Chapters 3 and 4
The Civilization of the Greeks
and
Hellenistic Civilizations
BRONZE AGE:
 DARK AGE
 CLASSICAL AGE

3500 – 1200 BC
1200 – 700 BC
700 – 500 BC
I. Early Greece: 3200 – 1100 BC
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
Importance of geography in Greek history
Late Bronze Age Cultures

Cycladic 3200 BC – 1100 BC
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Location:
Religion:
Political/Military:
Urban / Rural:
Economic:
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Minoan 3000-1450 B.C.
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Location:
Culture:
Religion:
Political/Military:
Urban / Rural:
– Knossus
• Economic:
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Sudden and catastrophic collapse around 1100 B.C

Mycenaean 1600-11 B.C.
• Location:
– Peloponnesus
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Culture:
Religion:
Political/Military:
Urban / Rural:
Economic:
All three cultures flourished prior to 12th century BC.
The earliest Aegean civilization was on Crete.
However, by about 1100-1000 BC, events overtook the cultures and they
collapsed. No single event . Self-destruction into Dark Ages.
II. Greek Dark Age: 1100 - 800 B.C.

Collapse of agricultural production, decline in number of farmers
Volcano

Changes in Greek World –

Migration east across the Aegean Sea
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
III. Greek City-States: 800 - 500 B.C. (Archaic period)
 Ethnos
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Developed on mainland in Western Peloponnesus
Large territorial units but within villages and small towns
Common customs and religion united them
Governed by elite – Oligarch – rule by few
Polis
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Citadel
Villages clustered around fortifications which were both protection
and cult centers for specific deities
Polis is a small but autonomous political unit in which all major
political, social, and religious activities are carried out in a central
location
Citizenship to males only
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Gender and Power
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Women played little role
Greek attitudes toward women and sexuality – rigid
Isolated in homes, played no public role
Firmly under husbands control – property
Women were to be good mothers and obedient wives – not
friends or partners
Friendship existed only between members of same sex.
Women in public were usually prostitutes (who also were
usually slaves)
Greek society did not condemn prostitution, infanticide, or
exploitation of women and boys.

Myth and Reason
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Myth explained everything: seasons, weather, catastrophes
Myths were reasons and reason explained myths
Lineage
• Titans
– Olympians Zeus was the head god.

Colonization and the Rise of Tyrants
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Colonization
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Overpopulation
Trade and commerce
Colonies founded as polis
Cultural diffusion
Tyrants
• A tyrant was someone who came to rule by unconstitutional ways in
7th and 6th centuries B.C.E. – coup d’etat. Not subject to laws.
• Power maintained by mercenaries.
IV. Tale of Two Cities
a) Sparta

Location:

Lacked:

Military History:

Military society
Citizenship
Women
Children:
Government
• Reforms by Lycurgus
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
b) Athens
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Location:
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Social:
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Legal:
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Economic:
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Political:
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Unites surrounding area of Attica into single polis
Ruled by aristocratic clan – Alcmeonids circa 630s BC
Krylon
650 – 621BC
621 BC
594 BC
• Solon

Pisistratus (and son Hippias) seize power in 560 B.C.

Aristocrats attempt to seize power

Cleisthenes seized power in 508 B.C.E.

Pericles - 444 B.C.
V. Classical Greece
I. The Challenge of Persia
• During 2nd half of 6th century, Persian empire expanding and
absorbing, including in and around Athens.
• Unsuccessful revolt of Ionian cities – wildfire of democracy
spread to Ionia, but ill fated, even with aid from Athens and
Eretria.

Darius (522-486 B.C.E.)
• Opposition / Revolts
• Battle of Marathon, 490 B.C.E.
• Destroyed myth of Persian invincibility

Xerxes (486-465 B.C.E.)

Invasion of Greece, 480-479 B.C.E.
• By 480 B.C, the army he assembled had approximately
100,000 to 180,000 men and a fleet of nearly 600 ships
• Greek plan – fall back to Thermopylae
– Battle of Thermopylae, 480 B.C.E.
• Persians reach Athens and sack and burn it.
• Sea battles – Battle of Salamis, 480 B.C.E.
– Battle of Plataea, 479 B.C.E.
• Greeks developed skills in battle – naval and hoplite
movements during battles with Xerxes.

By 479 –Athens emerges as leader of Greek world
II. The Athenian Empire in the Age of Pericles

End of Persian wars marks beginning of classical period.

Delian League formed 478-77 B.C.E.
• Aegean

Pericles
• Expanded democracy at home and an empire abroad
• Elected to generalship 30 times
• Built the Parthenon on the Acropolis
III. The Great Peloponnesian War and the Decline of the
Greek States (431-404 B.C.E.)

Athens stays behind its walls and Sparta ravages the land of
Attica

Surrender of Athens, 404 B.C
IV. Culture of Classical Greece
I. History
• Systematic analysis of the past
• Herodotus (c. 484- 425 B.C.E.), History of the Persian Wars
• Thucydides (c. 460- 400 B.C.E.), History of the Peloponnesian War
II. Drama
Created by the Greeks
• Tragedians
• Tragedy
• Comedy
III. The Arts: The Classical Ideal
• Architecture
• Sculpture
VI. The Greek Love of Wisdom
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Philosophy meant “love of wisdom”
Sophists
Socrates (469-399 B.C.) (Sophist)
Plato ( 429-347 B.C.) (Student of Socrates)
• The Republic
• The Academy

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) (Student of Plato)
• Politics
VII.Greek Religion
Infused into their daily lives, every aspect
Ritual more important than belief.
No body of doctrine or focus on morality
Sacrifices and Festivals (Olympics 776BC, 4 yrs)
Mount Olympus
Homer’s work on the gods provided a foundation and structure that inculcated the
aristocratic values of courage and honor.
VIII. Daily Life in Classical Athens

180,000 citizens, 43,000 of which were adult males who exercised political
power, 35,000 foreigners.

Family the central institution
Women
Males - Paterfamilias
Slavery
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IX. Rise of Macedonia and the Alexander
• Philip II (359-336 B.C.E.)
– Greeks crushed in 338 B.C.E. at the Battle of Chaeronea
– The freedom of the Greek cities had already come to an end during
the Third Sacred War (354-346).
X. Alexander the Great
Born:
Educated:
Military:
Alexander crowned - 336

Attacks the Persian Empire


Battle of Hydaspes River, 326 B.C.
• Soldiers refuse to go on
Death June 11, 323.

Philip Arridaeus.
Perdiccas

323 -320 – War between generals, revolts.
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
The Legacy of Alexander
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Hellenistic Age (“to imitate Greeks”)
Empire divided
Greek autonomy
Wealth used for cities and infrastructure
• Greco-Macedonian domination of cities and culture
throughout the ME and into Asia.
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Policies remained similar if not same, while faces
changed.

Monarchy
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Culture
• Art, architecture, language, literature
• Cities
(1)
New military technology (brought from Sicily) spear
(2) Wide use of bribery on friendly parties in Greek poleis
(3) The League Against the Persians revived by King Philip (338/7) as a way of 'uniting' the Greeks
under himself (as 'hegemon': commander-in-chief) to fight the Persians (at least that's what he said).
Forced Greek unity in violation of eleutheria ('liberty').
(4) Crusade of Hellenes against Asia (Philip and Alexander): expands the idea of what is Greek and
brings Greeks into contact and gives them dominion over many other (older) civilizations
(5) Colonies of military veterans: urbanization
(6) New religious cults and attitudes change the basic ideas of the Greek polis religion, as well as the
meaning of life and death, reward and punishment (dualism of Mesopotamian Zoroastrianism)
7) Alexander's policy of intermarrying himself and his chieftains with members of the Iranian
aristocracies of the Persian empire (e.g. Alexander himself and Roxane from Bactria/Afghanistan)
(8) Alexander's policy of founding new cities (32 ALEXANDRIAS): Greek language, Greek
architecture, Greek gymnasium culture, Greek political institutions, but very mixed and mostly nonGreek citizens. The definition of 'Hellene/Greek' is no longer racial, ethnic, national-family, or even
cultural in a natural develomental sense. 'Hellene' is a cultural term thereafter, but anybody can be a
Hellene by adapting.
(9) Appearance in Greek cities of new artifacts, ideas, habits from other civilizations: new interpretations
of reality (Aristotle)
XI. The Hellenistic Kingdoms
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New dynasties created
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Macedonia under the Antigonid dynasty
Syria and the east under the Seleucids
Attalid kingdom of Pergamum in western Asia Minor
Egypt under the Ptolemies

Hellenizing an urban phenomenon

Economic:
• Agriculture (80% devoted to farming)
• Money Economy – Alexander had put gold and silver into circulation
which created new trading blocks and new coinage
• Wealth in hands of few
• Forests stripped of wood
• Trade Routes increased, more physical mobility
• Industry spread eastward into Asia and Egypt
• Textile centers in Pergamum
• Glass and silver crafts in Syria
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Religion:
• Still had gods BUT decline in vitality of the myths and faith
• Open to others – eastern world
• Mystery religions impacted Greeks
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Women:
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Opportunities increased – upper class women
Managed slaves
Sold property
Contracted loans
More independent
XII. Culture in the Hellenistic World

Literature, Art, Sciences, philosophy
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Pergamum and Alexandria
• Library at Alexandria – largest in ancient times (1/2 million
scrolls)
Golden Age of Science
 Archimedes (287-212 B.C)
Philosophy

Headquartered at Athens.
• Epicurian:
– Epicurus (341-270 B.C.)
• Stoic:
– Zeno (335-263 B.C.)
XIII. Conclusion and Summary
 New cities arose
 New religions arose
 New ideas about space, literature and our place in
universe
 Greek culture spread