Classical Greece:
Geography –
- Sea
-allowed for great opportunity for trade and travel
-important because it allowed Greece to get the natural resources that it lacked: timber, precious metals, usable farmland
- Land
-Rugged mountains covered about ¾ of ancient Greece
-Mountains were often the divider for different regions
-Played a big role in wars. Hard to move through the mountains with large army
- Climate
-Upper 40’s in the winter
-Lower 80’s in summer
-The climate allowed for many different outdoor activities
The 3 Big Players in Classical Greece:
- Minoan Influence
-Created an elegant civilization that had great power that started around 3000 BC
-Minoans culture influenced the Mycenaean’s
-Writing, Language
-Design
-Used ships to trade goods
- Mycenaean Develops
-The Mycenaean’s were heavily influenced by the Minoans
-They came from Indo-European migrants
-Dominated Greece from 1600 BC to 1100 BC
- Dorian
-Spoke a kind of Greek
-Not as advanced as the other two
-No writing system
-Focused on storytelling
-Homer (best storyteller)
- Change (During the Dorian Period)
-Dorian and the 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 (city-states)
-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 the same form of government
Different Forms of Government
- Monarchy
-State ruled by a king
-Rule is hereditary
-Some rulers claim that they have a divine right to rule
-Practiced in Mycenae by 2000 B.C.
- Aristocracy
-State ruled by nobility
-Rule is hereditary and base on ties, social rank and wealth
-Social status and wealth support ruler’s authority
-Practiced in Athens prior to 594 B.C.
- 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 B.C.
- Direct Democracy
-State ruled by the citizens
-Rule is based on citizenship
-Majority rule decides vote
-Practiced in Athens by 500 B.C.
- Athens
-About the 600 B.C., Athens was taking steps towards a democracy
-There were major reforms for the next 100 years that would eventually lead to a democracy starting around 500 B.C.
Key Players
- Draco
-Developed 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 four social classes based on wealth
-Only top three classes could hold political office
-However, all four 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 of the 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
- Sparta 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 the Spartan military
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