The document provides background information on early Greece and its city-states. It describes the geography of Greece, including its location on the Balkan Peninsula with a coastline along the Aegean Sea. The mountains made farming difficult so the Greeks relied on fishing, sailing, and trade. This geography also led to the development of separate city-states rather than a large kingdom. Each city-state had its own government, laws, and identity. Democracy first developed in Athens, where only landowning men could vote. The document also summarizes aspects of religion, mythology, and daily life in ancient Greece.
2. Geography
The southern part of the
Balkan Peninsula
Aegean Sea
Coastline= natural
harbors
Mountains make the
land very hard to farm>
Therefore, they are
fishers, sailors, and
traders
Geography led Greeks to
find colonies
3. Geography
Mountains & Valleys
Kept villages apart
Instead of a large
kingdom/empire they
formed separate citystates
People felt loyalty
towards their city-state
instead of Greece
(I’m not Greek, I’m an
Athenian)
4. Climate
Very mild climate
Spent much time
outdoors
They attended public
events & conducted
government outside
5. Early Greece
Minoans- 2500 BCE
Crete (island southern Greece)
Palace in Knossos ! Amazeing.
Named after King Minos
Walls covered in colorful
Frescoes: paintings
Minoans curled their
hair and wore gold
belts around their
waists
Poor soil on Crete- Trade for
food
Wrote in Linear B
Bull Jumping! (religion)
No evidence of fighting
1620 BCE Volcano causes tidal
waves that weaken the city!
Labyrinth= maze
6. Early Greece
Mycenaens
Migrated from Europe/Asia
Intermarried with the locals
controlled mainland Greece
Adopted Minoan culture
( through trade)
Writing (Lin.B) and some
religious beliefs
They were ruled by powerful
warrior kings
Built fort-like cities on the
Peloponnesus (hand-shaped)
1100BCE earthquakes weakened>
then warfare
7. Early Greece
Dorians
They eventually move back
Entered through the North
300 years
Known as the Greek “Dark
Ages!”
Overseas trade stops,
poverty, skills diminish,
people move to Ionia
and bring culture with them
New civilization emerged
with early Greek elements
called Hellenic!
After the original settlers of
mainland Greece
8. Polis=Greek City-State
Represented the
center of Greek
identity
Citizens were intensely
loyal to their polis
Fight and die for it!
Greece was a civilization,
not an empire.
9. The Greek City-States…
How were the city-states
different?
Each had its own…
Government
Laws
Calendar
Money
Weights/ measures
How were they the same?
They shared …
The Greek language
Religious ideas
Festivals
10. Each city-state consisted of the city and the land
around it.
Free, adult males had citizenship rights
Each polis was built around an acropolis, a
fortified hill with a temple on it.
Near the acropolis was the agora, public square!
Markets
Political Center
11. We have decisions to make…
IF, I was to bring in a small snack for the class, which
type of snack would you like me to bring in???
A. Candy
1.
2.
3.
Chocolate
Something Sweet
Something Sour
B. Cookies
1.
2.
Chocolate Chip
Sugar
12. Government
The first type of government in Ancient Greece was a
Monarchy
1.
….landowners who had money for armies and weapons gained
power
These wealthy nobles (Aristocrats) take power from
chiefs/ kings and control Greek society and an Oligarchy
is formed.
2.
•
3.
Oligarchy= rule by few
Tyrants have the support of the people and take power
illegally.
In some cases, the tyrant became unjust. Tyrant become
known as ruling cruelly and with absolute power .
13. Some city-states overthrew their tyrants.
4. Democracy 1st in Athens! People take part in
the government.
Only men who owned land could vote
No women or non-citizens
14. Religion
Polytheism
Looks to explain
To explain these Greeks
Nature
used Myths (Greek
Human emotions
Mythology)
To bring benefits
Afterlife: souls go to the underworld with Hades
Main gods lived on Mount Olympus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyT3A4vi6cw
Oracles: The way in which gods to speak to humans.
People would travel to hear messages and predictions
15. Homer
Homer: blind poet c. 700 BCE
Wrote two epics
Iliad and the Odyssey
Iliad: Trojan War/Trojan horse: Trojan Prince take Mycenaean
King’s wife
Odyssey: Mycenaean King Odysseus is on the way home from
war to see his wife Penelope. It takes him 10 years to return.
During that time he faces many adventures and interferences
from the gods. Is gets home and is reunited with Penelope!.
Shipwrecks- Poseidon
One-eyed giant- Cyclops
Sea-monsters
Trip to the underworld-Hades
Temptations by sea nymphs
You’ll read this in
English! Yay!
Schools in Ancient Greece used this epics to teach Hellenic
(Greek) values!
16. Daily life in Athens
Army
Phalanx- rows of soldiers using their shields to form a wall
Economy= Trade
Imports: goods being brought in
Export: goods being sent out
Colonies- supplied city-state with wheat and barley
Terrace Farming: cutting flat layers into hills for
farming
Main crops: Olives (olive oil), Grapes (wine)
Education- Young boys were taught grammar, music, gov’t,
math, ethics, rhetoric
Notes de l'éditeur
Sir Arthur Evans dug up the remains of the Minoan civilization in the 1900s. Oak and cedar forests in Crete provided awesome shipsThey traded throughout the Mediterranean Sea!