Objectives: SWBAT recognize the impact of the Phoenicians on Ancient Greece.

Calisthenics:

Cultural Diffusion in Ancient Greece

Big Question of the day: How did cultural diffusion affect Ancient Greece?

Two examples:

1.Alexander the Great spreads Hellenistic Culture.

2.Phoenicians spread their alphabet.

A message from Herodotus

Herodotus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BCE. He wrote the history of many peoples in the region of Greece.

Herodotus wrote about one civilization called, “the Phoenician civilization”. Read his quote about the Phoenicians to determine why the Phoenicians are considered vehicles of cultural diffusion.

A message from Herodotus

“Now the Phoenicians … introduced into Greece upon their arrival a great variety of arts, among the rest that of writing, whereof the Greeks till then had, as I think, been ignorant. And originally they [the Greeks] shaped their letters exactly like all the other Phoenicians, but afterwards, in course of time, they changed by degrees their language, and together with it the form likewise of their characters.” - Herodotus

Why are the Phoenicians considered vehicles of cultural diffusion?

Help Herodotus

I am concerned that my history of the Phoenicians may be out of date. Please help me by writing your own history of the Phoenicians. Try to write so everyone can understand it. Most importantly of all, make sure your history is accurate. Watch the movie clip carefully and pay close attention during notes so you get everything right. As historians, we have a name to protect!

Movie: The Phoenicians1. The Phoenicians set up colonies along the

Mediterranean sea. Why was this important for their economy?

2. Were all of the Phoenician colonies unified or independent?

3. What was the Phoenicians’ greatest legacy?

4. http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=D87E5509-6C3E-4043-BBA5-4296585EF36F&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Movie Questions1. The Phoenicians set up colonies along the

Mediterranean sea. Why was this important for their economy?

2. Were all of the Phoenician colonies unified or independent?

PhoeniciansPhoenician civilization was a loose

organization of independent city-states each ruled by a separate king. 

Movie Questions1. The Phoenicians set up colonies along the

Mediterranean sea. Why was this important for their economy?

TradersPhoenicians were traders.  They traveled by

boat to trade goods across seas. 

Phoenicians developed colonies along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to increase trade.

Movie Questions1. The Phoenicians set up colonies along the

Mediterranean sea. Why was this important for their economy?

2. Were all of the Phoenician colonies unified or independent?

3. What was the Phoenicians’ greatest legacy?

Beginnings of an AlphabetPhoenicians

created an alphabet of 22 consonants, symbols that stood for sounds. 

Cultural Diffusion

Phoenicians spread their alphabet to Ancient Greece and other civilizations through trade and interaction.

First True AlphabetThe Greeks built on the Phoenician

system to create the first true alphabet, a system consonants and vowels that could be used to spell out their spoken language.

Check for UnderstandingWhat type of political organization did the

Phoenicians have?

Why did the Phoenicians develop colonies along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea?

Phoenicians traded many goods to Greece. What else did they give the Greeks?

How did the Greeks get the alphabet from the Phoenicians?

How are the Phoenicians and their alphabet an example of cultural diffusion?

Which civilization developed the first TRUE alphabet, including vowels.