isthmus
A small strip of land, with
water on both sides, that
connects two larger areas of
land.
harbor
A sheltered place with deep
water close to shore.
trireme
A large fighting ship used by
the Ancient Greeks and others
beginning in the late 6th
century B.C.
• Greece is located on the Balkan Peninsula in
southern Europe.
• Seas – The Agean to the east between
Greece and Turkey
The Mediterranean Sea to the south
The Ionian Sea to the west
• The southern part of Greece is the
Peloponnesus and is connected to the
mainland by an isthmus.
• About 2000 islands in the surrounding seas
were part of Greece.
• The largest island was Crete, southeast of
the mainland.
• Colonies of Ancient Greece spread across
the seas and were located on the coasts
of Northern Africa, Spain, Italy, and
Asia Minor.
• ¾ of the land is covered by mountains
• The Pindus Range runs north and south
through the center of Greece.
• There are narrow valleys and small plains
• Inland travel/trade was very difficult
• Rivers often dried up making travel
impossible
• Villages were very independent and had
little contact with other Greek villages.
• Mt. Olympus was thought to be the home
of Zeus – the most powerful of the gods.
• The sea brought people together.
• Greece had many natural harbors.
• The sea was a source of food.
• Trade was possible.
• The sea made it possible to form new
colonies and to trade ideas.
• Conflicts with other nations over trade and
and colonization made it necessary for
Greece to develop fighting skills and
ships.
• Large ships for fighting were called triremes.
• The culture of Greece was influenced by the
sea.
• The sea allowed travel and connected Greeks
to the outside world.
• Many Greeks became fishermen and traders.
• Greece had thin soil and a dry climate.
• Only 1/5 of the land was good for farming.
• Small amounts of wheat and barley were
grown.
• The main crops were grapes and olives.
• Olive oil was traded for other products.
Vocabulary:
cultural borrowing
epic
Adapting customs
from one culture for
use in another.
A long story-poem.
• Minoans lived on the island of Crete.
• British archaeologist, Arthur Evans,
discovered the ruins of the ancient
kingdom. He called it the Minoan
civilization in honor of the legendary
king of Crete called Minos.
• Minoans built huge palaces that may have
been the center for governing and for
religion.
• The palaces were like mazes.
• Many houses were built around them.
• Beyond the palaces were small towns,
villages, and farmland.
• The remains of four palaces have been found.
• The largest is called Knossos and probably
stood at least 3 stories high.
• It probably covered an area as large as 20
football fields.
• As many as 12,000 people may have lived
there.
• Paintings of peaceful scenes decorated the
walls of palaces.
• The art showed that the Minoans loved music,
dancing, and sports.
• Men and women wore long hair and wore
gold jewelry.
• Religion was important to them.
• Paintings and other archaeological evidence
suggests that Minoans were expert sailors
and sea traders.
• Goods were traded for copper, tin, and gold.
• The metals were mixed to form bronze and used to
make bowls, axes, and other items.
• Minoans developed a system of writing.
• The only remaining records were written on
clay tablets.
• No one knows what caused the decline of
the Minoan civilization.
• Mycenaeans lived in Mycenae, a city near
the coast of Peloponnesus.
• They were war like people.
• They traded with the Minoans and learned
much of their culture. (cultural borrowing)
• They changed Minoan art styles to make them
more warlike.
• They changed the Minoan written language to
match their own.
• Mycenaeans eventually controlled Crete.
• They also built huge palaces and walls to
protect them.
• Trade lead to the establishment of many
colonies.
• No one knows why this civilization weakened.
• Some believe the Dorians marched through
burning villages and palaces.
• Others believe that “Sea Peoples” attacked
Mycenae.
• Homer is the author of two of the
greatest Greek epics.
• The Iliad – a story about
a great warpossibly the Trojan War.
• The Odyssey – the story of
Odysseus and his
ten-year journey home.
Vocabulary
polis
acropolis
agora
a city-state in ancient Greecea city and the farms, towns, and
villages around it.
a walled fort built on a hill
an open-air market and
gathering place in Greek citystates
tyrant
a cruel ruler, someone who
usually took control of a
government illegally and ruled
alone
aristocracy
a wealthy ruling class
helot
a slave owned by the state in
ancient Sparta
myth
a story passed from generation
to generation that usually tells
about an ancient god or hero
oligarchy
a system in which a small
group controls the
government
democracy rule by the people
majority rule
a system in which the
ideas and decisions
supported by the most
people are followed
 City-States such as Megara, Argos,
Corinth, Athens, and Sparta, were
made up of a city, small towns,
villages, and nearby farms. A CityState was called a polis.
 Most Greek communities built a
fort on top of a large hill
called an acropolis. The
acropolis was the center of
religion in the city-state.
 People met in the agora to trade and
discuss the news.
 Kings (tyrants) ruled the city-states
of early Greece.
 Later each city-state developed its
own form of government.
 In some city-states the aristocracy
shared authority with the king.
 In other city-states democracies were
formed and male citizens took
part in assemblies to make laws.
 Most city-states had fewer than
5,000 people.
 When they became too crowded,
some city-states set up colonies.
 Greek ideas were spread throughout
the Mediterranean area through
trade and colonization.
 City-states began to compete for trade
partners and land.
 Both Sparta and Argos wanted to
control Peloponnesus.
 Athens and Thebes wanted to control
northeast Peloponnesus.
 Sparta and Athens were not rivals in
the beginning, but they had different
ideas and lifestyles.
 Located in the southern Peloponnesus
 Simple life – much physical activity
 Descendents of Dorian settlers
 Slaves (helots) were the captured
people who had lived in the area
before the Spartans.
 Helots were owned by the state.
 Sparta had 10 times as many slaves
as citizens.
 Military strength was used to control
the city-state.
 Boys were taken from home at age 7
for training.
 Training continued until age 18.
 Boys were often tortured by older
boys, beaten in front of others
without crying out, and made to
sleep on bare floors to make them
tough.
 Men served in the army until the age
of 30.
 They were trained to
believe that
there was no greater
honor than to
die defending
Sparta.
Girls were trained at home in
gymnastics and running.
 Women had fewer rights than men,
but more rights than women in
other city-states.
 They handled business matters.
 Their most important role was
raising strong children.
 Spartans lived a simple life and
didn’t want change.
 They were afraid travel and trade
would bring unwanted changes to
their society.
 Sparta had 2 kings
 Kings had little authority except in war
 Each king was part of a 30 member
senate (all 60 years or older)
 All male citizens were allowed to
participate in the assembly
 5 wealthy landowners were elected to
handle daily governing (euphors)
 Senators and euphors held the most
power.
 A small group like this is an oligarchy.
 Spartan government was admired by
other city-states.
 Located in Attica – northeast part of
Peloponnesus Peninsula
 Men served in the army during war
times.
 Citizens were encouraged to
participate in government.
(democracy – rule by the people)
 Every free man over the age of 20 had
full political rights and took part
in the assemblies.
 Each man had one vote and the
majority ruled.
 Persons causing trouble could be
voted out of the city-state for a
period of 10 years.
 Women could not vote, but they were
considered to be citizens.
 Slaves in Greece made up one-third
of the population.
 They were owned by private citizens.
 They did much of the work and had
no rights as citizens.
 Greeks were loyal to their city-states.
 Greek city-states had a strong cultural
connection – belief in a common
ancestor, common language, and
religion
 Olympics brought all the city-states
together.
 They believed Zeus and the other gods
controlled the events in the world.
 They shared a common alphabet –
probably influenced by the Phoenician
alphabet.
Vocabulary
league
a group of allies
tragedy
a serious play with an
unhappy ending
comedy
a humorous play
plague
a deadly sickness
demagogue
a person who
appeals to the
emotions and
prejudices of
people in order to
arouse discontent
and advance his or
her own political
purposes
Around 540 B.C. Persia conquered
Greek cities in Asia Minor.
About 500 B.C. the Greeks rebelled
against Persia.
Athens sent army to help the colonies,
but they couldn’t defeat the Persians.
Persia’s King Darius I sent troops to
attack Athens.
Athenians met Persians on the plain of
Marathon.
Persia had more men, but Athens was
able to defeat them in one day.
Darius I died, and his son Xerxes took
over as king.
In 480 B.C. Xerxes sent 200,000 soldiers
in 800 ships to attack Greece.
The Greek city-states joined their
armies and navies to fight Persia.
The Greeks won the war even though
they had less men.
Greek city-states formed leagues in
case of future attacks.
Sparta led the Peloponnesian League.
Athens led the Delian League.
A time of achievement
Pericles was the leader of Athens.
He felt that every citizen had the
right to vote – not just the wealthy.
He arranged for jurors to be paid so
they would not lose money being
away from their jobs.
He offered support to those working
in the arts and building trades.
Writers and scientists were encouraged
Great thinkers such as Socrates lived
in Athens at that time.
Socrates
Greek Columns
Peloponnesian war
Athens and Sparta were not satisfied
with their power
Peloponesian League supported Sparta
Delian League supported Athens
War lasted 27 years
Sparta attacked Athens
Citizens of Athens moved into the city
City became crowded and disease and
starvation weakened the people
One fourth of the Athenian army died.
Pericles also died.
Demagogues (bad leaders) took over.
Athens surrendered to Sparta in 404
B.C.
Sparta replaced Athen’s democracy
with an oligarchy.
Athens rebelled and returned to a
a democracy.
Some of the greatest thinkers and
teachers lived in Athens during
the end of the Golden Age and after.
Socrates taught by asking questions.
He made his students think rather than
giving them the information.
Socrates often criticized Athenians
in an effort to get them to return to
their former greatness.
The Athenian court accused Socrates
of teaching dangerous ideas to
young people.
He was sentenced to death by
drinking poison.
He drank the poison because he
felt it was more important to obey
the law than to save his life by
running away.
Plato was a student of Socrates.
Like Socrates, he was disappointed
with the leadership in Athens.
Plato said that the leader should be
a good person because good people
are just and wise.
He thought it was possible to become
a good person by studying hard and
loving wisdom.
He thought the philosophers (lovers of
wisdom) would make the best rulers.
In 385 B.C. Plato started a school called
the Academy.
Philosophers could attend the Academy
and learn all they needed to govern
wisely.
Plato also had thoughts about what it
takes to be a good citizen.
A good citizen thinks and feels and
then
He thought people should be well
informed, understand other view
points, and be responsible for their
own behavior.
Plato’s ideas about citizenship are
shared by many people today.
Aristotle was a student of Plato’s.
He was interested in how things were,
not how he wanted them to be.
He entered the Academy at 18 and
studied for 20 years.
Aristotle studied law, economics,
astronomy, science, and sports.
He left the Academy when Plato died.
Aristotle and Plato disagreed about
many things, but they both believed
the best life was spent searching for
truth and knowledge.
Vocabulary
alliance
an agreement to cooperate
Hellenistic
Greek like
multicultural
relating to many cultures
Multicultural
Empire
Discoveries in
Astronomy
Spread of Greek
Language &
Religion
Alexander the
Great
Helenistic
Age
Study of
Medicine
and Surgery
New Ideas in
Mathematics
Phillip II of Macedonia defeated Athens
and its allies gaining control of most of
Greece.
Phillip greatly respected Greek culture and
wanted to preserve it.
Phillip died, his son Alexander took over as
king at the age of 20.
Alexander dreamed of world conquest.
He created the largest empire of the time.
His empire was multicultural.
He spread Greek culture.
He built cities that became great centers of
learning.
When he died, his empire crumbled
because his generals fought for control.