1. Ancient Greece

2. The Geography of Greece 3. Geography Shapes Ancient GreekLife Mainland extends into Mediterranean Sea Is a peninsula: a body of land that is nearly surrounded by water Greece also includes thousands of islands Gulf of water nearly divides Greek peninsula in two Southern tip forms a 2nd peninsula called the Peloponnesus, it is linked to the rest of Greece by an isthmus (a narrow strip of land) 4. Landscape and Climate Mts. Cover most of Greece & divides land into manyregions No large rivers Transportation was difficult in ancient times &difficult to unite under one govt Mild, rainy winters & hot, dry summers Warm climate encourages outdoor life 5. Agriculture Only a small part of region was good for farming Even though of Greek were farmers or herders Farming took place in valleys between mts. Landowners were part of upper class Usually only men owned property & could support himself Could pay for equipment (helmets, shields, & swords) Could serve in the army and defend his homeland To get more farmland, Greeks founded colonies in other regions Like in Anatolia 6. Resources Greece also lacked natural resources like preciousmetals Had to find resources in other places Had two important resources Plentiful stone for building Coastline with good sites for harbors 7. A Seafaring People Sea influenced ancient Greece Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, & Aegean Sea Linked most parts of Greece with one another Used as transportation routes Became skilled sailors and shipbuilders Built rowing ships for fighting & sailing ships for trading Some warships had 2 or 3 levels oars Sea was a source of fish 8. Trade & Commerce Greeks did not produce much grain Surplus of olive oil, wine, wool, & fine pottery Bought & sold surplus goods from each other Also traded w/ other regions Main items bought was grain, timber, animal hides, & slaves As well as nuts, figs, cheese, & flax 9. Mycenaean Civilization Mycenae was 1st Greek civilization Built on Peloponnesus Was surrounded by a protective wall A king rules each city of Mycenaean Greece as well as the surrounding villages & farms Nobles lived in luxury Had great feasts, drank from gold cups, & had bronze weapons Mycenaeans were traders Culture featured writing, gold jewelry, bronze weapons, & fine pottery Civilization collapsed about 1200 B.C. Maybe invaders 10. New Advances in Greek Culture Phoenicians Trading people who lived on eastern coast of Mediterranean Developed a recording system to track trade transactions Used 22 symbols to stand for sounds Spread their writing system as the traded w/ other people Greeks began using Phoenician writing system between900 and 800 B.C. Changed some letters to suit their language Later evolved into our alphabet of 26 letters Greeks also learned about coins from trading w/ others Also developed new forms of literature & govt 11. Life in Ancient Greece 12. Greek Gods and Myths Gods were important part of daily lives Told vivid stories about them Had divine & human qualities Constantly competed against one another Zeus Ruler of the gods Lived on Mount Olympus w/ 11 other major gods & goddesses Each city had a special god/goddess 13. Greek Mythology Myths: stories that people tell to explain beliefs abouttheir world Often begin as oral stories Myths developed to explain creation of the world &human beings Other myths described the gods/goddesses & howthey related to one another & to humans Others portrayed Greek heroes & heroines 14. Honoring the Gods Important to honor gods Angry gods = trouble Created statues & built temples Held special events 15. Holy Festivals Certain days of each month were holy to different gods/goddesses or to an aspect of nature Held sacrifices & ceremonies Most important honored 12 Olympian gods 16. The Olympics Largest & most elaborate games Held every 4 years as part of festival to honor Zeus Only men competed Started with just a foot race, but later included muchmore 17. Early Greek Literature Stories also told about ancient heroes Stories passed down through generations and from long poems that told stories Epics: long poems that tell a story Epics of Homer Iliad & the Odyssey Backdrop: Trojan War 18. Aesops Fables Fable: a short story usually involving animals, thatteaches a moral lesson Aesop A slave who lived in Greece & wrote fables ? The Hare & the Tortoise 19. The City-State and Democracy 20. The Rise of City-States City-State (polis in Greek) A state formed by a city and its surrounding lands Colonies founded were also city-states 21. Greek City-States Most were small Limited by geographic features Athens & Sparta were largest 50-500 square miles Most had fewer than 20,000 people Small size & number of people created closecommunity 22. Layout of the City Agora Open space where people came for business and gatherings Males meet to discuss politics Festivals & athletic contests were also held here Statues, temples, & public buildings located in and aroundagora Acropolis Fortified hilltop 1st used for military purposes, later a place to build temples 23. Forms of Government Each city-state was independent Citizens determined what form of govt worked for them 24. Monarchs & Aristocrats Monarchy Early form of govt King or queen has supreme power and rules Aristocracy Govt ruled by the upper class or nobles Upper class: descended from high-born ancestors (mythicalheroes) 25. Oligarchy Oligarchy Ruled by the few Minority group controls govt People rule based on wealth or land ownership 26. Tyrants Poor not part of govt in monarchies, aristocrats, oroligarchies Resented being shut out of power & often rebelled Sometimes a wealthy person would ask the poor tosupport him in becoming a leader Tyrant: someone who took power in an illegal way Achieved king rule without being of royal birth Some worked to help the poor Played important rule in development of rule by the people;showed common people united behind a leader could gainpower & make changes 27. Athens Builds a Limited Democracy Lower class began demanding more political power Citizenship A person who is loyal to a country & entitled to protection by the govt of that country In Greece only adult males In most places upper & lower classes were citizens, but onlyupper class held power By demanding more political power lower class were asking for a major change to society Gradually happened over time Two leaders (Solon & Cleisthenes) gradually reformed to give people more power 28. Solon 500s B.C. Poor farmers owed lots of money & had to work land or become slaves, this angered lower class 594 B.C. Solon elected leader of Athens Made reforms that prevented revolt of poor Freed enslaved people of debts & made law that no citizen could be enslaved Organized citizens into 4 classes based on wealth not birth Richest had most power Changes allowed all citizens to serve in the assembly (lawmaking body) & help elect leaders Solon also reformed laws making them less harsh 29. Cleisthenes 500 B.C. Cleisthenes increased citizens power Reorganized assemble to take power from nobles Organized citizens into 10 groups (called tribes) Tribes based on place of residence, not wealth 10 commanders lead the military Commanders elected for 1 year Reformed the council, which helped the assemblygovern Became known as Council of 5 Hundred 30. Direct Democracy Council of 500 500 men, 50 from each of the 10 tribes Any citizen over 30 was qualified Chosen by lot (random) to serve for 1 year & could be reelected only once Cleisthenes plan Allowed Council members to suggest laws to assembly for debate & possible passage Laws were passed by a majority vote Changes moved Athens towards early form of Democracy A govt in which the citizens make political decisions either directly or through elected representatives 31. Limited Democracy & Ostracism Direct democracy benefits limited Govt did not include all people who lived in city-state Only free adult males were citizens (women, slaves, & foreigners were not citizens and could not become citizens) Democracy system included a system called ostracism Any member of assembly who though someone was a danger to the city-state could submit the name of the person for a vote by the assembly. If enough votes were received that person could be sent away for 10 years. 32. Citizens Responsibilities Citizens had to Serve in the army whenever needed Serve on juries All citizens were equal & argued cases directly before the jurywho then voted if person was guilty 33. Sparta & Athens 34. Spartas Military State 715 B.C. Sparta conquered neighboring land Defeated people became slaves (called helots) Had to work farms & give of crops to Spartans Revolted several times, but failed Lead Sparta to focus attention on building a strong army 35. Government & Society Govt was part monarchy & part oligarchy & partdemocracy 2 kings(ruled), 5 elected supervisors(ran govt), Council of Elders (made up of 30 citizens) proposed laws All citizens were part of the Assembly Elected officials and voted on laws proposed Social Groups Citizens: descendants from original inhabitants Lived in city & spent all their time training to be soldiers Free noncitizens: no political rights & lived in nearby villages Helots: laborers; allowed Spartans to train to be soldiers 36. Education Goal was to have strong army Boys at age 7 move to military houses (called barracks) Education stressed discipline, duty, strength, & military skill (learned to read a little) Entered army at 20 & served until 60 37. Womens Roles Had to be tough (emotional & physical) Education focused on physical toughness ( athletictraining & learned to defend themselves) Family life was less important Husbands & wives spent lots of time apart Women could own property 38. Athens Democratic Gradually developed direct democracy All citizens met to vote on laws Only free men were citizens 39. Athenian Society 4 Classes Citizens Women Noncitizen free persons Enslaves: 1/3 of population; captured during war; children of enslaved were also slaves Worked in homes, agriculture, industry, & mines Some earned wages & bought their freedom Each class had smaller classes within Example: level of citizen based on wealth 40. Education Designed to prepare boys to become good citizens Wealthy families started boys at age 6 or 7 Studied logic & public speaking Reading, writing, poetry, arithmetic, & music Athletic activities 41. Womens Roles Not part of govt Had to be good wives & mothers Help keep families & society strong Religious roles Priestesses in temples Not much freedom Could inherit property only if no sons Girls did not attend school, learned from mothers 42. Persian Wars 500s B.C. Persia conquered Anatolia (region w/ Greek colonies) 499 B.C. Greeks revolted Athens sent ships & soldiers to help Revolt failed Persia decided to punish Athens for helping 490 B.C. Persians arrived to Athens on the plain of Marathon Athenians sent a runner to ask Sparta for help (Sparta came to late) 43. Athenians were greatly outnumbered, so they had to use a clever plan Drew Persians toward the center of the Greek line Greeks then surrounded them & attacked Greek spears better than Persian arrows Persians lost 6,400 men to Greeks 192 Marathon runner ran about 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to tell of the victory He reached Athens w/ the news then collapsed & died 44. Greek Victory 480 B.C. Persia again invaded Greece Several Greek city-states united 300 Spartans guarded narrow pass at Thermopylae To stop Persians from reaching Athens Held pass for 2 days before all being killed Gave Athenians time to prepare for battle Athenians left the city to fight naval battle against Persians Persian fleet could not maneuver 300 Persian ships were sunk