The Ancient Greeks

● Geography

● Economy

● Alphabet

● The Olympics

● Architecture

● Theatre

Before we study Greece, what are qualities of the USA for each of these topics?

Thinkers/Philosophers

Social Classes

Religion

Government

● Greece is located on the Balkan Peninsula between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea. In the south, Peloponnesus is connected to the mainland by an isthmus.

● Most of Greece is covered by mountains. People in Ancient Greece settled in the valleys between mountains. Mountain barriers limited communication, which fostered the growth of independent city-states.

Geography

● Only 20% of the land was good for agriculture due to the dry and rocky soil.

● Adaptation - People adapted to the land by raising animals that needed little land to survive like sheep, goats, and pigs. They also planted plants that need little water such as barley, wheat, olive trees and grapes.

● People mostly settled by the coast as the Ionian and Aegean seas which provided fish and communication and travel routes.

Geography

● Farming, fishing, sailing, and trading were all important to the economy of Greece.

● Technology: Iron tools helped farmers produce more food, which was needed for the growing population. Better food production led to a new era of Greek craft workers.

● Craft workers specialized in making tool and novelties out of wood, clay, bone, wool, steel, and metal. Potters made beautiful jars. Olive oil, wine and novelties were traded along the Mediterranean Sea.

● Located on the Aegean sea, Athens became a center for wealth and trade.

Economy

The Greeks created their own alphabet based off the Phoenician writing system. It allowed them to record business and trade, codes of law, and government taxes.

The Alphabet

● Started as an Athletic Festival to honor Zeus, the Olympics included wrestling, long jumping, discus and javelin throwing, boxing, and running. Winners from each city-state were treated as heroes.

The Olympics

Greek architecture is still admired and copied today. The Parthenon was decorated with statues of Greek Gods and murals that depicted scenes from Greek myths. It took nine years to complete. Greek architecture is still used today.

Architecture

Popular Greek theaters often told tragedies or comedies about Greek life.

Theater

● Doubted Greek Gods created events in nature and sought to study the world. Scientists used scientific methods and developed theories much like they still do today.

● Hippocrates was a Greek doctor that introduced the concept that illnesses had natural causes, as opposed to being punishment by the Gods.

● Democritus was a scientist that is attributed to discovering all living things are made of atoms.

Thinkers & Philosophers

● Pythagoras studied math and came up with the Pythagorean theorem, still used today in geometry.

● Homer wrote The ILiad and The Odyssey, two exceptional Greek tragedies both set in the Trojan War.

Thinkers & Philosophers

● Socrates studied morals. He taught through questioning his students, called the Socratic Method. This method is still used for teaching debate. Disliked for criticizing Athenian leaders, in 399 B.C. Socrates was found guilty of teaching “dangerous ideas”. He was sentenced to end his own life by drinking poison.

● Plato was a student of Socrates. After Socrates death, he opened the Academy in Athens where he taught law, philosophy, and science.

● Aristotle was a student of Plato who studied astronomy, law, and economics. He also broke new ground in the fields of zoology and botany.

Thinkers & Philosophers

● Agricultural wealth determined social status in Greece.

● In Athens, about 36% of people were slaves, while 19% were male citizens and 33% were families of male citizens, while 12% were noncitizens.

Social Classes

● Ancient Greeks believed in polytheism (many gods).

● Mythology played an important part in Greek religion. They shared stories of Gods and Goddesses and passed them on from generation to generation. Myths explained how the actions of Gods and Goddesses affected daily lives and how things came to be in nature and in human life.

Religion

● Zeus was the god of thunder and lightning and was the king of all Gods.

● Hera was the Goddess of marriage and childbirth and was Zeus’ wife.

● Athena was the Goddess of wisdom.

● Poseidon was the God of the sea. Sailors often prayed to Poseidon for protection.

Religion

● In 416 B.C. Pericles began to lead Athens toward more democratic reforms. Pericles pushed for equality for the rich and poor in government decisions.

● Cleisthenes created a direct democracy for Athens. Instead of elected leaders making decisions as in a representative democracy, the citizens got to make decisions directly. Men over the age of 18 were allowed to vote, while women and slaves were not.

Leadership & Government

● Sparta and Athens were ruled by an oligarchy (small group of rulers), made up of thirty elders over sixty years old. An assembly voted on laws proposed by the oligarchy.

● Draco wrote the first laws in Athens, which were very harsh.

Leadership & Government

● In 600 B.C., Solon freed those who had sold themselves into slavery. Solon laid the foundation for the democratic system based on wealth, not birth. He created an assembly of wealthy landowners that made decisions by majority rule and a council that decided which topics would be brought to assembly. He is admired for his great contributions to democracy.

Leadership & Government