This document provides an overview of ancient Greek geography, history, and culture. It discusses how Greece's mountainous landscape separated communities and led to the development of independent city-states. It describes the early Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations and the legendary Trojan War. It outlines the rise of Sparta and Athens as powerful city-state models with differing governments and social structures. The document also summarizes Greece's conflicts with Persia and the cultural achievements during Athens' Golden Age under Pericles, including advances in philosophy, drama, architecture, and democracy.

1. Chapter
5:1-5

2.  Mountainous peninsula
jutting out into the
Mediterranean Sea
 Approximately 1,400
islands
 Geography directly
shaped traditions and
customs
1Chapter 5:1

3.  Sea for the Greeks was like the rivers for the
river civilizations
 Seas were used for transportation (“liquid
highways”)
 Needed the sea because Greece was poor
in natural resources
1

4.  ¾ of Greece is covered with mountains
 Difficult to unite Greece because
mountains separated Greeks
 Greeks developed small, independent
communities
1

5.  Temperatures only varied from 48-80
degrees Fahrenheit, so life was outdoors
1

6.  Mycenaeans were
one of the first
people to settle
Greece
› Warrior-like
 Minoans lived in
Crete
› Seaborne people
› Mycenaeans
conquered the
Minoans
2

7.  Mycenaeans vs. Troy
 According to legend, a
Greek army besieged and
destroyed Troy because a
Trojan youth kidnapped
Helen, a beautiful wife of a
Greek king
 First was thought to be a
myth, but archaeologists
have found evidence that
maybe these were true
events
2

8. 2

9.  After Mycenaeans
collapsed the Dorians
came onto the war-torn
countryside
 Dorians were less
advanced than the
Mycenaeans
 Appeared that the
Greeks temporarily
forgotten the art of
writing
3

10.  Homer= greatest
storyteller, blind
› The Iliad and The Odyssey
(about Trojan War)
 Epics= narrative poems
celebrating heroic deeds
3

11.  = traditional stories,
about their gods
 Through these myths,
the Greeks sought to
understand the
mysteries of nature
and the power of
human passions
3

12. 3

13. • Gods, polytheistic
• Attributed human
qualities, such as
love, hate and
jealously, to their
gods
• Gods lived forever
• Zeus= ruler of Gods
• Hera= Zeus’ wife
• Mount Olympus=
were the gods lived
• Athena= goddess
of wisdom, Zeus’
favorite child
3

14. 3

15. 3

16. 3

17.  City-state= polis, fundamental political
unit in ancient Greece
 Acropolis= fortified hilltop
Chapter 5:2

18.  All city-states ruled
differently:
› Monarchy= rule by
one
› Aristocracy= rule by
elite
› Oligarchy= rule by a
few people

19.  =powerful
individuals who
gained control of
the government by
appealing to the
poor and the
discontented for
support
 Many peasants
and farmers joined
together to revolt

20.  Democracy= rule of the
people
 People participated directly in
political decision making
 Only male adults counted as
citizens
 Women had no part in
government, only job was to
raise the family

21.  Draco (691 BC)
› Developed a legal code, all were
equal under the law
 Solon (594 BC) 
› Outlawed slavery, only top 3 social
classes could hold office
 Cleisthenes (500 BC) 
› Organized people on where they
lived, not wealth, all citizens could
submit laws

22.  Blue Textbook: Pages 128-129
1. For the most part, who were the only ones who received
an education?
2. When did school begin?
3. What did they study?
4. Besides knowledge, what else was focused on in
Athenian Education?
5. When they were older what did they do?
6. How was education for girls different than for the boys?
 Blue Textbook: Pages 128-129
1. For the most part, who were the only ones who received
an education?
2. When did school begin?
3. What did they study?
4. Besides knowledge, what else was focused on in
Athenian Education?
5. When they were older what did they do?
6. How was education for girls different than for the boys?

23.  Peasants
demanded a
written code of
laws
 These laws were
unfair and soon a
new aristocrat
was put in
power Solon

25.  Military state
 Sparta conquered locals and
these became helots (peasants
forced to stay and work on their
land)
 Helots were required to give ½
their crops
 They revolted, and even though
they were outnumbered (8 to
1)the Spartans almost lost. With
this fear, they built a strong city-
state

27.  2 groups governed
Sparta:
› 1. Assembly- elected
male officials
› 2. Council of Elders-
proposed laws that
assembly voted on
› 5 elected officials
(ephors) carried out
the laws

28.  Men: military training
› At age 7, boys left home and
moved into army barracks
› Wore no shoes and marched all
day and slept on benches at night
› Ate black porridge
 Women:
› Women did not enter army, but
they did train, run, wrestle and play
sports (why?)
› Managed estates while husbands
were in army

31.  Spartans valued duty, strength, and
discipline over individuality, beauty, and
freedom

32.  Iron was better than bronze (which was
harder and cheaper)
 Citizens were expected to defend their polis
 Phalanx=a military formation of foot soldiers
armed with shields and swords

34.  Greece vs. Persian
Empire
 Battle of Marathon:
› Persian army came to
attack the Greeks. The
Greeks were
outnumbered, but
charged. The Greek
military advantages won
› Although they won the
battle, they had left there
city defenseless

36.  The army chose a
young runner, named
Pheidippides to race
back to Athens and
report the victory
 He brought news of
the defeat, sprinting
the distance of 26
miles
 He gave his message,
collapsed and died

37.  10 years later, Darius the Great son, Xerxes still wanted revenge
 He attacked Greece
 When he came to a pass, 7,000 Greeks and 300 Spartans
blocked his way.
 Fearing defeat after a traitor told of a secret passage, many
Greeks retreated.
 300 Spartans stayed and all were killed

38.  Greek ships drove their
battering rams straight
into the Persian ships
and sunk 1/3 of Xerxes
ships
 After the war, the Greek
city-states had a new
sense of confidence
and freedom
 Athens became the
leader, and formed the
Delian League (alliance
between city-states)

41. Chapter
5:3

42.  Last 50 years (480-430 B.C.)
 Athens experienced a growth in
intellectual and artistic learning

43.  Strengthen
Athenian
democracy
 Hold and
strengthen
the empire
 Glorify
Athens

44.  Increased the number of public officials
 Even the poorest could serve if elected
 Introduced Direct Democracy=a form of
government in which citizens rule directly
and not through representatives

45.  Built a 200 ship navy, the strongest in the
Mediterranean
 Did this to control the seas and trade

46.  Bought gold, ivory and marble to beautify
Athens
 Parthenon- artisans who worked for 15 years to
build one of architecture’s noblest works

47.  Parthenon was built for Athena,
goddess of wisdom and the
protector of Athens
 Athena statue stood 38 feet tall
and contained gold and ivory
 Figures sculptured during this
time were graceful, strong and
perfectly formed
 Faces neither had a smile or
laughter or anger, but were
serene
 Classical art- values of order,
balance and proportion in art

48.  Greeks invented drama and built
the first theaters in the west
 Tragedy= serious drama about
themes like love, hate, war and
betrayal
› Famous dramatists: Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides

50.  Comedy= contained scenes filled with slapstick situations
and crude humor
 Many contained satire= works that poked fun at a subject
 What does Greek Drama tell us about the Greeks?
The Greeks could enjoy entertainment, and were one of the first to put a
lot of effort into having entertainment

52.  Sparta vs. Athens
 Athens had the strongest sea
power in Greece, but Sparta is
located inland and could not
be attacked by sea
 Athenians were pushed back
into Athens when the Spartans
attacked
 Pericles brought all the residents
inside the walls of Athens
 Plague killed 1/3- 2/3 of all
Athenians, including Pericles
 Even with a weaker army,

53.  =“lovers of wisdom”
› Based their thinking of 2
assumptions:
 1. The Universe (land, sky
and sea) is put together
in an orderly way and
subject to change
 2. People can
understand these ideas
through logic and reason

55.  Absolute truth and justice
exist
 “The unexamined life is
not worth living”
 Encouraged Greeks to
question themselves and
their moral character
 Brought to trial for
“corrupting the youth of
Athens” and “neglecting
the city’s gods.”
 Jury disagreed and
brought him to death. He
died after drinking a slow-
acting poison

56.  Student of Socrates
 Approx. 28 years old when
Socrates died
 Wrote down Socrates’ words
 His most famous work, “The
Republic”
› Set forth his vision for a perfect
government, which was not a
democracy
› His ideal society all citizens fall
into 3 groups: farmers and
artisans, warriors and the ruling
class
› Greatest from the ruling class
would be chosen philosopher-
king

58.  Pupil of Plato
 Invented a method for
arguing according to rules of
logic
 Most famous pupil
Alexander
› Son of King Philip of
Macedonia
› 13 years old prince
› Alexander ended as a student
when he became the ruler of

59.  SECTION 4 & 5
›Alexander the Great
›Hellenistic Culture
›City of Alexandria
›Achievements of Greeks

60. 21:411:2
__
Start Homework when done!
All of SECTION 4 & 5
• Alexander the Great
• Hellenistic Culture
• City of Alexandria
• Achievements of Greeks

61.  1. Conquered the helots
 2. Wealthy families received education
 3. Believed it was important to train and
develop the body
 4. Went to military school
 5. Woman’s primary responsibility was to
raise the family
 6. Government had several branches
 7. Most powerful army in Greece

62.  9. Fought in the Peloponessian War?
 10. Started schooling at age 7
 11. Told sons going to battle, “Come back
with your shield or on it”
 12. Women were considerably free,
especially in running the estates
 13. Boys received training in logic and public
speaking
 14. Built the Parthenon

63.  17. Strongest navy
 18. Strongest army
 19. Won the Peloponnesian War
 20. Golden Age under Pericles

64.  Alexander set up many
outposts and new cities, all
for which were heavily
influenced by Greek
culture
 After his death, a new
culture emerged
 Hellenistic= blend of
Greek, Egyptian, Persian
and Indian influences

68.  Center of
commerce=
Alexandra, Egypt
 Allowed to grow
because of trade
ports and successful
commerce
 Diverse population

69.  Greek gods on all streets
 Palaces
 Glass tomb of Alexander
 400 foot bronze lighthouse
 Museum and library
(dedicated to Muses, the
Greek goddess of art and
sciences, where the word

70.  Museum contained a
small observatory in which
astronomers to study
planets and stars
 Estimated that the sun
was at least 300 times
larger than the earth
(earlier belief was that the
sun was smaller than
Greece)
 Estimated that the earth
and planets revolved
around the sun, but that
the earth was at the

71.  Euclid= mathematician
who opened a school or
geography in Alexandria
› Wrote the book, Elements,
which has over 400
geometry patterns
› It is said, that next to the
Bible, Euclid’s, Elements, is
the most used and studied
book
 Archimedes= studied at
Alexandria, value of pi
(ratio of the circumference
of a circle), pulley system

73.  Founder: Greek
philosopher, Zeno
 Believed in a divine
power who controlled
the universe
 Vices like human desires,
power and wealth
 Social unity
 Appealed to people of
different races, cultures
and economic
backgrounds

74.  Founder: Epicurus
 Universe is composed of
atoms and ruled by gods
who had no interest in
humans
 Only real objects are those
you can observe by your 5
senses
 Goal of all humans is to
gain harmony in body and
soul

76.  1. Greece’s geography does NOT
include which of the following?
A. Many mountains
B. Sea
C. Plenty of rivers
D. Thousands of islands

77.  2. The sea for the Greeks was like a
___________ for the early river valley
civilizations.
A. River
B. God
C. Food source
D. Temple

78.  3. In Greece, seas were nicknamed
“liquid __________”.
A. Rivers
B. Highways
C. Oceans
D. Streets

79.  4. Who were the first 2 groups of
people to enter Greece?
A. Dorians and Trojans
B. Trojans and Mycenaeans
C. Mycenaeans and Minoans
D. Spartans and Athenians

80.  5. Who was Homer?
A. A blind poet who is famous for his epic
tales
B. One of the many Greek gods, known for
his cunning stories
C. Leader of the Spartans, who led the
famous battle of the 300
D. Leader of Athens during the Golden

81.  6. Spartan became a military state
because…
A. Spartans were angry about the land
that they received
B. They were told by the Gods to hate
everyone else
C. They were naturally bigger and stronger
than other Greeks

82.  7. Describe to me the life of a Spartan
man who enters into military training
(include at least 3 details)

83.  8. Spartans valued ______, ______ and
_________ over individuality, beauty
and freedom
A. Duty, strength and discipline
B. Duty, love and strength
C. Family, Nation and Strength
D. Discipline, Military and Romance

84.  9. Which of the following did Athens
and Sparta have in common?
A. They were both democracies
B. They were both military states
C. They were both city-states
D. They were both leaders of the Delian
League

85.  10. Why was the Battle of Thermopylae so
important to Greek society?
A. Xerses showed his strength over the 300
Spartans
B. After the Spartan defeat, Sparta stopped
focusing on military and more on
democracy
C. Spartans later killed Xerses in revenge
D. This was the first time Greek city-states had
fought together and not against each