Cover Slide
The Earth and
Its Peoples
3rd edition
Chapter 4
The Mediterranean
and Middle East,
2000-500 B.C.E.
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Acropolis
Acropolis
With Pheidias as adviser, Perikles
reconstructed Athens after it had been
destroyed by the Persians. He dreamed
of a city with magnificent edifices,
temples and public buildings, and
theaters. These buildings embody the
noblest spirit of Greek architecture. At
the right rises the Parthenon, the
temple that honored Athena and Athens
alike. The Erechtheum stands next to
it, and to its left the Propylaea and the
small temple of Athena Nike. (Spyros
Spyrou Photo Gallery, Aegina)
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Ancient Peruvian textile
Ancient Peruvian textile
In the early Chavin civilization of Peru, the
women weavers developed new raw
materials, techniques, and decorative motifs.
They began to use the wool of llamas and
alpacas in addition to cotton. Limitations to
the width of woven fabric imposed by the
back-strap loom were overcome by having
three women work side by side and pass the
weft from hand to hand. These women
weavers both wove designs into the fabric and
used paint or dyes to decorate plain fabric.
This early Chavin painted fabric--decorated
with a new religious motif of the jaguar-god-was used in a burial. The high-quality textiles
of the Chavin were given as tribute to the elite
and were used in trade to acquire luxury
goods as well as dyes and metals. (Private
Collection)
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Arch of Constantine
Arch of Constantine
The triple arch commemorates Constantine's victory over his rival Maxentius. Much of the sculpture on the
arch was plundered from earlier imperial monuments honoring Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. Not
only were the portraits of these earlier emperors recast to portray Constantine as the restorer of the glory of
Rome, but the inscriptions above the frieze laud Constantine as "the Liberator of the City" and "the State's
avenger upon the tyrant and his faction." (C.M. Dixon)
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Bronze Zeus
Bronze Zeus
The so-called Poseidon of Artemision
was found at the bottom of the seabed
near Cape Artemision, Northern Eubioa;
the arm was found in 1926, and the rest
of the body was discovered in 1928. The
god is represented at the moment when
he raises his right arm to hurl his trident
against an adversary. Some
archaeologists believe it to be Zeus,
preparing to cast a thunderbolt.
(National Archaeological Museum,
Athens/Archaeological Receipts Fund,
Athens)
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Celtic hill-fort
Celtic hillfort
Around 500 B.C.E. Celtic peoples spread
across a substantial portion of Europe. The
early Celts lived in or near hill-forts—lofty
natural locations made even more
defensible by earthwork fortifications.
Hundreds of Celtic hill-forts, such as this
one, have been found across Europe. They
served as centers of administration,
gathering points for Celtic armies,
manufacturing centers, storage depots for
food and trade goods, and places of refuge.
As shown here, the natural defense offered
by a hill could be improved by the
construction of ditches and earthwork walls.
((c) Crown copyright NMR)
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Early vase with horse and goose
Early vase with horse and goose
Hesiod lived near a village in Boeotia, in
central Greece. In his poem Works and
Days, we learn about his work as a
farmer; most of the poem is a kind of
farmer's almanac, describing the annual
cycle of tasks on a Greek farm. This
early Greek vessel, used for mixing wine
with water, may have been made in
Boeotia in Hesiod's lifetime. It
represents a farm scene. (Courtesy of the
Trustees of the British Museum)
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Golden calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, after
receiving the Ten Commandments
Moses descended from Mount Sinai to
find the Hebrews worshipping a golden
calf, which was against Yahweh's laws.
In July 1990 an American archaeological
team found this model of a gilded calf
inside a pot. The figure is strong
evidence for the existence of a pagan
cult, represented by the calf, in Palestine.
(Courtesy of the Leon Levy Expedition to
Ashkelon. Photo: Carl Andrews)
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Hittite solar disc
Hittite solar disc
Perhaps the major contribution of the Hittites was the introduction of iron into war and
agriculture in the form of weapons and tools. Here it was used to create a cult standard
representing the Hittite concepts of fertility and prosperity. The circle surrounding the animals
is the sun, beneath which stands a stag flanked by two bulls. Stylized bull's horns spread from
the base of the disc. The symbol is also one of might and protection from outside harm.
(Museum of Anatolian Civilization)
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Hittite warrior
Hittite warrior
This tall figure was carved on the wall of
an entry gate to the city of Hattusas, the
Hittite capital, during the New Kingdom
Period. Fierce-looking, vigorous, and
outfitted with battle ax, sword, kilt, and
possibly mail shirt, he is designed to
frighten away both human and
supernatural enemies. (Ankara National
Museum)
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Hoplite phalanx
Hoplite phalanx
This frieze of attacking foot soldiers is from the so-called Chigi Vase--a Corinthian
masterpiece. When the Greeks adopted heavy armor, weapons, and shields, their lack of
mobility forced them to fight in several dense lines, each behind the other. Cohesion and order
became as valuable as courage. Here a flute player plays a marching tune to help the hoplites
maintain their pace during the attack. (Villa Guilia Museum/Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale)
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Ishtar Gate
Ishtar Gate
Babylon was protected by a double
enclosure totaling over 11 miles in
length. The north side was the most
strongly fortified. In front a double castle
protected the main gate, which was
dedicated to Ishtar, and housed a kind of
museum containing ancient and foreign
monuments. Here we see a
reconstruction of the magnificent "Ishtar
Gate." (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)
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Jerusalem at time of Solomon
Jerusalem at time of Solomon
Strategically located in the middle of lands occupied by the Israelite tribes and on a high plateau overlooking
the central hills and the Judaean desert, Jerusalem was captured around 1000 B.C.E. by King David, who
made it his capital (the City of David is at left; the citadel and palace complex at center). The next king,
Solomon, built the First Temple to serve as the center of worship of the Israelite god, Yahweh. Solomon's
Temple (at upper right) was destroyed during the Neo-Babylonian sack of the city in 587 B.C.E. The modest
structure soon built to take its place was replaced by the magnificent Second Temple, erected by King Herod
in the last decades of the first century B.C.E. and destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. (Ritmeyer
Archaeological Design)
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Kritios Boy
Kritios Boy
The Kritios Boy--the work of the
sculptor Kritios--no longer uses the
contrived frontal pose of previous
Kouroi. This work is often viewed as
breaking from the Archaic design
principles and moving toward the
Classical. (Acropolis
Museum/Archaeological Receipts
Fund, Athens)
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Minoan fresco of fleet in harbor
Minoan fresco of fleet in harbor
The Minoans, or Cretans, were not Greeks and did not speak a Greek language, but their
influence on mainland Greece was considerable. This painted frieze of a naval campaign was
discovered in the course of the Thera excavations. It was executed in "miniature style" familiar
from the fresco work of the palace at Knossos, Crete. (Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)
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Mosaic of Sappho
Mosaic of Sappho
Sappho came from an ordinary family;
the death of her husband was the first
event in her liberation. She attracted
young women to Lesbos, both to study
poetry and to be her lovers. The Greek
letters in the upper left corner of this
mosaic identify the idealized portrait as
that of Sappho. The mosaic, which was
found in Sparta, dates to the Roman
Empire and testifies to Sappho's
popularity in antiquity. (Museum of
Sparta/Archaeological Receipts Fund)
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Mycenaean Lion Gate
Mycenaean Lion Gate
The Mycenaean civilization reached its
height from 1400-1230 B.C.E. The Lion
Gate was the entrance to the acropolis of
Mycenae. The relief above the Lion Gate
is an impressive example of the CretoMycenaean style. Four monolithic
blocks make up the frame of the door,
and the weight of the lintel alone is
estimated to 20 tons. The sculpture that
fills the relieving triangle depicts two
lions facing each other on either side of a
sacred pillar. (Dimitrios
Harissiadis/Benaki Museum)
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Peplos Maiden
Peplos Maiden
The corresponding female form of the
Kouros--the Kore--was represented in
the same rigid way but was clothed. The
Peplos Maiden was named after her
garment, called a peplos. The more
natural flow of hair and more subdued
smile show a move to more lifelike
representation. (Acropolis
Museum/Archaeological Receipts Fund,
Athens)
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Relief of marine trade
Relief of marine trade
In this Assyrian relief Phoenician ships tow hewn logs for building purposes to a
foreign port. Phoenician ships like these not only plied the eastern Aegean but also
ventured into the western Mediterranean. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)
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Sarcophagus of Lartie Seianti
Sarcophagus of Lartie Seianti
The Etruscans, living among various peoples in Italy at this time, evolved cities that resembled Greek citystates. Their wealth and political and military institutions enabled them to dominate an area that extended as
far north as the Po Valley and as far south as Latium and Campania. The woman portrayed on this lavish
sarcophagus is the noble Etruscan Lartie Seianti. Although the sarcophagus is her place of burial, she is
portrayed as in life: comfortable and at rest. The influence of Greek art on Etruscan works is apparent in
almost every feature of the sarcophagus. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Spartan runner
Spartan runner
This bronze statuette from Laconia
shows a woman running. Unlike other
Greek women, elite Spartan women
underwent physical education. Although
their personal freedom was limited,
women in Sparta suffered fewer
restrictions than their counterparts in
democratic Athens. (National
Archaeological Museum,
Athens/Archaeological Receipts Fund)
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Stoa of Attalos
Stoa of Attalos
The Greek stoa, or portico, was a long building divided along its center by a spacious roofed
corridor that allowed people to walk while enjoying the air but avoiding the sun and rain. On
the other side opened the rooms of various shops. Philosophers were fond of discussing their
ideas while strolling along the spacious arcade. The philosophical school of Zeno received its
name, Stoicism, because its adherents formulated their views in a stoa. (Courtesy, American
School of Classical Studies, Agora)
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Theater at Epidauros
Theater at Epidauros
The Theater at Epidauros demonstrates the use of the modified tholos plan as mastered by the
architect Polykleitos the Younger--concentric rows of seats with stepped aisles placed at
consistent intervals. This well-preserved theater had no stage, for the building behind the
orchestra housed the scenery. (William Hubbell/Woodfin Camp & Associates)
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Map: The Assyrian and Persian Empires
The Assyrian and Persian Empires
The Assyrian Empire at its height (ca. 650 B.C.E.) included almost all of the old centers of power in the ancient Near East.
By 513 B.C.E., however, the Persian Empire not only included more of that area but also extended as far east as western
India. With the rise of the Medes and Persians, the balance of power in the Near East shifted east of Mesopotamia for the
first time. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Middle East in the Second Millennium B.C.E.
The Middle East in the Second Millennium B.C.E.
Although warfare was not uncommon, treaties, diplomatic missions, and correspondence in Akkadian cuneiform fostered
cooperative relationships between states. All were tied together by extensive networks of exchange centering on the trade in
metals, and peripheral regions, such as Nubia and the Aegean Sea, were drawn into the world of commerce. (Copyright (c)
Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: Phoenicia and Israel
Phoenicia and Israel
The lands along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea--sometimes called the Levant or Syria-Palestine--have always
been a crossroads, traversed by migrants, nomads, merchants, and armies moving between Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and
Anatolia. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.