Classical Greece
Geography
Sea
-Allowed for great opportunity for travel and trade.
-Important because it allowd Greece to get the natural resources that it lacked: timber, precious metals, usable farmland.
Land
-Rugged mountains covered about 3/4 of ancient Greece.
-Mountains were often the dividedr for different regions.
-Played a big role in wars. Hard to move through the mountains with a large army.
Climate
-Upper 40's in winter.
-Lower 80's in summer.
-The climate allowed for many different outdoor activities.
Minoan Influence
-Minoans: created an elegant civilization that had great power that started around 3000 BC.
-Minoans culture influenced the Mycenaeans.
-Writing, Language.
-Design and trade.
-Used ships to trade goods.
Mycenaean Develops
-The Mycenaeans were heavily influenced by the Minoans.
-They came from Indo-Europeans migrants.
-Dominated Greece from 1600 BC to 1100 BC.
Dorian
-Spoke a kind of Geek.
-Not as advanced as the others, no writing system.
-Focused more on storytelling.
-Best storyteller: Homer.
Trojan War
-Key Players: Both individual and Group
What occurred?
Lasting Effects?
During the Dorain Period
-Dorian and Mycenaean people started to identify less with culture of their ancestors and more with the local area.
-Government made the transition from tribal or clan control to more formal governments called city-states.
Government
-A polis was made up of a city and its surrounding countryside, which would include numerous villages.
-Citizens of the polis would come together to meet at an acropolis to discuss their city government.
-Not all city-states had to same form of government.
Different forms of Government
Monarchy
-State ruled by a king.
-Rule is hereditary.
-Some rulers claim that they have a devine right to rule.
-Practiced in Mycenae by 2000 BC.
Aristocracy
-State ruled by nobility (nights and kings).
-Rule is hereditary and based on ties, social rank, wealth.
-Social status and wealth support rulers' authority.
-Practiced in Athens prior to 594 BC.
Oligarchy
-State ruled by a small group of citizens.
-Rule is based on wealth and/or ability.
-Ruling group controls the military.
-Practiced in Sparta by 500 BC.
Direct Democracy
-State ruled by the citizens.
-Rule is based on citizenship.
-Majority rule decides vote.
-Practiced in Athens by 500 BC.
Athens
-About 600 BC, Athens was taking steps towards a democracy.
-There were major reforms for the next 100 years that would eventually lead to a democracy startings around 500 BC.
Key Players
Draco
-Developed a legal code based on the idea that all Athenians, rich and poor, were equal under law.
-He had very harsh punishments for nearly any crime.
-He believed in debt slavery.
-The word "draconian" has come to mean "extreme cruelty or severity".
Solon
-Stated that no citizen should own another.
-Organized Athens into 4 social classes bassed on wealth.
-Only top 3 classes could hold political office.
-However, all 4 could participate in the Athenian assembly.
Cleisthenes
-Broke Athens up based on region that the citizens lived instead of wealth. (10 groups)
-He increased the power o fthe assembly by allowing all citizens to submit laws for debate and passage.
-Created the Council of Five Hundred
--Proposed laws
--Counseled the assembly
--Members were chosen at random
Limited Democracy
-The reforms allowed for a limited democracy
-However, but all people were citizens.
Requirements:
-Free
-Adult
-Property owner
-Born in Athens
Sparta
-Located in the southern part of Greece.
-Was cut off from the rest of Greece by the Gulf of Corinth.
Spartan Government
Several Branches:
-Assembly, all citizens, elected officials and voted on major issues.
-Council of Elders, 30 older citizens proposed laws on the assembly to vote on.
-Five elected officials that carried out the laws that were passed by the assembly.
-Two kings that ruled over Sparta's military.
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