II. the MINOANS the First Greek Civilization

ANCIENT GREECE

I. GEOGRAPHY Describe the geography of Greece.

 Mountainous terrain

 Over 1000 islands

II. THE MINOANS – The first Greek civilization

Where were they located? Island of Crete

What famous palace was discovered by archaeologists? Knossos

What happened to the Minoans? Earthquake

III. THE MYCENAEANS – The second Greek civilization

What was their main occupation? Sea Traders

What parts of Greece did they conquer? Crete and mainland Greece

What caused them to fight in the Trojan War against Troy?

 Myth – To win back Helen, princess of Mycenae, who had been kidnapped by the Trojans.

 Disputes over trade routes (the straits that led to the Black Sea)

How did the Mycenaeans defeat Troy? Trojan Horse

What happened to the Mycenaeans? Earthquake? Invasion? Volcano?

IV. THE DORIANS – The third Greek civilization

Why do we know so little about them? They forgot how to read and write

Who was Homer? A blind poet who told us much about the values of the Greeks

What was the Iliad about? Achilles helps the Mycenaeans defeat Troy before dying

What was the Odyssey about? Odysseus journeys home after the war and encounters many obstacles along the way

How do we know these stories if everyone was illiterate? They were passed down orally V. CITY-STATES OF ANCIENT GREECE

Why did Greece form city-states? Mountains separated the cities, making it difficult to unite

The acropolis is the high-city where you would find temples to the gods

What is the polis? The walled part of the city-state where you would find homes and markets

VI. ATHENS

Where did Athens get its name? From the goddess Athena

What temple was dedicated to her? The Parthenon

Rule by one person is called a monarchy

If a person takes power illegally, this is called tyranny

Rule by a small group of wealthy landowners is called aristocracy

Rule by a small group of people (not necessarily wealthy) is called oligarchy

Rule by the people is called democracy

Who were the citizens of Athens? Free males over 30 years old

VII. ATHENS v. UNITED STATES

1. One way in which Athens’ democracy was different from ours is that Athens had a direct democracy where all citizens could meet in the Assembly and vote on laws.

The United States has a representative democracy where we elect officials to make decisions for us.

2. Another way in which they are different is that Athens’ democracy was more limited than ours.

Who couldn’t vote in Athens? Slaves, women, men under 30, and many immigrants VIII. ATHENIAN SOCIETY

What was the main occupation of the people of Athens? Traders and sailors

Give a few examples of subjects that males were taught? drama, public speaking (rhetoric), government, art, reading, writing, math, military training

What is rhetoric? The art of speaking and writing skillfully

Why was education so important to Athenians? To train their men to make good decisions when they eventually become citizens and participate in the direct democracy

Did females receive an education? Not for a long time

IX. SPARTA

What was the main occupation of the Spartans? Soldiers

At what age would Spartan boys begin military training? 7

Why were Spartan women expected to exercise? Produce healthy children

Why was the military so important to Sparta?

 To maintain control of the helots (slaves)

 To learn the complex phalanx system in which the soldiers fought together in 8x8 groupings

What form of government did Sparta have? oligarchy

X. PERSIAN WARS

Athens first defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon

Sparta showed its power when 300 soldiers helped to hold off a Persian invasion at the Battle of Thermopylae

Why were they trying to delay the Persians? So that Athens could build a navy

Athens eventually destroyed the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis

Why was this war considered to be the turning point in Western Civilization?

If the Greeks had lost, democracy would have been eradicated XI. PELOPONNESIAN WAR

Athens formed an alliance to protect city-states against further attacks, it was called the Delian League

Sparta formed its own alliance called the Peloponnesian League

Both sides fought and, in the end, Sparta’s side won.

However, everyone was so weakened that all the city-states were taken over by Alexander the Great

XII. ALEXANDER THE GREAT

He conquered land all the way to India and never was defeated.

After his death his empire was split up and was later conquered by the Romans

His greatest contribution was the creation of Hellenistic culture.

Alexander blended all the cultures of the lands he conquered.

XIII. FAMOUS GREEKS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS

Socrates – Philosopher.

Taught people to question in order to seek truth

Why was he sentenced to death? For corrupting the youth of Athens

Name 2 other philosophers Plato and Aristotle

Pythagoras – Calculated the sides of a right triangle

Ptolemy – Believed that the earth was the center of the universe.

Drama – Greeks created both comedy and tragedy