Chapter 9 – Beginnings (Greece)

Lesson Essential Question 1 – Where are the important features and cities of the Minoans and Mycenaeans on a map?

A. Locate and label items on the map of the Aegean World.

Chapter FocusWhy It’s Important (p. 151)

B. What two civilizations did Greek civilizations grow out of?

1. Minoan

2. Mycenaean

C. What was important about both these civilizations?

1. Due to the geography of the land, they both became great sea powers.

2. The Minoans and Mycenaeans left an important legacy, or gift from the past, to the Greeks.

Section 1: The Minoans (p. 151-155)

Lesson Essential Question 2 – What was life like for the Minoans?

The Minoans p. 151-152

D. Where did the Minoan civilization start?

Crete

E. Describe, or tell me about, the Minoans.

1. The Minoans, also known as Cretans, grew wheat, barley, grapes, and olives.

2. When the olive groves and vineyards produced more than was needed, the Minoans traded the surplus for goods they could not grow or make on Crete.

F. What did the Minoans do with their forests?

Since there were so many forests, the Minoans learned to work with wood and became good

carpenters and build ships.

G. How did the Minoans earn a living?

1. They also learned to work with metal.

2. They used their metalworking and carpentry skills to build ships and began to earn a living from trade instead of farming.

H. What did the Minoans do when pirates threatened their ships?

1. When pirates threatened their ships, the Minoans changed the way they built them so they would go faster.

2. They made them slimmer, and with two or three masts instead of one.

3. The Minoans also put decks over the heads of rowers to protect them.

4. They placed a wooden beam in the prow, or front part of the ship.

5. The wooden beam was used to smash a hole in enemy ships to sink them.

I. Over time, what did the Minoans become?

The Minoans became the world’s first important seafaring civilization.

The People (p. 152)

J. Describe the Minoan people.

1. The Minoans were a small people with bronze skin and long dark hair.

2. Men wore striped loincloths, long robes embroidered with flowers, or trousers that bagged at the knee.

3. Women wore full skirts and short-sleeved jackets that laced in front.

4. The Minoans had small waists and wore tight belts to show them off.

5. They also wore jewelry.

K. How did the Minoans spend their time?

1. Men farmed and fished.

2. They raised cattle, long-horned sheep, and goats.

3. The men also served in the navy and the royal guard.

4. Women performed household duties, attended sporting events, and went hunting in chariots.

L. What did the Minoans do to show their love of sports?

1. They built what was probably the world’s first arena.

2. It was an open-air arena

3. Stone steps made up the grandstand, which seated about 500.

4. The king and the royal party had their own special seats.

M. Define and describe bull leaping:

Bull leaping was a form of bullfighting. A young man and woman “fought” the bull together.

The man would grab the bull by the horns. As the bull raised its head to toss him, he would do a somersault onto its back, landing on his

feet. He would then do a back flip off the bull. The woman would catch her partner as he

landed on his feet. Many believe it was also a religious ritual.

Bull Leaping

Cities and Palaces (p. 152-153)

N. What ways Minoan cities were different from other ancient cities? 1. At the heart of each Minoan city stood a palace

rather than a temple.

2. Also, Minoan cities did not have walls around them.

3. Instead people depended on the sea and navy for protection.

O. Describe, or tell me about, the city of Knossos.

1. One of the largest cities of Crete.2. About one-fifth of the area was taken up by a five-

story palace that served as a government building, temple, factory, and warehouse.

3. Its walls were built of stone and sun-dried brick framed with wooden beams.

4. The Minoans decorated the inside walls with brightly colored frescoes, or watercolor paintings made on damp plaster.

5. The palace had bathrooms with bathtubs and flush toilets.

O. Describe, or tell me about, the city of Knossos.

6. It also had hot and cold running water and portable fireboxes to heat rooms.

7. The palace had several entrances.8. Passageways and rooms formed a labyrinth.9. Define labyrinth – a network of paths

through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze

10. Labyrinth also means “double ax,” so the palace was called “House of the Double Ax.”

P. What was around the palace and beyond?

1. Sea captains, merchants, and ship builders lived in houses around the palace.

2. Past their houses stood those of artisans who made beautiful cups and vases and designed delicate jewelry.

Rulers and Religion (p. 154)

Q. What kind of rulers did Crete have?

Priest-kings

R. Were the Minoans monotheistic or polytheistic?

Polytheistic – They believed in many gods.

Monotheism is the belief in one god.

S. What was Minoan religion like?

1. The main god was the Great Goddess Mother Earth.

2. She made plants grow and brought children into the world.

3. To honor her, the Minoans built shrines in palaces, on housetops, on hilltops, and in caves.

The Fall of the Minoans (p. 155)

T. What happened to the Minoans?

Around 1400 B. C., control of the sea and of Crete went to the Mycenaeans.

U. What have scientists learned about what happened to the Minoans?

Scientists have learned of a violent, volcanic eruption (volcano of Thera) on the island of

Santorini, miles away, led to a tsunami. This tsunami destroyed the Minoan ships and also

left them open for attack.

V. Summarize, or tell me briefly about, the legend that describes the fall of

the Minoans.A young Greek prince named Theseus was

brought to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, a huge monster the king had kept in

the palace labyrinth. The Minotaur had the body of a man and the head of a bull and lived

on human flesh. Theseus was put in the labyrinth. He fought the monster with a magical sword and killed it. When the Minotaur died, so did the power of the

Minoans.

Section 2: The Mycenaeans (p. 155-160)

Lesson Essential Question 3 – What was life like for the Mycenaeans?

The Mycenaeans (p. 155, 157)

W. Where did the Mycenaeans come from and how did they arrive in

Greece?1. The Mycenaeans came from the grasslands

of southern Russia.

2. Around 2000 B. C., small groups started making their way west into Europe and then south through the Balkan Peninsula.

3. Finally, they settled in the lowlands of Greece.

X. How did the fortress-palaces work?

1. The Mycenaean kings built fortress-palaces on hilltops.

2. In times of danger or attack, the people in the villages outside the palace walls took shelter within the palace.

3. Define megaron – a square room with a fireplace in its center

4. The king held council meetings and entertained in the megaron.

Y. How did the Mycenaeans use their land?

1. Land was divided into estates that were farmed either by enslaved people or by tenants.

2. Define tenants – people who live on and work another person’s land

3. Landowners gave the king horses, chariots, weapons, wheat, farm animals, honey, and hides in exchange for protection.

4. Tenants worked to supply many of these items.

Z. How did the Mycenaeans get more meat?

They hunted. They hunted rabbit, deer, boar, wild bulls, and game birds. Women rode with

the men.

Traders and Pirates (p. 157-158)

AA. How did the Minoans influence the Mycenaeans?

1. The Mycenaeans began to imitate Minoan gold and bronze work.

2. They adapted Cretan writing to their language.

3. They copied Minoan fashion.4. Most important, the Mycenaeans learned

how to build ships and navigate.5. They also learned to grow olives and make

olive oil.

BB. What were the uses for olive oil?

1. cooking

2. fuel for lamps

3. to rub on their bodies (perfumed oil)

CC. How did olive oil impact Mycenaean trade?

1. The sale of olive oil made the Mycenaeans rich.

2. It also led to the founding of trading stations and settlements on nearby islands.

DD. How were the Mycenaeans “warriors at heart”?

1. In battle, they used large hide shields with wooden frames and fought with spears and swords.

2. Their leaders wore fancy bronze armor.

3. At first, the Mycenaeans only fought one another.

4. After they learned about shipbuilding and navigation, they outfitted pirate fleets and began to raid nearby lands.

5. By 1400 B. C., they had replaced the Minoans as the chief power of the Aegean world.

The Trojan War (p. 158-159)

Lesson Essential Question 4 – What is the legendary cause and effect of the Trojan War?

EE. What was Troy?

a major trading city in Asia Minor

FF. What made the Trojans powerful?

1. The Trojans controlled trade routes to the Black Sea.

2. They made money by taxing the ships that carried grain and gold from southern Russia to Greece.

GG. Who was Homer?

1. He was a blind, Greek poet.

2. Iliad – Homer’s poem about the Trojan War

3. Odyssey – Homer’s poem about the wanderings of Odysseus, a hero of the Trojan War.

HH. Summarize, according to Homer, what happened during the Trojan

War.The Trojan War was fought over a woman. A Trojan prince, Paris,

fell in love with Helen, the wife, of a Mycenaean king. Paris took Helen to Troy. Her husband became angry and sailed after

them. Since the walls of Troy were so thick, the Mycenaeans could not get inside the city. They camped on the plain outside the city walls. After ten years of fighting, Odysseus suggested a

way to get inside. He had the soldiers build a huge, hollow, wooden horse. Soldiers hid inside while the rest sailed away. The Trojans saw the ships leave and thought they had won. They did not know the Mycenaeans would return after dark. The Trojans pulled the horse into the city as a victory prize.

When everyone went to sleep, the soldiers hidden inside came out. They opened the gates and let the rest of the Mycenaean soldiers in the city. They Mycenaeans killed the king of Troy

and burned the city. With Helen, they returned home.

A “Dark Age” (p. 159-160)

Lesson Essential Question 5 – How did the “Dark Ages” affect the Aegean World?

II. What happened after the Trojan War?

The Mycenaeans did not return to their peaceful ways. A series of civil wars broke out.

JJ. Define civil wars –

wars between opposing groups of citizens

KK. Who then invaded Greece?

Dorians

LL. What happened to the Mycenaeans?

Thousands of Mycenaeans fled the Greek mainland and settled on Aegean islands on the western shore of Asia Minor.

These settlements later became known as Ionia.

The Aegean World then entered a “Dark Age”.

MM. What happened during the “Dark Age”?

1. It was a time of wandering and killing.

2. Overseas trade stopped.

3. The people of Aegean region forgot how to write and keep records.

4. The skill of fresco painting and working with ivory and gold disappeared.

5. The Aegean world was cut off from the Middle East and the people had to create a new civilization on their own.

NN. What happened after the “Dark Age” when the people started over?

1. The people started over.2. Once again, herding and farming became the main

ways of life.3. Local leaders ruled small areas.4. These leaders called themselves kings, but they were

little more than chiefs.5. At first, the borders of the areas they ruled kept

changing.6. In time, however, the borders became fixed, and each

area became an independent community.

NN. What happened after the “Dark Age” when the people started over?

7. The people of these communities began calling themselves Hellenes, or Greeks.

8. They worked hard to redevelop their culture and to learn new crafts and skills.

9. The civilization they created flourished from about 700s B. C. until 336 B. C.