ANCIENT GREECE: CHAPTER NOTES

Section I. EARLY GREEK CIVILIZATION

1. I.                    The Geography of Greece

 

• The land of Greece looks as if the sea had smashed it to pieces
• Some pieces have drifted away to form small, rocky islands. Others seem to barely cling to the mainland.
• Greece is a peninsula made up of smaller peninsulas and islands.
• Mountains are the major landforms of Greece. Greece’s islands are mostly mountain peaks leaving only small patches of farmland.
• Only about one fifth of Greece is good for growing crops, so many Greeks became traders and sailors.
• Many ancient Greek communities were separated by water or mountains, therefore each community developed its own customs and beliefs.
• Despite this, they shared a common heritage, spoke the same language, and worshiped the same gods.

 

1. II.                  The Rise of Greek Civilization  

 

• Early Greek civilizations arose both on and off the Greek mainland. Two ancient peoples, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, made important contributions to Greek civilization.
• From about 3000 to about 1100 B.C., Bronze Age people called the Minoans lived on the island of Crete. The Minoans developed a broad sea-trade network and traded with mainland Greece, Egypt, and Sicily.
• The Minoans developed an advanced culture. Samples of Minoan writing have been found as well as palace ruins in the ancient city of Knossos.
• In the middle of the 1400s B.C., Knossos was destroyed, probably by the Mycenaeans, and Minoan civilization declined. 
• After the Mycenaeans came to power, mainland and island cultures blended.
• At the height of their power, around 1400 B.C., the Mycenaeans controlled the Aegean Sea and parts of the Mediterranean.
• The Mycenaeans relied on conquest to spread their power. Greek myth tells the story of the Trojan War, a long struggle between Greece and the city of Troy on the west coast of Asia Minor.
• According to Myth, Greece conquered Troy by using a trick—the Trojan Horse.  Greek warriors hid inside a huge wooden horse. The horse was rolled to the city gates. Thinking it was a gift, the Trojans brought the horse into their city. During the night, the Greek soldiers climbed out of the horse and let the rest of their army into Troy. The Greeks burned and looted Troy and then returned home.
• The Iliad and the Odyssey tell the story of the Trojan War. They may have been composed by many people, but they are credited to one poet called Homer.
• These poems were important to the Greeks because they taught them what their gods were like and how the noblest of their heroes behaved.
• Not long after the Trojan War ended, civilization in Greece collapsed. No one knows exactly why.
• Poverty was everywhere and people no longer traded beyond Greece for food and other goods.
• They were so concerned with survival that they even forgot the practice of writing.
• These years, from the early 1100s B.C. to about 750 B.C., have been called Greece’s Dark Ages.
• Greece’s Dark Ages were not completely bleak, however. During that time, families gradually resettled in places where they could grow crops and raise animals. Villages developed and people built fortifications near rocky, protected hills.
• The name for the fortified hill of an ancient Greek city is Acropolis, meaning “upper city.”

 

1. III.                Governing Ancient Greece

• Historians believe that around 750 B.C., villages throughout Greece began joining to form cities.
• Each city formed near an acropolis.
• Hundreds of Greek city-states formed, each one more or less independent.
• The earliest rulers of city-states were probably chieftains or kings. By the end of the Greece’s Dark Ages, most city-states were ruled by aristocrats who controlled most of the good land and owned horses, chariots, and the best weapons.  
• As the Greeks sailed to foreign ports trading olive oil, marble, and other products, the city-states became richer.
• A middle class of merchants and artisans developed and they wanted a say in the government of their cities.
• Gradually, military strength shifted from the aristocrats to the merchants and artisans.
• As a result, aristocratic governments were often overthrown and replaced by rulers called tyrants who were supported by the middle and working classes.
• Eventually, the people of many city-states overthrew tyrants who were too harsh. Some adopted a form of government called a democracy where citizens governed themselves.
• Democracy was most fully developed in Athens where, about 594 B.C., a leader named Solon reformed laws to allow male citizens aged 18 or older to debate important laws.
• In Athens only men who had an Athenian mother and father could be citizens.

Section 2: RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY, AND THE ARTS  

1. I.                    The Golden Age of Athens

 

• The Golden Age of Athens lasted from 479 to 431 B.C.  During this period, philosophy and the arts flourished in Athens, and democracy reached its high point.
• During the Golden Age, Athens grew rich from trade and from silver mined by slaves. Athens also collected a tribute from both its allies and conquered peoples.
• For about thirty years during Athens’ Golden Age, Pericles (c. 495-429 B.C.) was the most powerful man in Athenian politics.
• Pericles was a member of an aristocratic family, but he supported democracy. He introduced reforms that strengthened democracy such as requiring the city to pay a salary to its officials. This allowed poor citizens to hold public office.

 

1. II.                  Religious Beliefs in Ancient Greece 

 

• Greeks worshiped a family of gods and goddesses called the Twelve Olympians. Each ruled a different area of human life and the natural world. 
• The Greeks took care in honoring their gods. They expressed their gratitude to them and asked for blessings. They also tried to avoid angering the gods.
• Zeus was the king of the gods and goddesses, ruler of the sky and storms, and protector of the law.
• Hera was wife and queen to Zeus and the goddess of women and marriage.
• Apollo was the son of Zeus and the god of poetry and music.
• Athena was the wise daughter of Zeus and the goddess of crafts. She was also the war goddess who defended her cities.
• Poseidon was Zeus’ brother, the god of the seas, of water, earthquakes, and horses.
• Wherever they lived, the Greeks built temples to the gods.
• Although the Greeks worshiped all their gods, each city-state honored just one of the twelve gods.
• To honor Zeus, the city-states came together every four years for an Olympic festival and games.
• Oracles were sacred sites where a god or goddess was consulted for advice or asked to provide a prediction about the future. Sometimes the advice came through dreams or was given in the form of a riddle delivered by a priest or priestess believed to be able to hear the voice of a god.
• Most Greeks believed that their gods were the source of all natural events, but about 150 years before the Golden Age of Athens, some people thought about other ways besides myths to understand the world.
• Philosophers believed that people could use the powers of the mind and reason to understand natural events.
• Thales, one of the first philosophers, believed that water was the basic material of the world.
• Democritus, who lived in the 400’s B.C., thought everything was made of tiny particles called atoms.
• Beginning in the 600’s B.C., writers and traveling teachers called Sophists, gained popularity.
• They were skilled speakers who cleverly debated topics in public, but many feared they were more interested in winning debates than seeking the truth.
• During the Golden Age, the ideas of three men, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had a lasting effect on modern learning and thinking.
• Using the marketplace as his classroom, Socrates eagerly discussed wisdom and goodness with the people of Athens and asked questions that challenged their beliefs. His questions often frightened and angered many Athenians.
• In 399 B.C. Socrates was brought to trial and accused of dishonoring the gods and misleading people. He was sentenced to death.
• Much of what is known about Socrates comes from the writings of Plato, one of his students.
• Socrates’ death caused Plato to mistrust democracy. In The Republic, Plato wrote that society should be made up of three groups: workers, soldiers, and philosopher-rulers.

 

1. III.                Visual and Dramatic Arts

 

• The Greeks used visual arts, such as architecture and sculpture, to glorify and honor their gods.
• The Greeks are also known as the first playwrights because they wrote the first plays.
• The Acropolis, the religious center of Athens, was destroyed in 480 B.C. during one of the city’s many wars.
• Pericles decided to rebuild the Acropolis and create new buildings to glorify the city.
• The builders of the new Acropolis brought Greek architecture to its highest point.
• Their most magnificent work was the Parthenon, a temple to the goddess Athena.
• Greek architects based the design of the Parthenon and other buildings on a figure called the Golden Rectangle. A Golden Rectangle is one in which the long sides are about one and two thirds times the length of the short sides.
• Athenians were the first people to write dramas.
• Some of the most famous Greek dramas were tragedies.
• Between scenes in the play, a chorus chanted or sang poems. The chorus was used to give background information, to comment on events, or to praise the gods.
• Euripides and Sophocles were important authors of tragedy.
• During the 400’s B.C., writers wrote comedies that made fun of well-known citizens and politicians and also made jokes about the customs of the day.
• Aristophanes is probably the best-known Greek comic playwright.

Section 3: DAILY LIFE IN ATHENS

1. I.                    Life in Public

• All Greek cities had agoras or public markets and meeting places.
• Just as the Acropolis was the center of Athens’ religious life, the Agora was the center of its public life.
• In the Agora, men talked of politics and philosophy or just gossiped.
• The streets were lined with shops and farmers and artisans sold their wares from stands set up under shady trees.
• Just about any food an Athenian would want could be found in the Agora and sheep’s wool, pottery, hardware, cloth, and books were sold as well.
• Temples and government buildings lined the agora.

 

1. II.                  At Home in Athens

 

• The grand public buildings of Athens contrasted with the simplicity of people’s houses, even during the Golden Age.
• Throughout Greece, private homes were plain. Most were made of mud bricks with rooms set around an open courtyard hidden from the street.
• The courtyard was the center of the household.
• The ancient Greeks ate simple foods. Most Athenians ate little meat because there was little space or extra money to raise cattle. Even wealthy families ate meat only during religious festivals.
• Home was where most Athenian women spent their days. They had almost none of the freedoms that their husbands, sons, and fathers probably took for granted.
• They could not take any part in politics. Nor could they vote.
• They could not own property. One of the very few official roles allowed them was to be a priestess in religious ceremonies.
• Running the home and family was the job of women. They organized the spinning and weaving, looked after supplies of food and wine, and cared for young children.
• Women also kept track of the family finances. If a family owned slaves, they were the woman’s responsibility as well.
• Historians estimate that as many as 100,000 slaves may have lived in Athens. That is almost one third of the population at that time.
• Many free people were enslaved when they were captured by armies during war or by pirates while traveling on ships.
• Enslaved people did many kinds of work. Some provided labor on farms. Others dug silver and other metals in the mines. Still others assisted artisans by making pottery, constructing buildings, or forging weapons and armor.
• Some slaves were able to buy their freedom, but many were not.
• The hard work of slaves meant that the free citizens of Athens could afford to pursue art, education, and public service.

 

Section 4: SPARTA AND ATHENS

1. I.                    Living in Sparta

 

• Life in Sparta was harsh. The Spartans themselves were tough, silent, and grim.
• The Spartan army easily equaled Athens in the 400’s B.C. However, Sparta never came close to equaling Athens’ other achievements.
• In its early days, Sparta seemed to be similar to other Greek cities. Then in the 600’s B.C., wars inside and outside the city led to changes in government and the way people lived.
• The changes turned Sparta into a powerful war machine.
• The city had made one basic rule: Always put the city’s needs above your own.
• Early in its history the Spartans conquered land around their city.
• The conquered people turned into helots or servants of Sparta. 
• Helots did all the farm work on the land owned by Spartan citizens, freeing the Spartans to wage war.
• However, the helots far outnumbered the Spartans. Living in fear of a helot rebellion, the Spartans turned their city into a military society.
• The life of every Spartan was in the hands of the government from an early age.
• Community leaders examined each newborn infant. Those thought to be too sickly would be left to die.
• Military training began early for boys. At seven, a Spartan boy left is home to live in the barracks with other boys. His training continued for the next thirteen years.
• By the age of 12, a boy had spent long hours practicing with swords and spears. He had only one cloak and a thin mat to sleep on.
• He could hardly live on the food he was given, so he was urged to steal.
• The Spartans believed that stealing would help him learn how to live off the land during a war.
• However, if the boy was caught, he was severely punished.
• Boys were expected to bear pain, hardship, and punishment in silence.
• Girls also trained and competed in wrestling and spear throwing. Girls didn’t become soldiers but Spartans believed that girls who grew up strong and healthy would have strong, healthy children.
• Spartan women had somewhat more freedoms than women in other Greek city-states. They were allowed to own land and even take part in business.
• Spartan life lacked the beauty and pleasures found in Athens and some other Greek cities. 

 

1. II.                  The Persians Invade

 

• Much of Greek history tells of wars they fought among themselves. But near the beginning of the 400’s B.C., a new threat loomed: the growing might of Persia.
• By about the mid-500’s B.C., Cyrus the Great had founded the Persian Empire.
• Cyrus and later rulers then extended the original empire.
• By 520 B.C., the Persians had gained control of the Greek colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor.
• In the fall of 490 B.C., a huge force of thousands of Persians landed in Greece itself at a place called Marathon, about twenty-five miles north of Athens.
• The Athenians hastily put together a small army but the Persians outnumbered them by at least two to one.
• After several tense days, the Athenians rushed the Persians who were overwhelmed by the furious attack.
• Within a short time, this tiny state had defeated the giant that had come to destroy it.
• More battles with Persia followed. The briefly united Greek city-states drove the Persians away.
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1. III.                Conflict and the Athenian Empire

 

• After the Persians were finally defeated, the influence of Athens spread over much of eastern Greece.
• Athens became partners with other city-states and worked to strengthen democratic groups within them.
• Over time, these cities became more like subjects than allies.

 

Section 5: THE SPREAD OF GREEK CULTURE

1. I.                    Introduction

 

• Macedonia lay just north of Greece.
•  Alexander thought of himself as a Greek and spoke the Greek language. But the people who lived to the south in such cities as Athens and Sparta did not accept the Macedonians as Greeks. 
• They thought the Macedonians were barbarians or wild, uncivilized people.
• Alexander’s tutor was Aristotle but his role model was Achilles, the mythical war hero of the Iliad.

 

1. II.                  Alexander’s Empire

 

• Before King Philip, Alexander’s father, seized power in 359 B.C., Macedonia was poor and divided.
• Philip united Macedonia and built an even stronger army than Sparta’s.
• With such an army and his talent for waging war, Philip captured one Greek city-state after another.
• Philip planned to attack Persia, but in 336 B.C. he was assassinated before he could carry out his plan.
• At the age of 20, Alexander became king.
• One of Alexander’s first actions was to invade the Persian Empire.
• Within eleven years, the Macedonian king had conquered an extensive area including Persia, Egypt, and lands beyond the Indus River to the east.
• Wherever Alexander went, he established cities, many of which he named after himself.
• Alexander never lost a battle.
• After many years of travel and fighting, Alexander’s army was exhausted.
• Not far beyond the Indus River, his troops became so weary that they refused to continue east. 
• Alexander was angry, but he turned back.
• He got as far as Babylon, where he caught a fever. On June 13, 323 B.C., only thirteen years after he came to the throne, Alexander died.

 

1. III.                The Hellenistic Age

 

• With Alexander’s death, his empire began to decline.
• Within 50 years, the empire had broken into three main kingdoms.
• Each kingdom was ruled by a family that had descended from one of Alexander’s commanders.
• Although the empire broke apart, Greek culture remained alive and well in the three Hellenistic kingdoms.
• Hellenistic comes from the word Hellas- the name the Greeks gave their land. Hellas comes from Hellen, one of the sons of Deucalion and Pyrrah.
• When Alexander took control of lands, he tried not to destroy the cultures of the defeated people.
• He hoped that in his new cities, the local cultures would mix with Greek culture.
• Instead, Greek culture became the strongest culture in the three Hellenistic kingdoms.
• The cities of the Hellenistic world were modeled after Greek cities. Greek kings ruled, and Greeks held the most important jobs.
• There were Greek temples and agoras.
• Citizens gathered at large theaters for performances of old Greek tragedies.
• The Greek language was spoken in the cities, although people in the country spoke the local languages.
• The greatest of all Hellenistic cities was Alexandria, Egypt, founded by Alexander in 332 B.C.
• Alexandria became the capital of Egypt and it grew famous as a center for business and trade.
• Its double harbor was dominated by a huge lighthouse that rose about 350 feet in the air.
• Alexandria was also the learning capital of the Greek world.
• It had the largest library in the world, and scholars came from many lands to use its massive collection.
• Mathematics and science also flourished in Alexandria.
• Around 300 B.C., a mathematician named Euclid helped extend the branch of mathematics called geometry.
• Euclid’s work helped explain the qualities of such figures as squares, angles, triangles, cubes, and cones.
• Mathematicians today still use Euclid’s system. .
• Greek scientists made important contributions to astronomy.
• In about 250 B.C., the Greek scientist Aristarchus of Samos concluded that earth revolved around the sun.  At the time, however, most scientists believed earth to be the center of the universe.
• In Hellenistic times, many scholars knew that earth was round. A scholar NAMED Eratosthenes calculated the distance around the earth. His answer, 24,662, was very close to modern measurements.
• Probably the greatest scholar of the Hellenistic Age was Archimedes who studied in Alexandria.
• Archimedes discovered that people can use pulleys and levers to lift very heavy objects.
• One story claims that Archimedes hoisted up a loaded ship with these devices.