By:Kenzie Blondin
Early Development of Greece
• During the 3rd millennium B.C.E., societies
were built in the Balkan region and the
peninsula of Greece with the influence of
civilizations such as Mesopotamia and
Egypt.
Minoan Society
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Late 3rd millennium B.C.E.-- Crete(southeast of Greece) became a sophisticated society called the
Minoan society)
2000-1700 B.C.E--built palaces throughout the island( ex. Knossos had colorful Minoan frescos with
the people at work and play)
Palaces = the center of society: rulers resided there and were used as a storehouse for taxes
Developed a script called Linear A: symbols stood for syllables: used for detailed records of
economic/commercial matters : can’t decipher today
2200-1450 B.C.E.--Minoan society was the center of Mediterranean trade
Traveled to Greece, Anatolia, Phoenicia, Egypt, and Sicily : traded wine, olive oil, and wool for
grains and textiles
1600 B.C.E.– established colonies on Cyprus and other islands in the Aegean Sea to mine local
copper ores and have access to tin
Decline: 1700 B.C.E. – natural disasters(earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal waves)
1628 B.C.E.– major eruption on the island of Thera, north of Crete
1600-1450 B.C.E. – rebuilt palaces and built complexes with indoor plumbing, drainage systems, and
even some flush toilets
After 1450 B.C.E. the wealth of the Minoans attracted invaders and the society fell by 1100 B.C.E.
Mycenaean Society
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2200 B.C.E.– Indo-Europeans migrate into the Greek peninsula
1600 B.C.E.– trade with Minoans and visiting Crete: learn Minoan writing and
architecture
Linear B script developed from Minoan Linear A script
1450 B.C.E.– built massive stone fortresses and palaces at Peloponnesus
Protection brought by the fortresses attracted settlers
1500-1100 B.C.E.– overpowered Minoans, took Cretan palaces, and established
craft workshops
Made settlements in Anatolia, Sicily, and southern Italy
1200 B.C.E.—conflict with city of Troy in Anatolia (Trojan Wars)
1100-800 B.C.E.– chaos in eastern Mediterranean:impossible to maintain a
stable government, a productive agriculture, and population declined
People fled to Aegean islands, Anatolia, and Cyprus
Linear A + B disappeared
The Polis
• Greece didn’t have a centralized state or empire
• Local institutions kept order: the city-state(polis)
• Poleis attracted large numbers of settlers and gradually became urban
commercial centers
• levied taxes and the portions of agricultural surplus supported the
population
• 800 B.C.E.– poleis became bustling city-states and principal Greek
centers
• Different poleis had different political forms but the most popular was
the poleis under rule local notables called “tyrants”. However, most of
them were popular rulers
Sparta
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Fertile region of Peloponnesus
Economy expanded during the 8th and 7th centuries B.C.E. and took over
Peloponnesus
The regional people they took over were called helots. They were not free and
provided labor and a constant food supply
6th century B.C.E.—outnumbered Spartan citizens 10 to 1
Sparta focused on a powerful, disciplined military to avoid a helot rebellion and
to be the most powerful of all poleis
Lived an austere life (no jewelry, fancy clothing, and huge wealth)
Power was found not through wealth but military talent and valor
Boys left home at 7 years old to train for war in military barracks
Men went into the military at 20 years old and served until retirement
Women vigorously exercised in hope of having strong babies
Girls got married at 18-20 but didn’t live with their husbands until they were
around 30 years old
4th century B.C.E.—simplicity was lost and now Spartans could enjoy luxury but
military power was still top priority
Athens
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Had a government based on democracy
Only free adult males were allowed citizenship and a role in public affairs
7th century B.C.E.– Attica had more maritime trade
Maritime wealth was among the aristocratic landowners who controlled the government and most of
the land
Small plot owners fell heavenly into debt. Many had to sell their land, homes, and their freedom
Early 6th century B.C.E.—Attica was heavily populated and very wealthy but unhappy due to a small
number of wealthy aristocrats
An aristocrat named Solon served as a mediator between social classes
His plan was for aristocrats to keep land but cancel debts. He forbade debt slavery and liberated
debtors already enslaved
Slaves were opened to the council of the polis to anyone wealthy enough to devote time to public
affairs
Late 6th to 5th centuries– commoners paid salary to officeholders so finances wouldn’t exclude
anyone from service
Pericles was a very popular Athenian leader from 443-429 B.C.E:supported building projects
Athens became most sophisticated of the Greek poleis with art, philosophy, architecture, poetry, etc.
Greece and the Outside World
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Greece established colonies throughout the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea
800 B.C.E.– poleis are political centers, populations increase
Colonies begin to develop
Mid 8th-late 6th centuries B.C.E.—more than 400 colonies develop
Colonies provided merchants with fertile fields and access to copper, zinc, and
tin in central Italy
600 B.C.E.—established colonies as far west in southern France(Massalia)
Black Sea colonies offered grain, fish, furs, timber, honey, wax, gold, amber,
and slaves to the poleis
Greece didn’t build centralized imperial states-an individual polis mainly
relied on itself for politics
All this trade spread the Greek language and culture
Conflict with Persia
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Persian Wars(500-479 B.C.E.)
Cyrus and Darius tightened hold on Anatolia
500 B.C.E.— Ionian Greeks revolted and expelled the Achaemenid
administration
Darius repressed the Greeks by 493 B.C.E.
490 B.C.E.--Persian campaign against peninsular Greece(large fleet to attack
Athens)
The Athenian army was outnumbered but won the Battle of Marathon
480 B.C.E.– Xerxes sent massive troops and ships to subdue the Greeks but
the Athenians shattered the Persian navy at the Battle of Salamis
Never elevated to a full-scale war
Persia didn’t want to waste money and effort on small, unthreatening Greece
and Greece didn’t have the resources or desire to pursue Persia
Greece just wanted independence
Conflict Within Greece
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The Delian League was created to prevent further Persian attacks
Athens is the militaristic leader
The other poleis gave financial support in order for protection
The Persians never did invade again so the poleis resented giving
Athens money and making them wealthy
Peloponnesian War(432-404 B.C.E.) The poleis divided into two
camps under the control of Sparta and Athens
After a close war, Sparta forced Athens and its allies to surrender
Jealousy arose over Sparta’s hegemony over Greece
More fighting was sparked and power passed through multiple poleis
Internal struggle severely weakens Greece
Macedonians
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Until the 4th century B.C.E., Macedon consisted of cultivators and seasonal sheepherders
There were kings and clans
Macedon traded with Greece and became familiar with the land and overall society
King Philip II(359-336 B.C.E.) made himself ruler and created an almost invincible military
350 B.C.E.– moved into northern Greece
Greece was under Macedonian control by 338 B.C.E.
King Philip II was assassinated and his son, Alexander the Great takes over--proves to be a brilliant
strategist and leader
333 B.C.E.—Ionia and Anatolia under Macedon’s control
332 B.C.E.---Syria, Palestine, and Egypt under Macedon’s control
331 B.C.E.---Mesopotamia under Macedon’s control
330 B.C.E.---Alexander the Great declares himself the new emperor of Persia
In 327 B.C.E.---Macedonian forces crossed into India,across the Indus,and entered the Punjab
324 B.C.E.---Alexander and his men returned home and feasted
323 B.C.E.---Alexander becomes ill and dies
Hellenistic Empire
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275 B.C.E.—Alexander’s empire divided into three states
Interaction from Greece to India
Antigonid Empire(Macedon/Greece)-the smallest state-Macedonians offered
tax cuts if rule was recognized-Athens and Corinth were extremely wealthy
Ptolemaic Empire(Egypt/Palestine)-the wealthiest-irrigation-royal monopolies
over textiles, salt making, and the brewing of beer-Alexandria was the
administrative headquarters:huge port that held over 1200 ships:also a cultural
center(Alexandrian Museum and the Alexandrian Library)
Seleucid Empire(Anatolia/Mesopotamia/Bactria)—greatest extent of Greek
influence
Colony of Ai Khanum on the Oxus River in Bactria spoke Greek, dressed in
Greek fashions, read Greek literature+philosophy,etc.
Greek Economy
• Relied mainly on maritime due to mountainous, unfertile terrain
• Traded olive oil+wine for grains
• Trade linked Greece with other civilizations and colonies—huge cargo
ships
• A merchant would borrow $ from a banker to rent ship space for goods
• Usually small scale work shops/entrepreneurs
• Pan Hellenic festivals(athletic, literary, or musical contests to win
honor for their polis)
• Olympic Games were athletic contests held every four years—winners
were crowned with olive wreaths and were heroes in the polis
• Caravans carried small luxury items(gems and jewelry)
Greek Family/Society
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Strictly patriarchal—father even had the right to leave newborns to die in the mountains
or countryside
Women usually stayed home but would sometimes would go out with a chaperone or
servant—would have to wear a veil---could not own land but could run a small shop--only women that had public authority were priestesses
Sparta was an exception:women were encouraged to be athletic, join in festivals, maybe
even defend their polis—however, men were still the authority
Literacy and formal education was common among upper class woman
Sappho—around 600 B.C.E.---- a widow who invited a group of young women into her
home for instruction in music and literature---moral criticism---only fragments of her
poetry survive
Slaves provide labor(debtors, POW’s, Russian and African slaves)
Skilled slaves had special opportunities to help run their master’s business and
potentially earn their freedom
Greek Philosophy
“The unexamined life is not worth living”--Socrates
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8th-7th centuries B.C.E.---the Greeks traveled to different civilizations and learned astronomy,
science, mathematics, medicine, magic, and myths
Adapted the Phoenician alphabet—added symbols for vowels
5th and 4th centuries B.C.E.---philosophy based on human reason
Socrates(470-399 B.C.E.)-Athenian who encouraged reflection on ethics and morality-believed
humans could lead honest lives-personal honor comes above all else
He was sentenced to death so he drank poison in the company of friends—didn’t know if death was
eternal sleep or rising up to a higher power but he looked at it positively in both ways
Plato(430-347 B.C.E.)—Socrates’ pupil who wrote Socrates’ views—believed in Forms or Ideas(ex.
Virtue means obeying your parents but if your parents commit a crime, it is your duty to notify the
authorities)—he resolved our world isn’t the only world,not the world of genuine reality—entering
the world of Forms or Ideas was the only was to fully comprehend—believed all kings should be
philosophers
Aristotle(384-322 B.C.E.)—didn’t trust Forms or Ideas but relied on human senses to understand—
also wrote on science, literature, math, politics, etc.
Christianity and Islam went to great lengths to harmonize with philosophical ideas
Greek Religion
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Rain,wind,and other natural phenomena became gods
Myths and stories were created to explain the way present things are
Chaos creates earth-earth creates the sky-sky creates night,day,the sun,and moon
Heavenly battles occur and Zeus becomes the overseer of all gods
CULTS:
Eleusinian mysteries cult had a ritual community meal and observed high moral standards
Some cults such as the cult that celebrated Demeter only allowed women-allowed women to play some kind of a
role in society
Dionysus(god of wine)-cult would go to the hills to celebrate with song and dance-Euripides(dramatist) claimed
that the followers were so frenzied that they tore a man and goat apart as sacrifices to Dionysus
5th century B.C.E.-poleis strengthened the grips on social and political life
Cults became domesticated and watched annual plays
This leads to dramatic literature-tragedians and comedians-only 32 full plays survive
Philosophical groups:Epicureans(believed simple pleasures bring peace); Skeptics(doubted the correct
knowledge to run an efficient political and moral code); Stoics(most respected and believed in the duty to aid
others,be virtuous)
All of these addressed individual needs by searching for peace/serenity
Mystery religions-eternal bliss for observing rites(ex. Cult of Osiris)
Some believed in the worship of a savior whose death and resurrection leads to eternal salvation—their god has
a plan for all