A NC I E N T WO R L D H I S T O RYPatterns of Interaction

A N C I E N T WO R L D H I S T O RYPatterns of Interaction

Roger B. Beck · Linda Black · Larry S. KriegerPhillip C. Naylor · Dahia Ibo Shabaka

Unit 2 New Directions in Government and Society

Chapter 5 Classical Greece 108

Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea 111

Warring City-States 115

Democracy and Greece’s Golden Age 120

Alexander—Empire-Builder 128

The Spread of Hellenistic Culture 132

Chapter 6 Ancient Rome and Early Christianity 138

The Romans Create a Republic 141

The Roman Empire Brings Change 146

The Rise of Christianity 153

The Decline of the Roman Empire 158

Rome and the Roots of Western Civilization 164

Chapter 7 India and China Establish Empires 170

First Empires of India 173

Trade Spreads Indian Religions and Culture 177

Han Emperors in China 181

Chapter 8 African Civilizations 190

Diverse Societies in Africa 193

The Kingdom of Aksum and East African Trade 196

Migration 199

Chapter 9 The Americas: A Separate World 208

Hunters and Farmers in the Americas 211

Early Mesoamerican Civilizations 216

Early Civilizations of the Andes 221

104

108 Chapter 5 Classical Greece 109

SECTIONSCultures of the Mountains and the SeaCulture defined by geographyMycenaean origins Trojan WarRise and fall of the Dorians

Warring City-StatesGreek political structure Sparta and AthensThe Persian Wars

Democracy and Greece’s Golden AgePericles’ goalsArt and dramaSparta and Athens go to war

Alexander -Empire BuilderPhilip II builds MacedoniaAlexander against PersiansAlexander’s other conquests

Spread of Hellenistic CultureCulture in AlexandriaScience and technologyPhilosophy and art

CONNECTING HISTORY with GEOGRAPHYWhile empires were forming in Africa and Asia, the ancient Greeks were building city-states on the lands surrounding the Aegean Sea. Over several centuries, these city-states (particularly Athens) produced a civilization that would have a profound impact on the rest of the world.

1. Where were the Greek city-states located?

2. Why would the sea have been important to these early City-states?

3. What factors might have kept the Greek city-states from uniting as a single kingdom?

CHAPTER 52000bc-300bc

C L A S S I C A L G R E E C E

110 Chapter 5 Classical Greece 111

In ancient times,Greece was not united. It was a collection of separate lands where greek-speaking people lived. By 2000bc, the Minoans lived on the large Greek island of Crete. The Minoans created an elegant civilization that had great power in the Mediterranean world. At the same time. Indo-European peoples migrated from the plains along the Black Sea and Anatolia. The Indo-Europeans settled in mainland Greece. Seaborne commercial networks spread ideas as well as resources throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

Geography Shapes Greek LifeAncient Greece consisted mainly of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. It also included approximately 1,400 is-lands in the Aegean (ih·JEE·uhn) and Ionian (eye·OH·nee·uhn) seas. Lands on the western coast of Anatolia were also part of ancient Greece. (See the map on page 111.) The region’s physical geography directly shaped Greek traditions and customs.

The Sea The sea shaped Greek civilization just as rivers shaped the ancient civilizations of Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, India, and China. In one sense, the Greek did not live on a land but around a sea. Greeks rarely traveled more than 85 mile to reach the coastline. The Aegean Sea, the Io-

nian Sea, and the neighboring Black Sea were important transportation routes for the Greek people. These liquid highways linked most parts of Greece. As the Greeks became skilled sailors, sea travel also connected Greece with other societies. Sea travel and trade were also important because Greece itself was poor in natural resources. Greece lacked timber, pre-cious metals, and usable farmland.

The Land Rugged mountains covered about three-fourths of ancient Greece. Mountains divided the land into a number of different regions. The mountains chains ran mainly from north-west to southeast along the Balkan peninsula. They significantly influenced Greek political life. Unlike the Egyptians or the Chinese, it

CULTURES OF THE MOUNTAINS AND THE SEA

Main IdeaPhysical geography caused separate groups of Greek-speaking peoples to develop isolated societies.

Why It Matters NowThe seeds of much of Western cultural heritage were planted during this time.

1Terms & NamesMycenaeansTrojan WarDoriansHomerEpicsMyths

Vocabularypeninsula: a piece of land that extends into a body of water and is connected to the mainland

The rocky coastline of Greece made shipping a dangerous proposition

Chapter 5 Section 1

was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks under a single government. Greece developed small, independent communities within each little valley and its surrounding mountains. Most Greeks gave their loyalty to these local communities. In ancient times, the uneven terrain also made land transportation difficult. Early Greek roads were little more than dirt paths. For example, the city-state of Sparta was only about 60 miles from Olympia, the site of the Olympic Games. Yet it took Spartans almost seven days to travel that distance. Much of the land itself was stony and only a small part of it— approximately 20 percent was arable, or suitable for farming. Tiny but fertile valleys covered about one-fourth of Greece. The small streams that watered these valleys were not suitable for large scale irrigation projects. With so little fertile farmland or fresh water for irrigation, Greece was never able to support a large population. It is estimated that no more than a few million people lived in ancient Greece at any given time. Even this small population wouldn’t expect the land to support a life of luxury. As a result, the Greeks based their diet on basic staple crops such as grains, grapes, and olives. A desire for more living space, grassland for raising livestock, and adequate farmland may have been factors that motivated the Greeks to seek new sites for colonies.

The ClimateClimate was the third important environmental influence on Greek civilization. Greece has a varied climate with temperatures averaging 48 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. In ancient times, these moderate temperatures supported an outdoor life for many Greek citizens. Men spent much of their leisure time at outdoor public events. They met often to discuss public issues, exchange news, and take an active part in civic life.

Think Through HistoryAnalyzing Causes In what ways did Greece’s location by the sea and its mountainous land affect the development of its society?

Greece’s shoreline is the dominant geographical feature of the country

112 Chapter 5 Classical Greece 113

O riginal Greek statues were brightly painted, but after thousands of years, those paints have worn away. Shining a light on the statues can be

all that’s required to see them as they were thousands of years ago. Although it seems impossible to think that anything could be left to discover after thousands of years of wind, sun, sand, and art students, finding the long lost patterns on a piece of ancient Greek sculpture can be as easy as shining a lamp on it. A technique called raking light has been used to analyze art for a long time. A lamp is positioned carefully enough that the path of the light is almost parallel to the sur-face of the object. When used on paintings, this makes brush-strokes, grit, and dust obvious. On statues, the effect is more subtle. Brush-strokes are impossible to see, but because dif-ferent paints wear off at different rates, the stone is raised in some places – protected from erosion by its cap of paint – and lowered in others. Elaborate patterns become visible. Ultraviolet is also used to discern patterns. UV light makes many organic compounds fluoresce. Art dealers use UV lights to check if art has been touched up, since older paints have a lot of organic compounds and modern paints have relatively little. On ancient Greek statues, tiny frag-ments of pigment still left on the surface glow bright, illumi-nating more detailed patterns. Once the pattern is mapped, there is still the problem of figuring out which paint colors to use. A series of dark blues will create a very different effect than gold and pink. Even if enough pigment is left over so that the naked eye can make out a color, a few thousand years can really change a statue’s complexion. There’s no reason to think that color seen today would be anything like the hues the statues were originally painted.

There is a way around this dilemma. The colors may fade over time, but the original materials – plant and animal-derived pigments, crushed stones or shells – still look the same today as they did thousands of years ago. This can also be discov-ered using light. Infrared and X-ray spectroscopy can help researchers un-derstand what the paints are made of, and how they looked all that time ago. Spectroscopy relies on the fact that atoms

are picky when it comes to what kind of incoming energy they absorb. Certain materials will only accept certain wave-lengths of light. Everything else they reflect. Spectroscopes send out a variety of wavelengths, like scouts into a foreign land. Inevitably, a few of these scouts do not come back. By noting which wavelengths are absorbed, scientists can deter-mine what materials the substance is made of. Infrared helps determine organic compounds. X-rays, because of their high-er energy level, don’t stop for anything less than the heavier elements, like rocks and minerals. Together, researchers can determine approximately what color a millennia-old statue was painted. The color? Always something tacky.

BEAUTY COVER-UP

HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE

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Approach Ramp

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Mycenaean Civilization Develops

As Chapter 3 explained, a large wave of Indo-Europeans migrated from the Eurasian steppes to Europe, India, and Southwest Asia. Some of these people who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 bc were later known as Mycenaeans. The name came from their lead-ing city, Mycenae (my-SEE-nee). Mycenae was located on a steep, rocky ridge and surrounded by a protective wall up to 20 feet thick. The fortified city of My-cenae could withstand almost any attack. From Mycenae, a warrior-king ruled the surrounding villages and farms. Simi-lar Mycenaean palace-forts dotted the southern part of Greece. Influential and militaristic rulers controlled the Mycenaean communities in towns such as Tiryns and Athens. These kings dominated Greece from about 1600 to 1200 bc.

Culture and Trade The nobles who lived within the fortresses enjoyed a life of surprising splendor. They feasted in great halls 35 feet wide and 50 feet long. During banquets, the firelight from a huge circular hearth glittered on a daz-zling variety of gold pitchers and silver cups. When the royal Mycenaeans died, they were buried with their richest treasures. Warrior-kings won their enormous wealth by con-trolling local production and commercial trade. They also led their armies in search of plunder. However, few other Mycenaeans had the wealth of the warrior-kings. Wealthy kings of the Bronze Age (2000-1100 bc) wielded bronze weap-ons and drank from cups of gold. The common people used tools made from less expensive materials such as stone and wood. Most were farmers, but others worked as weavers, goat herders, or stonemasons. The warrior-kings of Mycenae also invaded Crete. The Minoan civilization had flourished on Crete for 600 years. The civilization ended abruptly and mysteriously in 1400 bc. The Mycenaean invad-ers prevented the Minoans from rebuilding. However, the Mycenae-ans preserved elements of Minoan culture by making it part of their own lives. From their contact with the Minoans, the Mycenaeans saw the value of seaborne trade. Mycenaean traders sailed to islands in the Aegean, coastal towns of Anatolia, and to cities in Syria, Egypt, Italy, and Crete. The Minoans influenced Mycenaean culture in other ways as well. The Mycenaeans adapted the Minoan writing system to the Greek language and decorated vases with Minoan designs. Their legacy survived in the form of legends. These legends later formed the core of Greek religious practice, art, politics, and literature. Western civilization has roots in these early Greek civilizations.

The Trojan WarAbout 1200 bc the Mycenaean kings fought a ten-year war against Troy, an independent trading city located in Anatolia. According to legend, a Greek army besieged and destroyed Troy because a Trojan youth had kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king.

VocabularyWestern civilization: the culture that evolved in Europe and spread to the Americas

Mycenaean Citadel at Tiryns

114 Chapter 5 Classical Greece 115

For many years, historians thought that the legendary stories told of the Trojan War were totally fictional. Then around 1870, a Ger-man archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, began excavating a hill in northwestern Turkey. He found the remains of nine layers of city life, one of which may date from this time period. His discoveries suggest that the stories of the Trojan War may have been based on real cities, people, and events. In 1988, another German historian, Manfred Korfmann, excavated an ancient maritime cemetery near the hill believed to be the site of ancient Troy. Although some scholars disagree, Korfmann believes the Trojan War was a struggle for control of a crucial waterway in the Ae-gean Sea. In any event, the attack on Troy was probably one of the last campaigns of the Mycenacaeans.

Greek Culture Declines Under the DoriansNot long after the Trojan War, Mycenaean civilization collapsed. Around 1200 bc, sea raiders attacked and burned palace after palace. At Mycenae, a layer of ashes from a terrible fire covered the entire pal-ace site. According to tradition, a new group of people, the Dorians (DAWR·ee·uhnz), moved into this war-torn countryside. The Dorians spoke a dialect of Greek and were distant relatives of the Bronze Age Greeks. The Dorians were far less advanced than the Mycenaean Greeks. The centralized economy collapsed and trade eventually came to a standstill with their arrival. Most important to historians, Greeks appear to have temporarily forgotten the art of writing during the Dorian Age. No written record exists from the 400-year period between 1150 and 750 bc. Without written records, little is known about this period of decline.

Greeks Create MythsThe Greeks developed a rich set of myths, or traditional stories, about their gods. Through these myths, the Greeks sought to understand the mysteries of nature and the power of human passions. Myths ex-plained the changing of the seasons, for example. Greeks attributed human qualities, such as love, hate, and jealousy, to their gods. The Gods quarreled and competed with each other con-stantly. However, unlike humans, the gods lived forever.

BackgroundOn the Aegean island of Thera, near Crete, a volcano erupted around 1470 bc This event may have helped to bring about the end of Minoan civilization.

Section 1 Assessment

Many historians believe that Greek sailors’ tales of giant Cyclopes originate from elephant skulls

found in Northern Africa

Terms & NamesMycenaeansTrojan WarDoriansHomerepicsmyths

Taking NotesRe-create the graph below on your paper and fill in examples of how geography affected early Greek civilization.

Drawing ConclusionsWhy did the lack of writing represent a setback to the development of Greek civilization?

Think About• Minoan and Mycenaean

accomplishments• Uses of writing• Other forms of communication

Analyzing ThemesWhy do you think that early Greek epics and myths are so well known and studied in today’s society?

Think About• aretē• Greek ideals compared to ideals

in today’s world• Early Greeks’ purpose of

storytelling

Geographic Feature Effects

sea

land

climate

Chapter 5 Assessment

Terms & NamesBriefly explain the importance of each of the following: 1. Trojan War 2. Homer 3. polis 4. phalanx 5. classical art

6. Aristotle 7. Macedonia 8. Alexander the Great 9. Hellensitic10. Archimedes

Review QuestionsCultures of the Mountains and the SeaSection 1 (pages 110-115)

11. Why was sea travel so important to early Greece?12. Why did the Greeks develop myths?

Warring City StatesSection 2 (pages 115-119)

13. What were the two most powerful city-states in early Greece?

14. What were the consequences of the Persian Wars?

Democracy and Greece’s Golden AgeSection 3 (pages 120-125)

15. What were Pericles’ three goals for Athens?16. Who were the three renowned philosophers of the

golden age?

Alexander—Empire BuilderSection 4 (pages 128-131)

17. Why was Greece so easily conquered by Macedonia?18. What was the full extent of Alexander’s empire before

his death?

The Spread of Hellenistic CultureSection 5 (pages 132-135)

19. What four influences blended to form Hellenistic culture?

20. What did the Epicurians believe?

Critical Thinking1. Powerful MenThere is a saying that “the measure of a man is what he does with power.” Would you consider Alexander the Great or Pericles to a “better” man? Why?

2. Classical Greek InfluencesCopy the web below on your paper. Fill in examples of how classical Greece has influenced the United States.

3. Empire BuildersThinking back to Pericles and Alexander the Great, what qualifications do you think are needed for a leader to build an empire? Why?

4. Analyzing Primary Sources In the Following selection from Politics, Aristotle presents his views on where the power of the state should reside. His conclusions reflect the idea that moderation is the best path to civic virtue. Read the paragraph and then answer the questions that follow.

Where ought the sovereign power of the state to reside?

...The state aims to consist as far as possible of those who

are alike and equal, a condition found chiefly among the

middle section...The middle class is also the steadiest

element, the least eager for change. They neither covet,

like the poor the possessions of others, nor do others

covet theirs, as the poor covet those of the rich...Tyranny

often emerges from an over-enthusiastic democracy or

from an oligarchy, but much more rarely from middle class

constitutions...

• What is Aristotle arguing here?• How closely does this model of an ideal state correspond

to the reality of Athenian democracy?• Do you agree with Aristotle? Support your opinion.

Interact with History

On page 110, you drew certain conclusions about what qualities Greeks valued without knowing details about their history. Now that you have read the chapter, reexamine the artworks and reread the Greeks’ words. Conduct a class debate about how the values and heritage of Greece have influenced modern society.

Classical Greece

2000bc

Minoan Civilization prospers on Crete

~1200bc

Trojan War takes place

479bc

Greece triumphs in Persian Wars

1500bc

Mycenaean culture thrives on Greek mainland

750bc

Greek city-states flourish

334bc

Alexander starts to build his empire

“If cultures and civilizations are the tectonic plates of world history, frontiers are the places where they scrape against each other and cause change.”

Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate pe-riod around the 30th century BC. This is the beginning of history, as opposed to prehistory, according to the definition used by most historians. The term classical antiquity is often used to refer to history in the Old World from the beginning of recorded Greek history in 776 BC (First Olympiad). This roughly coincides with the traditional date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the beginning of the history of ancient Rome, and the beginning of the Archaic period in Ancient Greece. Although the ending date of ancient history is disputed, some Western scholars use the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the closure of the Platonic Academy in 529 AD,the death of the emperor Justinian I, the coming of Islam or the rise of Charlemagne as the end of ancient and Classical European history. In India, the period includes the early period of the Middle King-doms, and, in China, the time up to the Qin Dynasty is included.