WHI.4-5
India
•Location – South Asian subcontinent
(juts out from the rest of the continent)
Map of Ancient India – Find the Himalayans, Hindu
Kush, Indus River, Ganges River and Indian
Ocean
India
• Hinduism – religion
– Belief in many forms of one God
– Reincarnation – Rebirth based on karma
– Karma – knowledge that all thoughts and
actions result in future consequences
– Vedas and Upanishads – sacred writings
– Spread along major trade routes
Caste system – influenced all social interactions and
choices of occupations
Brahmin - priests
Warriors
Common Workers
Servants
Untouchables
India
• Buddhism
– Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
– Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path to
Enlightenment, Enlightenment = salvation
(nirvana)
– Asoka’s missionaries and their writings
spread Buddhism from India to China and
other parts of Asia.
Buddhism http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/Buddhism.html
• Four Noble Truths: The Buddha realized
that life is ruled by Four Noble Truths:
• Life is filled with suffering
• Suffering is caused by people's wants.
• Suffering can be ended if people stop
wanting things, like more pleasure or
more power.
• To stop wanting things, people must
follow 8 basic laws, called the Eightfold
Path.
Eightfold Path
India
• Gupta Empire
– Decline of Buddhism and growth of Hinduism
3 Contributions of Gupta Empire:
1. Mathematics (concept of zero)
2. New textiles
3. Literature
- This period is called the Golden Age
Similarities and differences between
Hinduism and Buddhism.
Hinduism
Similarities
Differences
Buddhism
- Reincarnation
- Ultimate goal = Enlightenment
-Belief in one
god,
- Giving up
physical for
spiritual
China
•Location – East Asia
•Important River – Huang He (Yellow
River)
•China was very isolated due to great
distances, rugged mountains, and deserts
(Gobi Desert). This would help them to
have a distinctive culture and not much
contact with the outside world.
China
• A Chinese form of Buddhism spread
throughout Asia
• Buddhism:
– Introduced to China through Asoka’s
missionaries
– Spread because it offered comfort during hard
times
China
• Invaders raided Chinese settlements to
the North. The Great Wall was built by
Qin Shi Huangdi as a line of defense
against invasions.
• China was governed by a succession of
ruling families called dynasties (first
dynasty – Shang).
• Chinese rulers were considered divine, but
they served under a Mandate of Heaven
only as long as their rule was just.
China
• Silk Roads – trade route from China to the
Mediterranean (facilitated trade as far away as
Rome)
China
• Contributions of classical China:
1. Civil Service system – ran day to day
business of government
2. Paper
3. Porcelain
4. Silk
What is the civil service exam?
- Exam people take to work in the
government (civil service)
Emperor Wudi began using this exam, why?
- to select the most qualified candidate
and to open up jobs to everyone
China
• Confucianism – Chinese philosophy began
by the philosopher Confucius
• Major beliefs
– Belief that humans are good, not bad
– Respect for elders
– Code of politeness, still used in Chinese
society today
– Emphasis on education
– Ancestor worship
China
• Taoism – Chinese philosophy introduced
by the philosopher Lao Tsu –
• Major beliefs - “go with the flow”, emphasis
on nature
• Contributions of Taoism in forming
Chinese culture and values:
– Humility – putting others first
– Simple life and inner peace
– Harmony with nature
China
• Two sidedness of nature = Yin and Yang
– Yin – dark and passive (bad)
– Yang – bright and active (good)
• Yin/Yang represented opposites for
Confucianism and Taoism.
Greece
•Location and place
-Major bodies of water: Aegean Sea,
Mediterranean Sea (most of the trade
happened here), Black Sea, Dardanelles
-Important city-states: Athens, Sparta, Troy
-Macedonia – ancient kingdom of northern
Greece (birthplace of Alexander the Great)
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Find the following:
Aegean Sea
Mediterranean
Black Sea
Dardanelles
Macedonia
Sparta
Athens
Greece
• Economic and social development
– Farming/agriculture was hard – limited
amount of farmable (arable) land
– Made money through commerce (business)
and the spread of Hellenic (Greek and
Mediterranean) Culture
– Shifted from a barter (trade) to a money
economy (coins)
Greece
• Political development
– Many mountains in Greece – kept invaders
out, but hindered the development of citystates.
– Greek city-states were designed to promote
civic and commercial life.
– Colonization related to overpopulation and the
search for arable land.
Greece
• Greek mythology
– Based on polytheistic religion
– Explanations of natural phenomena, human
qualities, and life events
– Gods and Goddesses include: Zeus, Hera,
Aphrodite
Greece
• Social structure and citizenship in the
Greek polis (Greek word for city-state)
– Citizens were free adult males. They had
political rights and the responsibility of civic
participation in the government.
– Women slaves and foreigners had no
political rights.
– Duties of the citizen: vote, pay taxes, military
service
Athens
• Athenian government:
monarchy  aristocracy 
tyranny  democracy
– Tyrants who worked to
reform:
1.Draco – created
Athen’s first law
codes
2.Solon – extended
citizenship (outlawed
slavery)
– direct democracy
(everyone participates),
public debate, duties of
the citizen
Sparta
• Form of government was
an oligarchy – rule by a
small group
– Rigid social structure
– Militaristic and
aggressive society
– Ex. Unhealthy baby
boys left in the
wilderness to die
Persian Wars (499 – 449 B.C./B.C.E) – conflicts
between Greece and Persia
– Athens and Sparta against united
against the Persian Empire
– 2 important victories – Marathon and
Salamis
– Greece won.
– Athens preserved its independence and
continued innovations in government
and culture.
Socrates - Philosopher
– Great Greek philosopher – came up with
“Socratic method” where you answer a
question with a question – it helps people
figure things out for themselves
– Put on trial for “corrupting the youth”
– He taught people to think for themselves and
question democracy and other teachings
– He was found guilty and sentenced to death –
he killed himself, rather than be put to death
Greece
• Golden Age of Greece under Pericles
(mostly occurring between the Persian and
Peloponnesian Wars)
– Pericles extended democracy; most adult
males had equal voice.
– Pericles had Athens rebuilt after the
destruction in Persian Wars.
– Built the Parthenon – temple for Athena
Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 B.C./B.C.E),
Athens vs. Sparta
– Caused in part by competition for control
of the Greek world
– Fought by Athens and the Delian
League vs. Sparta and the
Peloponnesian League
– Sparta won.
– Resulted in the slowing of cultural
advance and the weakening of political
power.
Alexander the Great
• Phillip II of Macedon – Father of Alexander
– Was assassinated, leaving Alexander as ruler
at the age of 20
Alexander the Great
• Ruler at age 20
• Better military commander than his father,
Phillip (had loyalty of his troops)
• Established an empire from Greece to
Egypt and the margins of India – wanted
all the world under one empire
• Extended Greek cultural influences
• Died of fever (from battle wound infection)
around age 33
Alexander the Great
• Alexander failed to conquer the world, but
spread Greece’s culture
• The new culture created due to
Alexander’s conquests was called
Hellenistic culture (Blending of Greek and
oriental elements) Learning and
Commerce
• Greece was eventually conquered by the
Romans
Greece
C ontributions of Greek culture to Western
Civilization:
- Drama: Aeschylus (wrote plays on mythology)
and Sophocles (wrote plays that defended
Greek values
– Poetry: Homer (Iliad and Odyssey)
– Historians: Herodotus and Thucydides (said
studying the past helps human nature)
– Sculpture: Phidias (created statues of
Athena)
Greece
• Contributions of Greece cont’d.:
– Architecture: Types of columns included Doric
(Parthenon), Ionian, and Corinthian
– Science: Archimedes and Hippocrates
(Hippocratic Oath – doctors)
– Mathematics: Euclid and Pythagoras
(Pythagorean theorem)
– Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle