Monday- notes
Tuesday- notes
Wednesday- notes
Thursday- worked on project
Friday- worked on project
Key Terms
Geography of Greece
Greece is a small country in Europe
Main part of Greece in on peninsula
Surrounded by Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea
Rest of Greece is made up of islands
6000 (227 being inhabited)
Importance of the Sea
Trade
Military Protection
Transportation
Fishing
Most Greeks lived within 85 miles of the sea
Did not live “on the land” but “around the sea”
Used Sea as a means of transportation
Sea linked all parts of Greece to other areas for trade which was essential due to lack of resources
Mountains covered around ¾ of ancient Greece
Mt. Olympus
Home of 12 Olympian Greek Gods
Due to mountains, transportation over land was difficult
Greeks did not have much fertile land for agriculture
Due to these issues, ancient Greece never had a large population- not more than a few million
Greek City States
City states developed instead of a unified country
Ancient Olympics
Records of Olympics date to 776 BC and lasted until 393 AD when the Romans ended them
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
Modern Olympic Games started up again in 1896 in Athens
Big competition at the games was the Pentathlon
Long Jump
Javelin
Discus
Stadion- 200 yards
- Wrestling
Climate
50-85 degrees
Minoan
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
Known for it’s advanced cities- Knossus
Not overcrowded, plumbing, toilets, sewers
Known for women having much higher status than in earlier civilizations
Around 1500 BC, the Minoan civilization ended abruptly
Historians think it could have been an earthquake which leveled cities and their ships
Mycenaeans
Controlled area around Greece from 1600-1100 BC
Heavily influenced by the Minoans
Much more warlike than the Minoans (based on 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
Mycenaeans did unite to fight the Trojan War against Troy
Mycenaean 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
Homer
Greek epic poet from 750-700 BC
Narrative poems celebrated heroic deeds
Iliad was about the Trojan War
- Odyssey was a sequel
Polis
City- Indianapolis
Acropolis
Settlement in a city or higher ground used for defense and a place to discuss politics
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
Tyrants
Powerful individuals who seize control from the government
Could be good or bad
Today we see tyranny 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 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
Very powerful and had its own army
Defeated the Messenians in 725 BC and in 650 BC
Unlike Athens and other city-states, it did not have democracy
Built a military state
Sparta conquered other city-states to gain wealth and power
Valued duty, strength and discipline over freedom, beauty, and learning
Classes
Only men born in Sparta were citizens
Women were not allowed to become citizens
Second class in Sparta were people who came from other city-states or other countries
They could own businesses but not become citizens
Third class were slaves
Women
Service to Sparta was stressed
Received some military training
Athletics were stressed
Had quite a bit of freedom in comparison to Athens
Run family estates when husband was off at war
Warriors
Learning to read and write in Sparta wasn’t 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 was stressed
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