Monday: Forum post leaders talked about their subjects. Took notes on Greece.
Tuesday: Mr.Bruns talked and we took notes
Wednesday: We took notes
Thursday: Work day.
Friday: New forum post leaders and work on project.
Geography of Greece:
Small country in Europe
Main part is on a peninsula
What three large bodies is surround greece?
Mediterranean sea, Aegean sea, and Ionian sea
The rest of Greece is made up of islands
6000(27 being inhabited)
Mykonos Island
Island of Crete
Rhodes
Importance of Geography to Greece:
The sea was extremely important to the Greeks
Important for trade, fishing
Did not live “on the land” but “around the sea”
Most Greeks lived within 85 miles of the sea
Used seas as a means of transportation
The sea linked all parts of Greece to other areas for trade which was essential due to lack of resources
Mountains covered around 3/4’s of ancient Greece
Mt Olympus- Home of the 12 Olympian Greek gods
Due to mountains, transportation over land was difficult
Greeks did not have much fertile land for agriculture
Due to issues, ancient Greece never had a large population-no more than a few million
These issues might have led some leaders to look to expand
Greek City-States:
Due to Greece’s geography, city-states developed instead of unified country
What is a city state?- A little city that runs on its own
Ancient Olympics:
Records of Olympics date to 776 BC and lasted until 393 AD when the Romans ended
Lasted one day at first but eventually extended to five days
Happened every four years-an Olympiad
Started as a tribute to Zeus and has a mythological origin
The modern Olympics games started up again in Athens Greece in 1896
The big competition at the games was the Pentathlon(Pente-5)(Athlon-competition)
Long jump
Javelin
Discus
Stadion-200 yards
Wrestling
Climate:
What does Greece’s average temperature’s tell you about how they might have lived?
Minoans and Mycenaeans:
Mioans:
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, generally peaceful
Knowns for its advanced cities-Knossus
Not overcrowded, plumbing, toilets, sewers
Known for women having much higher status than in earlier civilizations
Known for their art and pottery
Downfall of the Minoans:
Around 1500 BC, the Minoan civilization ended abruptly
Historians think it could have been an earthquake which leveled cities and their ships
They could have been overran by the Mycenaeans
Some historians think Minoa could have been Atlantis
Mycenaeans
Controlled the area around Greece from 1600 BC-1100 BC
Heavily influenced by the Minoans
Much more warlike than Minoans (based on art)
Known for their trade around the Mediterranean seas, Aegean Sea
Known for their piracy on the seas surrounding Greece
Known for their city-states-Athens, Mycenae, Pylos, Tiryns
Historians are not sure if city-states were independent or more united
Mycenaeans did not unite to fight the Trojan War against Troy
The Mycenaeans fell apart due to wars and the Sea People’s sacking their city-states
Eventually the Dorians came down from the north and took 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
Plato:
Greek philosopher
Only known source discussing location of Atlantis
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:
Fought between Mycenaean Greeks and Troy
Greek City-States Athens/Sparta:
Polis- City
Acropolis: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- government ruled by a few powerful people
Tyrant- Powerful individuals who seize control from the government. Could be good or bad. Today we see it as a bad thing.
Democracy-Rule by the people. Athens had perhaps the world’s first democracy. Only allowed citizens to participate. Women, slaves, and foreigners were not citizens
Education in Athens:
Only for the sons of wealthy families
Started at age 7 and focused on developing good citizens
Studied reading, grammar. Poetry, history, math, music, logic, and public speaking
Public debate and athletics were also stressed
Once older, students went to military school
Girls were educated by their mothers in the home to do cleaning, cooking, child-rearing, etc.
Sparta:
Was very powerful and has its own army
Defeated the Messenians in 725 BC and in 650 BC
Unlike Athens and other city-states, did not have a democracy
Built a military state
Conquered other city-states to gain wealth and power
Valued duty, strength and discipline over freedom, beauty and learning
Spartan Classes:
Only men born in Sparta were citizens
Women were not allowed to become citizens
The second class in Sparta were people who came from other city-states or other countries
They could own businesses but not become citizens
The third class were helots/slaves
Worked the fields or were servants
Spartan Warriors:
Learning to read and write in Sparta was not very important
Training to become a good soldier was stressed
Young boys left home at 7 and trained to be soldiers until they were 30
Athletics were also stressed
Spartan Women:
Service to Sparta was stressed
Received some military training
Athletics were stressed
Had quite a bit of freedom in comparison to Athens
Could run family estates when husband was off at war
Key Terms:
Peninsula: Piece of land that is surrounded by almost all sides by water
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