ANCIENT GREECEChapter 4Sections 1-4

The Early Greeks

Mainland Greece is a mountainous peninsula, hundreds of islands lie offshore in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Ionian Sea.

Many ancient Greeks earned their living from the sea as fishermen, sailors, traders, and raising sheep and goats.

Crops included: wheat, barley, olives and grapes

Mountainous terrain and many islands isolated Greek communities, which fostered a sense of independence.

The Minoans

Minoan civilization was 1st to arise in the region we now know as Greece.

Minoans became wealthy from trading pottery and stone vases for ivory and metals from as far away as Egypt and Syria.

Mycenaens from central Asia invade the Greek mainland around 1900 B.C. and b/c the 1st Greek kings.

Mycenaens paid their taxes in wheat, livestock, or honey.

Mycenaens also learned how to navigate their ships by using the sun and stars from the Minoans.

Greece entered a Dark Age around 600 B.C., during this time people forget how to read and write.

What do you think caused a sharp decrease in population and loss of literacy skills?

As Greece recovered from their “Dark Age,” they begin to colonize in order to increase their food supply.

What is a colony?

A colony is a settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to the homeland.

Overseas trade increased to the point for the need to begin minting coins.

Growth led to production increasing and specialization.

The Polis Many nobles who owned large estates

overthrow the old Greek kings and create city-states known as a polis.

The acropolis was the main gathering place in a polis, located on a hill, acted as a refuge for people when they were attacked. It was also used for worship centers for the gods and goddesses.

Below the acropolis was the agora, the place where people could meet to debate issues and served as a market place.

Agora in Athens

Athenian Soldier’s Oath

“I will not bring dishonor upon my weapons nor desert the comrade by my side. I will strive to hand on my fatherland greater and better than I found it.” excerpt from the oath of enrollment in Epheboi corp early 400’s B.C. Athenian soldiers took an oath to protect their constitution.

Citizenship

Greeks were the 1st to develop the idea of citizenship.

Each community gave the people equal treatment, as well as, rights and responsibilities as a member of that community.

Free, native born, land-owning men could be citizens. What were the rights of Greek citizens?

Greek citizens could…

Gather in the agora to choose their officials and pass laws

Right to vote Hold office Own property Defend themselves

in court In return, Greek

citizens had a duty to…

Serve in the government

Fight for their polis as citizen soldiers Hoplites were

ordinary citizens and foot soldiers who went into battle heavily armed, carrying a round shield, a short sword and a long spear.

Section 2Sparta and Athens

What do you think of when you hear someone is a “tyrant?”

In ancient Greek city-states, the word “tyrant, "meant someone who took power by force and had total authority.

By 600’s tyrants overthrew nobles b/c they had the support of the common people.

Most city-states became either an oligarchy or a democracy by the 500’s.

Oligarchy: a few people hold power

Direct Democracy: all citizens share power in running the government

The oligarchy of Sparta and the democracy of Athens became the two most powerful political bodies in Greece.

Sparta

7 year old boys were sent to be trained for the military. Lived in barracks and treated harshly to make them tough.

12 years old, had to live outside and off the land.

20 years old, joined the regular army for the next 10 years. Could return home but stayed in the military until 60 years old.

Spartan boys left home at age 7 to begin their military training.

They entered the regular army by 18.

Spartan men stayed in the army until they were 30 years old at which time they would return home.

Spartans did not colonize as Athens did. Sparta conquered their neighbors and sent slaves back to Sparta to do agricultural work .

Spartan Foreign Policy

Sparta’s government

King King

Council of elders (28) presented laws to the Assembly

All men over 30 years old voted on Council’s laws, chose 5 ephors.

Ephors - enforced laws and managed taxes

Athens

2 day trip away-very different life style evolved in Athens.

Boys were educated until 18, then became citizens.

Girls stayed at home learning how to spin, weave & other household duties. Only wealthy girls were educated.

Athens Democracy 600 B.C.’s people rebel against the

land owning nobles. Many farmers owed the nobles money. 594 B.C. Solon, a noble, cancelled all the farmers debts & freed those who had become slaves. Allowed all males to participate in the Assembly and law courts. A council of 400 wealthy citizens wrote the laws, but the assembly had to pass them.

The Athenian assembly appointed ten generals who carried out the assembly’s laws.

Who carries out our laws today?

Peisistratus: tyrant who divided large estates among landless farmers.

Cleisthenes: Assembly could debate matters openly, hear court cases and appoint army generals

Section 3Persia Attacks the Greeks

Persia was located in was current day Southwestern Iran.

King Cyrus builds a huge empire beginning with Babylon, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria, Canaan, & Phoenicia. The Persian Empire would have been equal to the size of the U.S. today.

To manage the Persian empire, Cyrus divides it into satrapies. Each one was ruled by an appointed official called a satrap who acted as tax collector, judge, chief of police and recruiter to the Persian Army.

Unlike Athens, Persia maintained a standing military.Immortals: 10,000 specially trained soldiers who guarded the king. As soon as one fell, another took his place.

The Persian Wars

Greek colonies often clashed with the Persians.

490 B.C. Persian fleet lands 20,000 soldiers on the plain at Marathon. Waited for the Athenians to attack, finally began re boarding the ships to sail around to directly attack Athens. When the cavalry was on board and remaining soldiers are in the water waiting to board, the Greeks attack from a nearby hill.

Pheidippides runs to Athens to give the message of victory over the Persians, collapsed and died. Today, marathons are comprised of races approximately 26 miles long, in honor of Pheidippides.

Xerxes, King of Persia Son of Darius, grandson of Cyrus, seeks

revenge from the defeat at Marathon. For the 1st time, Sparta and Athens

join forces to repel Persia. King Leonidas of Sparta and Themistocles of Athens work together to defeat Xerxes at the pass at Thermopylae and the strait of Salamis.

The Greeks won the Battle at Salamis because their ships could move around more quickly.

Final battle at a location northwest of Athens, the largest Greek army ever assembled crushed the Persian army at Plataea. By finally working together, the city-states saved their homeland from the Persians.

The History of the Persian Wars, written by Herodotus sites there was a Greek army that totaled around 30,000 hoplites with double that number of light troops. 5,000 Spartans took part in the battle, while the Athenians provided 8,000 heavy infantry. The remaining units were comprising mostly from other city-states of the Peloponnese. The Greek numbers he details, unlike the Persian counts, appear to be likely. This entire force was under the command of the Spartan regent Pausanias. www.militaryhistory.com

With the defeat at Plataea, the Persian Empire begins a slow decline which continues for 150 more years. After the death of Xerxes, family members fought over who will be king. 6 of the 9 rulers after Darius were murdered. By 334 B.C. the last Persian king dies and Alexander the Great is in control of the lands known as the Persian Empire.

Section 4 The Age of Pericles

478 B.C. City states form a league known as the Delian League as a result of cont’d Persian threat.

Begins on the island of Delos, Athens ends up gaining control over

the other city states – moves the League to Athens in 454 B.C.

Do you remember the difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy?

Direct democracy- all the citizens vote on gov’t. issues

Representative-citizens chose representatives to go to the state capitol or Washington D.C. where they propose and pass legislation and make gov’t. decisions.

Golden Age of Pericles

General who guided Athens for more than 30 years.

Makes Athens more democratic by allowing lower class citizens to run for office.

Paid office holders Oversees many building projects,

including the Parthenon which took 15 years to build at a cost of $3 billion today.

General Pericles

Role of Men and Women

Men usually worked in the morning & then exercised or attended meetings of the assembly. In the evenings, enjoyed all male gatherings where they drank, dined & discussed politics.

Women married at 14-15. Were expected to have children & take care of household. Poor women might also work with their husbands in the fields or sell goods. Upper class Athenian women: stayed at home, supervised household servants, were not allowed to go out into public without a male relative escorting them except for funerals or festivals.

THE END!!