ancient greece

Ancient GreeceAncient Greece

•The tall flat hill is called the Acropolis and is located in Athens.

•In ancient Greece the Acropolis was used for defence and worship.

•The building on top is a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, it is called the Parthenon.

The Parthenon: Temple to Athena

•The Parthenon was a place where the people of Athens would pray to Athena.

Inside the Parthenon

Athena

Peoples of Ancient Greece Minoans•Created the first settlement in

Europe.•Lived on the island of Crete

between 1950-1400 BCE.•These people were sea traders.

NOTE: BCE= Before Current EraNOTE: BCE= Before Current EraBC= Before ChristBC= Before Christ

Mycenaeans

•Appeared in the 14th century BCE and quickly took over the mainland of Greece.

•These people used bronze tools and weapons.

•Their civilization ended around 1100 BCE.

Dorians•A war-like group which came from

Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) in 1100 BCE.

•The Dorians used iron tools and weapons.

•They took much of Greece by force and enslaved much of the population.

•Two of their major cities were Sparta and Corinth.

Hellenes

•This group eventually replaced the Dorians and spread throughout Greece.

•The Hellenes are the ancestors of modern Greeks.

•Very advanced society created and mastered the use of tools.

The Environment of Greece•Greece is very mountainous. This

means that there is little flat land.

•Greece is made up of the main land as well as almost 2000 islands of differing sizes.

•Very hot, dry summers and mild wet winters.

•The soil is very dry and rocky which makes farming very difficult.

Agriculture and food sources in Ancient Greece

•Since the Greeks had easy access to the sea, fish and other types of seafood were consumed.

•The Ancient Greeks had 2 staple crops: Olives and Grapes. Both olives and grapes grow well in rocky, dry soil.

•Goats and Sheep were the primary sources of meat and milk, from which they could also make cheese.

• Many Greeks would have small farms on which they would grow grains, like barley and sesame seeds.

• Some Greeks grew other types of fruit like figs and pomegranates as well as vegetables like onions and cabbage.

• Most farms were small and produced enough food for one family. Some farmers sold or traded their surplus for money or for other products.

• Wealthy farmers would ship their products to other parts of Greece or Persia and Asia Minor (Turkey).

The ancient Greeks and the Sea

What did the ancient Greeks use the seas for?

1. Transportation2. Trade3. Protection and Military4. Food5. Expansion and Spread culture

•The picture above is what the ancient Greeks used as a podium.

•This particular site is called the Pnyx and is located in Athens.

•This site is where the people of Athens came to voice their opinions on political issues.

•The Pnyx was a very popular meeting place. Many people would come to watch their fellow citizens speak.

City States in Ancient Greece

• The word state usually means country

• Ancient Greece was not like the country we know today.

• It was made up of small city states. Each city was like a small independent country.

• The Ancient Greeks called these city states Polis.

• These city states were usually separated by mountains or by the sea.

•Each Polis governed itself.

•Every citizen of the Polis had a say in government. This is called democracy.

•There was constant fighting between cities over land, wealth ($$$) , and power.

•Cities had many things in common: language, religion, military techniques, and the Olympics.

•Some of the most famous city states are Athens, Sparta, Troy, and Corinth.

Types of GovernmentMonarchy

•One person is in charge. This person is usually called a Despot (king/queen).

•Power is passed down from parents to children, usually father to son.

King of Sweden Burger King Queen of England

Oligarchy

•A small group of people called aristocrats are in charge.

•Aristocrats usually have a common ancestry and are very wealthy.

• In ancient Greece it was very difficult, almost impossible to become an aristocrat, if you were born into another class.

Roman aristocracy was in charge of the senate

Dictatorship

•Like the monarchy, one person is in charge. This person is called a Dictator or Tyrant.

•The Dictator usually takes power illegally.

•His/her rule is above all laws, people have limited rights.

Adolf Hitler Fidel Castro Kim Jong Il

Democracy•One person in charge, but elected

by all citizens.•Elected leader rules in the name of

all people.•Citizens take part in the political

process by voting, campaigning, protesting, and debating issues.

Stephen Harper George Bush Jr. James G. Brown

Democracy in Ancient Greece• The first democratic government

was established in Athens, during the 5th century BCE.

• To participate in politics one had to be a citizen.

• To be considered a citizen one must:

1. Be male2. Be 18 years old3. Have completed military training4. Have two Athenian parents

Who could vote in Ancient Athens?

10%Athenian Citizens (men)

Could Vote

Athenian women and children

90 %Foreigners

Slaves

Could Not Vote

Athenian Democracy•The ancient Athenians had a system

of direct democracy.•Direct democracy means that every

citizen could participate in government.

•Today we have a representative democracy.

•Representative democracy is a system in which the population elects officials to speak for them. Citizens participate less.

Branches of Athenian Government

•Assembly: Responsible for writing the constitution, raising taxes, making laws, and deciding to go to war.

•Council of 500: Ran the everyday operations. Were chosen at random by the Assembly.

•Boards of Magistrates: Members from the council of 500 were chosen to be on different boards (ex: religion, education)

•10 Generals: Were chosen by the Assembly to lead the army and navy.

•The image above is a drawing of the Agora in ancient Athens.

•Many ancient Greek city states had their own version of the Athenian agora.

•The Agora was used as a public meeting place for Athenian citizens.

•This is also the place where merchants set up their shops.

Life in Athens

•The Greek home was considered private space.

•Activities such as raising and educating children were kept inside the home.

•Women were responsible for running the home. Women were also responsible for educating children and managing servants.

•Women rarely left the home.

•Ancient Greek were usually 1 floor and had a courtyard where the family would gather together.

•Due to the hot climate most houses had few windows and were painted white, to keep it cool.

•Public spaces like the agora were reserved for men.

•The men of ancient Greece did most of the shopping.

•Wealthy women could leave the home if they were accompanied by a male servant.

•The Athenians placed a high emphasis on the education of boys.

•Between the ages of 7-14 the children studied reading, writing, and math.

•After the age of 14 boys learned philosophy and trained in Olympic style events.

•At 18, boys were expected to join the military and stay in until the age of 20.

Life in Sparta•Sparta was governed by an oligarchy.

There was NO voting in Sparta.

•2 Kings: Appointed for life. They controlled the army.

•5 Ephors (overseers): Ran everyday operations, made laws, and wrote the constitution. Elected annually.

•Assembly: Composed of 28 nobles appointed for life. They advised the kings.

•The Spartans had the same ideas of Public and Private space as the Athenians.

•Many families had slaves/servants called Helots.

•Less emphasis on education.

•High emphasis on military training. Boys trained from the age of 7 and served in the army until 30.

Type of Type of GovernmentGovernment

EducationEducation

Did they have Did they have slaves?slaves?

Train for Train for Olympics.Olympics.

At what age At what age did military did military trainingtraining

start?start?

At what age At what age could men could men leave the leave the army?army?

AthensAthens SpartaSparta Direct

Democracy Oligarchy

High emphasis Low emphasis

Yes Yes

Yes No

18 7

3020

•The site above is the Oracle of Delphi.•The Oracle of Delphi is both a place

and a person.•The ancient Greeks appointed a

priestess (female) to communicate with the Gods. There have been many throughout Greek history.

•The ancient Greeks believed that Delphi was the center of the world.

•The Oracle would make predictions, answer questions, and help leaders make decisions.

Religion in Ancient Greece•Ancient Greeks were Polytheistic,

which means they believed in more then one God.

•Religion was a huge part of ancient Greek culture.

•Every city in ancient Greece had many temples.

•Each city state had a god or goddess that they favoured (ex. Athens favoured Athena)

•The ancient Greeks believed that their gods and goddesses were immortal (live forever).

•Most gods and goddesses were depicted in human form.

•The ancient Greeks performed rituals to win the Gods favour. When the gods were happy good things happened.

•Some rituals were; animal sacrifices, competitions (Olympics), building temples and statues.

The Olympians •These are the Gods that the Ancient

Greeks worshiped. There are 12 in total.

•They are called the Olympians because the ancient Greeks believed they lived on Mount. Olympus.

Pantheon of Greek Gods and Goddesses

Note: Many Gods reign over more then 1 area. For our classes only remember the ones from the slides

Zeus

•King of the Gods, ruler of Mount. Olympus, most powerful of all Gods.

•God of Weather.

Hera

•Queen of the Gods, wife of Zeus

•Goddess of marriage.

Poseidon

•God of the Sea, brother of Zeus

•Carries a trident.

Demeter

•Goddess of Agriculture, Zeus’ sister.

Hestia

•Goddess of the Home, Zeus’ sister

Aphrodite

•Goddess of Love.

•Born from the sea.

Apollo

•God of the Sun, son of Zeus

Ares

•God of war, son of Zeus

Artemis

•Goddess of the moon and hunting, daughter of Zeus

Athena

•Goddess of Wisdom, daughter of Zeus.

Hephaestus

•God of fire and blacksmith to the Gods, son of Zeus.

Hermes

•God of commerce, messenger of the Gods, son of Zeus.

Other important GodsHadesGod of the Underworld, brother of

Zeus.

Dionysus God of wine, son of Zeus.

Hercules (or Heracles)

• Is known as a hero (not a God).

•Hercules is the son of Zeus, but his mother is a human, Alcmene.

• In Greek mythology, Hercules is given incredible strength.

• The Colossus of Rhodes is considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.

• The Colossus was roughly 150ft tall and weighed 225 tons, it was made out of solid bronze.

• The Colossus is a statue of Helios the patron God of Rhodes.

• It was built to commemorate the victory of the Rhodian's over the Macedonians.

• The statue was completely destroyed in the 7th century AD (700’s).

Warfare in Ancient Greece

•There were many famous wars in ancient Greece.

•City states and foreign empires would fight over land, wealth, and power.

•Wars would usually last for long periods of time. Sometimes over ten years!

What did Greek soldiers look like?

•All Greek soldiers were free men, there were no slaves allowed in the army.

•All soldiers provided their own armour and weapons.

•Ancient Greek soldiers were commonly known as Hoplites.

Hoplite Armour and Weapons• All hoplites had two weapons a long

thrusting spear with a butt spike and a short sword.

• Their armour consisted of a large round shield, breastplate, helmet, and greaves (shin guards).

• It is important to note that different cities had different variations of weapons and armour, but all hoplites had what was mentioned above.

•The standard helmet used was known as the Corinthian helmet.

•The feathers on top were used to intimidate and deflect missile weapons (arrows and throwing spears).

•Throughout time variations on the helmet and spears have been seen.

•The most important is the Sarissa spear used by the Macedonians and Alexander the Great.

Hoplite Tactics

•Hoplites fought in what is known as the Phalanx.

•This is where hoplite shields interlock forming a wall of armour.

•Hoplites would then run in this formation and crash into the enemy or the opposing phalanx.

•Hoplites would then fight in formation until one side retreated.

Famous Battles and CampaignsBattle of Marathon•Athens vs. Persian empire, 490 BCE•Athenian victory

Battle of Thermopylae•Sparta vs. Persian empire, 480 BCE•Sparta makes a stand at the pass of

Thermopylae with only 300 soldiers.•Persian victory.

Peloponnesian War

• Athens vs. Sparta, 431-404 BCE

• Athens built walls to keep the Spartans out

• Spartan victory

Campaigns of Alexander the Great

•Alexander the Great was the ruler of Macedonia.

•His campaigns lasted from 336 BCE until his death in 323 BCE.

•He conquered Asia Minor, Persia, and made his way into India.

Ancient Greek Architecture•Large Greek structures were

traditionally made out of limestone.•Workers would drag and lift the large

blocks into place using ropes and pulleys.

•Temples were typically the largest structures in the Greek city states.

•Temples had 4 major components; inner temple, columns, frieze, and pediment.

Why is Greek Architecture so important?

•It is a style of architecture that is seen in many cities around the world.

•It is a style that is still used in the design of modern buildings.

The Olympics

•The date of the first competition is unknown.

•Experts believe that the ancient games started 776 BCE and ended in 393 AD.

•The games were a tribute to Zeus, and were held near his temple in the city of Olympia.

• It was considered a great honour to compete in the games.

• Athletes could compete in 7 major events.

1. Boxing2. Riding (horses)3. Chariot Racing4. Pankration (like today’s ultimate

fighting)5. Pentathlon: discus, javelin, long jump,

running, and wrestling6. Running7. Wrestling

•The Olympics that we know today started in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin.

•Today’s games consist of 35 individual and team sports, and nearly 400 events.

What have the Ancient Greeks Given us?

1.Democracy2.Olympics

3.Architecture4.Philosophy

Can you think of any others?