Facts: What facts
did you note?
Feelings: What
feelings did you
have?
Questions: What
questions came up
for you?
Ideas: What ideas
were sparked?
With a neighbor, explain how
the geography affected the
development of Ancient
Greece.
The Geography of Greece
• The Mountains
– ¾ of the land
– Little farmland
(few streams)
supported a small
population)
– Divided into
city-states
(polis)
– Never united
into one country
• The Sea
– Great sailors
– Traded for
things they
didn’t have
Geography
Troy
Aegean
Sea
Athens
Ionian
Sea
Mediterranean
Sea
Sparta
Cret
e
What was the origin and structure
of the Greek polis?
• Polis: city-state
• By 750 BC- fundamental political unit
in ancient Greece
• Made up of a city and its surrounding
countryside- including numerous
villages
– Athens, Sparta, Ithaca
• Where did they meet to discuss issues?
– Acropolis: the highest and most fortified
place in the city
– Slide 21
What was the origin and structure
of the Greek polis?
• Why did these develop?
– They began to identify with the local
area in which they lived
• Different types:
– Monarchy- rule by king
– Aristocracy – rule by rich people
– Oligarchy – rule by a small group
of people
– Tyrant – a dictator
Review:
What was the polis?
What was the acropolis?
Why do people need religion?
How did the Greeks use
religion for that purpose?
Describe polytheism in the
Greek world
• POLYTHEISTIC
• Greeks developed a rich set of myths
(stories) about their gods
• Gave gods human qualities:
– Love, hate, jealousy
• Lived forever
• Mount Olympus- where the gods lived
• Gods were worshiped in temples
– Use of oracles as mediums
Hera
Zeus
Athena
Hercules
Bronze Age Greece
Crete: Minoan
Civilization
(Palace at Knossos)
Knossos: Minoan Civilization
Minoan Civilization
The Mycenaean Civilization
Homer: The “Heroic Age”
The Mask of Agamemnon
ATHENS: Yesterday & Today
Back to the polis…
Piraeus: Athens’ Port City
What political
contribution did the
Greeks give to Western
cultures and societies?
Early Athenian Lawgivers
• Draco
•
Promoted the idea that all people are
equal under the law
•
Promoted the use of capital
punishment
• Solon

Changes to the government

Gave citizens a greater voice
• Cleisthenes

created the first democracy!
Persian Wars: 499 BCE – 480 BCE
Persian Wars: Famous Battles
 Marathon (490 BCE)
 26 miles from Athens
 Thermopylae (480 BCE)
 300 Spartans at the
Mountain pass
 Salamis (480 BCE)
 Athenian navy victorious
Outcome of the Persian Wars
•
Delian League: collaboration
of Greek city-states to fight
the Persians
•
After the Persians were
defeated, Athens became the
strongest city-state and as a
result, entered into…
Ch.5.3 Greece’s Golden
Age “Age of Pericles”
460 BCE – 429 BCE
Pericles- wise and able
statesman who had 3 goals:
1. Strengthen Athenian Democracy
2. Hold & Strengthen the empire
3. Glorify Athens
 Strengthen Democracy
» Increased number of public officials who were paidpoor could serve
» Introduces Direct Democracy
 Athenian Empire
» Formed Delian League- used $ from treasury to
make Navy strongest in Mediterranean
 Glorify Athens
» Used treasury money to beautify Athens.
Philosophy
• Philo = love
• Soph = wisdom
Great Athenian Philosophers
• Socrates
•
Know thyself!
•
question everything  “Socratic method”
•
Absolute standards did exist for truth and
justice
•
Died by poison
• Plato
•
Student of Socrates
•
The Academy
•
The Republic  philosopher-king (person with
greatest insight)
Great Athenian Philosophers
• Aristotle
•
Student of Plato
•
The Lyceum school
•
Questioned the nature of the world and
of human thought
•
Provides the basis of the Scientific
Method.
•
Alexander the Great was his student
What were characteristics of
Classical Greece culture?
Athens: The Arts & Sciences
 DRAMA (tragedians):

Tragedies

Comedies
 THE SCIENCES:

Pythagoras  Pythagorean Theorem!

A2 + B2 = C2

Democritus  all matter made up of
small atoms

Hippocrates  “Father of Medicine”
The Classical Greek “Ideal”
Classical Greek art was focused on idealism and
beauty.
Phidias’ Acropolis
The acropolis was the fortified hilltop area of the
city-state.
the acropolis of athens
The Acropolis Today
Back to the polis!
The Parthenon
The Parthenon was a temple built to the Athenian
patron goddess, Athena.
The Agora
Housed in the acropolis was the agora, or the
marketplace, where men frequented to buy/sell or
discuss politics.
Olympia
This was the site of the Olympic games that the Greeks
attended every year. Though they fought each other, they
would cease war just for the Olympic games.
The Ancient Olympics:
Athletes & Trainers
Olympia: Temple to
Hera
Athens’ strength became
their weakness, and other
Greek city-states grew
tired of their power…
Peloponnesian Wars
Athens vs. Sparta
Sparta grows tired of
Athenian domination of
the Delian League
SPARTA
Peloponnesian War Ends
Golden Age
• Athens had stronger navy while Sparta had
stronger army
• Sparta burned Athens
• Pericles responded by bringing residents
into city walls
• However, the plague struck and Pericles
died
• War continues for year but eventually leads
to a truce
• Sparta wins the war, but all of Greece is
weakened as a result, leaving the door open
for…
CONQUEST!!!
Macedonia Under Philip II
PHILIP II CONQUERS
GREECE.
Philip II hated the
Greeks because they
looked down on the
Macedonians, seeing
them as uncivilized
foreigners (even though
many Macedonians saw
themselves as Greek)
Philip II of Macedon
Ow! My eyeball!
• Becomes king of Macedonia
in 359BC
• Quickly proved to be a
brilliant general and ruthless
politician
• Was seen as a threat to
Greece by some, but the
Greek city-states could not
agree on a course of action.
• Philip defeats the Greeks at
the Battle of Chaeronea,
ending Greek independence.
• Philip is assassinated at his
daughters wedding! No
daddy/daughter dance!
His son, Alexander the Great,
quickly proclaims himself king
Alexander defeats Persia
• Conquered the lands from Greece
to the Indus Valley
– Smashed the Persians, Egypt
(crowned him pharaoh), Babylon,
Indus River Valley
-His soldiers fought for 11 years
-They miss their families and beg
Alexander to go home
-Alexander agrees, but never makes it
home. He dies of syphillis at the age
of 32!
Alexander the Great’s Empire
The Hellenization of Asia
Hellenism: blend of Greek and Eastern (Persian,
Egyptian, and Indian) cultures
Diffusion of Greek culture
• Greek culture and language traveled
with Alexander’s army (notice the
influence of his teacher, Aristotle!)
• The blending of Greek, Egyptian,
Persian, and Indian influences became
known as Hellenistic culture
• New blended language
• Alexandria- Egyptian city became an
international community with diverse
population; home to some of the world’s
foremost scholars!
Alexandria
Pergamum: A Hellenistic City
The Colossus of Rhodes
A 100 ft. tall
Bronze Statue
Toppled by an earthquake
In 225 BC
The Economy of the Hellenistic World
Hellenistic Philosophers
 Diogenes promotes Cynicism

ignore social conventions &
avoid luxuries.

citizens of the world.

live a humble, simple life.
 Epicurus  Promotes
philosophy of Epicureanism

Avoid pain & seek pleasure.

Advocated moderation in all things
Hellenistic Philosophers
 Zeno- Promotes
philosophy of Stoicism

People should live virtuous lives in
harmony with God’s will

Human desires should be kept in
check

Hence the phrase: “He is a stoic
individual.”
Hellenism: The Arts & Sciences

Scientists / Mathematicians:
 Aristarchus  heliocentric theory
 Euclid  geometry
 Archimedes  pulley

Hellenistic Art:
 More realistic; less ideal than
classical art
 Showed individual emotions,
wrinkles, and age!
What is Hellenism?
How did Alexander the
Great’s conquest lead to
cultural diffusion?
What were some
characteristics of
Hellenistic Greece?
Alexander’s Legacy
After his death, Alexander’s generals
fight for control of the vast empire
Three rise to the top:
• Antigonus- took control of Macedonia
and the Greek city-states
• Ptolemy- took control of Egypt
• Seleucus- took control of the old
Persian Empire
The Breakup of Alexander’s Empire
Who’s Next?
As Hellenistic Greece begins to fade in
power around 150 B.C., a new power
begins to rise…
ROME!