This document provides an overview of classical Greece from 2000 BC to 300 BC. It describes the geography of ancient Greece and how the mountainous terrain and proximity to the sea influenced the development of Greek civilization. It discusses the rise and fall of early civilizations like the Mycenaeans and the growth of city-states. It then focuses on the forms of government that emerged in city-states like Athens and Sparta, including the first developments of democracy in Athens. The document also summarizes the Persian Wars that were defining conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, including key battles at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis.

1. Classical Greece
2000 B.C.–300 B.C.
CHAPTER 5

2. CULTURES OF THE
MOUNTAINS AND
THE SEA
SECTION 1

3. Classical Greece, 2000 B.C.–300 B.C.
The history and culture of classical
Greece had a significant impact on
the modern world.
“Greco Roman”
Culture

4. Geography Shapes Greek Life
Ancient Greece
• Collection of separate lands where
Greek-speaking people
live
• Includes mainland and
about 2,000 islands
Cultures of the Mountain and the Sea

5. The Sea
• The sea shapes Greek civilization
• Proximity to sea & lack of resources
encourage sea travel and trade.

7. Geography Shapes Greek Life
The Land
• Mountains slow
travel, divide land
into regions
• Lack of fertile
land leads to
small populations,
need for colonies

8. Mycenaean Civilization Develops
Origins
• Mycenaeans—Indo-Europeans who
settled on Greek mainland in 2000 B.C.
• Took their name from
their leading city, Mycenae
• Mycenaean warrior-kings
dominate Greece from
1600–1100 B.C.
(Pronunciation:
“My-keh-nae” or “My-seh-nae”)

9. Trojan War
Three Greek goddesses quarrel over who is the most
beautiful. They ask a human, the Prince of Troy
(Paris) to decide for them. They each try to
persuade him by making promises that they will
provide if chosen.
Paris chooses Aphrodite who had promised him the
most beautiful woman in the world. However, there
was an issue - she was already married to Spartan
King Menelaus of Sparta. Therefore, Paris abducts
Helen & takes her to his city of Troy.

10. Because they were unable to conquer the walled
city itself, for nine years the Greeks ravaged areas
near the city of Troy in order to win back their
queen.
Eventually the Greeks built a large wooden horse
where they hid inside. When the horse made it
through the gates the next day, the Greeks snuck
out of the horse and attacked Troy from the
inside, defeating the Trojans.

11. Epics of Homer
•Oral tradition grows,
especially epics of Homer—
the author attributed to The
Iliad and The Odyssey
•Epic—a narrative poem
about heroic deed.

12. Greek Culture Declines Under the Dorians
Dorians Replace Mycenaeans
• Mycenaean civilization collapses
around 1200 B.C.
• Dorians—possibly relatives of Bronze
Age Greeks—move into Greece
• Less advanced than Mycenaeans,
Dorians leave no written records

13. Greeks Create Myths
• Greeks develop their own myths—traditional
stories about gods
• Greeks seek to understand mysteries of life
through myths
• Greeks attribute human qualities—love, hate,
jealousy—to their gods
• Zeus, ruler of Gods, lives on Mount Olympus
with his wife, Hera
• Zeus’s daughter Athena is goddess of wisdom
and guardian of cities

14. Warring City-States
Section-2
The growth of city-states in Greece leads to
the development of several political systems,
including democracy.

15. Rule and Order in
Greek City-States
• By 750 B.C. the Greek city-state, or polis, is
the formal government type.
• A polis is a self-governed city and its
surrounding villages: 50 to 500 square miles.
• Population of a city-state is often less than
10,000.
• Citizens gather in the marketplace and
acropolis—a fortified hilltop.
Continued . . .

16. ACROPOLIS
POLIS

17. City-states had different forms of
government:
Monarchy—rule by a king;
Aristocracy—rule by nobility
Oligarchy—rule by small group of
powerful merchants, artisans, or
generals
Rule and Order in Greek
City-States
Risks and
benefits?

18. MONARCHY ARISTOCRACY OLIGARCHY
DIRECT
DEMOCRACY
State ruled by
a King
State ruled by
nobility
State ruled by
a small group
of citizens
State ruled by
all citizens
Rule is
hereditary
Rule is hereditary
and based on
family ties, social
rank and wealth.
Rule is based
on wealth or
ability
Rule is based
on citizenship
Some rulers
claim divine
rights
Social status and
wealth support
rulers authority.
Ruling group
controls
military
Majority rule
decides vote
Practiced in
Mycenae until
2000 BC
Practiced in
Athens prior
in 594B
Practiced in
Sparta by
500BC
Practice in
Athens by
500BC

19. Tyrants Seize Power
Rulers and common people clashed in many
Greek city-states. When the common people
became unhappy, it was an opportunity for
tyrants to seize control by pretending to rule in
the interests of ordinary people.
Who are
“Tyrants” Today?
Are there any?
A sovereign or other
ruler who uses power
oppressively or
unjustly.

20. • Around 621 B.C.,
democracy —rule by the
people— develops in Athens.
• This was the first
democracy in history.

21. Democracy
A government controlled by the citizens.
Direct
Democracy
Representative
Democracy
All citizens are
eligible to vote for
all new laws and
legislation.
Citizens vote for
representatives. Only
these representatives
are allowed to vote for
laws and legislation.

22. Athens was a direct democracy. However,
only native-born, property-owning males
were citizens.
DEMOCRACY?
Is there such thing as a nation that is
truly 100% democratic?

23. DEMOCRACY?
In South Korea, not every citizen can
vote. People who are in jail and
people under the age of 19 cannot
vote.
Do you agree or disagree with this? On
a google doc, write one paragraph
explaining your ideas & share with Ms.
G when you are finished.

24. Ancient Greek Warfare
Ancient greek armies
fought in a phalanx
formation: this is a
rectangular unit of soldiers
that create a tightly-
connected wall of shields.
Greek soldiers usually did not fight on horseback. A greek foot
soldier was called a hoplite, and he carried a shield, sword,
and spear. Hoplites had to pay for their own weapons and
armour, so the poorest were only equipped with slingshots.
Most Greek city-states required all male citizens to train for
military service - it was part of the typical school education.

25. Sparta
•Sparta, a Greek city-state that was
isolated from much of Greece, built
military state

27. Sparta’s Government and Society
• Sparta had a hybrid government: two kings
ruled, but democratically elected officials
limited their power.
“Diarchy”
Note:
Athens had a Senate
of 500 members
Two Kings,
later copied by
the Romans.
Inherited rulership
Most powerful
Elected Elders: must be over
the age of 60
Elected council
2nd most powerful
All Citizens
Slaves

28. Spartan Values: duty,
strength, discipline over
freedom
Sparta had the most
powerful army in Greece
Males moved into the
barracks at age 7,
trained until 30, served
until 60
Sparta Builds
a Military State
Spartan saying that means that
you need to win, or die trying.

29. • When Spartans conquered foreign peoples,
they made them helots - forced peasant
laborers (similar to slaves).
• For example, around 725 B.C., Sparta
conquered Messenia and brought Messenians
to Sparta to be helots.
• However, the Messenians revolted, but the
revolt was defeated, leading the Spartans
to build a stronger state.
Helots

30. Spartan Brutality
In order to create young strong soldiers,
the Spartans took extreme measures.
For example, when young Spartan boys
were sent to the countryside to train,
they were given permission to kill any
Helot they encountered.

31. -Girls received some
military training and
lived hardy lives.
-Girls were also
taught to value
service to Sparta
above all else.

32. Iron replaced bronze, making arms and
armor cheaper. Therefore, even poor
people could afford weapons -
armies became larger and more
diverse in social class.
A New Kind of
Army Emerges

33. The Persian Wars refer to the series of
battles which took place between the
Greeks and Persian Empire.
The battles began in Ionia
around 546BC. The Greeks
were settled there, but the
Persians came and
conquered the area.
The Persian Wars

34. Food for thought
Compare the size of
Yellow (Persia) to
Orange (Greece).

35. The Greeks in Ionia revolted against Persian
rule. Athens sent soldiers to their aid. The
Greeks were able to fend off the Persians.

36. Battle of Marathon
In 490 BC, 25,000 Persians attacked an
area Northeast of Athens called Marathon.
Despite being outnumbered by over
10,000 soldiers, the Greeks who were
skilled at hand to hand combat killed
6,000 Persians leaving the Persians with no
choice but to retreat.

37. “When you’re
short in numbers,
force your
opponent to fight
in fewer
numbers.”

38. Pheidippides Brings News
• Runner Pheidippides races to Athens to
announce Greek victory
Interesting fact:
1.The distance between Marathon to Athens
was about 25 miles.
2.However, the marathon as a sport today is
26.2 miles, because in 1908, when the
Olympics took part in England, the
organizers wanted to make the race to go
1.2 miles farther in order for the finish line
to be right in front of the British royal
family’s palace.
3.After much debate/discussion, by 1924, the
marathon became “officially” 26.2 miles.

39. Darius the Great
Involved in multiple military conquests
including the failed conquest of Ionia.
He conquered the western region of the Indus
Valley, overcoming a Babylonian revolt.
Angered at the failure to contain the Ionians
and the Greeks, he prepared a second attack.
He was not able to complete this attack
because he died first, leaving the leadership to
his heir, Xerxes.

40. Battle of Thermopylae
Ten years after the Battle of Marathon…
Xerxes, the leader of Persia assembled a great
force to defeat Athens.
At the time, Greece was divided about whether
or not it was worth fighting the Persians. In
fact, some even fought for the Persians.
As they approached Athens they came through
a narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae….

41. There were around 20,000 Greeks
(including 300 Spartans) blocking about
400,000 Persians.
The Greeks were able to stop the massive
Persian forces for three full days.
All Spartans were killed in battle, their
sacrifice would go on to leave a great
impression to all Greeks.

42. Sources:
Apophthegmata Laconica
by
Plutarch
"Marry a good
man, and bear
good children.”
-King Leonidas
(last words to
his wife)

44. THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS
480 BC: After defeating the Greeks at Thermopylae,
the Persians were eager to advance farther into
Greek territory. However, this overly ambitious
attitude would prove deadly, because with Persians
high in numbers, they faced difficulty getting
through the narrow straits of Salamis.
Similarities with
Battle of
Thermopylae
and Battle of
Salamis?

46. A FEW IMPORTANT
CHARACTERS

47. Xerxes I
Xerxes the
Great
Great King of Persia who
expanded the Persian
Empire.
Fought the Greeks in the
Persian War, winning at
Thermopylae and
suffering defeat at
Salamis.

48. Themistocles
Prominent Athenian tactician.
It was his idea to defend Athens by attacking the
Persians at sea, forcing them to fight in narrow
waters.

49. Artemisia
Commanded naval ships in the Battle of Salamis.
Herodotus (a greek historian) tells us that the
Greeks felt great indignation that a woman would
take up arms against them, and as a consequence
offered a reward of 10,000 drachmas for any man
who could capture the illusive Queen.

50. Consequences of the Persian Wars
• Greeks felt more confident and felt a greater
sense of unity after the victory.
• Athens emerged as the leader of the Delian
League: an alliance of Greek city-states led by
Athens and formed in 478 BCE to liberate the
Greek city-states from Persian rule, and to
defend Greece from future enemies after the
Persian Wars were over.
LEGACY OF the PERSIAN WARS

51. LEGACY OF the PERSIAN WARS
Consequences of the Persian Wars
• Athens controlled about 300 Greek cities as the
leader of the Delian League. Because Athens
had so much control, the league eventually
turned into the Athenian Empire.