Notes Unit Two
Explain what this statement means: The
Greeks laid the foundations for what we are
today. Give ten examples.
INTRO TO THE GREEKS
Greek heritage is extremely significant
to the development of Western civ.
-1st to think and act like modern man
-1st to experiment with selfgovernment
-significant advances in scientific
thought
-Minoan Civilization 2600 - 1450 B.C.
-civilization begins on the island of
Crete
-center was the sea, not river valley
-pop. 20,000
-2600 BC they were working with
bronze and gold, had writing system
-Under the leadership of King Minos,
the civilization reaches its highest point,
thus, it came to be named Minoan
civilization
-Minoans built a very wealthy
civilization based on trade, especially due to
their prime location on the Mediterranean
-athletic contest, festivals, dancing,
sports, gold jewelry
-exported wine, honey and olive oil
-not a military power, used their wealth
to build incredible palaces and
buildings
-Palaces of Knossos 1898 discovered
-had no defensive walls
-100,000 people and covered
over 5 acres
-800 rooms
-painted walls (men/women
athletes, animal scenes, daily
life)
-plumbing system and sewer
system
-water (for bathing, flushing
toilet)
-windows
-Minoan Art
-pottery, Bronze daggers, etc.
-Decline of Minoan civilization was due
to an earthquake, volcanic eruption, and/or a
Greek invasion from the mainland which led
to its collapse
-Volcanic explosion probably
caused a tidal wave that destroyed them
-Wave over 300 feet high, 200
mph
-Some believe that these people
gave rise to the legend of Atlantis
Mycaneans 1600-1100 B.C.
-civilization built around a city in
mainland Greece
-located steep rocky ridge
-surrounded by a protective wall 20
feet thick
-many city-states in the kingdom
-invaded and took over Minoan
civilization, borrowed much from it
-used Minoan style of pottery,
jewelry, and writing
-war like and aggressive
-City of Mycanae noted for its massive,
elaborate forts
-Wars between the city states in
Mycanae led to the collapse of the empire in
1100 B.C.
-Greatest king was Agamemnon. Biggest
event in their civ. appears to be a long war
with their arch enemy, the Trojans. We
know much about the Trojan war because of
the epics "the Iliad" and "the Odyssey" by
Homer (800 BC)
-The "Iliad" tells of the Trojan war
-Believe it's true now. Found the
city of Troy in Turkey, over 8,700 pieces of
gold and jewelry
-Helen, sister-in-law of
Agamemnon is kidnapped by Paris of Troy
-coalition of Mycenaean
states join together to get her back
-Achilles (Greek) vs. Hector
(Trojan) they were the leaders
-War lasted over 10 years,
Achilles laid siege to Troy
-Trojans took in a horse full
of Mycenaean warriors
-themes of the Iliad are,
courage, war and strength
b. the "Odyssey" tells story of
return home of another Greek hero,
Odysseus (Ulysses) and his comrades
- they face many trials Sirens, Cyclops, and the Hydra
-after many years he returns
home, claims his wife and throne
-themes are intellect and
cunning
Dark Ages of Greece 1100-800 B.C.
-Many small wars between the city
states
-Chaos and lack of any solid government
or society
-Loss of learning and art
- 800 BC the Dorians take control
Hellenic Civilization 800-300 B.C.
-About 800 B.C. the Hellenic
civilization begins to arise, what we now
know as the classical Greek civilization
-Characterized by the rise of the polis, or
city-state and by stable government and
society
Greek Renaissance 800-600 B. C.
-Rebirth of Greek culture lost in the
Dark Ages
-Most noted for rebirth of literature and
religion
Early Greek Literature (Adopted Phoenician
alphabet)
-Homer - Great blind poet who wrote
epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey
-Both stories deal with the Trojan War,
and with themes and qualities important to
Greek society
-give values to Greek culture
-deal with Greek character
-spoke of deeds of noble warriors
who were brave but also concerned with
honor and pride
- Epics about the end of the
Trojan war (Mycenaean Greeks vs. city of
Troy in Asia minor)
- Greeks won through trickery
-In the Iliad, Homer sets the tone
for Greek men who value duty to country
over their own life. A hero was a speaker of
words and a doer of deeds who combined
courage with intelligence. These skills were
the ideal goals of Greek education.
Greek Religion
-Greek mythology tells the stories of the
Greek gods and goddesses
-like humans but immortal
-No real religious code of conduct to
appease the gods
-Gods worshipped through offerings and
prayers and through occasional feasts and
ceremonies, such as Olympic games
-started in 776 B.C. grassy field in
Olympia. Lasted 5 days. Most important
event was the Pentathlon (5 events: broad
jump, discus, javelin, sprint, wrestling).
Prize was honor and fame
-Types of athletic games
foot races
jumping
throwing the discus and javelin
wrestling
boxing
-Stadium seated 40,000
-Gods thought to live on Mount
Olympus, in northern Greece
Gods and Goddesses
Zeus - Most important god, head of all gods
Hera - Zeus’ wife, the goddess of marriage
Hades - god of the underworld
Aphrodite - goddess of love and beauty
Poseidon - god of the sea
Demeter - goddess of farmland and grain
Ares - god of war
Polis- Greek City-States
- Approximately 700 city-states in
Greece
Two Primary City-States - Athens and
Sparta
-Athens (Compare: Location, population,
philosophy, government, military)
-got its name from the goddess Athena
-Acropolis
-Stadiums
-Delphi
-trained to think and act as free people
-Population:35,000 male citizens
-350,000 women, children, foreign
residents, and slaves
-Location:became commercial and
cultural center of Greece (by the sea)
-well educated
-Philosophy: Athenians valued the
development of all abilities, especially the
mind. They believed that a man was not
complete if he failed to use his mind and
talents
-Athens had many artists, playwrights,
poets, and thinkers.
-1st civilization to establish a
government in which citizens rule
themselves
Athenian government
About 800 B.C., the richest people
(Aristocrats) in the city gain power, and
form a government which heavily favors the
rich. One of these leaders, Draco, writes up
the first written code of laws for Greeks very harsh “Draconian” laws 621 BC
-death penalty for most offenses
-before judges would interpret laws
as they pleased
Citizens are very unhappy with the
government, and upper class fears revolt.
Solon - appointed leader of Athens 594
B.C.
-known for his wisdom and fairness
(considered the wisest of the land)
-poet and philosopher
-repeals some of Draco’s code
-makes laws more fair for all
citizens
-citizens could become jurors
-1st jury system
-encourages farmers to make wine
and oil, which increase Athens’ wealth
-canceled debts of poor
-freed those who had been enslaved
for debt
-made slavery for debt illegal
-took away power from the nobles
-4 classes based on wealth not birth
-father required to teach his son a
trade
-allowed citizenship to more artisans
-limited amount of land one citizen
could own
-made farming more profitable
-est. a legal system
-citizen could bring charges
against anyone
-resigns when done
-Pisistratus
-gains support of the poor becomes
ruler of Athens 560 BC
-tyrant - sole ruler of a polis
(positive to Greeks)
-help improve way of life in Athens
Cleisthenes 510 B.C.
-Founder of democracy
-Devised a system of government
where all adult males could vote for their
leaders, laws, wars, and judges.
-1/5 people were citizens
-rest: slaves, foreigners,
women
-Citizen: Native born, 18 yrs take
an oath, two yrs of military training
-Leading the country was a council
of 500 men, 50 from each of ten districts.
Each was elected and could serve only a one
year term
-appointed by lot. All citizens
have an equal chance to be elected
-Assembly could also vote against
anyone they believed to be a threat to the
city, a tyrant for example. If 6,000 voted
against that person, they were ostracized kicked out of the city for 10 years.
-Ostrakon: votes written on
(broken pottery)
-strong navy
Sparta
-Unlike Athens, not located on the
water, located inland
- cut off from other city-states by
mountain ranges
-Much smaller than Athens, only 5,000
adult males
-conquered nearby regions, forced many
people to work as farm laborers
-Helots - outnumbered Spartans by
10 to 1 (8 to 1, 20 to 1???) got 1/2 of
crop
-so they lived in constant fear of
revolt
-725 BC almost taken over by
Helots, changed way of life and laws
as a result
-Gov. was a monarchy
-headed by two kings
-28 elders advising the kings
-an assembly of Spartan
citizens would meet to approve of gov.
decisions. Citizens would shout loudly
to show support
-state is in control
-Spartans wanted to develop strong,
fearless people, both men and women
-sickly babies left to die (had to
bring babies to state)
-state is in control which starts from
birth
-family less important than polis
-age of 7 Spartan boys were moved
into military barracks.
-lived there till they became full
fledged adults at the age of 30
-Read p 82
-steal food if caught beaten
(not given enough food, were
expected to get it by stealing
from near by farms
-wear light tunic, barefoot,
bed was a hard bench, food: oat
meal
-Life built around the military 30 yrs of
military service
-Very one-sided, did not emphasize the
development of the mind
-learned discipline
-toughened body
-learned to be brave, and cunning
-learned to endure pain
***-"never retreat however great the
odds, always stand firm and conquer
or die"
-created little literature, architecture
-women
-wrestled, ran, played sports,
managed family
-saying: "go to war, come back with
your shield or on it"
-polis gave each family land and Helots
to farm it
-women responsibilities of managing
their farms and households
-men most of their time fighting or
practicing military skills
-very little emphasis on literature, art,
and architecture
Athens and Sparta in common
-language
-gods
-Homer's epics
-athletic contests
Considered themselves superior to all nonGreeks, whom they called "barbarians"
-Greek word that means queerly
Phalanx
-8-rank battle formation with spears
(show picture)
-stand shoulder to shoulder
-most feared fighting technique of its
time
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
-Dominated Mesopotamia from 612-330
BC
-located in present day Iran
Persians
-Built massive empire, largest ever
seen up to that time
-Owned all of mid-east, much of
Asia Minor and India
-United all of mid-eastern
peoples under one rule
-Great wealth
Rulers
1. Cyrus the Great 547 B.C.
-conquered Medes, Chaldeans, Asia
Minor, Egypt, Babylonians, Assyrians,
Hebrews, Phoenicians, Hittites, Lydians
-united empire
-began first major system of roads
-first postal system
-mounted messengers
2. Darius the Great (521-486 BC)
greatest of all Persian kings
-extend Persian conquest into India
and Europe
-Only failure was his invasion of
Greece in 490 B.C
3. Xerxes
-Darius son
-maintained rule
-marries Esther 460 B.C.
-tried to conquer Greece in largest
invasion of Europe by sea ever attempted
until Allied D-Day invasion of 1944. Attack
was repelled by Greeks and failed
Religion
-Zoroastrianism
-Persian official religion
-Zoroaster
-prophet
-Ahura Mazda
-supreme god
-stood for truth goodness, and light
-Ahriman
-evil spirit representing darkness
-Ahura Mazda would triumph at the end of
the world, those who had followed the way
of truth and goodness would enter a realm of
eternal light while others would be
punished. This religion is still present in Iran
and India.
Persian War
1. Greek colonists in Asia Minor
rebelled against Darius (Persian King)
Greeks lose
-Greek colonist there first, Persians
take it over, rebel after Persians had
been there for one generation
-Miletus was the city-state that
rebelled
-Athen's sends 20 ships to help but
they are defeated
-Darius swore revenge and
orders a servant to repeat everyday
"master remember the Athenians"
2. Battle of Marathon - (Greeks defeat
the Persians)
-Darius invades Greece in 490 B.C. to
punish the Athenians for rebelling with
25,000 men
-Athenians had little help from other
city-states
-10,000 Athenians are waiting in
phalanx singing
-6,400 Persians die 192
Athenians
-Athenians were victorious but their
city was left defenseless. Persian ships
could get to Athens faster than
Athenians could by marching
-Phidippides (best runner in
Athenian army) runs to give the
message to Athens that they were
victorious. He ran 26 miles, then
died after giving the message.
-Marathon race named after this
-Persian ships arrive much later. Saw
the situation was helpless, and sailed
away
3. Persians invade Greece again
-Before Darius dies, tells his son to
conquer the Greeks
-480 B.C. Xerxes invades
-1200 ships, 200,000 men (2
million men?????)
-army made up of people
from Ethiopia (in lion skins, spears
tipped with gazelle horns). Arabs with
their camels. Russians with pointed hats
-1st sent envoys to demand
surrender of Greek city-states
-many give up, others form
an alliance lead by Sparta
-First battle: Spartans hold them off
for three days
-Persians - 5000 men
-Spartans - 300 men + 700 other
Greeks
-finally defeated after a traitor helped
the Persians (read p. 85)
-Spartans leader orders all other
city-states to retreat to safety.
Remaining Spartans would hold
them off or die with honor (Persians
kill them all)
-now Persians have an open route to
Athens
-Athenians leave Athens
-flee to a near by island
-Persians burn the city (homes
and temples are looted and
destroyed)
-Themistocles advises building navy
- 100 warships are built, of a total navy of
380 ships
-While Xerxes advances inland,
Themistocles sends false message to Xerxes
advising him to attack by sea in order to cut
off the retreating Greeks.
-Xerxes falls for message, sends
navy into tricky passage.
-Xerxes has his throne brought to a
cliff to watch this easy victory
- Greek boats ambush and crush
Xerxes navy.
-Out numbered 5 to 1
-Greek boats are smaller and quicker
-had a battering ram that
protruded below the water line which
pushed holes into Persian ships
-That next year, the Spartans force
Xerxes to withdraw from Greece. End for
Persian dominance
-Xerxes takes half of his army and
goes home, other half is defeated one year
later by the Spartans
Question: What would the world be like if
the Greeks would have lost to the Persians?
Supremacy of Athens
Delian League - League of Greek city-states
who formed an alliance against enemies in
478 B.C.
-more than 150 city-states
-located on the island of Delos
-city-state would have to contribute
ships, soldiers, and money
Athens is most powerful city in the league,
and soon the league becomes basically part
of the Athenian empire.
-had huge walls built around their
city
Athens dominates the Mediterranean world
from 460 to 410 B.C.
Pericles (dominated Athens for 32 yrs.
Period called "Age of Pericles")
-Greatest leader of Athens
-builds a strong navy
-Parthenon (read p. 115)
-15 yrs to build
-Strengthened Athenian democracy, and
citizen participation in government
-direct democracy: all people would
meet and debate
-Encouraged imperialism - building
colonies controlled by Athens
-Athens grows so large that Sparta finds
allies among other city states
-Sparta and Corinth were not
members and opposed the Delian league
-After Persian wars and rise of
Athenian empire, Sparta and some other
city-states resent the control and power of
Athens.
-e.g. Athens use Delian
league's money to rebuild their city, move
Delian league to Athens, and rule over other
city-states
Group Act 2-2
Peloponnesian war
Strategies for both Sparta and Athens. First
list strengths, then come up with a strategy
on how they would try to defeat each other
Peloponnesian War 431-404 B.C.
-in 431 BC war breaks out between
Sparta and Athens. It involved many city
states. Both states had prepared for war and
did little to prevent it. War was documented
by Thucydides in the "History of the
Peloponnesian War"
1. After Persian wars and rise of
Athenian empire, Sparta and some other
city-states resent the control and power of
Athens.
Began when Messina left the
Delian to form alliance with Sparta,
then Athens demanded the return of
Messina to the Delian league
2. Sparta attacks by land and Athens
withdraws within city
-burn food supply. Athens safe as
long as can bring in food with ships
3. Athen's navy goes to attack but
disease hit the city and killed thousands
(Pericles dies) 1/3 of Athenians die,
Thucydides writes how he barely survived.
His successors make a series of bad military
decisions
-Alcibiades, a tyrant took over in
415 BC when anarchy broke out
-Decides to break out and engage
Sparta, Sparta decimated the Athenians
-He was disgraced and went to
Sparta
- led the Spartan army into
Athens via a secret passage.
Spartans easily win the war
4. 404 B.C.- Truce is signed, and
Athens is forced to give up its empire
-Athens have to tare down its
walls
-lose Navy
-Sparta spared city out of respect
of their role in the Persian War
-War weakens Greece greatly, and they
still fear foreign invasion from the Persians
from the south
Macedonia
-Greek speaking people. Greeks saw
them as uncivilized because they lived in the
mnts. not in city-states
-Philip II of Macedon begins to build a
powerful kingdom (north of Greece) 359 BC
-23 yrs old
-builds a strong army
-larger phalanx than Greeks
-16 by 16 not 8 by 8
-phalanx rotated with fast
moving cavalry to finish off enemy
-Had spent 3 years as prisoner in
Thebes, grew to love the Greek culture
-Wanted to unite all Greeks, won the
alliance of some city states that opposed
Athens
-invades from the north in 338 B.C.
-Greek city-states lose their
independence
-Philip is assassinated by one of his
officers in 336 B.C.
-Philip divorced Alex's mother
and married another lady that has a son
which jeopardized Alex's right to the throne.
Philip has a huge festival to celebrate his
daughters marriage. An officer kills Philip.
Philip's body guard kills his officer. (JFK)
-his son Alexander takes over
Alexander the Great 336-323 B.C.
-20 years old at the time he takes control
of the empire
-trained by Aristotle, is very bright and
has great love for Greek culture
-Great leader and warrior
-becomes the greatest warrior of all
times
-never lost a battle in his eleven
years of fighting
-only has 35,000 troops
-three reasons why successful
1. Army was very well trained and
organized
2. Outstanding general
3. Personal courage
-fought with his troops (wounded
many times)
-leads his Cavalry
-shared in danger which had a great
effect on morale
-builds the biggest empire the world had
ever known up to that time
-conquers: Persia, Asia Minor,
Phoenicia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, N.W. India
Groups: What significance did Alex's have
on the world as the result of this conquest?
What would the world be like today if this
would not have happened?
Alexander's conquest
1. City-states (Thebes) rebel
-destroyed city-state and sold
survivors to slavery
-other city-states did not dare to
rebel
2. Invasion of Persia 334 BC
-Alexander has 30,000 infantry and
5,000 cavalry
-Persians numbered 40,000
-Cavalry galloped through "hail of
arrows" and smashed Persian defenses
-Alexander wins
-he freed the Greek colonies in Asia
Minor
3. Darius III
-Wants revenge
-sends 100,000 troops
-Alexander with 35,000 troops
orders his cavalry to ride straight at Darius
III
-Darius III flees and so does his men
-Darius III tries to negotiate peace
with Alex
4. Offers him a huge sum of gold,
daughters hand in marriage, and 1/3 of his
empire
-Alex refuses
-officer says "I would
take the offer" Alex's says "so would I, if I
were you"
5. Invasion of Egypt
-Egyptians surrender without a fight
-Alex is given the title pharaoh and
seen as a god
-founded the city of Alexandria
6. Darius III
- rounds up 200,000 troops with
chariots armed with deadly rotating blades
-Alex with 35,000 troops wins
-Alex has a massive phalanx attack
with cavalry charging
-most of Darius' men were not loyal
and decide to flea
7. India
-Alex wants to reach "the ocean
which he felt marked the end of the world
-327 BC takes on the Indians with
200 war elephants
-Alex wins again but his men refuse
to march on
-Seven years of fighting covering 11,000
miles
-Most responsible for the spread of
Greek culture
-Died of a fever at age 33 (ruled 12 yrs.
8 months)
-made no provisions for a successor
-mother, wives, and children are
killed
-Generals divide up his empire
-None of his generals could keep control
and his empire fell but Greek culture spread
throughout the known world
Accomplishments of Alex the great
1. United most of the known
western world
2. founded over 70 cities, most
named Alexandria
3. Encouraged intermarriage
between his troops and conquered people to
solidify his holdings
4. encouraged the movement of "one
world"
5. Established the first uniform
monetary system in the western world
Now Greek culture is spread throughout the
entire Mediterranean world. Less distinction
between Greeks and non-Greeks known as
the Hellenistic age
Philosophy
-Comes from a Greek word meaning,
”Love of Wisdom”
-Philosophy is the attempt to use reason
and argument to discover why things are the
way they are
Philosophical Theories
Epicureanism
-Epicureus (341-270 BC) was a former
stoic. Eroded into a philosophy of "eat,
drink and be merry" which dominated the
later Roman Empire
-The belief that people should live free
of care and worry.
-According to this belief, people should
do their best to enjoy life and its simple
pleasures, and not strive for anything which
would increase stress or worry.
Stoicism
-Zeno. (335-270 BC) should be
governed by reason not passion.
-The belief that a single fate governed
the universe, and that people must learn to
accept their place in this plan, since they
cannot change it.
-According to this belief, people must
face their fate with indifference and a type
of “stone face”, never admitting pain or
pleasure.
-Achieve their greatest good-happiness
by following reason, freeing themselves
from passions, concentrating only on things
they can control.
Skepticism
-The doctrine that true knowledge or
knowledge in a particular area is uncertain
-Skeptics tried to weaken peoples
confidence in observation and reason as
trustworthy guides to understand the world.
-"Our senses deceive us, therefore,
provide no accurate knowledge."
Cynicism
-Seek virtue only scorning pleasure,
wealth, or power.
-standard of right
-self-control
-Scorned pleasure wealth and social
position
-*Virtue over pleasure gives you true
happiness
-Later became very critical of people
Sophists
-First philosophers to examine the moral
questions of man
-Taught the art of rhetoric (the art of
speaking or writing effectively)
-Traveled the country teaching speech,
grammar, poetry, gymnastics,
mathematics, and music
The Sophists looked at society said they
could teach how to make good laws, speak
well and win debates
-angered many people because they
said the gods did not exist - They said that
governments used religion to quiet the
people
-They attacked traditional laws based
on power - accused of corrupting the youth
Three great philosophers lived during and
immediately after the "golden age" in
Athens
Socrates (469-399 B.C.)
-lived during golden age and war with
Sparta.
-One of the most extraordinary thinkers
(philosophers) in history.
-Challenged the Sophists by turning
philosophy into a quest for moral truth. He
was concerned with the loss of ethical
values in the Peloponnesian War, and sought
to teach the youth about ethics
-Stone cutter, old Athenian soldier, not
handsome
-Questioned all accepted values:
religion, democracy, patriotism etc.
-dealt with ethical questions rather than
teaching practical skills
-what is right, wrong, good, bad
(morals: principles of rt. and wrong)
-strong need for virtues
-*"The unexamined life is not worth
living”
-Teaching style was very unique in that
he questioned his students forcing them to
come up with the answers, instead of simply
telling them. He wanted them to develop
their own ability to think critically
-Socrates was not well-liked by
Athenians for his style and his views. He
instructed some students who were antidemocracy during the Peloponnesian War,
so he was brought to trial for "worshipping
strange gods and corrupting the youth”.
Rather than leaving the city, he went to trial,
was found guilty, drinks poison and dies
while talking to his students in prison
-Main theme: know thyself
-a strong belief in education with its goal
being the improvement of the individual,
everyone had virtue and bad behavior was
the result of ignorance
Plato (427-347 B.C.)
-Socrates' most famous student (28 yrs
old when Socrates dies), gave us Socrates’
teachings, since Socrates wrote nothing
-Came up with much work on theories of
knowledge - how do we know that we
know?
-Perhaps best known for his political
philosophy
-Concerned more with society than
individual
-feels a republic is the ideal state
-felt democracy produced poor
leaders thus poor government
-Republic: men trained as
philosophers, thus, would make
wisest and best leaders
-social groups
1. farmers, artisans (working
class)
2. Warriors
3. Philosophers (intellectuals)
-1st to analyze political systems
-starts his own school called the
Academy
-last 900 years
-just outside of Athens
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
-most brilliant student at Plato’s
Academy
-son of a Greek doctor
-Skilled in all fields of knowledge philosophy, physics, politics, biology, and
others
-Trained Alexander the Great
-Wrote politics, dealing with types of
government
- Ethics, dealing with personal rules
for living
- Rhetoric, dealing with persuasive
speaking
-considered the founder of the science of
biology
-Last of the great Greek philosophers
-Theory should be accepted only if it
agreed with the facts that could by observed.
-Book "Politics" - looked at forms of
government in terms of how they were run
and what benefits and responsibilities their
citizens had.
Types of governments
1. Monarchy (King: family of rulers)
-absolute (France)
-limited (Great Britain)
2. Dictatorship
-elected limited time
-absolute power (Most Latin
American/African countries)
-can have combinations
i.e. US time of war president
becomes a dictator
3. Communism (community)
-state owns everything (China, No.
Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Russia until 1991)
-Marxism: no class system (all equal)
-Socialism
4. Republic
-no King (France)
-Aristocracy Aristos: (best in Greek)
Kratos (rule)
-Nobles
-wealth, power, *intellect
5. Democracy Demos (the people in Greek)
-citizens hold power (Athens)
Alexandria
-becomes the center of learning during
the Hellenistic Age
-greatest library and research center in
the ancient world
-e.g. library had 500,000 to 700,000
books written on papyrus scrolls
-most works lost in fire
-gardens
-Zoo
-Art galleries
-huge dining halls
-broad avenues with statues of Greek
gods which divided the city into blocks
-Alexander's tomb
-observatory for studying stars
-The Lighthouse of Alexandria
-polished bronze mirror that
reflected light from a blazing fire
-over 400 feet high
-stood for about 1500 years
-one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World
History
- Greeks were first to analyze history
and compare it to the present - not just
reporting it, but thinking about it
Herodotus (450 B.C.) - Father of History
-First to write an analysis of an
historical event
-Wrote nine books on the Persian
war
-Curious, he explored much of the
world
- Open minded, he did not judge
history or other societies by Greek standards
of behavior
Thucydides (400 B.C.) - successor of
Herodotus
-considered the greatest historian of
ancient times
-first historian who wrote an
unbiased and accurate history
-Worked during Peloponnesian War
-Views history in terms of the human
pursuit of power
-Set the standard for future historians
-Separates myth from history
Science
Mesopotamians and Egyptians may have
been the first to look at science, but they
were not true scientists because they
assumed that the actions of gods and
demons caused all natural events. It was the
Greeks who first looked for natural reasons.
Philosophy is the Greek word for Love of
Knowledge. They looked for Natural laws
Thales (640 B.C)
-First Greek scientist and
philosopher
-water basic element of nature
-looking for natural laws and causes
-e.g. water freezes at 32 degrees
-earthquakes not by Poseidon.
Felt earth floated on water and sometimes
was rocked by waves
-predicts an eclipse through
knowledge of astronomy in 585 BC
-studies a black rock which attracted
iron (magnet)
-uses geometry to measure Egypt's
pyramids by their shadows
Aristarches (250 B.C.)
-develops the heliocentric theory
about the sun and the planets
-states that the Earth and the
planets revolve around the Sun, and that the
Earth revolves on its axis
-sun 300 times larger than the earth
(Greeks felt Greece was larger than the sun)
-failed to convince other scientists of
his theories
-2000 years later
-measured comparative distance of
moon and sun from earth
-theory was correct but
observations were faulty
Hipparchus
-invented the system of longitude
and latitude.
Hippocrates (430 B.C.)
-father of medicine
-first rational theory of medicine
-develops a medical school
-high moral standards
-teaches his students to use science
and scientific observation to cure their
patients, not religious superstition
-rest, fresh air, and proper diet
were best cures
-dissected bodies of executed
criminals
-used anesthetics (pain killers)
-Hippocratic Oath taken by
physicians today after training
-code of medical ethics
Democritus (500 B.C.)
-First to theorize that matter is made
up of particles called atoms
-first atomic theory
Math
Euclid (300 B.C.)
-Wrote textbook on geometry which
is still the basis for geometry today
-his textbook was used until the
1900's called "The Elements"
-known as the father of geometry
Pythagoras (500 B.C.)
-Developed theorem regarding the
relationship of sides of a right triangle
-3, 4, 5 (rt. angle)
-Viewed life in terms of
mathematical relationships
-numbers were the essence of all
things
-e.g. colors: Yellow=1, Blue=2,
Green=3
-1+2=3
music: higher pitch strings made
shorter. Notes produced by two strings were
harmonious if the lengths were related to
each other
looks: scale 1-10
- precursor to Einstein
Archimedes (287-212 B.C.)
-One of greatest mathematicians of
ancient times
-Calculated Pi
-Developed levers for lifting weights
-explains how it works according
to mathematical formulas
-Developed theory of displacement
in water (kings crown)
-lowered himself into a full
bathtub. Noted that water overflowed as he
submerged. Volume of water overflowed
was equal to volume of his own body. Ran
out naked through streets yelling "eureka" or
"I found it"
-developed:
Claw
steam engine
force pump
catapult
archimedes screw
-used to lift water from a
pool or stream for irrigation
burning mirror
compound pulley
-"give me a place to stand
and I will move the world"
-was challenged to move
something heavy. He chose a ship at the
dock loaded with freight and people.
Arranged a pulley device and pulled the ship
to shore with no effort
-killed in second Punic War
-ordered to be taken alive
-soldier orders him to come.
Archimedes working on a geometrical
problem and tells the soldier to watch where
he is stepping. Soldier gets mad and kills
him.