
oligarchy, where all political power
was held by a few wealthy,
influential individuals.
Two kings led the Spartan army. An
elite citizens’ assembly voted on
political issues introduced by the
kings but debate in the assembly
was not allowed.
45. Sparta closed itself off from the outside world. Travelers
and travel were strongly discouraged.
Historical literature and written laws were forbidden.
Spartan citizens were forbidden practicing any trade or
craft and the possession of gold and silver was also
forbidden.
The only possession many Spartan citizens required was a
red cloak to mask blood spilled in battle.
46. In the 7th century BC Athens, an oligarchy of aristocrats owned the best land
and controlled political life.
However, Athens had serious economic and political troubles. Many Athenian
farmers were sold into slavery for nonpayment of their debts to aristocrats.
47. Solon was appointed leader in 594 BC to handle these problems. His reforms
were designed to restore the bond between aristocrats and the ordinary
citizens.
He did not believe the people should rule but that they ought to be consulted.
He created a Council of Four Hundred to represent the ordinary citizens.
48. Solon also canceled the
debts but did not give
land to the poor.
Because the poor could
not obtain land, internal
strife continued. It led to
tyranny.
49. In 560 BC, Pisistratus seized control of Athens. He was an aristocrat
with dictatorial power but he had the popular support of the poor.
Pisistratus ordered the construction of several major public works
and gave free loans to the poor to improve their farms.
50. The Athenians appointed the reformer Cleisthenes leader in 508 BC.
However, the Athenians revolted against Pisistratus’
cruel and bitter son and ended the tyranny in 510 BC.
51. Cleisthenes reformed the Council to include 500 members chosen at random
from among all Athenian male citizens. The Council of Five Hundred could
propose laws and supervise the treasury and foreign affairs. The assembly had
final authority to pass laws after free and open debate.
Cleisthenes’ reforms laid the foundation for Athenian democracy.
52. The mighty Persian Empire to the east was ruled by Darius, a powerful king.
He feared the existence of rich, democratic Athens on his western borders
might inspire rebellion against his harsh, autocratic rule.
53. In 490 BC, a massive Persian army landed
at Marathon, 26 miles north of Athens.
The outnumbered Athenians sent a runner, Pheidippides, to Sparta for aid.
After running 170 miles in two days, the Spartans denied the request.
54. Despite overwhelming odds, the Athenians rallied their forces,
drove the Persian back into the sea, and were victorious.
55. Ten years later, the new Persian emperor, Xerxes, invaded Greece with 180,000
troops. 300 Spartans, commanded by Leonidas, led a Greek force of 7000 who
held the Persians at the pass of Thermopylae for two days before dying to the
last man.
56. With the Spartans’ defeat, the Athenians abandoned their city to the Persians
and fled to the nearby island of Salamis. There, the Athenian navy trapped the
Persians and turned the tide of the war. The Persians soon withdrew.
57. Victorious against the Persians, Athens became the leader of the Greek world
and formed a defensive alliance called the Delian League. By controlling the
Delian League, the Athenians created an empire.
58. Under Pericles, Athens expanded its empire.
Democracy and culture thrived at home. This
period, called the Age of Pericles, was the
height of Athenian power and brilliance.
59. Pericles turned Athens into a direct democracy. 43,000 male citizens over 18
made up the assembly. The assembly passed all laws, elected public officials,
and decided on war and foreign policy. Any man could speak.
60. Pericles made lower-class citizens eligible for public office. Poor citizens could
participate in political life.
The Athenians developed ostracism to protect themselves from overly
ambitious politicians.
61. Athens became the center of Greek culture as art, architecture,
and philosophy flourished. Pericles boasted that Athens had
become the “school of Greece.”
62.
63. The Greek world came to be divided between Athens and Sparta.
The Great Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BC.
64. Athens planned to win by staying behind its walls and receiving supplies
from its colonies and powerful navy. The Spartans surrounded Athens.
65. In 430 BC, a plague broke out in Athens. One-third of the population
perished. Pericles died the following year.
Athens fought on for another 25 years before its final defeat in 405 BC.
66. The Peloponnesian War weakened the Greek city-states and ruined
cooperation among them. For the next 66 years Sparta, Athens, and Thebes
struggled for domination.
67. In Athens only adult male citizens had political power. Foreigners were
protected by laws and shared some responsibility in military service and
taxes.
68. Around 100,000 slaves worked in industry, agriculture, and households.
State-owned slaves worked on public construction projects such as the
Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena.
69. Athens’ economy was based on family and trade. It expanded exponentially
under Pericles’ guidance and became known throughout the world for the
quality of its olives.
70. Athens had to import 50-80% of its grain making trade very important.
Athens was the leading trade state in the 5th century Greek world.
With new wealth, Athens grew from a small town to a major power.
71. Women were citizens who could participate in religious festivals but had no
other public life.
72. Greeks considered religion necessary for the well-being of the state. Temples
were the major buildings in Greek cities.
73. Most important were the 12 gods and goddesses that lived
on Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece.
79. Greek religion was not based on morality;
it was focused on pleasing the gods to bring good fortune.
After death, spirits went to a gloomy underworld ruled by Hades.
80. To know the will of the deities the Greeks consulted oracles.
The most famous oracle was at the shrine to Apollo at Delphi.
83. The original Greek dramas
were tragedies, presented
in trilogies around a
common theme.
Greek tragedies examined
universal themes such as
the nature of good and
evil, the rights of the
individual, the role of the
gods in life, and human
nature.
84. Greek comedy developed later. Aristophanes
is the most important Greek comic playwright.
85. Philosophy refers to an organized
system of thought.
In the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the
philosophers Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle raised questions that
have been debated ever since.
86. Socrates believed that the goal of
education was only to improve
the individual’s soul.
He introduced a teaching method
still used today called the
Socratic Method.
Socrates said “The unexamined
life is not worth living.” The belief
in the individual’s power to
reason was an important
contribution of Greek culture.
87. Socrates and his pupils questioned authority. After losing the Peloponnesian
War, Athenians did not trust open debate. Socrates was tried and convicted of
corrupting the youth and sentenced to death.
88. Plato was one of Socrates’ students and considered by many to be the greatest
Western philosopher.
He was preoccupied with the nature of reality and how we know reality.
89. Plato was concerned that the city-states be just and rational. He explained his
ideas about government in The Republic. The ideal state has three groups –
rulers, warriors, and commoners.
90. Plato also believed that men and women should have the same education and
equal access to all positions.
He established a school in Athens called the Academy. His most important
pupil was Aristotle, who studied there for 20 years.
91. Aristotle was interested in
analyzing and classifying things
by observation and investigation.
In this way we could know
reality.
He wrote on ethics, logic, politics,
poetry, astronomy, geology,
biology, and physics.
Like Plato, Aristotle was
interested in the best form of
government. He looked at the
constitutions of 158 states and
found 3 good forms: monarchy,
aristocracy, and constitutional
government.
92. The writing of history began with
Herodotus and his History of the Persian
Wars.
He understood the conflict as a war
between Greek freedom and Persian
despotism.
93. Many consider Thucydides
the greatest historian of the
ancient world.
Thucydides explained
events by human causes
more than by divine forces.
He also emphasized
having accurate facts and
had great insight into
human psychology and the
human condition.
He believed studying
history was beneficial for
understanding the present.
94. The standards of classical Greek
art dominated most of Western
art history.
95. Classical Greek art was concerned
with civilizing the emotions
through the moderation, balance
and harmony of the artwork.
96. The chief subject matter of most
art was an ideally beautiful human
being.
Greek sculpture often depicted
idealized, lifelike male nudes.
97. The most important architectural form was the temple. The greatest example
is the Parthenon.
98. The Greeks viewed the Macedonians, as barbarians because they were
rural people. By the end of the 5th century BC, however, Macedonia
was a powerful kingdom.
99. In 359 BC, Philip II of Macedonia
formed a league of Greek city-states
under his control to help him
conquer Persia.
Before he could fulfill his goal, he
was assassinated.
100. Alexander the Great, his son,
became king of Macedonia at the age
of 20.
He had been educated by Aristotle
and modeled himself on Achilles,
the Greek hero of the Trojan War.
101. Alexander moved immediately to fulfill his father’s dream of conquering
Persia. Alexander wanted glory, empire, and revenge for the Persian burning of
Athens almost fifty years earlier.
102. Alexander marched his army throughout Persia, founding many cities and
spreading Greek culture.
103. By 331 BC, Alexander had
conquered the Persian Empire and
established the city of Alexandria in
Egypt.
104. In 326, Alexander crossed the Indus River and entered India. His soldiers
refused to march on and Alexander agreed to return home.
105. In 323 BC, at the age of 32, he died in Babylon,
exhausted from wounds, fever, and alcohol.
106. Alexander created a new age, called the Hellenistic Era. The word Hellenistic
means “to imitate Greeks.”
107. After Alexander’s death, four Hellenistic kingdoms emerged:
• Macedonia
• Syria
• Pergamum
• Egypt
108. In Egypt, Alexandria became the
largest city in the Mediterranean by
the first century BC.
109. Later Hellenistic rulers also founded
cities and military settlements, and
they encouraged Greek colonization in
SW Asia spreading Greek culture.
Later Hellenistic rulers also founded cities and military settlements, and
they encouraged Greek colonization in SW Asia spreading Greek culture.
