1. Chapter 5 Notes: Classical Greece
Section 1: Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea
-Geography shapes Greek life:
1. The sea– linked w/ other societies for travel and trade
2. The land– mountains divided land into regions; created numerous small,
independent communities w/ own governments; transportation difficult
3. The climate– moderate temperatures allowed for an outdoor/civic life; preserved
structures/buildings
Two cultures developed in Early Greece:
Minoans:
• seaborne trade, fishing, sailing
• Women played significant role (priests)
• writing systems unclearLinear A
• core of Greek religious practice, art, politics, and literature
Mycenaeans:
• The first ‘Greeks’-spoke form of Greek language
• Writing has been translated
• rocky ridge on southern Greece; surrounded by defensive barrier
• ruled by warrior-king; frequent warfare between cities

2. Sparta
Athens

3. Chapter 5 Notes (cont’d)
-Trojan War
*10 year war w/ Troy (Turkey), Trojan Horse
Greek City-States:
*city-state or polis= fundamental political unit in
Greece (i.e. Corinth) Map
-acropolis: fortified hilltop (picture of acropolis:
acropolis pic) Ancient Wonders on Greece's Acropolis
*Greek Governments:
1.monarchy…..king, queen
2. aristocracy…..small group of
nobles/landowners
3. oligarchy…..few powerful people
-tyrants: seized control of govt. w/
local support
4. democracy…..representative govt.,
rule by people (Athens)
The Acropolis: Deconstructed

4. Sparta
• Conquered the Peloponnesus
• Made Messenians into helots (state slaves)
• Emphasis on war/keeping order in society
• Training of soldiers
-physical/mental toughness by mother until age 7,
combat school until age 20, then became hoplites (foot
soldiers) for 10 years
Spartan Videos!!

6. Acropolis Aphrodite
Pericles
Agora
Poseidon

7. Gods & Heroes
-Greek legends and myths (stories told to explain natural phenomena or events of
the distant past) Greek Gods
-Gods of Olympus (12 influential gods)—pg. 132 in textbook
Minotaur
Section 2: The Classical Age
 Athenian Democracy~500 BC
-development of democracy through reformers: Draco, Solon, Peisistratus (tyrant), and
Cleisthenes (set stage for Athenian democracy, how?)
Tribe
-only free males over the age of 20 who Council of 500
Tribe
completed military training could vote (10% of pop)
-3 main bodies:
1. Assembly…made laws, all people voted directly on issues (direct democracy)
2. Council of 500…write laws to be voted on Archon: chief of
3. Series of courts…heard trials/sentenced criminals State of Athens

8. Chapter 5 Notes (cont’d)
The Persian Wars (490-479 BC)
-root of conflict: Greek cities fell under Persian rule in Ionia (Turkey)
-Greeks revolt in 499 BC but are put down…Darius seeks revenge
*First Persian War
-Marathon (490 BC)
-Greeks use phalanx approach; a tight rectangle formation in which
soldiers held long spears out ahead of a wall of shields greek phalanx
-legend of Marathon
*Second Persian War (pg. 137 in textbook)
-Xerxes vs. Greek allies at Thermopylae, Persians burn down Athens
-Greek strategy and the movie ‘300?’….Greek victory
-Battle of Salamis: Greek naval victory battle plan
-Plataea: Persians give up on invasion and agree to peace settlement
Golden Age of Athens
-Athens, Sparta most powerful city-states
-Greece establishes Delian League: alliance of Greek city-states that defended one another
and punished Persia for their invasion—Athens gains influence/power, resentment
-Athens rebuilds their city thanks to Pericles: the arts (Parthenon), democracy Peracles
-Peloponnesian War (431 BC): Sparta vs. Athens; land vs. sea, Peloponnesian vs. Delian
league….years of fighting weakens both cities until Macedonia from the north takes control of
Greece

9. Chapter 5 Notes (cont’d)
Section 3: Greek Achievements
 Philosophy: search for wisdom and knowledge
1. Socrates
-sought truths about truth, justice, and virtue; ask questions in order to learn
-philosophers should study human behavior to learn how to improve society as a whole
2. Plato
-philosophers were best suited to govern other people
-did not support Athenian democracy (student of Socrates)
3. Aristotle
-use of reason (clear and ordered thinking) and logic (making inferences) to study the
natural world
-influenced development of science (taught Alexander the Great)
 Literature
-Homer’s Epics: tell stories about great events and heroes (Illiad, Odyssey)
-lyric poetry, writing of history, drama (playwriting) or tragedies (hardships of Greek heroes)
 Architecture/Art
-sculpture, the Parthenon, painting

10. School of Athens

13. Chapter 5 Notes (cont’d)
Section 4: Alexander the Great and His Legacy
-Macedonia rises to power, King Phillip II
-Alexander the Great (20 years old) defeats
Persians…creates largest empire the world had ever seen
Alexander creates a new type of culture that blended elements
of Greek civilization with ideas from Persia, Egypt, Central Asia,
and other regions= Hellenistic or Greek-like
check out Alexander’s empire!....11,000 miles in 11 years!

14. You are
here!

15. Where in the world is
Alexander the Great?

16. Where did the name
Argonauts come from?