GREECE

GEOGRAPHY•Mountainous - mountains separated different areas from one another.

•Few Navigable Rivers - most are dry a good part of the year.

•Only 1/4 of Land can be Farmed - forced Greeks outward to find food.

•Excellent Natural Ports - led to trade and colonization

Because of this geography, Greeks failed to develop politically as a unified nation. They formed city-states.

Intense independence and love for the city led to many wars and conflicts. Despite there differences, there were bonds that linked ALL Greeks together:

1. Language (dialects)2. Common passion for athletics (776

B.C. First Olympic Games)3. Common religious beliefs and rituals4. Love for the intellectual life

(education)

MINOAN CIVILIZATION (2000 - 1400 B.C.)

• Flourished on the island of Crete

• Traders in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

• Capital at Knossos

1. height of power under King Minos2. palace has 800 rooms and no defensive

walls

• Civilization dies out around 1400 B.C. (invasion or earthquake)

MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION (2000 B.C.)

•Invade from the north and settle in the Peloponnesus

•Controlled trade in the Aegean Sea (occupation of Crete)

•Built strong fortress cities1. ruled by warrior kings2. wealth through plunder and trade3. Mycenae and Tiryns are major cities

•Life Outside of the City1. traders, merchants, artisans, farmers, etc.2. pay tribute to the king for protection

TROJAN WAR (1194 - 1184 B.C)

•Iliad & Odyssey – Written by Homer

•Possible Causes1. Decline of Hittite power in Asia Minor

a. 1250 B.C., Hittites withdraw because of Assyriansb. Achaeans move in for trade

2. Phrygians move into Hellespont, weakening Achaean trade

2. rise of great power in Mycenae

3. trade war between Phrygians and Achaeans

4. Helen is doubtful - Greeks led by Agamemnon

•Cities are built around the ACROPOLIS-hilltop fortress

1. honor the gods2. discuss local affairs3. defend the polis (city)

EARLY CITY-STATES

•First ruled by a Monarchy (king)•As the threat of war decreased cites were ruled by an Oligarchy (rule by a few – usually nobles)

1. nobles have wealth and power2. owned most of the land

•Colonies1. for trade, to escape debt, find new

farmland2. contact brings out common heritage among Greeks, new ideas, coined money3. outsiders are barbarians

•Rise of Tyranny1. lower class is discontented and the military supports them

2. TYRANT- rule by one mana. champion of the peopleb. stays in power as long as he has support

of the people

EARLY GREEK CITY-STATES

•Democracy – citizens actively participate in making public policy

1. 1st in Athens, and reaches its greatest height there2. city populations are small so people can participate in government

HEIGHT OF ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY

•Direct Democracy - all citizens can attend the Assembly and vote (only a small percent of the population were citizens)

•Pericles leads Athens through the Golden Age1. political thought and open discussion were encouraged2. Athens is rebuilt and becomes the intellectual center of Greece and the Mediterranean

HOUSTON POLIS pg 115

• What characteristics qualify Houston as a Polis?

• How does geography affect the Houston Polis?

• What are the requirements for citizenship in the Houston Polis?

• What is the patron god or goddess of this polis? Why?

• How are factors such as fairness and equality exhibited here?

SPARTA

•Dorians enslaved the local population and establish the city of Sparta

1. slaves are called HELOTS2. Helots outnumber Spartans 20 to 1

•Government Organization1. monarchy - 2 kings2. council of 28 Elders - advise kings3. assembly of citizens approve all decisions4. five EPHORS direct the daily affairs of the people and watch the Helots

SPARTAN WAY OF LIFE•Strong military state

•Military governs ALL aspects of life1. babies are brought before the EPHORS to be weeded out2. age 7 - boys leave home and live in military barracks3. youths are expected to get by (survive) on their own4. learned to read and write - No free discussion!5. married at age 20 - live in barracks for another 40 years6. age 30 - men become citizens and state provides land and slaves7. Spartan women live in strict obedience to fathers or husbands. Can participate in defense of city.

•Art and Literature were not considered - military and Helots!

PERSIAN WARS

• As the Greeks spread throughout the Mediterranean, they came in contact with the Persian Empire.

• The Ionian Greek colonies on the western coast of Asia Minor had fallen subject to Persian rule.

• In 499 B.C. the Ionian cities attempted a rebellion and were aided by the Athenian Navy

• The Persian King Darius decided to seek revenge on Athens and the Greeks.

PERSIAN WARS

• In 490 B.C. the Persians landed on the plain of Marathon (26 miles from Athens)

• An outnumbered Athenian army decisively defeated the Persians.

• Pheidippides runs back to Athens to announce the victory!

PERSIAN WARS

• Led by King Xerxes, the Persians invade Greece in 480 B.C.

• 7000 Greeks tried to hold them off at Thermopylae – led by 300 Spartans

• After the Greeks lose at Thermopylae, the Persians march to Athens and burn the city.

• The Greeks defeat the Persians in a Naval battle at Salamis

• The remaining Persian forces are finally defeated at Plataea in 479 B.C.

PERSIAN WARS

• WHO WON THE PERSIAN WAR?

GREEKS

PELOPONNESIAN WAR

• After the Persian War, Athens created alliances with other Greek city-states in case there was a future Persian invasion.

• Sparta feared Athens growing power and created alliances of their own.

• Growing tension between the two, led to the Peloponnesian War – civil war.

PELOPONNESIAN WAR

• After 27 years of off and on fighting, the Spartans win the war.

• As a result of this civil war:– It weakened the Greek city-states– It left no chance for Greek unity– Because they were so focused on each other,

they failed to see Macedonia as a threat

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

• By the end of the fifth century B.C., Macedonia had emerged as a powerful kingdom.

• Philip II became king in 359 B.C. and built a strong army. His goal was to unite Greece under his rule and invade the Persian Empire.

• When Philip II was assassinated, his son Alexander took over at the age of 20.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

• In 334 B.C. Alexander left Greece with 37,000 infantry men and 5000 cavalry.

• By 332 B.C., he had conquered much of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

• He built Alexandria as the Greek capital in Egypt – it remains one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean today.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

• Alexander and his troops continued to fight against Persian resistance and finally defeated them at the Battle of Gaugamela (near Babylon)

• He was not content and continued to fight his way east as far as the Indus River.

• Exhausted, his troops refused to go any further. He returned to Babylon and died there in 323 B.C. (he was only 33)

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

• The effects of Alexander’s Empire:– Made Greece wealthy– Created the largest empire ever at that time– Spread Greek language, architecture,

literature and art to SW Asia – Hellenistic Culture

– Created many Greek cities within his empire

GREEK ACHIEVEMENTS• ART

– Sculpture, Painting– Theater – comedies and drama– Architecture– Literature – poetry, history

• SCIENCE– Astronomy – sun centered universe

• MATH– geometry

• PHILOSOPHY– Socrates, Plato, Aristotle– Epicureanism– Stoicism

GREEK ACHIEVEMENTS

• OLYMPICS– First Olympic games held in 776 B.C.– Ended in 393 A.D. (paganistic)– Modern games began in 1896