One Pager #3 – Assessing the Greatness of the GreeksAncient GreeceTopics:

Greek Geography & Climate Early Greece – Minoans and Mycenaeans Histories – Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides Greek Government – Democracy v. Tyranny Spartan-Athenian Rivalry Greek Mythology

The Persian Wars The Peloponnesian War Art and Architecture Philosophy Macedonia and Alexander the Great Family & Daily Life in Greece

Prodding Questions: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Greek’s geography and climate to the growth of their civilization. Our understanding of History is not static and unchanging but it is ever evolving as new discoveries and new interpretations are put forward. Using the

decline of the Minoans as an example show this to be true. The myths and legends of the Greeks are often seen as mere stories. Using a Greek myth show that some legends, despite their seeming to be fanciful,

might be based on historical truths (Example: Theseus and the Minotaur) Discuss the histories of Homer, Herodotus and Thucydides. From where do the (telling) of their histories begin? To what extent are their ‘histories’

based on fact and are historically accurate?? What purpose do their histories serve Greece and Greeks? In what ways are their histories typical (or not) of histories today?

Compare Athenian democracy to our system of government. Which system do you feel gives fairer government to people? Which system do you think is more efficient and productive? Would you like Canadians to adopt any aspects of the Athenian system of democracy?

Describe life in Ancient Sparta. Can you think of any twentieth century societies that are similar in their organization? What are the advantages of such a society? Given the choice would you have preferred to live in Ancient Athens or Sparta?

What were the major causes of the Greek-Persian Wars. In what ways were these typical of wars throughout history? The strategy employed by the Greeks in the Second Persian invasion (480-479bC) was to fight in narrow places. Assess the effectiveness of this

strategy by examining the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis. Discuss the role of women in Ancient Greek society with respect to education, their ‘place’ in society, and in marriage and be sure to include some

variation between such city-states as Sparta and Athens. Discuss the question of sexuality in Greek culture today and compare it to that of society today. Consider attitudes towards homosexuality (and

LGBTQ) then to today and whether we are as open-minded today as we think we are. Discuss the pillars of Greek philosophy and show how Socrates, Plato and Aristotle demonstrated this. What was important to Greek philosophers?

How can we apply what they learned/taught to our era in time? Was Alexander as ‘Great’ as he has been made out to be by historians? Assess by summarizing his great accomplishments and his shortcomings in

establishing a lasting empire. Or discuss the narrow view historians have of what makes a person (man?) great.