Geography: The Greek Homeland
-Built small City-States, cut off from each other by land or water
-Greeks felt strong loyalty to their tiny city-states, and fiercely defended them
-Wars between city-states
Greek coastlines
-Provided safe harbors for ships
-Greeks became skilled sailors
-Carried cargoes of olive oil, wine and marble
The Polis
-Name for a Greek city-state
-Population of each City-State was small
Early Governments
Greeks had different forms of government
-Monarchy, King, queen, etc.
-Slowly power turned to the class of noble landowners
-Aristocracy- Rule by a landholding elite
-Oligarchy-power is in the hands of small, powerful elite, usually from the business class
Changes in Warfare
-Contributed to the increased power of the middle class
-Iron tools replaced bronze ones (iron was cheaper)
Phalanx-was a massive formation of heavily armed foot soldiers
-Reduced class differences, because it put defense in the hands of ordinary citizens
Chapter 5 section 4 The glory that was Greece
Lovers of Wisdom
Group of thinkers called the sophists questioned ideas of truth and justice
-To them, truth was more important than moral truths
-Urged students to develop skills in rhetoric, or the art of skillful speaking
-Turmoil of the Peloponnesian war, led many Athenian youths to support the sophists
Socrates
Most of what we know about Socrates comes from his student Plato
-Wrote no books
-Went around questioning people about their beliefs (their reason for things)
-Urged his students to examine the world around them (Socratic method)
-Sentenced to death by an Athenian jury (corruption of youth)
Plato
Left Athens for ten years because of Socrate's death
-The Republic Plato describes his vision of an ideal state
-Wrote that a state should control every aspect of a person's life
-Thought there should be three classes:
1. workers to produce the necessities
2. Soldiers to defend the state
3. Philosophers should rule
Aristotle (do not write this down)
-student of Plato
-Studied the different kinds of governments (monarchies, Aristocracies, democracies)
-Found good and bad examples of each
-Questioned democracy, thought it may led to mob rule
-Promoted reason as the guiding force for learning
The Search for Beauty and Order
Architecture
-Tried to make buildings, temples, etc. balanced to reflect the harmony and order of the universe
-Greek architecture has been admired for centuries
Poetry and Drama
Set a standard called the classic style (elegance, harmony, and balance)
-epics
Greek Plays
-Performed outdoors, in large theaters cut out in the sides of hills
-little to no scenery
-Greek drama were usually based on Greek myths and legends
-Tragedies- Greek plays that told stories of human suffering
-Comedies- Humorous plays that mocked people
Alexander and the Hellenistic Age
Macedonian Ambitions
Phillip II the King of Macedonia took over Athens and other Greek city-states
-Wanted to conquer the Persian Empire
-before he could take action, he was killed at his daughter's wedding
A Mighty conqueror
Alexander was 20 when he took the throne
-already an experienced solider
Conquest in Persia
-Like his father, Alexander planned to invade Persia
-Darius III was weak, people were rebellious
-Alexander took over Persia
-Never lost a battle
Sudden Death
-Fell victim to a sudden fever
-Caused his death
Legacy of Alexander
Alexander's empire crumbled without him
-Most lasting achievement was the spread of Greek culture
-Founded many new cities
-Blending of Eastern and Western cultures took place
New culture emerged known as Hellenistic civilization
-Blend of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian influences
Hellenistic Civilization
Alexandria
-City at the heart of the Hellenistic world
-Markets had a wide range of goods
-city included Greeks, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Persians
Opportunities for Women
-No longer restricted to the house
-More learned how to read and write
-Some became poets, and philosophers
Hellenistic Civilization
Hellenistic rulers felt like they had to glorify themselves as godlike, absolute monarchies
-Led to schools of philosophy
Stoicism- founded by Zeno, to accept what life brings
Advances in Mathematics and Sciences
Pythagoras developed the Pythagorean formula
-Astronomers determined the earth rotated on it's axis
-Earth was round
-Lever and Pulley
Medicine
Hippocrates looked for the cause of illnesses and cures
-Moral oath for doctors