Name: ___________________________________________________________________Period: __________ Date: __________
Key Figures of Greece
Standard: Examine the political, philosophical, and cultural interaction of Classical Mediterranean societies
from 700 BCE to 400 CE
Essential Question: How did Classical Mediterranean societies interact politically, philosophical, and
culturally from 700 BCE to 400 CE?
Identify the ideas and impact of important individuals; include Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and
describe the diffusion of Greek culture by Aristotle’s pupil Alexander the Great and the impact of
Julius and Augustus Caesar.
Greek Philosophers
Examples:
1.
2.
3.
Ideas
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Impact
Essential Question: How did Classical Mediterranean societies interact politically, philosophical, and
culturally from 700 BCE to 400 CE?
Unification of Greece
Alexander the Great
Analyze the contributions of Hellenistic and Roman culture; include law, gender, and science.
The Hellenistic Era
Description:
Impact:
Key Figures of Greece
Standard: Examine the political, philosophical, and cultural interaction of Classical Mediterranean societies
from 700 BCE to 400 CE
Essential Question: How did Classical Mediterranean societies interact politically, philosophical, and
culturally from 700 BCE to 400 CE?
Identify the ideas and impact of important individuals; include Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and
describe the diffusion of Greek culture by Aristotle’s pupil Alexander the Great and the impact of
Julius and Augustus Caesar.
Greek Philosophers
 “love of wisdom”
 refers to an organized system of rational thought
 early Greek philosophers concerned with the nature of the universe
 three of the greatest philosophers of the Western world
4. Socrates
5. Plato
6. Aristotle
Socrates
 developed the Socratic Method
o a question-and-answer format to lead pupils to
understand things for themselves
o based on the belief that knowledge is already
present within each of us
 “the unexamined life is not worth living”
o the belief in the individual’s ability to reason
o important contribution of Greek thought
 killed for “corrupting the youth”
Plato
 one of Socrates’ students
 considered to be the greatest Western philosopher
 The Republic: explained Plato’s views on government
 believed that people could not achieve a good life
unless they lived in a just and rational state
 ideal state has three groups—rulers, warriors, and
commoners
o led by a philosopher-king
o men and women would have the same education
and equal access to all positions
 established a school in Athens called the Academy
Aristotle
 Plato’s most important pupil
 studied at the academy for 20 years
 wide-range of interests including ethics, logic, politics,
poetry, astronomy, geology, biology, and physics
 found three forms of government: monarchy,




aristocracy, and constitutional government(preferred)
Lyceum
Essential Question: How did Classical Mediterranean societies interact politically, philosophical, and
culturally from 700 BCE to 400 CE?
Unification of Greece
 Greeks viewed the Macedonians as barbarians
 Philip II became king of Macedonia in 359 B.C.
 Macedonia defeated Greece at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C.
 Greek city-states united in a league under Macedonian control
 Philip was assassinated
Alexander the Great
 Philip’s son
 became king of Macedonia at age 20
 334 B.C. began invasion of the Persian Empire
 331 B.C. conquered all of the Persian Empire
 327 B.C. moved through modern Pakistan into India
 323 B.C. Alexander died after his return to Babylon at 32 years old
Analyze the contributions of Hellenistic and Roman culture; include law, gender, and science.
The Hellenistic Era
Description:
 created by Alexander
 the expansion of Greek language and ideas to the non-Greek world of Southwest Asia and beyond
 Alexander’s empire fell apart after his death
 Four Hellenistic kingdoms emerged: Macedonia, Syria, Pergamum, and Egypt
 all eventually conquered by the Romans
 rulers encouraged Greek colonization in Southwest Asia
 new cities recruited architects, engineers, dramatists, and actors, as well as civilian administrators and
soldiers
 helped to spread Greek culture as far as modern Afghanistan and India
Impact:
 Alexandria, home to scholars of many different kinds
 Founding and rebuilding cities created opportunities for Greek architects and sculptors in the Hellenistic
kingdoms. Thousands of statues were erected. Hellenistic sculptors moved away from classical ideals and
created more emotional and realistic art.