Oct. 15- Oct. 18

[6Aimie]

10/15- notes

• Mediterranean climate
  • mild and rainy winters and relatively warm and dry summers
• Minoan Civilazation- earliest group
  • 2000-1500 BC
  • Heavily influenced by the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations
  • Named after legendary Crete King Minos of Greek mythology
  • Known for its trade on the seas
  • Due to its isolation on the island of Crete, they were generally peacefull
• Minoans
  • Known for it's advanced cities- Knossus
    • Not overcrowded, plumbing, toilets, sewers
  • Known for women having much higher status than in earlear civilizations
  • Known for their pottery and art
• Downfall of Minoans
  • Around 1500 BC, the Minoan civilization ended abrubtly
  • HIstorians think it could have been an earthquake which leveled cities and their ships
  • They could have been over ran by the Mycenaeans
  • Some historians think Minoa could have been Atlantis
• Plato
  • Greek philosopher 
  • Only known source discussing location of Atlantis
• Mycenaeans
  • Controlled the area around Greece from 1600 BC- 1100 BC
  • Heavily influenced by the Minoans
    • Much more war-like than Minoans(based on their art)
  • Known for their trade around the Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea
  • Known for their piracy on the seas surrounding Greece
  • Known for their city-states-  Athens, Mycenae, Pylos, Tiryns
  • Historians aren't sure if city-states were independent or more united
  • Mycenaean's did unite to fight the Trojan War against Troy
  • The Mycenean's fell apart due to internal conflicts, wars as well as the Sea People's sacking their city-states
  • Eventually the Dorians came down from the north and tooke over Greece
• Dorians- 1150-750 BC
  • Came from the area north of Greece
  • Less advanced than the Mycenaeans
  • Trade and culture slowed
  • Greece went into a Dark Age
• Homer
  • Was a Greek epic poet from 750-700 BC
  • Narrative poems celebrated heroic deeds
  • The Iliad was about the Trojan War
  • The Odyssey was a sequel that was after the Trojan War
• Trojan-War- 1194-1184 BC-Myth 
  • Fought between Mycenaean Greeks and Troy
  • War began after the abduction of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince, Paris
  • Helen's husband, Menelaus, convinced his brother Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to get her back
  • Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles and Odysseus
  • They crossed the Aegean Sea and laid siege to Troy for nine years

10/16- watched videos and took notes

• Greek City-States-- Athens/Sparta
  • Polis
    • city-Minneapolis, Indianapolis
  • Acropolis
    • a settlement in a city on higher ground used for defense and a place to discuss politics
• Types of Government in City-States
  • Monarchy
    • government ruled by one person- king, queen
  • Aristocracy
    • government ruled by a small group of wealthy, landowning families
  • Oligarchy
    • a government ruled by a few powerful people
  • Tyrants
    • powerful individuals who seize control from the government
    • could be good or bad
    • today we see tyranny as a bad thing
  • Direct Democracy
    • rule by the people
    • Athens had perhaps the world's first democracy 
    • only allowed citizens to participate
      • women, slaves and foreigners were not citi

10/17- worked on Athens vs Sparta project

10/18- worked on Athens vs Sparta project

10/19- no school