The Ancient Greeks
The Early Greeks

Geography
o They made a living from the sea as well as from land.
o They raised sheep rather than cattle and grew olive trees rather than
wheat because they were mountainous.
o They lived in isolated villages.
o They didn’t like to travel on land because they found traveling through
the mountains difficult.

The Minoans and the Mycenaeans
o The Minoans were not Greeks, but their civilization was the first to arise
in the region that later became Greece. They made a living from trade.
o The Mycenaeans were originally from central Asia.
o Heinrich Schliemann (German) discovered one of the walled palaces in
Mycenae and named the people of this civilization the Mycenaeans.

Dark Age
o Trade slowed and poverty took hold.
o Before long, Greeks had forgotten the importance of reading and writing.

Greek city-states
o A Greek city-state was called a polis.
o Agora was the open area below the acropolis that was a marketplace. (a
market and a place to meet and debate issues)
o Greek citizens were free native-born men who owned land.
Sparta and Athens

Types of governments:
o Monarchy = one ruler who usually inherited power and passed on leadership to his
son.
o Democracy= where all citizens share in running the government.
o Tyrant = person who takes power by force and rules with total authority.
o Oligarchy= allows for a few people to make decisions.
o Direct Democracy= allows all people to decide government matters.
o Around 600 B.C., a tyrant came to power in Greece.

Sparta
o The government was used to control its citizens.
o A boy’s life in Sparta:

At 7 - lived in barracks and treated harshly to make them tough

At 20 – entered regular army

At 30 – returned home but stayed in army until age 60
o Spartan women:


were trained in running, wrestling, and javelin throwing.

Freer than other Greek women

Owned property and could go anywhere they wanted
Athens
o A boy’s life in Athens:

Went to school

At age 18, finished school and became a citizen
o Athenian women:

Girls stayed home and were taught by their mothers.

Women stayed at home and taught their children.
o How did one become a member of Athens’ Council of 500? He was chosen by a
random drawing.
Persia attacks the Greeks

Persia is located in southwestern part of present day Iran.

Cyrus the Great was the leader who united the Persians into the largest empire in the
world and focused on government and education.

The religion of Persia was called zoroastrianaism. They believed in one god.

In 499 B.C., the Spartan army and the Athenian army worked together to defeat the
Persians. This demonstrates that these rivals will join together to defeat a common
enemy.

The Battle of Marathon, the Battle of Salamis, and the Battle of Thermopylae have this
in common. – They were all won by using clever strategy.
The Age of Pericles

The Age of Pericles was known as a period of creativity and learning.

Beginning in 478 B.C., the Delian League served as the treasury and commander of the
fleet.

Pericles was a dominate figure in Athenian politics.

In 431 B.C., Sparta and other city-states joined forces against Athens to fight in the
Peloponnesian War.

What made it easier for the Greeks to destroy the Persians at Salamis? Their ships
moved more quickly.
Review:

Relationship between people and their surroundings – Human/Environment Interaction

People who study and write about the human past are historians.

Nomads followed animals for their food source.

Skilled workers in Mesopotamia were called artisans.

Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Sinai Desert.

Belief that there is only one god; became the basis for Islam and Christianity.
monotheism