Chapter 8 The Ancient Greeks

Chapter 8-1 - The Rise of City-States

• The largest Greek peninsula is the Peloponnesian Peninsula.• Peninsula – a

piece of land surrounded by water on 3 sides.

A Rugged Land

• Mainland Greece is divided by mountain ranges. In between the ranges are narrow valleys and small plains. • Good for sheep and goats but too rocky for farming. • Mountains created lowland

communities. They were very independent Greeks, never unitingunder one government.

• The Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, & Ionian Sea helped Greeks become skillful sailors and merchants.

Early Greek History

• Minoans were highly advanced. • Writing system & built huge stone palaces with running water

- palaces and towns mysteriously disappeared in 1450 B.C. Historians believe mainland Greeks had something to do with the destruction.

- The Mycennaean civilization developed in 1600 B.C.

Early Greek History (continued)

• Mycenaean towns were ruled by a monarchy – government headed by a king. • Lived in stone fortresses on hilltops overlooking their towns. • Created bronze weapons and pottery

• Traded those goods for copper, ivory, and luxury goods from other lands.

• Mycenaean kingdoms eventually became weak and in 1100 B.C. they were destroyed by newcomers from the north known as Dorians

The Dark Ages – 1100BC to 750BC

• Greek culture declined after the fall of the Mycenaeans and people lost the ability to read and write. • Mainland Greeks migrated across the Aegean Sea settling on the islands

and west coast of Asia Minor. (eventually became known as Ionia). • People still spoke Greek and passed stories down orally. • Geometric designs on pottery• Becomes more elaborate over time• Eventually incorporates living creatures (birds, horses) • Human figures appear around 750

The Trojan War

• Legend of the Trojan War• Mycenaean kingdoms sailed across the Aegean

Sea to Troy, a city in Asia Minor.• The 10 year conflict ended when the Greeks

tricked the Trojans into accepting a gift of a large wooden horse.

• Greeks hiding the horse crept out and opened the city gate.

• The Greek army entered and burned the city of Troy down.

• For hundreds of years the war was sung about and stories were told.

• 700BC. – Greeks develop an alphabet based on the Pheonician alphabet.

Homer

• Homer was a poet that shaped the stories of the Trojan War into a long epic poem, the Iliad, which was eventually written down. • The Iliad tells of events during the war but

stops between the Greek’s victory. • The Odyssey shaped Greek culture. • Students learned verses by heart• Values like courage, bravery, strength, and honor

were ideals that all Greek’s tried to live up to…. Like those described in Homer’s stories.

Emergence of City-States

• Greek communities began to organize into a polis – a city-state• Created everywhere Greeks settled• Government of a Polis• Ruled over a wide area (its city and surrounding

villages and countryside)• Marketplace and government center was in each

polis• Citizens – members of a city-state that had legal

rights• Population of a polis was typically small

• All citizens of the polis would gather together to make decisions

The High City

• Typical polis was built on two levels• Acropolis – “high city”

• Public buildings and temples were located in the acropolis

• Lower ground – homes, shops, farms

Government and Politics

• Politics – the art and practice of government• Each city-state had a different kind of

government• In early times a polis was governed by an

aristocracy – a hereditary class of rules • However, in some city-states, people began to

govern themselves. • Self-government

• Citizens ruled instead of priests and kings

Social Class System

• Citizens – could vote• Women and foreigners – could not vote• Slaves – few rights

• The polis was the framework of a Greek’s life.• Greek’s believed that a good citizen shouldalways be willing to sacrifice for his city.

Chapter 8-2 – Greek Economy and Society

• Women in Ancient Greece• Role:

• worked outdoors on farms or sold goods in markets• Athenian women – women from rich families stayed home

while men were a part of public life. • Women also supervised the household, raised the children,

kept track of money and spending, and managed the slaves. • Made the meals and clothing for the family.

• Status: • lower than men

• Rights:• Athenian women had very little rights• Spartan women could sell property, were educated and

trained in sports.