Greece's mountainous landscape with few rivers influenced the development of many independent city-states. The Mediterranean Sea and coastline encouraged seafaring and trade. During the Classical period in the 5th century BC, Athens developed a direct democracy while Sparta emphasized strict social hierarchy and military training. The two city-states fought in the Peloponnesian War, weakening Greece and allowing Philip II and his son Alexander the Great to conquer the region and spread Greek culture.

2. The
Geography of
Greece

3. Landscape & Climate
Landscape
 Covered by Mountains
 No large rivers
 Lots of coastline
 How did the land influence
the government?
Climate
 Mild, rainy winters
 Hot summers

6. Agriculture
 Only a small part of the
region good for farming
 Over ½ of Greeks were
farmers and herders
 Most farming in the valleys
 Established agricultural
colonies in Anatolia
(modern-day Turkey)

8. Resources
 Lacked natural resources like precious metals
 Plentiful stone for buildings
 Coastline with many good harbors

9. A Seafaring People
“Highways of Water”
 Mediterranean Sea: to the South
 Ionian Sea: to the west
 Aegean Sea: to the east
 Greeks became expert sailors
 Fish a large part of the Greek diet

10. Trade & Commerce
 Major trading partners: Egypt &
Rome
 Exported:
 olive oil, wine, wool, and pottery
 Imported:
 grain, timber, animal hides, and
slaves

11. Mycenae: The First Greek Civilization
 Built on the Peloponnesus
 Wealthy civilization; mostly
traders
 Created writing, gold jewelry,
bronze weapons, and pottery
 Collapsed around 1200 BC
 Little is known about Greece
from 1200 BC – 750 BC

12. Greece Comes Back
 Greeks learned much
by trading with the
Phoenicians
 Picked up the
Phoenician alphabet
between 900-800 BC
 Learned about coins
from Anatolians by
500 BC
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL
HNh4caX4Y

14. Greek Gods
 Polytheistic
 Divine qualities with human
emotions
 Jealous, loving, angry,
competitive
 Zeus & 11 major gods lived on
Mt. Olympus (Olympian gods)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP_Nei
rFIkM (gods)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMzNPE
HNxcc (goddesses)

15. Greek Mythology
- The stories of the Greek gods and goddesses, often
as they interact with humans.
- Two purposes
 Arachne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW3Bbav7w4A

16. Honoring the Gods
 Built statues and temples
 Days were set aside to honor different gods & goddesses
 Festivals held to honor the 12 Olympian gods
The Parthenon was a
temple in Athens, built in
honor of the city’s patron
goddess, Athena

17. The Olympics
 Held every four years (oldest record: 776 BC)
 Part of a festival to honor Zeus
 Only men
 Events: foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus throw.
 Unmarried girls raced to honor Zeus’ wife, Hera
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdgvKpUSaTs

18. Early Greek Literature

19. Homer
 Blind poet (c. [about]
8th Century BC)
 Composed epics
 Oral tradition
 The Iliad
 The Odyssey
 Major influence in
Western literature

20. The Iliad
 Story of Greek heroes during
the Trojan War
 Included story of Achilles
Legend has it that the baby
Achilles was dipped into the
river Styx as a way to protect him.
The only part that didn’t get wet
was his heel.

21. The Odyssey
 Story of Greek hero Odysseus and his trip home after the Trojan War
 Included the Cyclops and the sirens
 Video – first 12 minutes
The Cyclops, a one-eyed
monster, is one of the creatures
that stops Odysseus from getting
home to his wife, Penelope.

22. Aesop’s Fables
- Aesop was believed to be a Greek slave
- Today, we believe it was a pseudonym
- Used animals to tell moral lessons
- Tortoise & the Hare
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DrKmpuKhKE

23. The City-State
& Democracy

24. City-States
 Basic form of government
 Greek word for “city”= polis
 Most less than 20,000 people
 Athens & Sparta largest

25. Agora
 Open space for
business and
public meetings
 Center of city life

26. Acropolis
 Fortified (protected)
hillside
 Literally means: “high city”
 Military purpose
 Later, temples and palaces
built here

28. Types of Government

29. Monarchs & Aristocrats
 Monarchy:
 Aristocracy:
 By 700’s BC, most city-states had moved
from monarchy to aristocracy
 Do you think this was a good move?

30. Oligarchy
 Oligarchy:
 What is the difference between an aristocracy & an
oligarchy?

31. Tyrants
 Leader who took power illegally
 Not of noble birth – often a general
 Urged the poor to support him
 Why would the poor do this?
 Some helped the poor
 What is a “tyrant” today?
Nicias was an Athenian general and
later Tyrant

32. Athenian Democracy: It’s a start
 By 500’s poor citizens demanded a voice in
government
 Who is a “citizen”?
 Gradual reform led by Solon & Cleisthenes

33. Solon
 Ruled 594 – 560 BC
 Freed people who had been enslaved
due to debt
 Reorganized Athenian Society –
How?
 All citizens could serve in the
assembly.

34. Cleisthenes
 By 500 BC took power away from
nobles
 Reorganized citizens into 10
tribes based on geography
 Each tribe elected 1 of the 10
military commanders

35. The Council of Five Hundred
 How many?
 From where?
 Who was eligible?
 How selected?
 How often?

36. Direct Democracy
 The type in Athens
 Citizens make political decisions directly
 How is this different from democracy in the US?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J315e03RkOA

37. How was Athenian Democracy limited?
 Ostracism: the assembly could vote a person out of
Athens for up to 10 years

38. The Responsibilities of a Citizen
 Military service
 Serve on juries

39. Sparta
 Peloponnesus
 Militaristic society

40. Spartan Government
 Ruled by 2 kings
 Council of Elders proposed
laws
 All Spartan citizens part of
the Assembly
 Assembly elected officials &
voted on laws

41. Social Groups of Sparta
 Citizens:
 Free noncitizens:
 Helots:

42. Spartan Education
 At age 7 boys moved to
military barracks
 During what ages did all male
citizens serve in the army?

43. Spartan Women
 What was expected of Spartan
women?
 Girls were given athletic
training & expected to be
strong
 Women could own property

44. Athenian Society
 What four classes existed in Athens?
 1/3 of population enslaved
 Where did the Athenians find slaves?

45. Athenian Education
 What was the purpose of education in Athens?
 Studied logic, oratory, reading, writing, math, poetry,
and music

46. Athenian Women
 What were the expectations for Athenian women?
 Girls did not attend school.

48. The Persian Wars
 490 BC: Persians invade
Athens to punish a colonial
revolt
 Athenians defeated the
Persians
 480 BC: Persians invade
Greece again
 Sparta helps Athens by
fighting for two days at
Thermopylae.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuihHUFEqPM
ClassZone

49. Classical
Greece

50. Pericles
 Wealthy citizen of Athens
 By 460 BC, the strongest ruler in Athens
 What three goals did Pericles have for
Athens?
 How was Pericles able to persuade people to
back his ideas?

51. Changing Athenian Democracy
 “Everybody is equal under the law.”
 Should we pay public officials?

52. Expanding the Empire
 Delian League: an alliance of Greek City-States
 Organized by Athens; headquartered on Delos
 By 454 BC treasury moved to Athens
 Why did this make other city-states unhappy?
 The alliance became an Athenian Empire

54. Beautifying Athens
 Where did Pericles get the money?
 The Parthenon
 Built on the Acropolis in Athens
 Temple to Athena
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP-FsX0QW88

57. Peloponnesian War
 Why did city-states fear and resent Athens?
 Sparta created the Peloponnesian League as a rival to
Athens
 431 BC: Sparta declares war on Athens

58. Sparta Athens
Advantages
Strategy

59. Peloponnesian War
 430 BC: a plague kills 1/3 of all Athenians
 421 BC: truce signed
 415 BC: war breaks out again
 411 BC: Persians join the Spartans
 404 BC: Athens surrenders

60. Philip II & Alexander

61. Philip II
 Leader of Macedonian kingdom
(North of Greece)
 23 years old
 As a hostage in Thebes, studied
Greek military
 338 BC: conquers a weakened
Greece
 336 BC: assassinated and
succeeded by his son, Alexander

62. Alexander the Great
 King at 20
 Crushed a rebellion in Thebes
 Defeated the Persians by invading
Persian-controlled Egypt
 How was Alexander received in
Egypt?
 Conquered land as far east as India
 Died of a fever at 32

64. Legacy of Alexander
 Spread Greek culture and language
 encouraged local cultures to blend with
Greek
 Hellenistic culture
Alexandria, Egypt
 Founded in 332 BC
 Housed the greatest library of the
Classical world
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LsrkWDCvxg
 (2 min mark – 5:50)

66. Culture of
Classical
Greece

67. The Arts & Architecture
 Wealthy citizens sponsored tragic & comedic plays
 Greek sculpture aimed at capturing the “ideal” form
 Greek architects made use of columns

68. Ancient Classical

69. 3 types of Greek Columns

74. Greek Philosophy
 Logical study of basic truths about the world
Socrates
 used questions to encourage examination
 Put to death by Athens
Plato
 Follower of Socrates
 Started a school that lasted 900 years
Aristotle
 Student of Plato
 Created the Lyceum
 Tutored Alexander the Great for three years
 Greece -- Netflix

77. Science & Technology
Greek contributions to Astronomy
 Accurate estimation of the circumference of Earth
 Theory that the sun revolved around the earth; disproved in 1500s
Greek contributions to Math & Physics
 Euclid organized knowledge of geometry
 Archimedes created the lever