Name ________________________________________
Section ______________________
Teacher ______________________________________
Chapter 6 vocabulary
1. peninsula:
2. acropolis:
3. aristocrat:
4. tyrant:
5. democracy:
6. oracle:
7. philosopher:
8. tragedy:
9. Athens:
10. agora:
11. vendor:
12. slavery:
13. helot:
14. Peloponnesian War:
15. plague:
16. blockade:
17. barbarian:
18. assassinate:
19. Alexander the Great:
20. Hellenistic:
Lesson 6.1
Early Greek Civilizations
p. 168-173
The Geography of Greece
1. The country of Greece is a PENNINSULA and many
smaller ISLANDS. It’s mainland is a peninsula
because it is almost completely surrounded by
WATER and connected to the mainland by only a
narrow STRIP OF LAND.
2. The country of Greece is very SMALL and as a result
has very little land that is good for FARMING.
3. Many people of Greece are traders and sailors because
THEY ARE CLOSE TO WATER.
4. Although the country of Greece is not an island, Ancient Greeks were all considered
ISLANDERS because even those who did not live on an island were SEPERATED_ from other
communities because of the many MOUNTAINS that separated them.
a. Since the communities were so isolated from each other they each developed their own
CUSTOMS and BELIEFS.
The Rise of Greek Civilization
5. Two ancient people that contributed to the Greek civilization were the MINOANS and the
MYCENAEANS.
a. The MINOANS lived on the island of Crete (circle this island on the map above) and
dominated trade in the MYCENAEANS Sea (underline this sea).
b. The MYCENAEANS_ were the likely invaders that forced the Minoan civilization to
decline even though they focused their culture on the mainland of GREECE.
i. Instead of relying on trade to spread their power like the MYCENAEANS did,
the Minoans relied on CONQUEST to spread their power.
6. Trade was a cause of several struggles in Ancient Greece, including the famous TROJAN
War. (The war was real struggle over TRADE in the area, however some of the details of the
event were INVENTED).
a. According to the myth, GREECE conquered TROY by using the famous wooden
HORSE where Greek WARRIORS were hiding inside.
i. The horse was supposedly wheeled to the GATES_ of the city where the
Trojans brought the horse inside because they thought it was a GIFT.
ii. At nightfall the GREEK soldiers, that were hiding inside, climbed out and let
the rest of their ARMY into Troy and were able to defeat the TROJANS and
destroy their city.
b. The story of the war is told in two EPICS (poems) titled The
ILLIAD and The ODYESSY that were written by the poet named
HOMER.
7. Shortly after the Trojan War civilization in Greece COLLAPSED and the time period became
known as the DARK Ages.
a. This time period is characterized byPOVERTY, NO TRADE, THEY HAD TO USE
THINGS THEY MADE THEMSELVES .
b. As the civilization slowly came out of this time period and families began to resettle,
they built fortifications to PROTECT themselves. These fortified hills of a city is
known as an ACROPOLIS.
Governing Ancient Greece
8. Around 750 B.C. villages joined together to form CITIES, which would become CITYSTATES.
9. ARISTOCRATES were usually the rulers of the Greek city-states.
a. They had the power to rule because they were from RICH and POWERFUL families
that controlled most of the GOOD LAND.
10. As a MIDDLE class developed (made up of merchants and ARTISANS), they were able to gain
some military strength and take some of the power from the ARISTOCRATES.
a. Many of these people became known as TYRANTS, because they gained power by
using force to overthrow other rulers.
11. If a tyrant was too harsh they were often overthrown and replaced with a DEMOCRACY__
where citizens had a say in their GOVERNMENT.
a. What nation can you think of today that is a democracy? USA____ why?
_____________________________________________________________
12. ATHENS was the city state that had the strongest democracy.
13. Only citizens could have a say in the government. Who could be granted citizenship in
Athens? ONLY MEN ONLY IF THEIR PARENTS WERE CITIZENS
Lesson 6.2
Religion, Philosophy, and the Arts
p. 174-180
The Golden Age of Athens
1. During the Golden Age in Athens, PHILOSOPHY and the ARTS flourished and
DEMOCRACY reached its highest point to the point that it was so successful that it would be
used as a MODEL for future civilizations.
2. Athens grew rich from TRADE and SILVER mined by slaves.
3. Athens also gained wealth by collecting TRIBUTE from its allies and states it had
conquered who feared Athens’ strength.
4. During the Golden Age in Athens, PERICLES was the most powerful man in the government.
5. Pericles strengthened his democracy by bringing about changes through GOVERNMENT,
including establishing a SALERY for officials to be paid by the city.
a. This allowed POOR citizens to hold public office.
Religious Beliefs in Ancient Greece
6. Greeks worshiped a family of gods and goddesses called the 12 OLYMPIANS, each of
which ruled different areas of HUMAN LIFE and the NATURAL WORLD.
a. Greeks took great care in honoring their gods and tried to avoid angering them.
7. Wherever the Greeks lived, they built TEMPLES to their gods.
8. Since the Greeks believed in more than one god they were POLYTHESISTIC.
a. Although they believed in more than twelve Gods and Goddesses, the twelve great
gods were led by ZEUS, who ruled from atop of Mt.OLYMPUS, the highest mountain
in Greece.
i. In addition to the twelve great gods, the Greeks worshiped many LESSER ones
and honored mythical HEROES like Achilles.
ii. To honor Zeus, Greeks came together every 4 years for an OLYMPIC festival
and games, which the modern Olympic Games are based on.
9. The Greeks visited ORACLES, or sacred sites to ask the gods for advice or for
predictions about the future that the Greeks took very seriously.
Greek Science and Philosophy
10. Philosophers believed that people could use the powers of the MIND along with REASON to
understand natural events.
11. During the Golden Age and later, several important philosophers taught in ATHENS.
a. SOCRATES: asked questions that challenged people’s beliefs.
i. He was brought to trial and accused of dishonoring the GODS and misleading
people. The result: He was found GUILTY and sentenced to death.
b. PLATO: One of Socrates students who founded a school in Athens called the Academy
(considered to be the first university).
c. ARISTOTLE: Plato’s student; believed that reason should guide the pursuit of
knowledge.
Visual and Dramatic Arts
12. The ACROPOLIS is the religious center of Athens.
a. A temple called The PARTHENON which was built to honor the goddess Athena was
the most magnificent building of the ACROPOLIS_. Inside the structure stood a 40foot statue of ATHENA, made of ivory and gold.
13. Athenians were the first people to write DRAMAS.
a. Some of the most famous dramas were TRAGEDIES usually end in disaster for the
main character.
i. Performances of tragedies were parts of contests held during religious
FESTIVALS.
b. COMEDIES made fun of well-known citizens and politicians as well as
customs of the time.
Lesson 6.3
Daily Life in Athens
p. 181-185
1. Athens, was one of the most famous CITY__STATES_________ in ancient Greece.
Life in Public
2. The BOYS in Athens went to school, while the
women of the household stayed home to do the
day’s WEAVING and other chores.
3. Every Greek city had an AGORA, or public market and meeting place which was often the
center of public life and probably located in the center of the city.
4. It was mostly the MEN who went to the agora, where they would talk about POLITICS and
PHILOSOPHY__ as well as purchase goods such as food, cloth, books, etc from the
VENDORS.
i. Temples and GOVERNMENT buildings lined the agora.
At Home in Athens
5. The homes in Athens were very PLAIN, unlike the public buildings.
i. Describe a typical Athenian home: MUD, 4 WALLS, COURTYARD…
6. Like their homes, the ancient Greeks ate SIMPLE foods such as bread, cheese, fruit, and
vegetables. The also ate FISH (think about how much coast line they had!!) but very little
meat because of how costly and rare it was.
7. Women had very limited FREEDOM compared to those of men. Women could NOT
participate in POLITICS (government), could NOT VOTE, and could NOT own
PROPERTY.
i. One of the only official roles a woman could have was to be a PRIESTESS in a religious
ceremony.
ii. Women were in charge of running the HOUSE and the FAMILY, and if they were
wealthy enough to own slaves they were in charge of them as well.
Slavery in Ancient Greece
8. Slaves made up almost 1/3 of the population of ancient Greece.
9. Many of the ancient Greek slaves were captured during WARS and were many times
foreigners.
10. Since Athens had so many slaves, it allowed the citizens to have free time which they spent
focusing on ARTS, EDUCATION and public service.
Focus on The Agora of Athens (p. 186-187)
11. What kinds of activities took place in the Agora? CONCERTS, COUNCIL MEETINGS,
GOSSIP, MARKETPLACE ACTIVITIES
12. What are some historic events that took place in the Athenian agora? EXCHANGS OF NEWS
AND IDEAS
13. What types of buildings were included in the Agora of Athens? TEMPLES, GOVERNMENT
BUILDINGS,SHOPS
Lesson 6.4
Sparta and Athens
p. 188-193
1. Based on the introduction to the section in the story about the Spartan boy, list traits that
would be valued by the Spartans.
STRENGTH, BRAVERY, COURAGE, SKILL
Living in Sparta
2. Life in Sparta could be described as opposite of that of life in ATHENS.
3. Sparta had one basic rule: Always put the CITIES needs above your own.
4. As Sparta conquered the lands surrounding their city-state, they turned the conquered people
into HELOTS: servants of Sparta.
a. These people were used as WORKERS on farms so that the land owners were free to
participate in WAR.
5. Part of the reason that the SPARTANS were so dependent on their military was because the
citizens were outnumbered by the HELOTS, and afraid of them revolting.
6. Describe the life of a young boy in ancient Sparta: (include ages, what they did, and why?) SEVEN
YEARS OLD TO LIVE IN BARRACKS, TRAINED FOR 13 YEARS. HAD TO STEAL
FOOD. COMPETED IN WRESTILIG AND SPEAR THROWING.
7. Since the women did not participate in the army, why were they raised to be strong and
tough? THEY WERE STILL ALLOWED TO COMPETE AND TO HAVE STRONG AND
HEALTHY CHILDREN
8. Spartan women had SOME MORE rights than those of the ones that lived in Athens. They
were allowed to own LAND and take part in BUSINESS.
The Persians Invade
9. The founder of the Persian Empire was CYRUS.
10. The Persian invaded Greece just north of MARATHON, where they sat and waited to attack.
a. Although the Persians had a lot more people, the ATHENIANS surprisingly attacked
them and caught them off guard, enabling them to DEFEAT the Persians at that Battle
at MARATHON.
11. The city-STATES united together (instead of FIGHTING with one another) to fight against
Persia because Persia was a common ENEMY.
a. As a result of their joint efforts, the Greeks were able to DEFEAT Persia.
12. What advantages would the Persians have gained from winning control over Greece (use the
map to help you out!) CONTROL OF TRADE IN THE MEDITERANEAN
Conflict and the Athenian Empire
13. After defeating the Persians, the Athenians spread their culture and government across
EASTERN GREECE.
a. As the spread their influence to neighboring CITY-states, they treated their supposed
allies UNFAIRLY.
14. Athens faced conflicts with other city-states over its use of TRIBUTE money and with Sparta
in the PELOPONNESIAN war, which lasted 27 years.
15. During the Peloponnesian War Athens was struck by a PLAGUE, killing about 1/3 of their
population.
a. Athens never recovered from the plague and the Spartans took advantage of their
weaknesses and staged a BLOCKAGE in order to isolate them and cut off their
SUPPLIES eventually forcing them to SURRENDER.
16. Predict how the history of Athens might have been different if it had not been struck by a
plague. ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Lesson 6.5
The Spread of Greek Culture
p. 196-200
1. Macedonia is to the
NORTH of Greece.
(circle Macedonia on the Map!)
2. The people of Athens and Sparta did not view the Macedonians as GREEKS, instead they
thought they were BARBARIANS.
Alexander’s Empire
3. King PHILLIP united Macedonia and built an army that was stronger then SPARTA’s so was
able to go on an conquer numerous Greek CITY-STATES.
4. After experiencing great success spreading his empire, King Phillip was going to attack
PERSIA but was assassinated before he could do so.
a. After his assassination ALEXANDER THE GREAT came to power for the next
13years.
5. One of the first things Alexander the Great did when he came to power was to carry our King
Phillip’s plan of invading PERSIAN EMPIRE and ended up being SUCCESSFUL in his wars
and conquered areas in Persia, EGYPT, and beyond. (Use the map on page 198 of your text to
label Egypt and Persia on the map above).
6. As Alexander conquered lands he set up CITIES , many of which were named after himself.
7. Alexander would die only 13 years after coming to the throne, but left a lasting legacy of
spreading Greek CULTURE to great distances.
The Hellenistic Age
8. The Hellenistic Age began with the death of ALEXANDER which began the DECLINE of his
empire.
a. The empire would fall apart and break into 3 main kingdoms that were ruled by
FAMILIES of Alexander’s commanders (all within 50 years of Alexander’s death).
9. Although Alexander’s empire broke apart, GREEK CULTURE survived.
a. The term HELLENISTIC describes Greek culture and history after the death of
Alexander the GREAT.
10. As Alexander conquered areas he hoped that the culture of the GREEKS would mix with the
existing cultures of the conquered people.
11. The greatest Hellenistic city was ALEXANDRIA, Egypt because it had the largest
LIGHTHOUSE in the world and was also the EGYPTIAN capital of the Greek world.
12. The Hellenistic Age lasted 177 years. (hint: look at the time line).
13. The mathematician EUCLID helped extend the study of GEOMETRY.
14. Greek scientists made advancements in the study of ASTRONOMY.
Chapter 6 Study Guide
Ancient Greece
1. Identify the three types of columns:
________________
_____________________
______________________
2. How are the modern day Olympics different from the ancient Olympics? How are they the same? (Name 2 for
each) Short answer question on test!!!!
3. What is Mount Olympus?
4. Of the 12 great gods in Ancient Greece, who is the head god?
5. How did the geography of Greece effect the Greek communities development?
6. Some scholars believe that in ancient Athens, one third of all people were _______________.
7. During the Hellenistic period, there were important achievements in what areas?
8. The collapse of the Greek civilization during the Dark Ages increased __________________.
9. What was the Agora?
10. What happened to the Greek empire under Alexander the Great?
11. Who told the story of the Trojan War? With what pieces of writing did he tell it?
12. Who could gain citizenship in Athens?
13. Which philosopher challenge people by asking questions that challenged their beliefs and was later brought to trial and
accused of dishonoring the gods?
14. What was the Parthenon?
15. Who was Socrates?
16. Who was Plato?
17. What is an amphitheatre?
18. During which time period in Greece’s history mathematics and science flourished and geometry was developed.
19. Who controlled the Athenian government?
20. When did the Hellenistic Age begin?
21. Familiarize yourself with the geography of Greece.