I. Geography of Greece
A. Mountains-Greece consists of small plains and
river valleys surrounded by high mountain
ranges. Mountains make up 80% of the Greek
landscape, causing different Greek city-states to
develop their own ways of life.
B. Seas-The Aegean, Mediterranean, and Ionian
Seas make up the eastern, southern, and
western borders of Greece.
1. Long seacoast is dotted by bays and inlets that
provided many harbors. As a result, the Ancient
Greeks became seafarers.
II. Early Civilization in Greece
A. Mycenaean-Flourished between 1600 B.C.E.
and 1100 B.C.E. This was the first city-state.
1. Warrior People-Remains of wall murals
that display war and hunting scenes suggest
that the Mycenaeans were a warrior people
2. Commercial Network-The Mycenaean monarchies
developed an extensive commercial network
throughout the Mediterranean, in Syria and Egypt
to the east and Sicily and southern Italy to the west.
View from
the acropolis
B. After the collapse of Mycenaean civilization,
Greece entered a dark age between 1100 B.C.E.
and 750 B.C.E. Not until 850 B.C.E. did farming
revive.
a) Homer-Wrote the epic poems, the Iliad and the
Odyssey, that recount the Trojan War and the story
of Achilles.
B. City-states-By 750 B.C.E., the city state—or what
the Greeks called a polis—became the central focus
of Greek life.
1. Acropolis-The main gathering place in the polis
was usually a hill. At the top of the hill was a
fortified area called an acropolis.
a) Served as a place of refuge during an attack and
sometimes came to be a religious center.
2. Agora-Below the acropolis was an agora, an open
area that served as a place where people could
assemble as a market.
C. Sparta-The Spartans took over the Laconians and
Messenia. To assert their dominance over their
conquered people, the Spartans created a military
state between 800-600 B.C.E.
1. Males-Spent their entire childhood learning
military discipline. By the age of 20, they enrolled
in regular military service. They would stay in the
army until 60.
2. Women-Lived at home while their husbands lived
in barracks. As a result, Spartan women had
greater power than elsewhere in Greece. They
were expected to remain fit to bear and raise
healthy children.
3. Oligarchy-A government ruled by a few.
a) The Spartan government was headed by two
kings, a group of five men, and a council of elders.
III. Challenge of Persia-Persia was an empire located
across the Middle East.
A. In 490 B.C.E., the Persians landed at Marathon,
only 26 miles from Athens. The Persians were
defeated and motivated Xerxes to seek revenge.
B. Xerxes led a massive invasion force of 180,000 troops
into Greece in 480 B.C.E. The Greek city-states would
unite to drive the Persians back to Asia.
Thermopylae
C. After the defeat of the Persians, Athens took over
the leadership under a defensive alliance known as
the Delian League formed in 478 B.C.E.
IV. AthensA. Age of Pericles-Between 461-429 B.C.E., Pericles
was a prominent political leader. This was when
Athens was at the height of its power.
1. Direct Democracy-All men voted on all issues in the
government.
The pnyx
B. Women in Athens1. Women were considered property in Athens.
2. They did not receive any formal education.
3. If they left the house, women had to have a
companion
C. Slaves in Athens-Slaves numbered around 100,000
of 300,000 people in Athens. Most Athenians
owned at least 1 slave.
D. The Great Peloponnesian War-A struggle for power
finally broke out in 431 B.C.E. between Sparta and
Athens.
1. Sparta had a great army, whereas Athens had an
excellent navy. The Spartans were able to surround
Athens, hoping to draw the Athenian army into the
open field.
They were 66
feet high and
connected
Piraeus, four
miles away
2. In the second winter of fighting a plague broke out
in Athens. 25 years later, the Athenians lost. This
led in a downfall of Greek power.
E. Philosophers of Greece
1. Philosophy-Refers to an organized system of
thought. Term comes from a Greek word that
means, “love of wisdom.”
a) Socrates- Believed all real knowledge is already
present within each person. Only critical
examination is needed to call it forth. His teaching
method was called the Socratic Method.
b) Plato-One of Socrates’ students was Plato. Plato
attempted to explain the ideal state in The Republic.
He felt that the state should be ruled by
philosopher-kings.
c) Aristotle-Aristotle’s interests lay in analyzing and
classifying things based on observation and
investigation. Many of his ideas became the basis
for western thought. For instance, he believed in
the geocentric theory.
V. Hellenistic AgeA. The Macedonians-Due to the petty wars of
the Greeks, the Macedonians were largely
ignored neighbors to the north. In 359 B.C.E.,
Phillip II came to the throne to unite the
Greeks in an invasion of Persia.
B. Alexander the Great, Phillip’s son, took over
after Phillip was assassinated and led the
invasion.
C. Alexander entered Asia in 334 B.C.E., with an army
of 37,000 men. By the winter of 332 B.C.E., he had
captured Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.
D. By 326 B.C.E., Alexander conquered the Persian
Empire and reached India. He would die in 323
B.C.E. and his empire would be divided.
E. Why was he successful?
1. His military strategy of using the phalanx and
cavalry was superior to his opponents.
2. Alexander was an inspiration to his own soldiers by
risking his own life.
F. Hellenistic Legacy-Alexander spread Greek culture
throughout the world. Greek culture would
combine with Persian, Egyptian, and Indian culture
to form Hellenistic civilization.
1. Alexandria-He built Alexandria as the Greek capital
of Egypt. The library in Alexandria was the largest
in ancient times, with more than 500,000 scrolls.
2. Archimedes of Syracuse created the mathematical
constant pi.
What did Homer
recount from this era?
Why were the Greeks
able to develop a
commercial network?
Why did different citystates develop?
1500
B.C.E.Mycenae
flourished
What cultures does the
term Hellenistic
encompass?
What part of the world
were the Persians based
in?
700 B.C.E.Sparta had a
tightly
controlled
society
What dominated
Spartan society?
Why was Alexander the
Great successful?
Why were the Greeks
able to defeat the
Persians?
440 B.C.E.-Age
of Pericles in
Athens
479 B.C.E.Persian army
was defeated
What type of
governmental system
dominated the Age of
Pericles?
What was the
difference in terms of
gender in Sparta?
How were women
viewed in Ancient
Athens?
323 B.C.E.Alexander the
Great is at the
height of his
power