
Ancient Greece was not a unified country

City-States
 An independent town or city that governs itself and the
land around it.
 Polis

Typical Polis
 Town or small city
 Farmland
 Population less than 20,000
 Approximately 100 square miles

500 BC


Mostly in Greece along the Aegean Sea
Others scattered along the Coast of Asia Minor
 Asia Minor: another name for the Anatolian Peninsula,
where much of Turkey is located



Along the coast of the Black Sea
Southern Italy
Northern Africa

The people in the city-states all spoke Greek

Some difference in dialects
 Dialect is a regional variety of a language

Non-Greeks were called barbarians


When the barbarians spoke only meaningless
syllables could be heard
Religion

Greek Gods
 Zeus
Chief God
 Hera
Wife of Zeus
 Apollo
The sun god
 Poseidon Sea god
 Aphrodite Goddess of Love




Spent most of their time on Mount Olympus
Came down time to time to influence human
affairs
Marvelous stories were told about the
adventures and misadventures of the gods
Temples were built to honor the gods



Own distinctive forms of government
Very innovative when it came to government
We still use many of their terms

Politics
 The art of governing a polis

Policeman
 A person who preserves order in the state


In the genesis most Greek city-states were
ruled by kings.
500 BC Many different forms of government
Tyranny
 Aristocracy
 Oligarchy
 Democracy

•One
man is a dictator
•Power is gained illegally
•Popular at times
Opposition to the rich and helping
poor
•Few
wanted to be ruled by tyrants
all of the time



Power by the few noble and upper-class
families
Aristocracy means rule of the best
Power was sometimes shared with an assembly
made up of citizens, not always





Similar to aristocracy
Power by only a few people
Oligarchy means “rule of the few”
The few were not noble families
They were wealthy men


Power is shared by a large number of citizens
Citizens took part in the government
Debates
 Policy
 Elected officials



Greeks seemed to be the first people to
experiment with this type of government
Very popular among the Greek city-states


The city-states loved their independence and
individuality
They thought it was better to have a local
government than to be ruled by a king that
lived far away

Many of the city-states would get into
disagreements and wars
This made it easy for foreign countries to invade
Greece
 During times of crisis they might join together to
fight the foe but this was the exception
 Alliances between city states were fragile and short
lived
 Rivalries among them were sturdy and long-lasting

 Athens
vs. Sparta
 Two of the largest and
most powerful citystates


One of the largest Greek Polis’
One of the most democratic

Not always democratic
 Monarch
 Aristocracy
 Oligargy
 Democracy
 Even a few tyrants

People were able to participate in the
government by 500 BC



All citizens were allowed to participate in the
Assembly
Before making decisions the merits would be
debated
Decision would be made by a vote


Pass by a majority
The assembly passed laws, levied taxes and
voted on issues such as war and peace

The Assembly also had the power to ostracize
citizens who might be a problem



Ostracize- to banish or send away
Votes took place on an ostrakon or piece of
pottery
If enough people wrote the same name the
person had to leave the polis for 10 years

The ostracized person was allowed to keep their
property during that time





The Boule was a smaller council that assisted
The Assembly
Made up of 500 members chosen by lots
Terms were 1 year
No-one could serve more than one term
They decided which issues need to be brought
before the Assembly


Athenian Law was divided into two sections
Public Laws



Had to do with the city state
Fine or penalty decided by the Assembly or the
Boule
Private Laws


For people to work out their disagreements
Take your neighbor to court and have a jury decide
the case

Much larger than todays




Sometimes as big as 501 citizens
The bigger the jury was the less likely to have
problems with bribery
Most citizens served on a jury at one point in
their lives.
Strategoi


Leaders of the military
Elected officials by the Assembly


Athens was not completely democratic by
modern standards
Not everyone in the polis was a citizen
Male
 Atleast 18 years
 Not a slave
 Son of two athenian parents


All others could not vote in the Assembly or
serve on juries




Played an important role in religious affairs
No political rights
No owning of property
Always under the control of a man





Decided who she would marry
Could not participate in the debates
Could not attend certain public events
Not sent to school
Women were to bear children and tend to their
families


Foreign residents
Artisans Craftsmen and merchants





Made up a quarter of the population or a third
of the population
Rich citizens had hundreds of slaves
Did not have political rights
Freedom could be bought
Citizenship could not


After slaves, women and children are
subtracted there are only about 40,000 people
that qualified as citizens.
Athens should be remembered as having many
people involved in politics


Young men were prepared to become good
citizens
Rhetoric



The Art of using language to persuade others
Logic, reading, writing, arithmetic and music
Learned to play instruments and memorized
epic poems

Epic poems: long poem that tells the adventures of
legendary heroes



2 years of Military instruction
Many years of PE
Lots of exercise in gymnasiums



Gymnasium- to exercise naked
Participation in Symposiums
The goal of Athenian education was produce
solid citizens and well-rounded individuals




Spartans required 23 years of military
education
Education system emphasized military training
Inspection at birth
Treatment of children




Crying
Shoes
At age of 7 children began their military
training
Taught to obey without question





Little time was spent with reading writing and
poetry
PE most important subject
Taught how to endure great pain
Food rations cut when they became teenagers
Marriage at 20
Barracks until 30
 Dinner with army until 60

Could not fight
 Could own land
 Encouraged to participate in sports
 Expected to raise their sons as warriors
 Expected to be prepared to lose sons in war
“ I bore him so that he might die for Sparta, and
that is what has happened, as I wished”


Protection against enemies


Wall of men the most effective defense
Spartans ruled large numbers of slaves

Helot
 Had is much worse than Athenian slaves
 Spartans made fun of Athenians for treatment of slaves





Called helots
Outnumbered Spartans 10 – 1
Treated like farm animals
Beaten regularly
Put to death for complaining


Spartan society produced the desired results.
The people care more about the polis than their
own personal well-being

Oligarchy


Ruled by 2 kings




Suppose to keep each other from becoming tyrants
In charge of the army
Council of Elders
Assembly


Elements of monarchy, aristocracy and limited
democracy
Much less democratic than the Ecclesia of Athens
Citizens could not debate




Shouting for the candidates
Loudest crowd wins
Athenians thought this was funny
Spartans thought that their traditional way of
life was much better than Athenian Society
ATHENS
SPARTA




Held in the city of Olympia
Every 4 years
A sacred disk was carried to all of the Greek
City States
Truce


An agreement where two or more people agree to
stop fighting
The truce lasted as long as it took the athletes to
travel to Olympia, attend the games, and return
home


The Olympics were a religious festival in honor
of Zeus
776 BC a foot race was added


200 yard race
Other events were added and the Games
became a regular event



Prize for winning was a wreath of olive leaves
Honor
Athletes became heroes and were immortalized
in songs or sculptures

They dressed Athenian Style



Not even shoes
Runners felt that clothing would slow them down
Only males and priestesses were allowed to
watch

Slaves and women put to death for watching

Most events were based on skills that were
needed for survival

Javelin
 Distance
 Accuracy while riding a horse





Run
Wrestle
Horse Riding
Discus
Long Jump
 Involved carrying weights

Pentathlon


Pankration



5 events: discus, javelin, long jump, wrestling, 200 yd
foot race
No rules
Except no biting and sticking fingers into opponents
eyes
400 yard race

While wearing helmet shin guards and carrying a
shield


The Games lasted until 393 AD
Theodosius I



Did not like the religious rites in honor of Zeus
First Modern Olympics were held in 1896 in
Athens
The Olympics have been held every 4 years
since

Not during WWI and WWII


499 BC
Miletus Rebels against Persian rule

Needed the help of Greek City States
 Athens agrees to help

498 BC



Athenians cross the Aegean Sea and defeat the City
of Sardis
The other Greek Polis’s decide to join in
Athenians went home

495 BC




Darius puts down the revolt in Asia Minor
Angry with the Athenians
Crosses the Aegean sea for revenge
Marathon





26 miles from Athens
Athenians were badly outnumbered
CHARGE
Persians broke ranks and fled to their ships
6,000 Persians/192 Athenians


After the victory
Messenger to Athens announce victory



“Rejoice, We Conquer!”
And died of exhaustion
Marathon was an extremely important battle
because the Athenians were filled with pride.



Persians didn’t like defeat
480 BC
Xerxes determined to conquer all of Greece



100,000 men
600-700 Ships
Athens and Sparta Unite
200 -300 Ships
 10,000 Men
 Led by King Leonidas of Sparta



The Greeks realized that they could win without a
strategy
Thermopylae







75 miles north of Athens
Narrow pass between high cliffs
Only one part of the army could attack at a time
Greeks held the pass for 2 days
A traitor (Ephialtes) showed the Persians how to
slip around the Greeks
Leonidas ordered the majority of the army to
retreat.
300 left behind


The heroism of the Spartans slowed the
Persians but did not stop them
Xerxes burns Athens to the ground



Most of the citizens had been evacuated
Persians are set to conquer Greece
Xerxes leads with his navy

Fleets crash at Salamis






Athenian navy lured them to shallow waters
Rammed and sunk Persian ships
Greek boats were filled with soldiers
Defeat of the Persians
Xerxes sails home
Pausanias


The battle of Plataea
Persians out of Greece

After the Persian War



Sparta hurries home to their helots
Athens begins to build a mighty empire
Many of the poleis feared that the Persians would
invade again
 Wanted to protect themselves from future invasions

The Delian League is Established


Sparta refused to join
Athens plays the leading role

Each polis agrees to:

Send money or ships to support the league
 Amount sent determined by Athens



Athens begins to treat allies more like colonies
Each member of the league had to swear
allegiance to Athens
No one was allowed to resign from the league


Used to fund the Golden Age of Athens
This period lasts 75 years


From the Persian Wars (479 BC) to the end of the
Peloponnesian War (404 BC)
Athens produces some of the greatest artistic
and achievements the world has ever known



One of the leading citizens during the Golden
Age
Elected to the Strategoi for 30 years
An amazing orator



“his words were like lightning and thunder”
People were swayed by his opinion
Hard Worker, and dedicated


He did not spend time walking on roads that did not
lead to government buildings
He did not believe in wasting time attending parties
or social events




Led the military in victorious campaigns
Kept members of Delian League in line
Established and supervised Athenian Colonies
Convinced the Ecclesia to build bigger and
stronger walls to protect Athens


Walls to Piraeus
Strengthened Athenian Democracy

Convinced Ecclesia to pay citizens for government
work
 Enabled the poor the opportunity to participate in the
government.


Patron of the Arts
Rebuild the temples and buildings in the
Acropolis
Wanted to use money from the Delian League
 Controversial
 Pericles used his oratorical skills to persuade the
allies





The most famous building built under the
leadership of Pericles
Temple to Athena the Greek Goddess of
Wisdom
Built between 447 and 432 BC
One of the Greatest Treasures of human culture


Pericles wanted the building to be a symbol of
the wealth, power and prosperity of Athens
2 Architects were recruited




Iktinos and Kallikrates,
They designed a building that was 230 x 100 x
60
20,000 tons of marble were used
Each side of the Parthenon had a row of
columns

Doric columns

Carvings on the side were done by Pheidias


The most famous sculptor of Ancient Greece
Inside the Temple

40 ft statue of Athena
 Covered with Gold and Ivory
 Statue of Athena cost more than the building it was
housed in.
 Destroyed in ancient times
 A smaller copy still exists


Large Theatres were built for drama
performances
Drama began as Festival in honor of the Greek
god of wine


Two Types of Drama



Dionysus
Comedy
Tragedy
The Theatre of Dionysus

3000 participants each year

Comic


Aristophanes
Tragic
Sophocles
 Euripides
 Aeschylus



Oldest of the four dramatists
Fought in the Persian Wars and wrote plays
about them


Wrote a trilogy called the Orestiea


Sponsored by Pericles
One scene caused children to go into convulsions
and pregnant women had miscarriages
Wrote more than 80 plays

Only 7 have survived




Teenager during the Persian Wars
Played roles in performances celebrating the
victory
Aeschylus’ biggest rival
Oedipus the King

Most famous play



Produced 80-90 plays
Won fewer awards than Aeschylus and
Sophocles
Admired for his psychological insights

Comic playwright

Made fun of statesmen
 Pericles

Made fun of Dramatists
 Euripides

Made fun of Scholars
 Socrates


Distinctive Pottery
Hippocrates



Herodotus


Father of Medicine
Hippocratic Oath
Father of History
Thucydides

History of the Peloponnesian War




Sparta and some of its allies form the
Peloponnesian League
Named that way because of its location
Democratic relations between Athens and the
Peloponnesian League Deteriorated
431 BC War Breaks out



Pericles knew that the Spartan Army was much
stronger
Athens has a stronger navy
Athenian Strategy




Avoid meeting Sparta in a land battle
Hole up in the walls of Athens
Supply the people within the walls via the Navy
Attack towns along the coast of the Peloponnesus



Pericles convinces the citizens to follow his
plan
Everyone leaves and seeks refuge in Athens
Sparta marches in to find a deserted countryside


Burn everything
Athenians wanted to fight
 “Crops will grow back, dead men will not”


The strategy is successful in the 1st year
Sparta give up



Year two
Another Spartan land attack
Athens retreats behind the walls
A plague sweeps through the city
 1/4th of the population is killed
 Lasts 3 years
 Pericles Dies
 Pericles is replaced




Sparta could not attack
Athens would not leave
Alcibiades




Attack the island of Sicily
Renew supplies
Attack Sparta on Both sides
Some people didn’t trust Alcibiades



Athens met a strong resistance
Sicily is much stronger
Athenian army is divided


Those that weren’t killed became slaves in the
quarries
Alcibiades is ordered to return to Athens
Flees to Sparta
 Tells Sparta of Athens plans
 Sparta did not trust him
 Flees to Persia






Battle at Sicily shifts the balance of power in
the favor of the Spartans
Spartans ally with Persia
First Naval Victory in 405 BC
Athens surrender in 404 BC
Sparta and it Allies win the Peloponnesian War

Athenians are forced to tear down the walls that
once protected them
Not allowed to have a navy any more
 New government set up by Sparta

 Rule of 30 nobles

The nobles were corrupt

Athenians Rebel
 Democracy is restored


Sparta allows Athens to be as long as they are
peaceful
End of the Athenian Empire and the Golden Age

As the Athenian Empire crumbles





Athenian philosophy bursts into bloom
Athens becomes the home of brilliant and
influential philosophers
Socrates
Aristotle
Plato

All of life’s early questions were answered with
Greek Mythology

Storm at Sea
 Poseidon

Thunderstorm
 Zeus

World’s Problems
 Pandora


6th Century BC many people become
disenchanted with the explanations that
mythology provides
Greeks begin to use reason to understand the
world

The beginning of Philosophy
 The love of Wisdom

Everything is always changing


You never step into the same river twice
To live long it was important to keep your soul
from becoming to wet.






24 at the end of the Peloponnesian War
Tried to record the early conversation of Socrates
Dialogues were based on things that Socrates
might have said
Much more idealistic than Socrates
Tried to understand what the ideal of goodness
was and less time trying to help people recognize
whether they were actually living it
Started the Academy
Lasted 900 years
 Closed by Justinian because it didn’t teach Christianity


Mastery of Mathematics


Plato thought it led to pure abstract truth
Two worlds
Perfect one of forms and ideals
 Imperfect one that we live in



The purpose of philosophy was to identify the
perfect forms that life really has in its ideal
state
By studying mathematics and philosophy we
can learn what things are really like.

Philosophers should play a central role in
society


They understand the meaning of truth and justice
Did not believe in the idea of Democracy
 It gave people power that didn’t understand justice
 Democracy executed Socrates


Plato thought that citizens should spend their
lives training to be good people
Ideal society would teach citizens to control
themselves and to act for the good of others





Born in 384 BC
Studied with Plato for 20 years
Started his on school called the Lyceum
Collected animals insects and plants
Loved to study and dissect them

He learned that there is always more than one way
to explain things
 All explanations were important

He developed that basics of the scientific
research

Wrote the Nicomachean Ethics

“Virtue, therefore is a kind of moderation or mean as
it aims at the mean or moderate amount.”
 People should avoid extremes of all kinds

Studied to see which form of government was
the best

The responsibility of the government was to create
the good life for its citizens

Not all people are created equal




Men vs. women
Aristocrats vs. non-aristocrats
Slavery
Legacy of the Philosophers


Taught us to examine our lives
Taught us about observation

Beginning of Rome is vague

Myth
 Romulus and Remus

Farmers
 United to form a town

Early Rome was ruled by kings


509 Revolt
Monarchy is replaced with an aristocratic
republic

Consuls



Senate


2 men that replaced the king
Elected by the Senate every year
Assembly of 300 Aristocrats
Republican Rome is ruled by men chosen from
among the Roman elite

2 unequal groups



Plebeians




Plebeians
Patricians
Members of the Roman lower class
Had few rights
No representation
Patricians



Members of the ruling class or aristocracy
Received the best education
Were the only members of the senate


Plebeians wanted rights
They left the city and elected their own officials





Tribunes
The plebeians forced the patricians to treat
them better and to give them a voice in the
government
Class distinctions faded away
Slavery
Rights of Women



Initially Rome was always defending itself
from its enemies
275 BC Rome had conquered all central and
northern Italy.
Early Roman society was based on its army.

Romans loved valor, and bravery, loyalty, duty,
honor and fidelity


Army began as farmers that were forced to
fight to keep their land
Later soldiers were given land for service in the
Army


Fringe benefits
Conquered people were organized into
provinces


Governed by magistrates
Troops were left behind to keep order

No tribute



Conquered people were made citizens of Rome



Serve in the Army instead
Reward for fighting well
Gained rights
Better life
Rome had a purpose in all of this

Everything goes through Rome




Rome becomes very rich because of all the
plunder
Senate became more and more powerful
Romans did not have to pay taxes
Generals became wealthy


Built temples to celebrate their victories
Success of the Republic depends on the success
of the army

Carthaginians are people from Carthage


Carthage is in Northern Africa


Modern Day Tunisia
Wanted to conquer Sicily


They were originally Phoenicians
Had problems in their attempt
Sicilians asked Rome to help them

Rome agrees
 They want to conquer Sicily secretly

Beginning of the Punic Wars



Battle for control of the western Mediterranean
Lasted for more than a century
Rome wins the First Punic War


Stopped Carthage
Took over Sicily

Rome had stopped Carthage in Sicily


Carthaginians take over Spain


Not anywhere else
Hamilcar Barca
Hannibal




Son of Hamilcar Barca
Grows up hating the Romans because of defeat in
the 1st Punic War
Wanted to conquer Rome completely
Begins to make plans at the age of 26

The treaty that ended the Punic War
established boundaries for Carthage’s empire

Hannibal chooses a city close to the border to
conquer
 Saguntum



Romans try to protect Sagantum
Second Punic War begins
Hannibal attacks Rome

By land

Hannibal and his army are attacked again and
again



War Elephants through the Alps
Hannibal's men suffered greatly



People whose territory they marched
Hannibal hoped that people would join him on the
way
No one helped out
Rome refuses to surrender

The Roman Army attacks the Carthaginians in
Spain


Completely driven out of Spain
Scipio Africanus


Wants to go to Carthage and conquer it.
Hannibal and his men abandon Rome
 Return to Carthage

202 BC



Scipio is victorious
Carthage is forced to pay Rome for its losses
Hannibal will not give up

After the 2nd Punic war Carthage was still
trouble


Senator Cato



Considered Rome’s #1 enemy
Wanted Carthage destroyed completely
“Carthage must be destroyed”
150 BC



Carthage defends itself against a small army
Treaty is broken
Rome sends in its armies

Carthaginians did not want to fight


They were willing to give up their weapons
Romans told them they would have to leave
 Away from the trade routes

Rome Attacks Carthage

Scipio Aemilianus
 Adopted Grandson of Scipio Africanus

Long and bitter battle

Rome wins
250,000--50,000
 Survivors sold into slavery
 City is leveled
 Land is ploughed

 Salt is poured in the furrows


Rome becomes the dominant power of the
Mediterranean
Conquered all of Alexander’s kingdoms

Greece

Greek culture wins the battle

Wealthy Romans had Greek sculpture brought to
Italy
 Copies and imitations were made




Roman authors imitated Greek authors
Roman students studied Greek literature and
philosophy
Greeks are Romanized
Romans are Hellenized

Roman culture created youth that looked for
power and wealth and honor.


This was only possible through the military
Julius Caesar was one of these young men

Patrician Family
 Not wealthy


Many of the Governors were ruling poorly
Rome had to rely on military strength to hold
the republic together

The army had become professional
Became a career for men who joined
 Most men joined to get rich and achieve higher
status
 They had more loyalty to their generals than Rome

 Generals could attack their own city
 Senate created a law to prevent this
 Foreshadowing






Tall
Well built
Dark brown eyes
Intelligent
Good Sense of Humor
Liked to look good



Hair trimmed
Shaven face
Almost bald
 First comb-over


Commanded part of the Army
Began to make friends and allies


Spent money to become popular
Pompey and Crassus

Schemed together
 Pass laws
 Kept power from their enemies

Caesar is Elected to consul

Becomes one of the most successful Generals

Caesar expands the Roman Republic



Conquers Gaul
Invaded Britain in 55
After conquering Gaul

Caesar wants to be in the Consul again
 Not good the first time
 No alliance with Pompey and Crassus
 Pompey realized Caesar was using him

Caesar told to come to Rome for his election



Caesar Crosses the Rubicon River




Not allowed to bring his army
Pompey would have him arrested
“the die is cast”
“crossing the Rubicon”
Civil war begins
Caesar Becomes a dictator

Legally dictatorships could only last 6 months

Placed his face on coins


Changed the name of month Quintilis


Julius (July)
Always wore a laurel wreath


Something only kings did
Symbol of conquerors and victors
Other work



Worked to make more people citizens of Rome
Improve court system
Help others avoid debt



Caesar had a hard time trusting others and
wanted complete control
Many people blamed Caesar for the collapse of
the Roman Republic
All of the pressure made Caesar constantly sick


Epilepsy
Not a great dictator

Too arrogant
 Dismissed his body guards

44 BC

Forced the Senate to vote for him as dictator for life

Caesar never noticed the pain that he caused
for others


Romans did not want to see kings again
One month after being elected dictator for life



60 “friends” came to pay him a visit
Dozen of them drove their weapons into him
Brutus and Cassius
 “Et tu, Brute?”




Great General
Increased the Power of Rome
Destroyed the Republic
Link between what Rome was and would
become

Another Civil War broke out


Lasted 13 years
Octavian becomes sole ruler
Defeats Cassius and Brutus
 Marc Antony
 Becomes the first roman emperor
 Named Caesar Augustus

JULIUS CAESAR






Tall
Well built
Dark brown eyes
Intelligent
Good Sense of Humor
Liked to look good
CAESAR AUGUSTUS



Short
Not good looking
Small teeth


Dirty, widely separated
Didn’t care how he
looked



Bad Health
Liked to sleep in
Avoids battle



Not known as a great soldier
Very good administrator
Romans no longer had pride in the Roman
Empire

Felt like the government didn’t care

Make Rome Strong


Get the people to believe in the Empire
Ambitious Building Program
Architects, sculptors, artists
 Build beautiful buildings
 Copied the Greeks


Created a new image for Rome that the citizens
could be proud of

“inherited brick and left it marble”



Built arches celebrating Roman history
Rebuilt the temples
Re-established religion



Romans could believe in the old gods and goddesses
Gave the Romans a sense of identity
A New Beginning for Rome

Augustus became a patron of the arts

Friend named Maecenas
 Invited poets to write about Augustus and what he was
doing for the empire.

Publius Vergilius Maro,


AKA Virgil
Virgil wrote a poem that celebrated the glory of
Rome.

The poem isn’t completely about Augustus



The poem that Virgil wrote
Becomes the greatest epic poem of Ancient
Rome
Story of Aeneid

Aeneas
 Founds Rome
 Trouble along the way
 Dido
 Nothing could stand in his way


Virgil dies before completing it
Augustus loves the poem


Shared responsibilities with the Senate
Tried to not become too arrogant

Called himself Princeps
 “First Citizen”

Senate calls him Imperator
 “He who commands”

Augustus strengthens roman law

2 groups

Roman Citizens
 30 Legions
 Commanded by senators that had to report to senators

Non Citizens
 Commanded by noblemen

No more getting money solely by plunder



Special Treasury
Avoiding another Julius
Military was mainly used to keep order

Pax Romana







Roman peace
Lasts 200 years
Establishes the Empire and Rules it well
Worked well with the senate
Helped the Citizens to feel proud for Rome
Used army for peace
Peace lasted Centuries