Ancient Greece Chapter 4 PDF

Chapter 4 Ancient Greece 1750 B.C. – 133 B.C. The independent sovereignty of the city-state was the basic political structure of ancient Greece. Although the government that ruled the city-states were varied and numerous, the goals these communities strived to attain were similar as described in...

Chapter 4 Ancient Greece 1750 B.C. – 133 B.C. The independent sovereignty of the city-state was the basic political structure of ancient Greece. Although the government that ruled the city-states were varied and numerous, the goals these communities strived to attain were similar as described in Politics by the great philosopher Aristotle. Every state is a community of some kind and every community is established with a view to some good; for mankind always act in order to obtain that which they think good. But, it all communities aim at some good, that state or political community, which is the highest of all, and which embraces all the rest, aims at good in greater degree than any other, and at the highest good. Early people of the Aegean The island of Crete was the cradle of an early civilization that later influenced Greeks living on the European mainland. The people of Crete, however, had absorbed many ideas from the older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Minoans trade and prosper: Washed by the warm waters of the Aegean Sea, Crete was home to a brilliant early civilization. We do not know what the people called themselves, however, the British archaeologist who unearthed its ruins called them Minoans after Minos, a legendary king of Crete. Minoan civilization reached its height, or greatest success between 1600 B.C. and 1500 B.C.  The Minoans were traders, they crossed the seas to the Nile Valley and the Middle East. They acquired ideas and technology in fields from Egypt and Mesopotamia to create their culture. The rulers of this trading empire lived in a vast palace at Knossos. It housed rooms for the royal family, banquet halls, and working areas for artisans. It also included religious shrines to honor gods and goddesses. The palace walls were covered with colorful frescoes, watercolor paintings done on wet plaster. They told stories of the Minoan society. Trade and war in Mycenae: Mycenaeans spoke an Indo-European language. They conquered the Greek mainland before overrunning the island of Crete. They dominated the Aegean world from 1400 B.C to 1220 B.C They were sea traders like the Minoans. They reached from Aegean to Sicily, Italy, Egypt and Mesopotamia. They learned the art of writing from the Minoans, absorbed customs from the Egyptian and Mesopotamian and passed them to the Greeks. They lived in separate city-state and the warriors-king would build a wall fortress surrounding their ruling village. The Trojan War: - Took place in 1250 B.C. the conflict many have had its origins in economic rivalry between Mycenae and Troy, a rich trading city in present- day Turkey that controlled the vital straits or narrow water passages, connecting the Mediterranean and Black seas.  The Trojan prince Paris kidnapped Helen the wife of a Greek king, this made the Mycenaeans sail to Troy to rescue her. For 10 years the two sides battle until the Greeks finally seize Troy and burn the city to the ground. This was regarded as a legend until a wealth German businessman, Heinrich Schliemann set out to prove that the legend was rooted in fact. He excavated the site of ancient Troy and found evidence of fire and war dating to about 1250 B.C. During this era of the Trojan War two great epic poems were written: “The Iliad and the Odyssey”. These epics may have been the work of many people but it was credited to the poet, Homer. Who probably lived about 750 B.C., he was a blind poet who wandered from village to village singing of heroic deeds. The Iliad and Odyssey reveal much about the values of the ancient Greeks. The heroes display honor, courage, and eloquence as when the Trojan War. Section 2 The rise of Greek City-States The Mediterranean and Aegean seas were as central to the development of Greek civilization as the Nile was to the Egyptians. The ancient Greeks absorbed many ideas and beliefs from the older civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. At the same time, they developed their own unique ways. In particular, the Greeks developed new ideas about how to govern each individual Greek polis, or city-state. Geography shapes Greece: As you read early civilizations rose in the fertile river valleys. There strong rulers organized irrigation works that helped farmers produce food surpluses needed to support large cities. A very different set of geographic conditions influenced the rise of Greek civilization. Landscape defines political boundaries: Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula which extends southward into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Beyond the rugged coast, hundreds of rocky islands spread toward the horizon. The Greeks who farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered islands did not create a large empire such as the Egyptians or Persians. Instead they built many small city-states cut off from one another by mountains or water. - Greeks divided mountains from one another, the sea provided a vital link to the world outside. With its hundred of bays the Greek coastline offered safe harbors for ships. The Greeks became skilled sailors and carried cargoes of olive oil, wine, and marble to parts throughout the eastern Mediterranean. They returned not only with grains and metals but also with ideas, which they adapted to their own needs. - The Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet to meet their needs. The resulting alphabet in turn became the basis for all later Western alphabets. - Rapid population growth forced many Greeks to leave their own overcrowded valleys. With fertile land limited, the Greeks expanded overseas. A scattering of Greek colonies took root all around the Mediterranean for Spain to Egypt. Governing the City-States - Greeks evolved a unique version of the city-state, which they called polis, they were made of a major city or town and its surrounding countryside. The city itself was built on two levels. On the top of a hill stood the acropolis or high city with its great marble temples dedicated to different gods and goddesses. On flatter ground below lay the walled main city with its marketplace, theater, public buildings and homes. There were different types of government in Greece: at first the ruler of the polis like those of the river valley empires, was a king. A government in which a hereditary ruler exercises central power is a monarchy. Power shifted to a class of noble landowners. Because only they could afford bronze weapons and chariots, these nobles were also the military defenders of the city-states. At first these landowners defended the king. In time however they won power. The result was an aristocracy or rule by a hereditary landholding elite. As trade expanded a new middle class of wealthy merchants, farmers, and artisans emerged in some cities. They challenged the landowning nobles for power and came to dominate some city-states. This led to a government called an oligarchy. An Oligarchy government is power in the hands of a small, wealthyelit. New warfare methods shape Greece: - About 650 B.C. iron weapons replaced bronze ones, since iron was cheaper ordinary citizens could afford iron helmets, shields, and swords. - A new method of fighting emerged the phalanx, a massive tactical formation of heavily armed food soldiers. - Due to the new warfare styles both Athens and Sparta developed different ways of life. - Sparta stressed military virtues and stern discipline. - Athens glorified the individual and extended political rights to more citizens Sparta: A warrior society: - Dorian settled the city-state of Sparta, they were Dorian invaders from the north conquered Laconia in the southern part of the Pelopnnesus. - The Sparta government included two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of citizens approved major decisions. Citizens were males native-born Spartans over the age of 30. The assembly also elected five ephors, or officials who ran day-to-day affairs. - Since childhood Spartans were prepared to be part of the military state. Officials examined every newborn and sickly children were abandoned to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers and the future mothers of soldiers to be healthy. - Boys began training at the age of 7, they moved into barracks, where they were toughened by a coarse diet, hard exercise, and rigid discipline. They were even encouraged to steal food, they were beaten severely. - Women of Sparta had a rigorous upbringing. They were expected to produce healthy sons for the army. They were required to exercise and strengthen their bodies. Women were expected to obey their fathers, or husbands. Under the Spartan law, they had the right to inherit property. Because the men were at war the women took the responsibilities of running the family’s estate. - Spartan isolated themselves from other Greeks. They looked down at trade and wealth, they forbade their own citizens to travel. - While other Greeks admired the Spartans’ military skills, no other city-state imitated their rigorous way of life. - Spartans are willing to die for their city. Athens evolve into a democracy: - Athens was located in Attica just north of the Peloponnesus. Athenian government evolved from a monarchy into an aristocracy. Athenian wealth and power grew, yet discontent spread among the people. Merchants and soldiers resented the power of the nobles. Foreign artisans were resentful that foreigners were barred from becoming citizens. Farmers demanded change, during hard times they were expected to sell their land to nobles. Some even sold themselves and their families to the nobles for slavery to pay their debts. Athens moved slowly to democracy, or government by the people. Solon a wise and trusted leader, was appointed archon or chief official. He outlawed debt slavery and freed those who had already been sold into slavery for debt. He opened high offices to more citizens granted citizenship to some foreigners, and gave the Athenian assembly more say in important decisions. He also introduced economic reforms as well. He encouraged the export of wine and olive oil. This policy helped merchants and farmers by increasing demand for their products. Citizens share power and wealth: - The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus seized power in 546 B.C., he helped farmers by giving them loans and land taken from nobles. New building projects gave jobs to the poor. - Cleisthenes broadened the role of ordinary citizens in government. He set up the Council of 500, whose members were chosen by lot from among all citizens over the age of 30. - The council prepared laws considered by the assembly and supervised the day-to-day work of government. He made a legislature or lawmaking body, that debated laws before deciding to approve or reject them. All male citizens were members of the assembly and were expected to participate. Women played the most significant public role in religion. They participated in sacred processions and ceremonies. They spun and wove cared for children and prepared food were rarely seen in public. Poorer women worked outside the home, tending sheep or working as spinners, weavers, or potters. Girls did not receive formal education. Boys attended school if their families could afford it. Besides learning to read and write they studied music, poetry, and public speaking. Forces for unity: Greeks were polytheistic believing in more than one deity. According to their myths, or traditional stories that explain the ways of nature or the gods. The gods lived on Mount Olympus in the northern Greece. Zeus was the most powerful god, he presided over affairs of gods and humans. His children included Ares god of war, Aphrodite goddess of love. Athena goddess of wisdom. Greeks called foreign lands with different languages and customs, barbaroi, people who did not speak Greek. Section 3 Conflict in the Greek World The Persian Wars: - Persians conquered Greek city-state of Ionia and Asia Minor. Even under Persian rule they were self-governing however they resented their situation. - Ionian Greeks rebelled against Persian rule. Athens sent ships to help them. Herodutus wrote that “these ships were the beginning of mischief both to the Greeks and to the barbarians. Athenians win at Marathon: The Athenian leader Themistocles knew the victory at Marathon had brought only a temporary lull in the fighting. He urged Athenians to build a fleet of warships and prepare other defenses. Greek city-states unite: - Darius son, Xerxes sent a much large force to conquer Greece. Athens had persuaded Sparta and other city-states to join in the fight against Persia. - Persians marched south and burned Athens, however, the city was empty, Athenians had withdrawn to safety. - The Athenian warships drove into the Persian boats with underwater battering rams. Athens leads the Delian League: - Victory in the Persian Wars increased the Greek’s sense of their own uniqueness. The gods they felt had protected their superior form of government the city-state against invaders from Asia. - To continue to defend against Persia it organized with other Greek city-states an alliance or a formal agreement between two or more nations or powers to cooperate and come to one another’s defense. Modern scholars call this alliance the Delian League after Delos the location where the league held meetings. - The years after the Persian Wars from 460 B.C. to 429 B.C. were a golden age for Athens under the able statesman, Pericles. Because of his wise and skillful leadership, the economy thrived and the government became more democratic. - Periclean Athens was a direct democracy. Pericles believed that all citizens regardless of wealth or social class should take part in government. - Athens began to pay a stipend or fixed salary to men who participated in the Assembly and its governing Council. This reform enabled poor men to serve in government. Athenians served on juries. A jury is a panel of citizens who have the authority to make the final judgement in a trial. Athens prospered during the Age of Pericles. With the empire’s riches, Pericles directed the rebuilding of the Acropolis which the Persians had destroyed. With the help of an educated foreign-born woman named Aspasia, Pericles turned Athens into the cultural center of Greece. The Peloponnesian War was formed due to the split of Greece into rival camps, Sparta and other enemies of Athens formed the Peloponnesian League. The Peloponnesian War ended Athenian domination of the Greek world. The Athenian economy eventually revived and Athens remained the cultural center of Greece. Section 4 The Glory that was Greece: Greek achievements in the arts represented the height of human development in the Western world. They looked back with deep respect on what one poet called, “the glory that was Greece.” Philosophers: Lover of Wisdom: - Greek thinkers challenged the belief that events were caused by the whims of gods. The Greeks called these thinkers philosophers meaning “lovers of wisdom” - These philosophers explored many subjects from mathematics and music to logic or rational thinking. Sophists questioned accepted ideas. To them success was more important than moral truth. They developed skills in rhetoric the art of skillful speaking. Socrates an Athenian Stoneman and philosopher he pose a series of questions to a student or passing citizen, and challenge them to examine the implications of their answers. This patient examination was a way to help others seek truth and self-knowledge. To many Athenians such questioning was a threat to accepted values and traditions. Socrates was accused of corrupting the city’s youth and failing to respect the gods. Standing before a jury of 501 citizens, Socrates offered a calm and reasoned defense. But the jurors condemned him to death. He accepted his death penalty and drank a cup of deadly poison. Plato envisions a perfect society; - Due to Socrates execution Plato was left with a lifelong distrust of democracy. Plato was Socrates’ student. Plato fled Athens for 10 years later returned to open a school called Academy. - He taught and wrote about his ideas, the importance of reason. Through rational thought, he argued people could discover unchanging ethical values, recognize perfect beauty and learn how best to organize society. - His book “The Republic” described his vision of an ideal state. - He divided society as follows: 1) workers to produce the necessities of life, 2) soldiers to defend the state and 3) philosophers to rule. - Aristotle pursues the Golden Mean, as a student from Plato, he developed his own ideas about government. He analyzed all forms of government from monarchy to democracy and found good and bad in each. - He also addressed the question on how people should live. His view was good conduct, meant pursuing the golden mean a moderate course between the extremes. He promoted reason as the guiding force for learning, he set up a school, the Lyceum for the study of all branches of knowledge. - He wrote writings on politics, ethics, logic, biology, literature, and many other subjects. The first Europeans universities evolved some 1,500 years later based their courses on the works and ideas of Aristotle. Idealism in Architecture and Art: Plato argued that every object on Earth had an ideal form. The work of Greek artists and architects reflected a similar concern with balance, order, and beauty. Greek architects sought to convey a sense of perfect balance to reflect the harmony and order of the universe. The most famous example of Greek architecture is the Parthenon a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Greek sculptors carved figures in rigid poses perhaps imitating Egyptians styles. By 450 B.C. Greek sculptors had developed a new style that emphasized more natural forms. Their work were lifelike, and idealistic. They carved gods, goddesses, athletes, and famous men in a way that showed human beings in their most perfect graceful form. Greek Literature: - Greek literature style was a model of perfection. The admired what they called the “classical style” referring to the elegant and balanced forms of traditional Greek works of art. - Greek literature began with the epic poems of Homer, whose stirring tales inspired later writers. - The first Greek plays evolved out of religious festivals, especially those held in Athens to honor the god of fertility and wine, Dionysus. Greek dramas were often based on popular myths and legends. Through these stories playwrights discussed moral and social issues or explored the relationship between people and the gods. Famous playwriters were: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides who wrote about tragedies. Some Greek playwrights wrote comedies, humorous plays that mocked people or customs. The Greeks also applied observation reason and logic to the study of history. Herodotus is often called the “Father of History”, in the Western world because he went beyond listing names of rulers or the retelling of ancient legends. Section 5 Alexander and the Hellenistic Age: The Empire of Alexander the Great: - Philip II had lived in Thebes and had come to admire Greek culture. He hired Aristotle as a tutor to his young son Alexander. - When Philip II gained the throne in 359 B.C. he dreamed of conquering the prosperous city-state to the south. He built a powerful army, he also formed alliances with many Greek city-states. He defeated Athens and Thebes, he then brought all of Greece under his control. He was assassinated before his fulfilled his dream of conquering the Persian empire, he was killed at his daughter’s wedding. His wife Olympias outmaneuvered his other wives and children and put her son Alexander on the throne. Alexander was an experience soldier who won his first victory against the Persians at the Granicus River. He then crossed to the Hindu Kush into northern India. His troops faced troops on elephants. After his death three generals divided his empire, (Egypt, Macedonia/Greece and Persia) Alexander’s lasting achievement was the spread of Greek culture. The legacy of Alexander: - His generals who inherited his empire succeeded in settling new cities and building Greek temples with Greek statues and held athletic contests. Alexandria: the cultural capital: - At the very heart of the Hellenistic world stood the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Located on the seas lands between Europe and Asia, its markets boasted a wide range of goods, from Greek marble to Arabian spices to East African ivory. - Alexander and his successors encouraged the work of scholars. The rulers of Alexandria built the great Museum as a center of learning. The Museum boosted laboratories, lecture halls, and a zoo. Its library had thousands of scrolls representing the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world. - Paintings, statues, and legal codes show that women were no longer restricted to their homes during the Hellenistic Period. Women learned to read and write, some became philosophers or poets. Royal women held considerable power, working alongside husbands and sons who were the actual rulers. - Cleopatra VII became a ruler of her own right.  Hellenistic arts and sciences: - Hellenistic age contributed to the rise of new schools of philosophy. They taught women and slaves they were morally equal because they had the power of reason. In mathematics Pythagoras derived a formula to calculate the relationship between the sides of the right triangle. Euclid wrote the “The Elements” a textbook that became the basis for modern geometry. The astronomer Aristarchus argued the Earth rotated on its axis. This theory of heliocentric or sun-centered solar system was not accepted by most scientists. Archimedes applied principles of physics to make practical inventions. Hippocrates studied the causes of illnesses and looked for cures.