Greeks and RomansA Study of Classic Civilizations

Greek Influence– Theater– Olympic games– Architecture– Democracy

Architecture

–http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/greek_arch.html

Marathon

• 490 B.C. - Athenian troops defeated a large Persian invasion force on the plain of Marathon, (about 25 miles from Athens)

• Athenians sent a military courier named Phidippides to bring news of the victory at Marathon.

• "Rejoice, we conquer”

• Then he died.

Olympic Games

• Held every four years at Olympia

• all free Greek men were entitled to compete.

• The first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. and the last in A.D. 393

• Abolished by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/

Olympics

Main Sports• Boxing • Discus (part of Pentathlon) • Equestrian Events • Javelin (part of Pentathlon) • Jumping • Pankration • Pentathlon • Running • Wrestling

Theater

• Structure – Prologue– Parodos– Episodes / Stasimon– Exodos

Greek’s Geography

• Mountains make up ¾ of mainland

• Fertile plains lie between mts. and sea good for farming

• many harbors suitable for trading

Greek Geography

• Mountains – protection and isolation (much like Indus Valley)– Made attack difficult– Limited travel / communication– Never united under one government

• The Sea– Way of life– Fishermen, traders, pirates

Other Greek Professions• Actor• Athlete     • Banker      • Blacksmith      • Craftsmen    • Doctor   • Farmer

• Fisherman    • Marble Quarrying      • Market Trader      • Merchant• Mining     • Teacher

Greek Civilization

• Grew from Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.

• Both thrived in the Aegean area for 1,400 years (2500 BC to 1100 BC)

• Minoans – lived on Crete (an island)

• Mycenaean – lived on the mainland

Minoans• From the Island of

Crete• King had a labyrinth in

his palace• Sea traders

• Easy to trade to Mesopotamia and Egypt

•Fleets carried goods, and protected Crete from attack

Mycenaeans

• Originally from Southeast Asia– Rapid population growth,

migrated west.– Intermarried with locals

(Hellenes)

• Kingdoms– Centered on a hilltop (a fortress)– Stone walls – Nobles lived outside the walls

Mycenaean Culture

• Palaces were administrative buildings and places of production– artisans insides

• Tax collections– Wheat, livestock, honey

• Great record keeping– Wealth of everyone in the city– Had banks which would exchange

foreign currency

Mixing of Culture / Dark Ages

• Mycenaeans adopted Minoan culture– Metalworking, shipbuilding,

navigation– Worship Minoan’s Earth

Mother

• 1400s BC - Mycenaeans conquered Minoans– Fighting destroyed hilltop

fortresses– Start of the “Dark Ages”

Greek “Dark Ages”

• Archaeology shows a collapse of civilization in the eastern Mediterranean

• The great palaces and cities of the Myceneans were destroyed or abandoned.

• Cities from Troy to Gaza were destroyed.

Greek “Dark Ages”• The Greek language largely ceased to be

written.

• Dark age pottery has simple geometric designs and lacks the figurative decoration of Mycenean ware. (compare to the pottery on page 140)

• Greeks lived in fewer and smaller settlements, suggesting famine and depopulation

• foreign goods have not been found at archaeological sites, suggesting minimal international trade.

• Contact was also lost between foreign powers during this period, yielding little cultural progress or growth of any sort.

• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/history/darkages.htm

Poets and Heroes

• Bards – singing poets who passed down stories from generation to generation

• Homer – blind poet, composed two of the most famous Greek Epic Poems…– The Iliad and The Odyssey

The Works of Homer

The Iliad• A prince, Paris falls in

love with and steals Helen, the wife of a Mycenaean King.

• To avenge the kidnapping the Mycenaeans attempt to take Troy.

• For 10 years they are unsuccessful until…

• The Trojan Horse

The Odyssey• The wanderings of

Odysseus, a Mycenaean King after the fall of Troy.

Greek Values

• Schools used Iliad and Odyssey to teach values– Greek pride– Love of nature– Loyalty– Strive for excellence– Importance of

marriage

Persian Wars

• A series of conflicts between several Greek city-states and the Persian Empire

• Fought from 500 BC to 448 BC

• Allied Greeks successfully defeated the invasions.

The Golden Age of Greece

• After Persian Wars Athens emerged as a powerful, confident city-state, ready for expansion

• Athens was burned in Persian Wars

• Led by Pericles, determined to rebuild the city

The Greek Mind

• Socrates– Socratic Method, ask questions instead of

giving answers…

• Plato – Developed Political Science

• Aristotle– Encouraged modest living

Pericles

• Rebuilt temples and palaces better than ever

• The Parthenon

Athenian Life under Pericles

• Aspasia – woman known for intelligence– Prosecuted for ‘impiety’ – Acquitted by Pericles

• Delian League– Pericles alligned with other city-states (except

Sparta)– Greece grew richer– Common currency– Greece policed all of Aegean area– Freed Ionia from Persian rule

• Essentially an Athenian Empire

Peloponnesian War

• Anti-Athenian Alliance (led by Sparta)

• Greece vs. Sparta

• Sparta had no navy– Struck a deal with Persians– Ionia for gold to build a fleet

• The Plague– Kills Pericles

• Should Athens continue?

The End of Greece

• Athenian allies switch sides..• Athens surrenders in 404 BC

– 27 years of battle• Greek city-states destroyed

– Lost ability to govern themselves

– Sparta tried to rule, overthrown by several city-states (Thebes)

– Thebans overthrown by other city-states…

– Greece was at its weakest…– Allowed for a Great

Macedonian Leader to take over…

Alexander the Great

• http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~atlas/europe/interactive/map23.html