TERMS & NAMEScity-statepolisAegean SeaoligarchyAthensphilosopherAristotleAlexander the

Great

Ancient GreeceAncient Greece

The ancient Greeks developed acomplex society, with remarkableachievements in the arts, sciences,and government.

The achievements of the ancientGreeks continue to influence culture, science, and politics in the world today.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

ATHENS, GREECE, FEBRUARY 2, 1997—

Five years after construction workers

began building the new Athens subway,

artifacts from ancient Greek civilization

are still being discovered. When com-

pleted, the new subway will reduce

traffic and air pollution in the capital.

Historians and archaeologists, however,

have been the first to benefit from this

massive public works project.

Workers have discovered statues,

coins, jewelry, and gravesites from

ancient Greece. Recently, workers dig-

ging the foundation for a downtown

Athens station found an ancient dog

collar decorated with gemstones.

Local officials have promised to create

permanent displays of some arti-

facts in stations throughout the

new subway system.

Place • Building the subway in Athens led to

spectacular discoveries of ancient artifacts. �

TAKING NOTESTAKING NOTES

AncientGreece

AncientRome

TimePeriod

Archi-tecture

SocialStructure

Use your chart to take notes about WesternEurope.

72 CHAPTER 3

The Land and Early History of GreeceThe Greek Peninsula is mountainous, which made travel by landdifficult for early settlers. Most of the rocky land also containspoor soil and few large trees, but settlers were able to cultivate thesoil to grow olives and grapes. The greatest natural resource of thepeninsula is the water that surrounds it. The ancient Greeksdepended on these seas for fishing and trade, and they becameexcellent sailors.

The Formation of City-States As the ancientGreek population grew, people created city-states. A city-state included a central city,called a polis, and surrounding villages. Eachancient Greek city-state had its own laws andform of government. The city-states wereunited by a common language, shared religiousbeliefs, and a similar way of life.

The Growth of Colonies By the mid-eighthcentury B.C., the Greeks were leaving thepeninsula in search of better land and greateropportunities for trade. During the next 200years, they built dozens of communities on theislands and coastline of the Aegean Sea(ih•JEE•uhn). Some Greeks settled as far awayas modern-day Spain and North Africa.

Once established, these distant Greek com-munities traded with each other and with thosecommunities on the Greek Peninsula. Thismade a great variety of goods available to theancient Greeks, including wheat for bread,timber for building boats, and iron ore formaking strong tools and weapons.

29°E25°E

39°N

G R E E C E

Crete

Rhodes

I o n i a nS e a

Mediterranean Sea

Ae

ge

an

Se a

Sparta

Athens

Byzantium

Piraeus

Ephesus

Ionia

Greek colonization

Historic city name

Historic and currentcity name

Ionia

Sparta

0

0 100 200 kilometers

100 200 miles

Metropolis When ancient Greeksmoved away from a large polis to adistant community, they referred totheir former city-state as theirmetropolis. In Greek, this means“mother-city.” Today, we use the wordmetropolis to mean any large urbanarea, such as Los Angeles, London,Tokyo, or Athens (shown below).

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Place • What was the

value to the Greeks ofcontrolling Byzantium?

2. Location • What was the southernmostGreek territory at thistime?

Western Europe: Its Land and Early History 73

Greek Colonization, 800 B.C.

Individual Forms of Government Someancient Greek city-states were oligarchies(AHL•ih•GAHR•kees). An oligarchy is a systemin which a few powerful, wealthy individuals rule.The word oligarchy comes from an ancient Greekword meaning “rule by the few.” Other city-stateswere ruled by a tyrant, a single person who tookcontrol of the government against the wishes ofthe community. Still other ancient Greek city-states developed an early form of democracy. Theword democracy comes from an ancient Greekword meaning “rule by the people.” In a democ-racy, citizens take part in the government.

Athens and SpartaAthens, centrally located on the GreekPeninsula, was one of the largest and mostimportant ancient Greek city-states. By the endof the sixth century B.C., Athens had developeda democratic form of government. Athenian citi-zens took part in political debates and voted onlaws, but not everyone who lived in Athensenjoyed these rights. Participation in govern-

ment was limited to free, adult males whose fathers had been citi-zens of Athens. Women, slaves, and foreign residents could nottake part in government.

Athens’s chief rival among the other Greek city-states wasSparta. Located in the southernmost part of the Greek Peninsula,Sparta was an oligarchy. It was ruled by two kings, who were sup-ported by other officials. Sparta, like Athens, had a powerfularmy. Each city-state’s army helped protect it from slave rebel-lions, guard against attack by rival city-states, and defend it frompossible foreign invaders.

Learning and the ArtsIn 480 B.C., the Persians, who controlled a large empire to theeast, tried to conquer the Greek Peninsula. Several Greek city-states, including Athens and Sparta, joined forces to defeatthe Persians. In the years following this victory, the ancientGreeks made remarkable achievements in literature, learning,and architecture.

Spartan Soldiers Sparta was theonly city-state with a permanentarmy. At age seven, Spartan boyswere sent by their families for military training. They had toremain in the army until they were 30 years old.

74 CHAPTER 3

After the defeat ofPersia, Athensbecame the mostpowerful Greekcity-state. The mostimportant Athenianleader of the time was Pericles(PEHR•ih•KLEEZ),who lived from c. 495 to 429 B.C.

A. ComparingCompare the three forms ofgovernment mostcommon in ancientGreek city-states.

B. MakingInferences Whydo you thinkphilosophers feltthe need to teach?

Ancient Greek ArchitectureAncient Greek builders createdsome of the world’s most impres-sive works of architecture. Theybuilt several beautiful temples atopthe Acropolis (uh•KRAHP•uh•lihs)in Athens, shown at right. The mostfamous of the temples is theParthenon (PAHR•thuh•nahn).

In the United States and else-where, government buildings, suchas courthouses and post offices,have been built similar in style tothe Parthenon. This use of ancientarchitecture echoes the democraticideals of ancient Greece.

Western Europe: Its Land and Early History 75

Literature To honor their gods and goddesses, the ancient Greekscreated myths and wrote poems and plays. Some of the greatestGreek plays were written during the fifth century B.C. During thattime, the playwrights Aeschylus (EHS•kuh•luhs), Sophocles(SAHF•uh•KLEEZ), and Euripides (yu•RIHP•ih•DEEZ) wrotetragedies, which are serious plays that end unhappily. Many ofthese stories have been the basis for modern films and operas.

In addition to using the gods as characters, ancient Greekplaywrights sometimes poked fun at important citizens, includ-ing generals and politicians. Aristophanes (ar•ih•STAHF•

uh•NEEZ) was a popular writer of comedies of this type.

Philosophy Ancient Greece was the birthplace of some of thefinest thinkers of the ancient world. Socrates (SAHK•ruh•TEEZ)was an important philosopher of the fifth century B.C. A philoso-pher studies and thinks about why the world is the way it is.Socrates studied and taught about friendship, knowledge, and jus-tice. Another great philosopher, Plato (PLAY•toh), was a studentof Socrates who studied and taught about human behavior, gov-ernment, mathematics, and astronomy.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus (HEHR•uh•KLY•tuhs)wrote the following lines.

Many people continue to study and write about the same philosophical questions that these, and other, ancientGreek philosophers explored.

A VOICE FROM ANCIENT GREECE

One cannot step twice into the same river, for the water intowhich you first stepped has flowed on.

Heraclitus

The Spread of GreekCulture The city-statesof ancient Greece wereconstantly at war with oneanother. By the fourthcentury B.C., this fightinghad weakened their abilityto defend themselvesagainst foreign invaders.In 338 B.C., King Philip IIof Macedonia conquered the land. After Philipdied, his son, Alexander––who had been taughtby Aristotle––took control.

Alexander the Great was an excellent mili-tary leader, and his armies conquered vast newterritories. As Alexander’s empire expanded,Greek culture, language, and ideas were spreadthroughout the Mediterranean region and asfar east as modern-day India. Upon Alexander’sdeath, however, his leading generals fought forcontrol of his territory and divided it amongthemselves. This marked the end of one of thegreat empires of the ancient world.

76 CHAPTER 3

Reread the information about the individual forms of government common in ancient Greece.Present an oral report to the class that compares and contrasts two of the forms.

SECTION ASSESSMENT

Using Graphics2. Use a chart like this one to list and

describe the ancient Greek achieve-ments in government, literature,and architecture.

Main Ideas3. (a) Why were the surrounding

areas of water an importantnatural resource of the GreekPeninsula?

(b) Which people were allowed toparticipate in the governmentof ancient Athens?

(c) How did Alexander the Greathelp to spread Greek culture?

Critical Thinking4. Summarizing

Why was the fifth century B.C.a remarkable time in ancient Greek history?

Think About◆ warfare◆ leaders◆ literature and philosophy

Terms & Names(a) city-state (b) polis (c) Aegean Sea (d) oligarchy

(e) Athens ( f ) philosopher (g) Aristotle (h) Alexander the Great

Government Literature Architecture

Region • In this mosaic Alexander the Great is shown riding into battle on his beloved horse, Bucephalus(byoo•SEHF•ah•luhs). �

Aristotle At the age of 17,Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) beganstudying philosophy with Plato.After Plato died, Aristotle receivedhis most important assignment––to teach Alexander, the teenageson of King Philip II of Macedonia.

After teaching Alexander,Aristotle returned to Athens. Therehe taught and wrote about poetry,

government, andastronomy. He starteda famous schoolcalled the Lyceum(ly•SEE•uhm). Aristotlealso collected andstudied plants and ani-mals. The work of thisbrilliant philosophercontinues to greatlyinfluence scientistsand philosopherstoday.

1. Explain thesignificance of: