Welcome to Ancient Greece
Geography
Religion
Achievements
Politics
Economics
Social Structures
800-700 BC:
Monarchies
begin to be
replaced by
Aristocratic
Republics
621 BC:
Draco's code of law
- Athens.
546 BC:
Persian invasion and
conquest of Greek
territories through
out Asia Minor
507 BC:
Cleisthenes'
democratic
constitution.
776 BC:
Date of the
first Olympic
games.
600 BC: Coin
currency introduced
566 BC:
Panathenaic
festivals
established
490 BC
First
Persian
invasion of
Greece, the
Battle of
Marathon.
480 BC Second Persian
invasion of Greece,
Spartans are defeated at
Thermopylae, Athens is
occupied by the Persians.
The Persians are finally
defeated at Salamis.
The
founding
of the
Delian
League.
431 - 404
BC The
Peloponnesian
War 404 BC
Athens
Surrenders to
Sparta
443 - 429
BC Pericles is
About
450 BC,
Sophocles wins
more awards for
plays than any
other playwright
leader of Athens
during the Golden
Age
336-323
BC
Alexander
the Great’s
reign
411 BC
Massive
public
building
program and
construction
of Parthenon
Revolts in
Athens
430 BC
Plague in
Athens
323-148 BC: Greek
City States remain
relatively independent;
however, warfare
between rival leagues
continues
300
BC:
200-196
BC:
First Roman
victories over
Greece
146 BC:
Corinth
destroyed by
Rome
About
Euclid
wrote The
Elements
About
200 BC:
Winged Victory
(Nike) created
86 BC:
Athens
sacked by
Rome
Religion:
Gods in our image
Polytheistic
Explained
occurrences in Nature
Gods – human form,
emotions, behaviors
Interfered in lives of
mortals
Worship and sacrifices
intended to keep gods
happy for survival and
prosperity
www.fairfield.k12.ct.us/Rogerludlowe/crogerludlowe03/webquests/mythweb/Godspic.bmp
Family Tree of Greek Gods
www.greekgodsyogurt.com/html/img/tree.jpg
Read the Greek Creation Myth here and then return
Achievements
Arts
Three periods of art in Ancient Greece:
Archaic
about 1000 BC – 450 BC
Simplest style, clean lines
Classical about 450 BC – 330 BC
More complex, more natural poses
Hellenistic about 330 BC – 30 BC
Most ornate of all, used more outside of Greece
www.crystalinks.com/greekart.html
Achievements
Architecture - Columns
Doric: earliest style, no decoration, plain
squared tops
Ionic: middle style, narrower at top, curled on
each side at top
Corinthian: last style, most ornate
http://threes.com/cms/images/stories/history/greek.jpg
Achievements
Architecture - Acropolis
The Acropolis hill
– “Sacred Rock” –
last line of defense
in time of crisis
Fortified citadel on
hill above city
Added to over time
Original buildings
made of wood
Destroyed by fire
and war and rebuilt
http://www.acropolis-greek-parthenon.com/
Achievements
Architecture - Acropolis Then
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm
This link includes a visual timeline of the Acropolis
Achievements
Architecture - Acropolis Now
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm
Achievements:
Architecture - Parthenon
Temple to Athena –
patron of Athens
Columns are Doric
and curve at top to
create illusion
Dimensions created
to house statue of
Athena
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm
Achievements
In Math, Show Your Work
Geometry:
Euclid’s Elements
13 Volumes
Each volume has definitions,
postulates and then theorems
Every statement is proven,
no matter how obvious
Includes circles, tangents,
plane geometry, prime
numbers, perfect numbers
Before Euclid any
mathematician could have his
own postulates
Euclid’s work helped
standardize mathematics
www.crystalinks.com/euclid.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euclid's_postulates.png
Achievements
Sculpture- Kouros
Archaic period
Statues not intended to
represent individuals –
represent an ideal
Kouroi always young
men, standing nude
Depicts motion, one leg
and/or one arm forward
Archaic smile
The Calf-Bearer
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon.htm
Achievements
Sculpture: Nike
Hellenistic period
White marble,
represented prow of ship
Posed ready to “deliver
shout of victory”
Noted for “naturalistic
pose and rendering of
figure’s draped garments,
depicted as if rippling in
strong sea breeze…”
Nike, Winged Victory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_Victory_of_Samothrace
Achievements
Theater/Drama
Theater not purely for
entertainment; part of state
religious festival
Originally chorus of 12 men
and one actor
3 tragedians chosen to
present 4 plays each as
part of competition
“’tragedy’ refers to tragic drama: … in
which a central character called a
tragic hero suffers some serious
misfortune which is not accidental and
therefore meaningless, but is
significant in that the misfortune is
logically connected with the hero's
actions. Tragedy stresses the
vulnerability of human beings whose
suffering is brought on by a
combination of human and divine
actions, but is generally undeserved
with regard to its harshness. “
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/netshots/tragedy.htm
http://www.greektheatre.gr/constr.html
http://picasaweb.google.com/shankar.nandini/AthensGreece#5211586780202029922
Achievements
Drama: Aeschylus
Aeschylus: first of the
three most prize
winning Greek
playwrights
Also a soldier and actor
First to introduce
second actor to plays;
allowed for more
characters to be
introduced and greater
variation in plot
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/drama/p/Aeschylus.htm
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/RM/OrestesMei.jpg
Achievements
Drama: Sophocles
Sophocles earned about 20 awards for first
place in dramatic competitions
Reduced the importance of the Chorus by
adding a third actor
Invented skenographia (scene painting) to
illustrate the background
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/drama/p/Sophocles.htm
Oedipus gouges
out his eyes after
discovering the
true nature of his
crime.
http://www.come-and-hear.com/editor/oedipus.jpg
Achievements
Drama: Euripides
Last of the three Great Tragedians
Focused on mythological themes and heroes
First to write roles for strong female characters
First to introduce intrigue and comedy into plays
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/medeaeuripides/p/Euripides.htm
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3504131.ece
Politics: Democracy
City-States – Poli
Monarchy
Warrior Aristocracies, often led by tyrant
Democracy (Please follow the following three links and return)
Draco’s Code of Laws
Solon’s reforms
Cleisthenes
First democracy about 500 BC
Assembly of male citizens
www.crystalinks.com/greekcities.html
Draco’s Code of Laws
Around 620 BC Draco, the lawgiver, wrote
the first known written law of Ancient
Greece. Draco was an Athenian lawgiver
whose harsh legal code punished both trivial
and serious crimes in Athens with death-hence the continued use of the word
draconian to describe repressive legal
measures. Today the word draconian means
harsh or severe. Draco's laws were
shockingly severe, so severe that they were
said to have been written not in ink but in
blood. Solon succeeded him in about 594
BC
Back
http://oghs.euhsd.k12.ca.us/staff/burtnowski/rise.html
Solon’ Reforms
Solon's great contribution to the future
good of Athens was his new code of
laws. The first written code at Athens,
that of Draco, was still in force.. Solon
revised every statute except that on
homicide and made Athenian law
altogether more humane. His code,
though supplemented and modified,
remained the foundation of Athenian
statute law until the end of the 5th
century, and parts of it were embodied in
the new codification made at that time
http://oghs.euhsd.k12.ca.us/staff/burtnowski/rise.html
Back
Economics: Living Wage
5th and 4th centuries BC, Greece had most
advanced economy in known world
Some historians believe it was the most
advanced pre-industrial economy of its
time
Average daily wage of Greek worker –
about 12 kg of wheat
Average daily wage of Egyptian worker –
about 3.75 kg of wheat during about same
time
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ancientgreece
Social:
Changeable Social Status
In Athens:
Family ties did not confer
social privileges
Four social classes, based
on wealth
Earn more money, could
change class
Women and slaves could
own property but had no
political rights
Slaves could earn freedom
Publicly owned slaves
In Sparta:
Spartan kings came from
one of two families
All male citizens equal after
completion of education
Slaves had no power or
status
Helots – slaves who were
captured in war, treated
harshly
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ancientgreece