001. Greeksgreeks

8/12/2019 001. Greeksgreeks

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The Greeks


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Minoans Around 2,000 B.C.E. the Minoan civilization

developed on the Mediterranean island of Crete They were influenced by the Egyptians and the

Phoenicians, but they were very different in manyways

At Knossos they build lavish palaces withplumbing and drainage systems for their rulers these palaces indicate a very sophisticatedsociety

We know a great deal about the Minoans from thefrescoes they painted They developed a style of writing called Linear A,

which uses symbols to form syllables.


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Gradually Crete became the center forMediterranean trade

About 1700 B.C.E. an earthquake destroyed theMinoan society

The Cretans rebuilt their palaces, but their wealthattracted foreign invaders

By 11000 B.C.E. the Minoans had been taken overby invaders


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Mycenaean About 2,200 B.C.E. an Indo-European group of

nomads settled the Greek peninsula The Mycenaeans emerged in present day Greeceand transformed Linear A to Linear B.

They expanded their influence and venturedbeyond Greece to Sicily, southern Italy, and Crete

About 1,200 B.C.E. they became involved in astruggle with the city of Troy in Anatolia

This war was the source of Homers Iliad After 1,100 B.C.E. the Mycenaean civilization fell

into decline Between 1,100 and 800 B.C.E. is known as the

Dark Ages


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Archaic Period 800 480 B.C.E. With no central authority the Greeks developed

independent city-states Unlike the Chinese or Persians the Greeks did not

develop a centralized state they preferred poleis These poleis became the centers for population

and trade By the end of the dark Ages several had emerged

as large and powerful Most notably Athens and Sparta


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Sparta

Sparta, located in the Peloponnesus, used theirprisoners as helots, or slaves, and these slavessoon outnumbered the Spartans.

The helots were not chained but they were notfree either

The role of the helot was to provide theSpartans with a constant food supply

Due to this, the Spartans were forced into a lifedictated by military stature to ensure theirpower and minimize the chance of slaverevolts.


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The Spartans maintained a simple, austerelifestyle

They did not accumulate wealth, nor did thewomen wear jewelry

Success in Spartan society came from militaryendeavors and heroism

Boys left their families at seven to live in militarybarracks

At 20 they became soldiers and remained soldiersuntil they retired

At 30 they could leave the barrack and live withtheir wife


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Athens

Both Athens and Sparta grew rapidly. However,Athens was dominated by a government for thepeople and was not driven by discipline andsacrifice like the Spartans

The political process was limited to a smallnumber of the people, making their democracyvery different than modern day democracies.

Only a few adult males could participate in politics

and not all Athenians were citizens Gradually, to ease social problems more people

were allowed to participate Democracy Demos (People) and Cracy (Rule)


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With a limited amount of farmland the Athenianswere forced to use the sea and establish colonies

Athenians prospered because of trade whichmade the wealthy even wealthier

Gradually the aristocrats purchased all the smallplots of land

Poor people who fell into debt could sellthemselves into slavery to pay off the debt

With a growing population and increasing socialproblems Athens was forced to address theproblems debt and land shortages


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Solon Athens grew very rapidly, as did the gap between the

rich and poor. In response, Solon negotiated a compromise that

cancelled all debts of poor farmers and outlawed theprocess of selling yourself into slavery, but he let thearistocracy keep their land

He also gave the lower class more political rights, settingexamples for future peoples

He allowed any person with enough time the

opportunity to participate on the councils in realityonly the wealthy had the spare time! Eventually commoners did receive payment for

participation in the government


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Classical period 480 323 B.C.E. Solons reforms help move Athens towards a

democracy, but the greatest changes would bemade by Pericles

Pericles was an aristocratic leader committed todemocratic ideals. He appointed hundreds ofordinary people to government positions.

He was the leader of Athens from 443 B.C.E. untilhis death in 429 B.C.E.

Under his leadership Athens flourished


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Greek Expansion

The Greeks grew rapidly and thusbranched out across the Mediterranean,often staying close to the sea.

They exchanged ideas on the coastalwaterways through trade.

This had a huge effect on the rest of theworld as Greek ideologies and languagespread throughout the world.


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The Persians

The Persians had also created a large empirein Anatolia and felt threatened by the Greeks.

Darius, a Persian king, sent a force to

destroy the Greeks but was defeated at theBattle of Marathon.

His successor Xerxes also set out to destroyGreece, but after he successfully burnedAthens he was defeated at the Battle ofSalamis.


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The Delian League After the Persian War Athens was supreme

a) strong navyb) democratic institutionsc) excellent cultural life

d) prosperous trade Sparta withdrew returned to isolationism Athens assume control of the Delian League

a) liberate Ionian citiesb) be prepared for war

Athens supplied 200 shipsOthers paid cash


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Other city-states that protested werepunished by Athens

Pericles even used Delian Leaguemoney was used to build the Parthenonin Athens

The situation continued to get worseuntil several of the poleis combined tofight back


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The Peloponnesian War The two powerful leaders were Athens and Sparta. The war started in 431 B.C.E. but neither side

could gain an advantage Athens controlled the seas and could continually

supply the city Sparta controlled the land butcould not force the Athenians to fight

Sparta lay siege to Athens and in 404 B.C.E. amassive plague hit the city, the Athenians wasforced to surrender. However, the Spartans soon

realized that their government was not well suitedto oversee such a large area.


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Alexander the Great After the assassination of Philip II, his son,

Alexander succeeded him as king. Alexander loved Greek culture and had been

tutored by Aristotle He soon amassed an empire from Macedonia to

the Himalayas in India, controlling Egypt, Greece,and Persia. After taking his troops to India he was forced to

return when they mutinied and refused to go any

further In 323 B.C.E. Alexander died at the age of thirty-three

He had created the greatest empire the world hadseen


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Hellenistic Age 323 30 B.C.E. Alexander had spread Greek culture and influence

as far as India and opened the door to theHellenistic Age

After his death the empire was divided into threelarge states

Antigonid Greece and MacedoniaPtolemaic EgyptSeleucid the Persian empire


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Greek Rationale Thought Thales - water was the source of all things Empedocles - earth, air, water, fire Democritus - atoms Heraclitus - constant motion theory Pythagoras - all things were mathematical

relationships Protagoras - man is the measure of all

things Movement away from the supernatural


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Hippocrates of Cos - Father of Medicinestressed observation and experimentation

treated the symptoms Sophists - turned from the natural to thehumanitinerant teacherslectured on rhetoric and composition


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Socrates, a famous philosopher, employed theSocratic method in which he asked his pupilsquestions, making them think to gain the answer.

Not a sophist - stonemason Basic views of western philosophy The unexamined life is not worth living Arrested for corrupting the youth and not

believing the gods

Socrates believed in are te - excellence Socrates committed suicide by drinking hemlock

Socrates


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Plato Student of Socrates Founded the academy Disliked democracy Wrote republic Good life


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Aristotle Student of Plato Tutored Alexander the Great Good man-good life

Moderation in all things Wrote Politics - polis Systemization of knowledge

Theories lasted until the 17th century


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History

Herodotus - Father of History, wroteHistory of the Persian War

Thucydides - more analytical and

honest


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Greek Society

Greek trade relied heavily on wine & oliveoil because these grew easily in areas withlittle fertile soil in the mountains.

The Olympic games, first held in 1896,were a huge part of the culture, allowingindividuals to maintain their identity.


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Women were not really free They had to raise children and manage the

house Men spent their time at the gymnasium Divorces and marriages arranged by males Girls were not usually educated at the

Academy Boys also had two years of military service sound in mind and body


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Religion The Greeks were polytheists Elements of nature were represented by gods Unlike the Egyptians the Greeks did not worry

about life after death Greek deities had human form and had to deal

with human emotions such as love The gods often fought each other in heavenly

battles


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Slavery

Slavery was very popular in Greek society. They were highly prized, especially those

with educated backgrounds. Though slaves were not considered

citizens, they could purchase their ownfreedom and petition for citizenship.

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