Classical Greece and
Rome
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Geography of Greece
Mountainous peninsula, rugged terrain
 Numerous islands
 Sea serves as a mode of travel and trade
 Geog. Isolation of the individual poleis
 Mediterranean Climate


Dry summer, wet winter
 Difficult
for most types agriculture
 Great for olives, grapes, barley
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Early Greek Cultures

Minoan: 2700-1450 BCE

Located on Crete
 King

Minos
Sudden destruction
 Natural
disaster OR invasion
http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/knossos/knossos_aerial.jpg
Palace
Complex at
Knossos:
Minoa
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~warfare/Lectures/Images/1.30/36
_knossos_bull_fresco.JPG
http://www.explorecrete.com/archaeology/images/kn
ossos01.jpg
Early Greek Cultures

Mycenaean: 1600-1000 BCE
Grew into powerful monarchies
 Setting of Homer’s epic poems

 Trojan



War (around 1250 BCE)
Debate over true existence of Troy
Heinrich Schleimann- 1870
Decline due to internal conflict, natural
disaster and invasion
Mycenaean
Culture
Funeral Mask
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n-commons/thumb/8/81/250pxMaskAgamemnon.png
http://www.visitkarpathos.com/ima
ges/intelli/mycenaeanrhyton_bullshead_1200bc_tombo
naok_new3.jpg
Mycenaean Acropolis
http://www.greeklandscapes.com/images/destinations/mycen
e/mycenae_aerial_photo.jpg
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/i
mages/h2/h2_74.51.966.jpg
Dark Age

After fall of Mycenaea, Greece entered a
Dark Age
Period of decline, Depopulation Poverty,
 Most important development: adoption of the
Phoenician alphabetic system

http://www.umassd.edu/studentactivities/greek/pics/greek_alphabet.gif
Greek City-States
Independent, self-governing city-state
known as a polis
 Hundreds of poleis, vary in size and pop.

Sparta: largest territory
 Athens: largest Population

Hoplite Warfare
Competition among poleis led to war
 Hoplite warfare emerged as a form of
defense

Marched in phalanx
 Quick battles

Hoplite
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/images/Hop
lite4thcentury.jpg
Phalanx
http://www.wargames.co.uk/Pending/Archive/May04/phalanx-LDS.jpg
Spread of Greek Colonies
http://www.worldcoincatalog.com/AC/C2/Greece/AG/GreekColonies500BCE.jpg
Greek Government

Various styles of Government


Depending on the polis
Oligarchy: “rule by the few” very common
Council of wealthy aristocrats or elders
 Sparta had an oligarchy


Democracy: “rule by the people”
Athens
 Limited suffrage; only free men allowed to
vote and participate

Sparta

Conquered neighboring city-states

Forced conquered people to become Helots



Produced food to feed the Spartans
Often rebelled; put down by Spartan military
Militaristic, rigid society


Children began education at 7
Taught to be disciplined and obedient



Boys and girls train to be fit and disciplined
Boys live in barracks until age of 30, in army until 60
Simple meals taken in mess hall
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/introtogreece
/lect10/emapSparta9907210001.jpg
Sparta

Society in Sparta:



Minimalist lifestyle, no luxury items or wealth


Women lived in separate homes until husband reached 30
Young boys mentored by older Spartan soldiers
Luxury items were thought to make a person weak
Government in Sparta: Oligarchy

Dual Kingship, Council of Ephors, Council of Elders





Only men participated in govt
Women, however, had relatively high status compared to Athens
Government encouraged isolation of Sparta
Often did not allow people to travel to or from Sparta
Discouraged the study of anything other than the art of war
Athens

Focused on learning, art, philosophy



Became center of Greek culture
Highest population of the poleis
Developed democracy after bad experiences
with Tyranny and Oligarchy

Direct democracy: all eligible citizens (free men) can
vote and serve in office


Ostracism as method of eliminating harmful persons
(ie. Ambitious politicians)


Meetings held every 10 days
Person with most votes exiled for 10 years
Reached height of power after Persian War
Greek Religion

Polytheistic


3 generations of gods
Best known was the 3rd Generation



Olympian Gods: Zeus as king of the gods
Complex rituals & festivals conducted to please
the gods & earn favors
Gods believed to communicate through oracles


Most important was Delphic Oracle @ Delphi
No major decisions made without consulting the
oracle
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Greek Drama

Drama very popular in Greece


Themes of Greek Drama


Humanism, good v evil, persistence, pride
Tragedies usually written in trilogies


Huge influence on western world
Comedy became popular in later years
Popular dramatists



Aeschylus: Orestia
Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, Antigone
Euripides
Greek Philosophy

Philosophy: “Love of Wisdom”


Greek philosophers contemplated the universe and
emphasized rational thought
3 major philosophers

Socrates


Sculptor and teacher (Socratic Method of question/answer)
Accused of corrupting the youth of Athens



Found guilty, sentenced to death or exile
Chose death (drank hemlock poison)
Plato


Student of Socrates
Prolific writer, established the Academy to teach others his
ideas
Socrates
http://www.behappyandfree.com/pdf/socrates
Plato
http://www.stenudd.com/myth/greek/images/plato4.jpg
Greek Philosophy

Aristotle:



Student of Plato
Interested in analyzing and classifying the world
Studied many subjects



Ethics, logic, politics, poetry, physics, astronomy, geology
His ideas would influence western thought for hundreds of
years
Researched government, determined there are 3
desirable forms of government

Monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional government
Aristotle
http://www.stenudd.com/myth/greek/images/aristotle2.jpg
Art in Greece



Pottery used as a form of Art
Emphasis on balance and harmony
Humans often the subject of art (humanism)


Body seen as a thing of beauty
Often idealized

Sculptures emphasize toned bodies and serene faces


beauty
Architecture


Temples to honor gods
Use of Columns

Parthenon: most famous example of Classical Greek
Architecture
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http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Part
henon/Parthenon1.jpg
http://www.olsjschool.net/pages/sub
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-
Decline of Greeks, Triumph
of Macedonia
Decline of Greeks

Internal conflict among city-states
weakened Greece

Persians remained a threat
 Regained

territory in W. Asia
To north, Philip II began to transform
Macedonia
Restructured military to include cavalry
 Developed siege technology- catapult
 Began to assert control over the Greeks

Triumph of Macedonia

Philip organized a coalition to defend
against Persia
Est. himself as leader
 Assassinated in 336 BCE


His son, Alexander, took over where he left
off
Empire of Alexander the Great
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Alexander the Great

Alexander (356-323 BCE)
Used military to defeat Persians
 Expanded influence into North Africa, Egypt
and nearly all of Greece


Empire was short-lived
Power struggle after his death in 323 BCE
 Empire split into 3 kingdoms

 Seleucid,
Ptolemaic, and Antigonid
Hellenistic Period

Alexander’s vast empire helped to spread
Greek culture to other parts of the world
Even after his death, the Hellenistic Kingdoms
continued to spread Greek culture
 Govt. in Hellenistic Kingdoms: autocratic
 Trade and learning flourished
 Cities became cultural centers

 Alexandria
in Egypt very important city
Rome
Geography of Rome
Italy
 Hilly terrain

Mountains along eastern coast
 Alps serve as barrier from north


Navigable rivers, access to Med. Sea

River valleys and volcanic soil good for ag.
Climate much like that in Greece
 Abundance of Natural resources

Rome

Legend of Rome’s Creation


Founded by Romulus in 753 BCE
Agriculture essential part of economy

Land is a measure of wealth and power
Initially ruled by series of kings
 Republic created in 507 BCE

Roman Republic
507-31 BCE
 Government Structure during the Republic

Power in hands of the elite
 Election of officials by assembly of citizens

 Wealthy
citizens’ votes counted for more than the
poor citizens
Expansion under the Roman
Republic
Rome began to exert influence over the
rest of the Italian peninsula
 Use of military to acquire new lands
 Punic Wars: 3 wars fought with Carthage


264-146 BCE
 Defeated

Carthage in N. Africa
Continued on to seize the western Med.,
Egypt, and Greece
Decline of the Roman Republic
Inequality within the Republic led to revolts
 Series of ambitious generals used the
military to consolidate their own power


Sulla, Pompey, Caesar, Mark Antony, and
Octavian
Decline of the Roman Republic,
Rise of the Roman Empire
After death of Julius Caesar, conflict arose
 27 BCE Octavian (Augustus) came to
power



established basic structure of the Roman
Empire
For next 200 years, the Roman Empire
expanded and flourished
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Government under the Roman
Empire
Roman Senate still met, but all major
decisions made by emperor
 Use of military to maintain control
 Empire was tolerant of local traditions


As long as they did not interfere with wellbeing of the empire
Government under the Roman
Empire



Pax Romana (Roman Peace)
Roman citizenship extended to conquered
peoples
Clearly defined laws throughout the empire


Government regulated grain production


Promote order and unity
Used empire to feed the masses in Rome and other
large cities
Construction projects throughout empire

Public baths, theaters, roads, etc.
Technology of Roman Empire

Romans excelled in
engineering




Aqueducts to transport
water
Domed buildings
Massive public
buildings
Little effort to develop
new technology or
ideas in science
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/
webunits/greecerome/acqu.jpg
Art and Entertainment

Like the Greeks, the Romans continued on
the idea of humanism

Reflected in art
 Busts
of rulers
 Scenes of Roman conquest
Elaborate public facilities available for use
by city-dwellers
 Gladiator Games and Chariot races were
popular forms of entertainment

Religion

Early Roman religion was much like that of
Greece

Similar gods with different names
 Ie.


King of Gods
Greece= Zeus, Rome=Jupiter
313: Roman Empire adopted Christianity
Emperor Constantine
 Attempt to create sense of unity within a
crumbling empire

Society and Culture

Institutionalized system of social inequality
in Rome

Slavery common
 Used
for housework, working in mines, and
agriculture
Over time, free farmers became tenant
farmers who worked the land of wealthy
aristocrats
 Power centered in hands of the wealthy

Society and Culture

Patriarchal society
Oldest male was head of family
 Women under authority of male relatives
 Woman’s place was in the home, no political
power

 However,
husbands
some were able to exert influence over
Economy

Ag based economy

Most people made living through farming


Olives & grapes in Italy, grains and vegetables in other parts
of the empire
Grain essential, but does not grow well in Italy

Use of empire to feed the masses in Rome



Trade and Commerce essential to feed the empire
As such, merchants enjoyed high social status
Luxury items imported from east


Silk Road
Traded animal skins, metals, and exotic animal
species for silk and spices from east
Decline of Roman Empire

After 200 years of vigorous growth,
Roman Empire began a slow decline
Economic deterioration as trade began to
decline
 Emperors were unable to maintain control in
far reaches of the empire
 Local authorities began to reassert more
power
 Germanic invasions from North led to the fall
of the western half of the empire
