The Age of Pericles - 6th Grade Social...

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A ge of P ericles 358 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks The Citizens Slaves Foreigners 478 B. C. Delian League forms 431 B. C. Peloponnesian War begins GREECE Delos Athens Sparta 500 B. C. 450 B. C. 400 B. C. 500 B. C. 450 B. C. 400 B. C. 461 B. C. Pericles leads Athens History Social Science Standards WH6.4 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Ancient Greece. Looking Back, Looking Ahead In Section 3, you learned how the Greeks defeated the Persians at Plataea. One lesson the Greeks drew from the war was that they needed each other for security. Athens and several other city-states soon banded together in a league for the common defense. Focusing on the Under Pericles, Athens became very powerful and more democratic. (page 359) Athenian men and women had very different roles. (page 362) Sparta and Athens went to war for control of Greece. (page 364) Locating Places Delos (DEE LAHS) Meeting People Pericles (PEHR uh KLEEZ) Aspasia (as PAY zhuh) Content Vocabulary direct democracy (dih MAH kruh see) representative democracy (REH prih ZEHN tuh tihv) philosopher (fuh LAH suh fuhr) Academic Vocabulary behalf (bih HAF) economy (ih KAH nuh mee) framework (FRAYM WUHRK) Reading Strategy Organizing Information Create a circle graph to show how many citizens, foreigners, and enslaved people lived in Athens in the 400s B.C.

Transcript of The Age of Pericles - 6th Grade Social...

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Age of Pericles

358 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks

The

Citizens

SlavesForeigners

478 B.C.Delian Leagueforms

431 B.C.PeloponnesianWar begins

GREECE

Delos

Athens

Sparta

500 B.C. 450 B.C. 400 B.C.500 B.C. 450 B.C. 400 B.C.

461 B.C.Pericles leadsAthens

HistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH6.4 Studentsanalyze the geographic,political, economic,religious, and socialstructures of the earlycivilizations of AncientGreece.

Looking Back, Looking AheadIn Section 3, you learned how

the Greeks defeated the Persians atPlataea. One lesson the Greeks drewfrom the war was that they neededeach other for security. Athens andseveral other city-states soonbanded together in a league for the common defense.

Focusing on the • Under Pericles, Athens became very

powerful and more democratic.(page 359)

• Athenian men and women had verydifferent roles. (page 362)

• Sparta and Athens went to war forcontrol of Greece. (page 364)

Locating PlacesDelos (DEE•LAHS)

Meeting PeoplePericles (PEHR•uh•KLEEZ)Aspasia (as•PAY•zhuh)

Content Vocabularydirect democracy

(dih•MAH•kruh•see)representative democracy

(REH•prih•ZEHN•tuh•tihv)philosopher (fuh•LAH•suh• fuhr)

Academic Vocabularybehalf (bih•HAF)economy (ih•KAH•nuh•mee)framework (FRAYM•WUHRK)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Create a circle graph to show how manycitizens, foreigners, and enslavedpeople lived in Athens in the 400s B.C.

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WH6.4.3 State the key differences between Athenian, or direct, democracy and representative democracy.

The Athenian EmpireUnder Pericles, Athens became very

powerful and more democratic.

Reading Connection Do you vote in school elec-

tions? Why do you choose one classmate over another?

Read to learn why Athenians kept electing Pericles.

As you read in Section 3, the Battle ofPlataea in 479 B.C. put an end to the Persians’invasion of Greece. Although the Persiansretreated, they still remained a threat. In478 B.C. Athens joined with other city-states—but not Sparta—to form the Delian League.

The Delian League promised to defendits members against the Persians. It alsoworked to drive Persia out of Greek territo-ries in Asia Minor. Eventually, the leaguefreed almost all of the Greek cities underPersia’s control.

At its start, the Delian League had head-quarters on the island of Delos (DEE • LAHS).However, its chief officials—the treasurersin charge of its money and the commandersin charge of its fleet—were from Athens, aswere most of the troops. Little by little,Athens gained control over the other city-states in the alliance. Soon the league wasno longer a partnership to fight Persia butan Athenian empire.

In 454 B.C. the Athenians moved theDelian League’s treasury from Delos toAthens. The Athenians also began sendingtroops to other Greek city-states to help thecommon people rebel against the nobles inpower.

Democracy in Athens Athenians had astrong faith in their democratic system. We call their system direct democracy(dih •MAH •kruh • see). In a direct democracy,people gather at mass meetings to decideon government matters. Every citizen canvote firsthand on laws and policies.

Can you imagine such a system in theUnited States? A mass meeting of our millions of citizens would be impossible!Instead, in the United States we have arepresentative democracy (REH •prih •ZEHN •tuh • tihv). Under this type of democracy, cit-izens choose a smaller group to make lawsand governmental decisions on theirbehalf. This is a much more practical sys-tem when the population is large.

What made direct democracy workablein ancient Athens was the relatively smallnumber of citizens. In the mid-400s B.C.,about 43,000 male citizens over 18 years oldmade up the assembly. Usually fewer than6,000 attended the meetings, which wereheld every 10 days. The assembly passed alllaws, elected officials, and made decisionson war and foreign affairs. Ten officialsknown as generals carried out the assembly’slaws and policies.

CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 359

These ruins are of the agora—an ancientmarketplace in Athens where the assembly met.What type of democracy did Athens have?

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360 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks

Athenian Democracy American Democracy

Type of Democracy

Right to Vote

Laws

Citizen Involvement

Direct

Only adult males born in Athens

Proposed by the council and approved by a majority in the assembly

Citizens with voting rights can vote for or against any law

Representative

All citizens, male and female age 18 or over

Approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president

Citizens with voting rights can vote for or against the officials who make the laws

Comparing GovernmentsComparing Governments

The Achievements of Pericles Atheniansreelected their favorite generals again andagain. After the Persian Wars, the leading fig-ure in Athenian politics was a general namedPericles (PEHR • uh • KLEEZ). This great states-man guided Athens for more than 30 years,from 461 B.C., when he was first elected, until429 B.C., shortly before his death.

Pericles helped Athens dominate theDelian League. He treated the other city-states like subjects, demanding strict loy-alty and steady payments from them. Heeven insisted that they use Athenian coinsand measures.

At the same time, Pericles made Athensmore democratic at home. He believed thatpeople’s talents were more important thantheir social standing. For this reason,Pericles included more Athenians thanever before in government. He allowedlower-class male citizens to run for publicoffice, and he also paid officeholders. As aresult, even poor citizens could, for the firsttime, be part of the inner circle running thegovernment.

Culture also blossomed under the ruleof Pericles. The Age of Pericles was aperiod of tremendous creativity andlearning that peaked in the mid-400s B.C.The Persians had destroyed much of thecity during the Persian Wars. So Periclesstarted a major rebuilding program. Hehad new temples and statues built acrossthe city.

Pericles supported artists, architects,writers, and philosophers (fuh • LAH • suh •fuhrs). Philosophers are thinkers who pon-der questions about life. In Chapter 8, youwill read more about the Greeks’ achieve-ments and understand why Pericles calledAthens “the school of Greece.”

Identify What is the differ-ence between a direct democracy and a represen-tative democracy?

The small number of citizens made a directdemocracy possible in Athens.

1. In Athens, how was a law approved?

2. Compare Which government granted theright to vote to more of its population?

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WH6.4.2 Trace the transition from tyrannyand oligarchy to early democratic forms ofgovernment and back to dictatorship inancient Greece, including the significance ofthe invention of the idea of citizenship (e.g.,from Pericles’ Funeral Oration).

PERICLESc. 495– 429 B.C.Pericles was born just outside Athens, to a wealthy

and powerful family. He received his education fromphilosophers. As a young man, he was known for his skillwith words. Later, when he became a political leader, hestrongly supported democracy.

Although he was from a wealthy family himself, hebelieved that citizenship should not be limited to thewealthy and powerful. He made changes to take powerfrom the few and give it to the many. However, indescribing Pericles’ rule over Athens, Greek historianThucydides wrote “In name democracy, but in fact the rule of one man.”

The “Age of Pericles” was Athens’s Golden Age, and the city blossomed under his leadership. Pericles wantedAthens to be a model for the world. He made it acenterpiece of art, philosophy, and democracy.

Pericles’ goal was to make Athens a city that Greekscould be proud of. He hired hundreds of workers toconstruct public buildings in Athens. The most well known is the Parthenon. Based on the value of money today,it cost about $3 billion to build. Workers hauled 20,000 tons of marble from a nearby mountain and spent almost 15 years completing it.

Pericles was a private person. He avoided being inpublic as much as possible. He spent most of histime alone, with family, or with close friends. Hemarried and had three sons. In 429 B.C. Pericles diedfrom the plague.

361

“Athens . . . is theschool of Greece.”

——Pericles, as recorded by Thucydides

Pericles

The Parthenon sits at the top ofthe Acropolis.

Consider what Thucydides wrote aboutPericles’ rule in Athens. Do research to find outhow the U.S. Constitution ensures that ourgovernment is not dominated by one leader.

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WH6.4.6 Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, with emphasis on their roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.

Bedroom

Family Room

Altar and CourtyardGreek courtyards usually had an altar to the favorite family god.

Dining RoomMen ate their meals alonewhile served by women.

KitchenCooking was often done

over an open fire.

Wool RoomYarn was spun and cloth

was woven here.

Athenian HomesAthenian Homes

Daily Life in AthensAthenian men and women had very

different roles.

Reading Connection School may be difficult at times,

but how would you feel if you could not go to school? Read

on to learn about the limits placed on some Athenians.

In the 400s B.C., more people lived inAthens than in any other Greek city-state.Athens had about 285,000 residents in all.Some 150,000 were citizens, although only43,000 of these were men with political

rights. Foreigners in Athens numberedabout 35,000. The population also includedabout 100,000 enslaved people.

Roles of Men and Women Athenian menusually worked in the morning and thenexercised or attended meetings of the assem-bly. In the evenings, upper-class men enjoyedall-male gatherings where they drank, dined,and discussed politics and philosophy.

For Athenian women, life revolvedaround home and family. Girls marriedearly—at 14 or 15—and were expected to

Many wealthy Athenians had large homes made of mud bricks and tiled roofs.They had many small windows to let light and air in the house. Where arereligious influences seen in the house?

Athenian urn

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have children and take care of householdduties. Poor women might also work withtheir husbands in the fields or sell goods inthe agora. Respectable upper-class women,however, stayed at home. They supervisedthe household servants and worked woolinto cloth—spinning, dyeing, and weavingit. They rarely went out, except to funerals orfestivals. Even then, they could leave thehouse only if a male relative went with them.

Although Athenian women could notattend school, many learned to read and toplay music. Still, even educated womenwere not considered the equals of men. Theyhad no political rights and could not ownproperty. Fathers took charge of unmarrieddaughters. Husbands looked after theirwives. Sons or other male relatives lookedafter the welfare of widows.

A few women did move more freely in public life. Aspasia (as • PAY • zhuh) isperhaps the most famous example.Aspasia was not a native Athenian. Thisgave her special status. She was well-educated and taught public speaking tomany Athenians. Her writings have notsurvived, but Plato, the famous Greekphilosopher, said her work helped shapehis ideas. Pericles often consultedAspasia, as did many other Athenianleaders. In this way, she became influen-tial in politics even though she was notallowed to vote or hold office.

Slavery in Athens Most people in theancient world considered slavery to be anormal way of life, even the enslaved peo-ple. Athens was no exception. Slavery wascommon even in the city of democracy.

Most Athenian homes had at least oneenslaved person, and wealthy Athenianhouseholds often had many. Many of theenslaved were people Athenians had cap-tured in battle with non-Greeks. Sometimes

Greeks were also enslaved after being takenprisoner during a war by other Greeks.

Enslaved men usually worked on projectsrequiring heavy labor. Enslaved women andchildren became cooks and maids in Greekhomes. Educated slaves sometimes becametutors to the children in the home. Othersworked in the fields and in artisans’ shops.

Enslaved people were treated differentlyfrom place to place. Those working in themines often died at a young age. Skilled slavesoften worked with citizens creating theircrafts. A few held positions of privilege, suchas overseers on farms. In some instances, theywere able to earn money and even buy theirfreedom, but this did not happen very often.The Greek city-states depended on enslavedlabor. Without it, Athens could not have sup-ported its bustling economy.

What Drove the Athenian Economy?Many Athenians depended on farming fora living. Herders raised sheep and goats forwool, milk, and cheese. Some farmers grew grains, vegetables, and fruit for localuse. Others grew grapes and olives to makewine and olive oil to sell abroad.

Athens did not have enough farmlandto grow crops for all its people. As a result,the city had to import grain from otherplaces. This had much to do with Athens’sgeographic location. Athens was locatednear the coast of Greece in the middle ofGreek civilization.

The city built a large fleet of ships totrade with colonies and other city-states inthe Mediterranean. During the 400s B.C.,Athens became an important crossroads forpeople, ideas, and goods traveling throughthe region. Merchants and artisans grewwealthy by making and selling pottery, jew-elry, leather goods, and other items.

Describe How did Athenianmen and women spend their time?

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Women’s Duties In ancient Athens, awoman’s place was in the home. Her twomain responsibilities were caring for thehousehold and raising children. The Greekwriter Xenophon (ZEH•nuh•fuhn) recordeda man’s explanation of women’s duties.

“Thus your duty will be to remain indoors andsend out those servants whose work is outside,and superintend those who are to workindoors . . . . And when wool is brought to you,you must see that cloaks are made for thosethat want them. You must see too that the drycorn is in good condition for making food.”

—Xenophon, Memorabilia and Oeconomicus

The second floor of each home wasthe women’s quarters. An Athenianwoman lived there with her children. Shewas expected to keep her children well

and happy. Sheencouraged them to learn sports andplay with toys, andtaught them how to interact withfriends and familymembers. Some boyswent to school, whilethe girls stayed athome.

Connecting to the Past1. Why do you think women and children

lived on the second floor of the home?

2. Over what areas of life did an Athenianwoman have authority?

Greek womanand servant

WH6.4.2 Trace the transition from tyranny and oligarchy to early democratic forms of government and back to dictatorship in ancientGreece, including the significance of the invention of the idea of citizenship (e.g., from Pericles’ Funeral Oration).

WH6.4.6 Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, with emphasis on their roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.

The Peloponnesian WarSparta and Athens went to war for con-

trol of Greece.

Reading Connection Have you ever tried to get peo-

ple to work together and been frustrated when they will

not cooperate? Read to find out how the Greek city-

states’ refusal to cooperate nearly led to their destruc-

tion.

As the Athenian empire became rich andpowerful, other city-states, especially Sparta,grew suspicious of Athenian aims. Spartaand Athens had built two very differentkinds of societies, and neither state under-stood or trusted the other. After the PersianWars, both city-states desired to be the majorpower in the Greek world. They clashed overthis goal several times between 460 B.C. and445 B.C. In this year, Athens and Spartasigned a peace treaty.

Conflict Between Athens and Sparta Inthe years following the Persian Wars,Sparta suffered from a major earthquakeand the revolt of the helots. Both of theseevents weakened Sparta for some time.Meanwhile, Athens continued gainingmore control over its empire, sometimesusing its military to force other city-statesto pay tribute. Between 460 B.C. and 450B.C., Athens was able to gain a land empirenear Thebes and Corinth. However, thesecity-states were able to throw off Atheniancontrol by 446 B.C. Both Corinth andThebes remained distrustful of Athens andbecame allies with Sparta.

Although Athens had lost some of itsland in mainland Greece, it grew by gaininginfluence over other city-states and by set-tling colonies. Sometimes Athenian colonistsfought with other Greeks who lived nearbybecause the Athenians were too aggressive.This angered Sparta, but the Spartans werenot yet ready to declare war.

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366 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks

They accepted certain duties, such as pay-ing taxes and defending the city. They alsogained certain rights, such as the ability tovote and run for office. Pericles’ speechreminded Athenians of the power ofdemocracy and gave them the courage tokeep fighting. Its ideas are still importantfor people living in democratic nationstoday.

Why Was Athens Defeated? At the begin-ning of the Peloponnesian War, both Spartaand Athens thought they knew how to win.The Spartans and their allies surroundedAthens. They hoped that the Athenianswould send out an army to fight. However,Pericles knew that Spartan forces could beatthe Athenians in open battles. Believing hispeople would be safe behind the city walls,he urged farmers and others on the outskirts to move inside the city. ThereAthenians stayed put and had the navydeliver supplies from their colonies andallies. Because Sparta did not have a navy, itcould not attack the Athenian ships.

Athens escaped serious harm for sometime. Then, in the second year of the war, adeadly disease spread through the over-crowded city. It killed more than a third of the people, including Pericles himself in429 B.C. Despite these terrible losses, theAthenians fought on. Over the next 25years, each side won victories but did nothave the strength to defeat the other city-state.

The historian Thucydides recordedwhat he saw:

This, then, was the calamitywhich fell upon Athens, and thetimes were hard indeed, with mendying inside the city and the landoutside being laid waste.

—Thucydides,History of the Peloponnesian War

Finally, desperate to win, the Spartansmade a deal with the Persian Empire. Inexchange for enough money to build anavy, they gave the Persians some Greekterritory in Asia Minor.

In 405 B.C. Sparta’s new navy destroyedthe Athenian fleet. The next year, after losingmore battles on land, Athens surrendered.

Pericles’Funeral Oration

Pericles was a dominant figure in Athenianpolitics between 461 B.C. and 429 B.C., aperiod historians call the Age of Pericles.In his Funeral Oration, given during thePeloponnesian War, Pericles describeddemocracy, the importance of the individual,and citizenship.

“Our constitution is calleda democracy becausepower is in the hands notof a minority but of thewhole people. When it is a question of settlingprivate disputes, everyoneis equal before the law;when it is a question of putting one person beforeanother in positions of public responsibility, whatcounts is not membershipof a particular class, butthe actual ability whichthe man possesses.

No one . . . is kept [out of government] becauseof poverty. And, just as our political life is freeand open, so is our day-to-day life in ourrelations with each other.”

—Pericles, as recorded by Thucydides,History of the Peloponnesian War

When Pericles said “everyone is equalbefore the law,” what did he mean?

Pericles

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Reading SummaryReview the • Democracy and culture in Athens

flourished under the leadershipof Pericles.

• Athenian men worked as farmers,artisans, and merchants, whilemost women stayed secluded athome.

• Athens and Sparta fought eachother in the Peloponnesian War.The fighting led to the defeat ofAthens and the weakening of allthe Greek states.

1. What caused thePeloponnesian War?

2. According to Pericles, whatduties did Athenian citizenshave?

Critical Thinking3. Summarize Use a chart like

the one below to summarizewhat Athens was like in theAge of Pericles.

4. Analyze What caused thelack of trust between Spartaand Athens?

5. Under Pericles’leadership, the economy ofAthens grew. Which groups ofworkers were important to thisgrowth?

6. Civics Link How did the directdemocracy of Athens differfrom the democracy we havein the United States?

7. Expository Writing Describethe role of the Delian League inthe creation of the Athenianempire. CA 6WA2.2

CA 6RC2.2

CA 6RC2.0

CA HI2.

CA 6RC2.4

What Did You Learn?

Government

Economy

Culture

Wars

The Spartans and their allies then toredown the city walls and broke up theAthenian empire.

The Results of the War The PeloponnesianWar weakened all of the major Greek city-states, both the winners and the losers.Many people died in the fighting, andmany farms were destroyed. Thousands ofpeople were left without jobs. It was anextremely difficult time.

After defeating Athens, Sparta createdits own empire. However, the Spartanssoon began creating enemies among theirallies, much as the Athenians had before.Over the next 30 years, Sparta fought Persiaagain and then tried to maintain control ofrebellious allies. Finally, in 371 B.C., Spartafell to an army led by Thebes. This city-stateheld a position of leadership in Greece forless than 10 years before collapsing.

The Greek city-states continued to fightamong themselves, growing progressivelyweaker. All the while, they failed to noticethat to their north, the kingdom ofMacedonia was growing in power. Thiswould eventually cost them their freedom.

Cause and Effect What ef-

fects did the Peloponnesian War have on Greece?

CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 367

Thucydides is one ofthe greatest ancienthistorians. He foughtin the PeloponnesianWar for Athens andrecorded the eventshe witnessed.

Study Central Need help understanding thecauses of the Peloponnesian War? Visit ca.hss.glencoe.com and click on Study Central.

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Homer’s Iliad

Homer’s Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War and shows how early Greeks explainedevents. In this excerpt, the Trojan warrior Hector realizes that he will be killed by Achilles.

And Hector let his heavy javelin fly,A good throw, too, hitting Achilles’ shieldDead center, but it only rebounded away.Angry that his throw was wasted, HectorFumbled about for a moment, reachingFor another spear. He shouted to

Deïphobus,

But Deïphobus was nowhere in sight.It was then that Hector knew in his heartWhat had happened, and said to himself:

“I hear the gods calling me to my death.I thought I had a good man here with me,Deïphobus, but he’s still on the wall.Athena tricked me. Death is closing inAnd there’s no escape. Zeus and ApolloMust have chosen this long ago, even thoughThey used to be on my side. My fate is here,

But I will not perish without some great deedThat future generations will remember.”

—Homer, Iliad

Greek HistoriansWriting history is not easy. The ancient Greeks wrote many

histories, but their approach changed over time. Three of the most famous Greek writers are Homer, Herodotus, and Thucydides. They wrote at different times, and each explained historical events in a different way.

Read the passages on pages 368 and 369, and answer the questions that follow. Pay attention to how each writer explains events.

Hector: a prince of TroyDeïphobus (day•ee•FOH•buhs): a

powerful fighter from TroyParis: brother of Hector and a prince of

TroyPriam (PREE•uhm): father of Hector

and Paris

Helen: a beautiful Greek woman whowas kidnapped by Paris, causing theTrojan War.

Medea (meh•DEE•uh): a woman theGreeks had kidnapped from the Persians

Reader’s Dictionary

368 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks

WH6.4.4 Explain the significanceof Greek mythology to the everydaylife of people in the region and howGreek literature continues topermeate our literature andlanguage today, drawing from Greekmythology and epics, such asHomer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and fromAesop’s Fables. WH6.4.8 Describethe enduring contributions ofimportant Greek figures in the artsand sciences (e.g., Hypatia, Socrates,Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Thucydides).

Homer

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Homer ’s Iliad

1. What does Hector think Athena did?

2. Why does Hector believe he is going to die?

The Histories by Herodotus

3. Why does Paris think he can get away withkidnapping Helen?

4. What does Herodotus’s use of myths sayabout how he wrote his history?

Thucydides ’ History of the Peloponnesian War

5. According to Thucydides, what caused moredeaths than anything else during the plague?

6. What caused people to lose their powers ofresistance?

Read to Write7. Which passage seems the most reliable?

Why? How is Thucydides’ approach to historydifferent from the way Homer and Herodotusexplain events? CA HR5.CA 6RC2.6

CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 369

The Histories

by Herodotus

Herodotus often tried to provide sources for hishistory. Here he gives one of the reasons hebelieves the Greeks and the Persians did not likeeach other: the mythological story about how theGreeks had kidnapped the woman Medea frompeople in the land near Troy.

Paris, the son of Priam, was inspired . . . tosteal a wife for himself out of Greece, beingconfident that he would not have to pay for theventure any more than the Greeks had done.And that was how he came to carry off Helen.

The first idea of the Greeks . . . was to send ademand for satisfaction and for Helen’s return.The demand was met by a reference to theseizure of Medea and the injustice of expectingsatisfaction from people to whom they them-selves had refused it, not to mention the factthat they had kept the girl.

. . . [T]he Greeks, merely on account of a girlfrom Sparta, raised a big army, invaded Asiaand destroyed the empire of Priam. From thatroot sprang their belief in the perpetual enmityof the Grecian world towards them—Asia withits various foreign-speaking peoples belongingto the Persians, Europe and the Greek statesbeing, in their opinion, quite separate and dis-tinct from them.

Such then is the Persian story. In their viewit was the capture of Troy that first made themthe enemies of the Greeks.

—Herodotus, The Histories

Thucydides’ History of the

Peloponnesian War

Thucydides took great care to analyze the causesof events and the sources for his history. In thispassage, he discusses a terrible plague that hitAthens in 430 B.C.

The most terrible thingof all was the despair intowhich people fell whenthey realized that they hadcaught the plague; for theywould immediately adoptan attitude of utter hope-lessness, and, by giving inthis way, would lose theirpowers of resistance. Terri-ble, too, was the sight of people dying likesheep through having caught the disease as aresult of nursing others. This indeed causedmore deaths than anything else. For when peo-ple were afraid to visit the sick, then they diedwith no one to look after them; indeed, therewere many houses in which all the inhabitantsperished through lack of any attention. When,on the other hand, they did visit the sick, theylost their own lives.

—Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides

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