UNIT 2
PART 1
THE CLASSICAL ERA IN THE
WEST
THE BIG QUESTIONS
 What factors caused the rise of Persia, Greece, and
Rome?
 What were the major accomplishments of these
“classical civilizations”?
 How were these civilizations shaped by their
religious and philosophical beliefs and by the rule of
law?
PERSIA
Persia
Political developments –
• Created the largest empire up to its time
(more than 3,000 miles – from the Nile to
the Indus)
• Divided the empire into provinces
• Provinces were ruled by a group of local
officials loyal to the Persian king.
Persia
 Economy –
 Provinces
profited from extensive trade
throughout the Persian Empire
 Provinces paid tributes (payment as a sign
of submission) to the king
 The government collected taxes from
throughout the provinces
 Agriculture was important for economic
stability
Persia
 Religion –
 At
first, were polytheistic
 Zoroastrianism was introduced in 570 B.C.
 Taught
there were two gods (1. god of truth, light, and
goodness and 2. god of darkness and evil)
 Earth was a battleground between these two forces
 People leading good lives would eventually go to
Heaven, and those who were evil would be doomed to a
fiery hell
Persia
 Innovations –
 Built
a network of public roads
 Uniform set of weights and measures
 New cities
 Achievements –
 Use of money
 Postal service
GREECE
How does Greece’s
geography differ from
the river valleys?
It lacks a major river
and is almost
surrounded by the sea.
What geographic
features caused Greek
cities to be cut off
from one another?
Mountains and the
sea.
Left Side
 Draw a map of Greece
 Locate and label:
Athens
 Sparta
 Crete
 The Aegean Sea
 The Ionian Sea
 Mt. Olympus


Draw the mountains - ^

Color:
Greece – Green
 Water - Blue

^^^^
Early Greek Civilization
 The Minoans – flourished on the island of Crete (2000
B.C.)




Developed own form of writing
Used copper and bronze
Skilled ship builders
Mysteriously collapsed around 1400 B.C.
 The Myceneans – on mainland Greece and the coast
of Asia Minor (1400 B.C. – 1200 B.C.)


Established cities
Warriors
 The Dorians – conquered the Greek mainland
around 1200 B.C.


Ruled during the Dark Age
Learning, the economy, and trade declined
Greek Culture
 Individual city-states (polis)
 Common language and traditions
 Same religious beliefs
 Close economic ties
COMPARING THE CITY-STATES
 Sparta – the military state
 Athens – the democratic state
 Create a comparison chart of Sparta and Athens.
Include the following headings:




Political system
Education
Social Roles
Culture
Left Side
 How was Athenian democracy different from
American democracy today?
THE GREEK AND PERSIAN WARS
 As part of your notes, complete the Textbook
Scavenger Hunt about the Greek and Persian wars.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF GREEK CULTURE
Pericles, the leader of Athens, led the Greeks into a
“Golden Age” following their victory over the Persians.
Complete the worksheet on the Golden Age of Athens.
Turn in the questions, and put the outline in your
notes.
Complete the first page of “Greek Geeks” and put it in
your notebook.
Homework: Answer the questions about the Greek
philosophers.
PELOPONNESIAN WARS (432 B.C. – 404 B.C.)
 Causes:
 Rivalries between Sparta and their allies and Athens and their
allies
 Athens used its power to force some other city-states to pay
them taxes
 Sparta declared war on Athens and, after 30 years of
fighting, emerged as the victor.
 Results:




City-states were weakened
Poverty was wide-spread and Athens was devastated
Sparta became the leading city-state
These problems led to takeover by outsiders
HELLENISTIC GREECE
 In 338 B.C. the king of Macedonia (Philip II) brought
all Greek city-states under his control.
 His son, Alexander the Great, went on to conquer
most of the Mediterranean world, including Egypt
and Persia (as far as the Indus River).
 Alexander spread Greek culture throughout his new
empire.



Blended Greek and Persian cultures
Built new cities
Encouraged learning and philosophy
 Complete page 2 of “Greek Geeks” and add to your
notebook.
MAPPING ALEXANDER THE GREAT
 We will complete the mapping activity in class.
Homework:
 Answer the discussion and short answer questions
on a separate sheet of paper. Write the question and
the answer.
Activity
 Read over the handout of Ancient Greek
achievements
 Place it in your handouts section of your notes
THE “GRANDEUR” OF ROME
ROME
 Geography
 Located
on a fertile plain in the center of Italy
 Close to the west coast
 At a cross roads for trade and transportation
 Protected from invaders by mountains and the
sea
 Influences
Etruscans – building, dress, organization of the army
 Greeks – religion, the alphabet, architecture, literature,
art

LEFT SIDE
 Draw a map of Rome and label the following
 Rome
 The Po River
 The Tiber River
 Adriatic Sea
 Draw the mountains as geographic features
 Color the water blue and Rome Green
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
 Rome had two social classes
 Patricians
– wealthy landowners
 Plebeians – small farmers, craftsmen, and
merchants
 In early Rome, the king was overthrown and made into a
republic (government by representatives)
 Senate – a patrician assembly (held the most power)
 Consuls – elected officials
 Tribunes – speakers who represented the plebeians
LEFT SIDE
 Diagram the Roman government (we will do this in
class)
THE RULE OF ROMAN LAW
 Government officials were not above the law and
could not act outside the law
 THE TWELVE TABLES





Issued by the Republic and placed in public meeting places
Protected the plebeians
Covered civil, criminal, and religious law
Provided a foundation for later law codes
All citizens were “equal under the law”
 Contributed concept of a contract and established
rules for property ownership
 Established legal processes (court trials, appeals, innocent
until proven guilty)
REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE
 The Punic Wars – a series of three wars with
Carthage


Destroyed Carthage, its main trading rival
Acquired territories in Spain, North Africa and the Eastern
Mediterranean
 Julius Caesar completed the conquest of Spain and
Gaul ( present-day France)


Became dictator for life
Fearing their loss of power and freedom, leading senators
assassinated him in 44 B.C.
LEFT SIDE
 Create a flow chart of events from republic to empire
 Punic Wars
 Marius
 Sula
 1st Triumvirate
 Julius Caesar
 2nd Triumvirate
 Augustus
 Briefly describe each one
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
 Augustus Caesar (heir to Julius Caesar) emerged as
Rome’s first emperor



Assumed monarch-like powers
Preserved Rome’s republican institutions
Removed corrupt officials
 His successors were worshipped as gods and greatly
expanded Rome’s territory
LEFT SIDE: Draw the boundaries of the Roman Empire and
label the main territories on your map handout
PAX ROMANA
“The Roman Peace” (27 B.C. – 395 A.D.)
 A long period of peace ushered in by Augustus
 Great engineering feats
 Concrete for large buildings
 A network of nearly 50,000 miles of roads and bridges
 New cities
 aqueducts
 Rome was a center of commerce, communication,
trade, politics, culture, and military power
 Expansion changed its basic character


Professional armies loyal to its generals
Large force of slaves performed much of its labor
Continued…
 Public entertainment to keep the poor occupied
 Gladiator games in stadiums like the colosseum
 Bread and circuses
 Women
 Passed from the authority of their fathers to that of their
husbands
 Could not hold office
 More equality than in Greek society
 Could own property and make wills
LEFT SIDE
 Create an ad for one of the Roman technologies or
entertainments from the Pax Romana period. Make
it neat, colorful, and informative!
RELIGION IN ROME
 In early times, the Romans adopted the Greek deities
 During the empire, the emperors were worshipped as
gods
 Jewish Diaspora (dispersion)



Jews refused to worship emperor
Revolts in 66 A.D. and 135 A.D.
Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and drove the
Jews out of Israel
 The Rise of Christianity
 Based on the teachings of Jesus who was crucified by the Romans
for his teachings
 Spread by his followers who were persecuted for their beliefs
 Eventually became the official religion of the Empire
Activity
 Begin filling out your religions chart.
 We will do Judaism together, since we learned about
it in Chapter 2
 Add Christianity on your own
FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
 Rome began its decline in the third century A.D.
 Later emperors tried to reverse the decline
 In 284 A.D. divided into two parts to be governed more
efficiently
 Constantine temporarily reunited the empire and moved its
capital to Constantinople
 In the late 300s Germanic tribes began entering the
empire
 In 476 A.D. the last emperor in the west was
overthrown (the eastern empire, the Byzantine
Empire, survived for another thousand years)
LEFT SIDE
Create a diagram for the reasons for the decline of the
Roman Empire describing political, economic, and
military weaknesses, as well as invasions.
Ex.
Fall of the Roman Empire
Activity
 Read the handout of achievements of the Roman
Empire
 Place it in the handouts section of your notebook