PART 1
THE CLASSICAL ERA IN THE
WEST

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What factors caused the rise of Persia, Greece, and
Rome?
What were the major accomplishments of these
“classical civilizations”?
How were these civilizations shaped by their religious and philosophical beliefs and by the rule of law?

Political developments –
•
Created the largest empire up to its time
(more than 3,000 miles – from the Nile to the Indus)
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Divided the empire into provinces
Provinces were ruled by a group of local officials loyal to the Persian king.

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Economy –
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Provinces profited from extensive trade throughout the Persian Empire
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Provinces paid tributes (payment as a sign of submission) to the king
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The government collected taxes from throughout the provinces
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Agriculture was important for economic stability

 Religion –
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At first, were polytheistic
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Zoroastrianism was introduced in 570 B.C.
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Taught there were two gods (1. god of truth, light, and goodness and 2. god of darkness and evil)
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Earth was a battleground between these two forces
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People leading good lives would eventually go to
Heaven, and those who were evil would be doomed to a fiery hell

 Innovations –
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Built a network of public roads
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Uniform set of weights and measures
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New cities
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Achievements –
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Use of money
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Postal service

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mkVSasZIM

How does Greece’s geography differ from the river valleys?
It lacks a major river and is almost surrounded by the sea.
What geographic features caused Greek cities to be cut off from one another?
Mountains and the sea.

 Draw a map of Greece
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Locate and label:
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Athens
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Sparta
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Crete
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The Aegean Sea
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The Ionian Sea
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Mt. Olympus
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Draw the mountains ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Color:
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Greece – Green
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Water - Blue

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The Minoans – flourished on the island of Crete (2000
B.C.)
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Developed own form of writing
Used copper and bronze
Skilled ship builders
Mysteriously collapsed around 1400 B.C.
The Myceneans – on mainland Greece and the coast of Asia Minor (1400 B.C. – 1200 B.C.)
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Established cities
Warriors
The Dorians – conquered the Greek mainland around 1200 B.C.
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Ruled during the Dark Age
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Learning, the economy, and trade declined

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Individual city-states (polis)
Common language and traditions
Same religious beliefs
Close economic ties

 http://vimeo.com/26726577

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Sparta – the military state
Athens – the democratic state
 Create a comparison chart of Sparta and Athens.
Include the following headings:
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Political system
Education
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Social Roles
Culture

TYPE OF
GOVERNMENT
STATE
CULTURE
MEN'S
SOCIAL ROLE
WOMEN'S
SOCIAL ROLE
CHILDREN &
EDUCATION
COMPARING SPARTA AND ATHENS
SPARTA ATHENS

 How was Athenian democracy different from
American democracy today?

 As part of your notes, complete the Textbook
Scavenger Hunt about the Greek and Persian wars.
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Decisive Battles – History Channel Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Sfmn3hff4

Pericles, the leader of Athens, led the Greeks into a
“Golden Age” following their victory over the Persians.
Complete the worksheet on the Golden Age of Athens.
Turn in the questions, and put the outline in your notes.
Complete the first page of “Greek Geeks” and put it in your notebook.

PELOPONNESIAN WARS (432 B.C. – 404 B.C.)
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Causes:
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Rivalries between Sparta and their allies and Athens and their allies
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Athens used its power to force some other city-states to pay them taxes
Sparta declared war on Athens and, after 30 years of fighting, emerged as the victor.
Results:
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City-states were weakened
Poverty was wide-spread and Athens was devastated
Sparta became the leading city-state
These problems led to takeover by outsiders

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In 338 B.C. the king of Macedonia (Philip II) brought all Greek city-states under his control.
His son, Alexander the Great, went on to conquer most of the Mediterranean world, including Egypt and Persia (as far as the Indus River).
Alexander spread Greek culture throughout his new empire.
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Blended Greek and Persian cultures
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Built new cities
Encouraged learning and philosophy
Complete page 2 of “Greek Geeks” and add to your notebook.

 We will complete the mapping activity in class.
Homework:
 Answer the discussion and short answer questions on a separate sheet of paper. Write the question and the answer.

 Define the following vocabulary words and draw a picture OR write a sentence (intelligent and complete, please) to demonstrate understanding. I prefer a chart like we used for Unit 1.
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Direct Democracy
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Indirect Democracy
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Hellenistic
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Oligarchy
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Republic
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Empire

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Geography
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Located on a fertile plain in the center of Italy
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Close to the west coast
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At a cross roads for trade and transportation
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Protected from invaders by mountains and the sea
Influences
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Etruscans – building, dress, organization of the army
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Greeks – religion, the alphabet, architecture, literature, art

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Draw a map of Rome and label the following
(refer to page 150 in your textbook)
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Rome
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The Po River
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The Tiber River
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Adriatic Sea
Draw the mountains as geographic features
Color the water blue and Rome Green

 Rome had two social classes
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Patricians – wealthy landowners
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Plebeians – small farmers, craftsmen, and merchants
In early Rome, the king was overthrown and made into a republic (government by representatives)
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Senate – a patrician assembly (held the most power)
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Consuls – elected officials
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Tribunes – speakers who represented the plebeians

 Diagram the Roman government (we will do this in class)

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Government officials were not above the law and could not act outside the law
THE TWELVE TABLES
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Issued by the Republic and placed in public meeting places
Protected the plebeians
Covered civil, criminal, and religious law
Provided a foundation for later law codes
All citizens were “equal under the law”
Contributed concept of a contract and established rules for property ownership
Established legal processes ( court trials, appeals, innocent until proven guilty
)

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The Punic Wars – a series of three wars with
Carthage
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Destroyed Carthage, its main trading rival
Acquired territories in Spain, North Africa and the Eastern
Mediterranean
Julius Caesar completed the conquest of Spain and
Gaul ( present-day France)
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Became dictator for life
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Fearing their loss of power and freedom, leading senators assassinated him in 44 B.C.

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Create a flow chart of events from republic to empire
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Punic Wars
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Marius
Sula
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1 st Triumvirate
Julius Caesar
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2 nd Triumvirate
Augustus
Briefly describe each one

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Augustus Caesar (heir to Julius Caesar) emerged as
Rome’s first emperor
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Assumed monarch-like powers
Preserved Rome’s republican institutions
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Removed corrupt officials
His successors were worshipped as gods and greatly expanded Rome’s territory

LEFT SIDE: Draw the boundaries of the Roman Empire and label the main territories, seas, and ocean on your map handout

PAX ROMANA
“The Roman Peace” (27 B.C. – 395 A.D.)
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A long period of peace ushered in by Augustus
Great engineering feats
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Concrete for large buildings
A network of nearly 50,000 miles of roads and bridges
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New cities aqueducts
Rome was a center of commerce, communication, trade, politics, culture, and military power
Expansion changed its basic character
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Professional armies loyal to its generals
Large force of slaves performed much of its labor

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Public entertainment to keep the poor occupied
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Gladiator games in stadiums like the coliseum and Circus
Maximus
Bread and circuses
Women
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Passed from the authority of their fathers to that of their husbands
Could not hold office
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More equality than in Greek society
Could own property and make wills

 Create an ad for one of the Roman technologies or entertainments from the Pax Romana period. Make it neat, colorful, and informative!

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In early times, the Romans adopted the Greek deities
 During the empire, the emperors were worshipped as gods
 Jewish Diaspora (dispersion)
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Jews refused to worship emperor
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Revolts in 66 A.D. and 135 A.D.
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Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and drove the Jews out of Israel

 The Rise of Christianity
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Based on the teachings of Jesus who was crucified by the Romans for his teachings
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Spread by his followers who were persecuted for their beliefs
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The apostle, Paul, was famous for travelling throughout the empire converting people to
Christianity
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Eventually became the official religion of the
Empire

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Rome began its decline in the third century A.D.
Later emperors tried to reverse the decline
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In 284 A.D. divided into two parts to be governed more efficiently
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Constantine temporarily reunited the empire and moved its capital to Constantinople
In the late 300s Germanic tribes began entering the empire
In 476 A.D. the last emperor in the west was overthrown (the eastern empire, the Byzantine
Empire, survived for another thousand years)

Using the information on pages 175-178 in your textbook, create a diagram for the reasons for the decline of the Roman
Empire describing political, economic, and military weaknesses, as well as invasions .
Ex.
Fall of the Roman Empire