The Story of Ancient Greece2000 BC-300 BC

Ch. 5

Greek gods, Titans, Heroes, Myths, and Creatures Project-50

Points• Choose one of each of the above topics

and create either a Powerpoint style presentation or a video documentary

• Focus on good content, good visuals and good delivery.

• Two sources per topic-Use Easybib• Website on Greek Mythology

Questions?

• What do you know about ancient Greece?

• How can geography play an important role in the development of a civilization?

Colossus of Rhodes• Statue of Helios, Greek Titan

god• Was made of bronze• Same size as Statue of

Liberty• One of the 7 Wonders of the

Ancient World• Lasted just over 50 years

due to earthquake• Believed to have been

melted down and sold by Arab invaders

The Temple/Statue of Artemis

• Built around 800 B.C.• Artemis is the Greek Goddess of Fertility• The temple was destroyed several times

due to wars• Current day archeologists have found the

foundations of 5 temples built on top of each other

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

• Built around 450 BC

• The statue was said to be made of gold and marble

• Eventually destroyed after being taken apart and moved

• Built around 353 BC• Tomb was built by Queen Artemisia as a

tribute to her husband/brother King Mausolus.

• Destroyed by earthquakes in the 1100-1400’s AD

• All that survives today are the foundation blocks

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Lighthouse of Alexandria

• The lighthouse was built in 280 BC• It was the worlds first lighthouse(reflected

sunlight by day/fire at night)• Most likely destroyed by earthquakes from 956-

1325 AD • Remains were found in the Mediterranean Sea in

1994• Egypt is building an underwater museum for

tourists-Link

Key Terms/People Section 1

• Peninsula• Minoan• Mycenaean• Trojan War• Dorian• Homer• Epic• Myth

Geography of Greece

• Greece is a small country in Europe• The main part of Greece in on a

peninsula• Greece is surrounded by what three

large bodies of water?– Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, and

Ionian Sea• The rest of Greece is made up of islands

– 6000(227 being inhabited)

Mykonos Island

Crete

Rhodes

Importance of Geography to Greece

• The sea was extremely important to the Greeks-Why?– Did not live “on the land” but “around the

sea”– Most Greeks lived within 85 miles of the sea– Used the sea 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

Geography Continued

• Mountains covered around ¾’s of ancient Greece

Mt. Olympus-Home of the 12 Olympian Greek

gods

Twelve Olympian Greek gods• Zeus

– King of the gods, sky, thunder• Hera

– Women, marriage• Demeter

– Harvest, agriculture• Poseidon

– Sea• Athena

– Wisdom, courage, etc. 

• Apollo– Music, poetry, healing

• Artemis– The hunt, wild animals, childbirth

• Aphrodite– Love, beauty, pleasure

• Ares– War

• Hermes– Transitions and boundaries

• Hephaestus– Blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans

• Hestia – Hearth, home, domesticity, family

• Dionysus– Vine, Grape Harvest, Winemaking, Wine

• 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-no more than a few million

• These issues might have led some leaders to look to expand(map on slide 3)

Greek City-States

• Due to Greece’s geography, city-states developed instead of a unified country

• What is a city-state?• More to come on Greek city-states!

Climate• What does Greece’s average

temperature’s tell you about how they might have lived?

Mycenaeans and Minoans

Minoan Civilization • 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• Video Link

Minoans• Known for it’s advanced cities-Knossus

– Not overcrowded, plumbing, toilets, sewers

Minoans• Known for women having much higher

status than in earlier civilizations• Know 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 over ran by the Mycenaeans

• Some historians think Minoa could have been Atlantis--Video

Mycenaeans-Video• Controlled the area around Greece from

1600 BC-1100 BC• Heavily influenced by the Minoans

– Much more war-like than Minoans(based on art)• Know 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

• Mycenaean's did unite to fight the Trojan War against Troy

• The Mycenaean's 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 Mycenaean’s

• Trade and culture slowed

• Greece went into a Dark Age

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-Video• Fought between Mycenaean Greeks and

Troy

Trojan War- 1194–1184 BC• War began after the abduction of Queen

Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince, Paris• Helen’s husband, Menelaus, convinced his

brother Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to get her back

• Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles and Odysseus

• They crossed the Aegean Sea and laid siege to Troy

• Demanded Helen’s return

Movie Clip-Troy

Ch. 5.2-Warring City States

• Polis• Acropolis• Monarchy• Aristocracy• Oligarchy• Tyrant• Democracy• Military state• Helot• Phalanx• Persian Wars

Greek City-States• Polis

– city—Minneapolis, Indianapolis• Acropolis

– a settlement in a city on higher ground used for defense and a place to discuss politics—Below is the Athens acropolis

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

– A government ruled by a few powerful people

Types of Governments in City-States

• 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 Greece• 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.

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• The modern Olympic Games started up

again in 1896-Where?

Ancient Olympics• The big competition at the Games was

the Pentathlon(Pente-5)(Athlon-competition)1. Long jump2. Javelin3. Discus4. Stadion-200 yards5. Wrestling

This is Sparta!!!!

Greek City-StateSparta

• Sparta was 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

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 soldiers was

stressed• Young boys left home at 7 and trained to be

soldiers until they were 30• Athletics was 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

Phalanx Military Formation

Video

Persian Wars(Greco-Persian)

499-449 BC• Fought between the Persian Empire and Greek city-states(Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc.)

• Started when Persian leader Cyrus the Great took over Ionia in Greece in 546 BC

• The Ionians(Greeks) led a revolt against the Persians after Cyrus the Great died

Ionian Revolt-499-493 BC

Ionian Revolt• The Ionian Revolt was led by

Athenian General Miltiades • Ionia asked Athens to help

them which they did

• Darius quickly suppresses the Ionian Revolt but is very mad

• Darius the Great vowed to burn Athens to the ground before he died

Miltiades Escapes

• Miltiades escapes back to Athens and tells the Athenians that the Persians are coming to burn Athens

• This sets up the beginning of the Great Persian War

• Persia was the largest empire in the world at the time and consisted of millions of people

• Ancient Greece was about 500,000 total people

• It was truly a David vs. Goliath battle

Ancient Greece vs. Civilization of Persia

Athens & Sparta United • Athens & Sparta had been fighting for hundreds of years

• They now fought not for Athens or for Sparta but for GREECE

Battle of Marathon-490 BC

• 25,000 Persians• 10,000 Athenians

Who won?

• How did the Athenians win?• The Phalanx• The Persians were lightly armored

and not prepared

Pheidippides•After the battle ended, he ran

from Marathon to Athens to tell the Athenians of the victory over Persia

•Guess how many miles it was from Marathon to Athens?

Battle of Thermopylae-480

BC-Video• Ten years after the Battle of Marathon,

Persia once again invaded Greece• Darius the Great’s son, Xerxes, made it a

goal to destroy Athens• The Persians won the Battle of

Thermopylae but not before the Spartan soldiers held out for days allowing many Greek troops to retreat

• The movie 300 is based on this battle

Battle of Salamis• At the naval Battle of Salamis, theGreeks destroyed the Persian navy• The Persians were never the sameafter that and were eventually driven out of

Greece• After the Persian Wars, the Delian League

was established setting up an alliance between the Greek city-states

• Starting around 470 BC, Greece, and Athens specifically, entered a golden age