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Geography of Greece
• Peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean Sea
• Made up of over 4000 islands
• Surrounded by three seas– Mediterranean Sea– Ionian Sea– Aegean Sea
• The Greeks became great sailors and colonized many lands
The Land of Greece• Rugged mountains,
deep valleys• Terrain shaped
politics of Grecians– Mountains divided
cities from each other = ISOLATION!
– Led to many different forms of government
– Made communication & overland trade difficult
• Only about 20% of land was good for farming
• Trade was lifeline
Central Greece – very ruggedterrain, not good for agriculture
Rise of City States• City states =
independent cities (like who?)
• Polis = “City”• Center of polis = Acropolis • Acropolis = fortified hill
Acropolis ofAthens
Greek Politics: Different strokes for different folks
• Because of physical isolation, many different government forms were invented– Tyranny: one person w/
absolute power to rule– Monarchy / Aristocracy:
king w/ advisor nobles– Oligarchy: small group
rules– Democracy: people rule
• Citizen soldiers protected polis
Armies of the City States• Iron weapons were cheap &
very common; owned by virtually all Greeks– Bronze armor though (lighter,
better metallurgy)
• Led to the rise of the citizen-soldier
• Called “hoplite”– Armed with long (6-8’) spear & a
short sword (used only in emergency)
– Armored with bronze breast plate, helmet, shield
– Fought together with friends from young age (lower chance to run away)
Phalanx: Fact . . .
• Group of hoplites fighting in formation
• Formation a solid block of spears, men
• Each man protected the man to his left with his shield (tended to drift right)
• Relatively few casualties (too tired to pursue)
Phalanx: . . . and Fiction
The historical phalanx
The 300 phalanx
The City State of Sparta• Located in Southern
Peloponnese peninsula, made up of five villages
• Spartans conquered neighboring Messenians, enslaving them
• Around 600 BC, Messenians revolted– Spartans almost defeated– Changed government to
make state supreme: Purpose?
– Purpose: survival of Sparta
Original territory of Sparta; by500 BC, they controlled up toRed line across middle of pic
The City State Sparta• Education (“Agoge”)
– Male education dedicated to developing physical, mental, moral, social Spartan
– Brutal training lasted 11 years, from age 7 years
– Taught how to fight, steal, live off land, endure terrible hardship
– They were simply the best in Greece
– Spartiates = full citizens
– Women were treated = to men, but could not be citizens
The City State Sparta• Class structure: three
classes– Helots = Messenians
• Conquered people were essentially slaves
• Subject to cruel, brutal treatment by all
– Spartans (“Spartiates”)• Any resident of original five
villages who completed agoge• Their life was dedicated to
protecting the state
– Perioikoi (Honors!)• Non citizen resident of Sparta• Farmers, merchants who were
not citizens
The City State Sparta• Government
– Monarchy: Two kings (hereditary rulers; agoge; military, political, religious leaders)
– Oligarchy: Council of Elders (Senate)• 28 spartiates, 60+ years• Day to day decisions
– Democracy: Assembly• All spartiates, 18+ • Vote yes or no only
– Five Ephors• Any spartiate• Responsible for best interests
of state• Indep. of king, senate, assembly (beat king)
2 SpartanKings
Ephors(Overseers)
Assembly of Spartiates
Council of Elders(Senate)
Non Spartans (Periokoi, Helots) – no political rights
Perspective: Spartan Military Success
• The Spartan army was defeated only 6 times in battle, in almost 250 years– Athenians (2x)– Thebans (2x)– Argives (1x)– Persians (1x)
• Simply the finest Greek land force, ever – but at what cost?
The City State Athens
• Located on European mainland, near coast– Oldest continuously
inhabited city in Europe (3000+ years)
• City was a port, only 8 km from sea Artist’s rendition of Athens, ca. 400 BC
The City State Athens• Law code first written
around 621 BC– Unfair law written by
Draco (“Draconian”)• Most punishments =
death• Can’t pay debt =
slavery to creditor– People rejected &
threatened civil war• New code written in
594 BC, by Solon– Allowed more land to
poor farmers– No more debt slavery – Encouraged trade,
commerce (middle class)
Draco - Lawgiver
Solon – lawgiver
Athenian Democracy• Athenian democracy
(“demos” = people; “cratia” = rule) arose about 510 BC– All citizens split into ten artificial
“tribes”; citizens attended assembly to hear debate and vote
– Assembly was both a legislature and a supreme court
– Offices filled by lot (random chance)
– Ten Strategos (generals) elected for 1 year term
– Assembly had power to ostracize, or banish, citizens for 10 years
Athenian Democracy• Who were citizens?
– Males who completed their military training
– Disallowed majority of Athenians• Slaves, women, debtors
• Direct democracy– Citizens heard debate and
voted directly on issues– Citizens expected to serve
as government officials, if chosen
– Absolute majority rule (50% +1)
Legacy of Athenian Democracy
• Most stable democracy in Greece
• Gave people voice in government
• Rule of law (all subject to rules of society)
• Democracy spread throughout Mediterranean world, including Rome
• Huge influence on USA, too