Ancient Greece
I. Geography shaped Greek Civilization. (Read p 102-105)
A. The ____ shaped Greek Civilization just as in Asia rivers did.
1. Provided ____________ routes.
2. Greece was poor in natural ____________.
B. The terrain _____________ the people.
1. It is very mountainous with mostly ___________ valleys.
2. Due to difficulty in crossing, the city-states were ________.
3. To most Greeks their home was their __________ region.
4. The land could not ________ all the people.
C. The climate helped to shape ________.
1. Moderate temperatures and rain only during ___________.
2. People could meet ____________ & _________.
3. ____________________ knew everyone else.
4. Public discussions and exchange of news were part of
________ __________ and culture. (Reading is done.)
II. First Ancient Civilizations (Bronze Age)
A. Crete (2000-1400 BC)
1. Minoans (King Minos)
2. Great culture of art - they delighted in
3. Women viewed almost as
4. They even had
B. Mycenaeans
1. Lived in a well-fortified city on a ridge with 20-foot
2. Lived in splendor from the plunder of
3. Nobles used bronze; peasants used
4. The Trojan War - 1200 BC - was a raid on a rival
5. Destroyed by the “Peoples of the Sea”.
C. Dorians (1200 - 750 BC)
1. Distant relatives, not as advanced in
2. Skill of writing was
3. Dark Ages -
4. We have to rely on Homer’s
I liad and Odyssey.
D. Creation of the Greek Hero
1. Homer’s stories
2. The Olympics
a. 776 BC - every 4 years, grassy fields of Olympia
b. From everywhere in Greece to compete.
c. Pentathlon, broad jump, discus, javelin, sprint, wrestling
d. Crowned with wreath of olives leaves,
3. Greek gods were like humans in conflict, but immortal
4. Myths tried to explain the mysteries of
5. Religion in Greece was tied to government and
III. City-states compete for power.
A. City-states (polis) are the cradle of democracy.
1. Citizens were expected to be
2. Only free males were
3. They were to be involved in all
4. They were considered free and
5. Leaders were expected to be willingly to
B. Power passes from kings to citizens.
1. After warrior-kings, an aristocracy (group of nobles) ruled the city-states and served themselves.
2. Because iron was now cheap, citizens were
3. Often an out-of-place noble would lead farmer-soldiers
a. He would set himself up as a tyrant.
b. Not liked by nobles for his part and for giving
c. He would build community buildings.
4. Many other city-states tried other forms of

C. Sparta built an army state.
1. Spartans conquered their neighbors and made them helots (serfs), forced to work the land.
2. After a helot revolt in 600 BC, the Spartans created a
a. Babies examine for fitness, if not fit, they were
b. Boys at age seven were moved into barracks and
c. Girls were raised to be hard, and as women were given nearly equal rights as men and ran the family lands.
3. Great army, but no art or architecture.
4. Values were duty, strength, and discipline over
D. Athens turned to democracy.
1. They were educated to think and act as
2. They were eager to
3. Two leaders reformed the government into a democracy -
4. Solon (594 BC) reforms the economy and politics.
a. Canceled all debts, freed indebted slaves, made farming profitable and required sons to get a trade.
b. Allowed all males to discuss and vote on issues, and allowed anyone to bring charges against anyone committing a wrong, so all were responsible for justice.
5. Cleisthenese (508 BC) creates a Council of 500 to prose laws and advise the Athenian assembly.
E. The Persian Wars came twice to Greece, one in 490 and again 480 BC.
1 . After Athenians sent troops to aid Ionia in defeat, Darius
2. Battle of Marathon was a great victory, but if not for
3. Second invasion came from his son, Xerxes, and a united Greek force defeated them with courage and skill.
a. He invaded with an enormous force of
b. Thermopylae was a great Spartan defeat with
c. Salamis was a great naval victory against
d. At Plataea ½ of the Persian army was finally defeated by
4. With Athens claiming the victory, they took the leadership of the Delian League and ushered in 50 years of creativity.
IV. Athens led Greece in its golden age.
A. Pericles (480 BC) strengthens democracy and the arts of Athens.
1. Created paid public officials to hire more than the
2. Using Delian League funds they built up the
3. To beautify Athens with gold, marble & the Parthenon.
B. Art flourished in Athens.
1. Classical Art was created a standard by the Athenians
- order, balance, and proportion. Great statues and temples, and individuals began to decorate their homes.
2. The Greeks invented drama.
a. They created
b. Wrote tragedies, comedies, and myths.
3. Pottery was another source of art -
C. In Peloponnesian War of 27 years starting in 431 BC -
1. After having navy destroyed & the city depleted by plagues
2. Athens is shaken by defeat.
a. Democracy begins to
b. Art - statues and comedies - begins to show
D. Philosophers searched for truth.
1. Philosopher is “one who
2. Socrates created the Socratic method of asking questions to find the truth of something; he was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth of Athens.
3. Plato theorized that the average citizen was incapable
a. He created a school of thought called the
b. Wrote The Republic about the best form of

c. Only the top third should rule, & their greatest philosopher
4. His greatest pupil was Aristotle who was hungry for knowledge. He developed syllogism - If
V. Macedonians spread Greek culture. (Read p 122-127)
A. Philip II of Macedonia unifies the ____________.
1. He saw that their only resource was their fierce _______.
2. Conquered all of Greece, and was to set out for _________.
B. His son, Alexander the Great, continued his father’s dreams
(334-324 BC).
1. At Granicus he defeated a force of _____________.
2. At the Battle of Issus he defeated a force of ____________.
3. He freed Egypt and set up the city of ______________.
4. At Gaugamela he defeated a force of ____________.
5. He set his sights on conquering __________.
6. After 7 years & 11,000 miles, his men begged to _______.
7. He then soon caught cold and died of a ___________.
C. Alexander’s great legacy -Hellenistic culture
1. Alexandria, a city on the Nile Delta, grew into a city of
___________, __________, and _____________.
2. Astronomy and geography grew to _______ __________.
3. Great advancements were made in mathematics and physics. Their ideas were not applied, because they had many
_____________ to do the work.
4. Art greatly changed with the use of idealistic ___________ and _________________.
5. Rome will take these ideas and run with them.
Western Civilization (103)
Men spent their leisure time where? (agora 105)
Bards (106) epics (106) arete (107) acropolis (108) phalanx (109)
Eratosthenes (126)
Euclid (126)
Archimedes (126)