Artist's rendition of the Trojan horse

Transcription

1 Ancient Greece The Trojan War According to myth, Greece conquered the city of Troy (which was in present day Turkey) with a giant wooden horse. Greek soldiers hid inside the horse, and rolled it up to the city gates of Troy. The Trojans, thinking it was a gift, brought the horse inside the city walls. When night fell, the soldiers hiding inside snuck out and unlocked the gates, letting the Greek army inside. After burning and looting the city of Troy, the Greeks went home. Epics, which are long poems about Greek history and mythology, are our main source of information on what the Greeks believed and the Trojan Wars. The Iliad and the Odyssey were probably written by multiple people and spread Artist's rendition of the Trojan horse through generations by poets. Today, these epics are credited to Homer, perhaps because he was the last of these great poets. These stories give us important information about Greek gods and heroes, and are still considered classics today. The Dark Ages of Greece Not long after the victory of the Trojan Wars, Greece hit hard times. Suddenly, poverty ran rampant, and civilization collapsed. Trade beyond Greece died, and people were forced to get by with what they had around them. Some people were forced to move just to get the basic resources they needed for survival. In fact, survival became so central, the Greeks forgot everything else: even reading and writing. In this period of Greece, from about 1100 B.C. to 750 B.C., history and traditions were only kept alive by word-of-mouth. The myths that we know today were probably told over and over around the campfire in order to be preserved.

2 Governing Ancient Greece Finally, in about 750 B.C., the Dark Ages of Greece began to fade, and small villages joined to form larger cities. These cities were soon called city-states, and varied in independence. At first, successful military leaders ruled the city-states, and were called chieftains or kings. As certain families began to gain wealth however, Aristocrats began to replace military power. Aristocrats were members of important families who had gained power by wealth. Because these influential families owned the best land, horses, chariots, and weapons, it was easy for them to take control and pass power and wealth down the family line. As trade grew, a prominent middle class developed. While middle class people didn t have the best resources, they were wealthy enough to have weapons and assert their desire for a say in Greek government. Soon tyrants replaced Aristocrats. Tyrants were people who took rule by force and were supported by the middle class. While some tyrants were cruel, others proved to be wise and fair. The unpredictable governing of tyrants made some people uneasy: they wished for a government that would be consistent through the ages, not one that changed depending on the person in power. With this thought in mind, the idea of democracy came into play. People liked this idea because it allowed citizens to govern themselves. In 594 B.C., an Athenian named Solon gained the power to reform laws. The first thing he did was cancel debts and free citizens from under more powerful or influential people. He encouraged the debate of important laws, and in so doing, made Athens the leader of democracy in that time. While this was a huge step, there were still several limitations to this government: only males with an Athenian bloodline were considered eligible for citizenship Solon and a say in government. Because a large majority of Athens population was made of slaves, foreigners, and women, only about 25% of the residents had a say in democracy.

3 The Golden Age of Athens From 479 B.C. to 431 B.C., Greece was at it its height of wealth and influence in the world. Athens, specifically, grew rich from trade on the seas and silver mining in the mountains. The citystate also collected tribute. Tribute was a variety of tax Athens received from all the weaker citystates around them. The smaller allies and conquered states were content to pay tribute in exchange for protection from Athens. Arguably the greatest wealth Athens had, however, was their wealth of knowledge. Because of their financial success, Athenian people could focus on philosophy, art, and democracy, paving the way in these areas for countries around the world. In the golden age, people began to hone their new form of government, and many men thought critically about what Athens should be as a city-state. A great thinker and politician in his time was a man named Pericles. ABeing a welleducated aristocrat, Pericles was an intelligent and moving speaker. He was also a supporter of democracy. In his speeches, Pericles challenged the people to think about what was best for their city. He introduced reforms in order to make democracy something for people who were rich and poor alike. Because of his influence, lower-income citizens were able to represent their point of view and hold public office. Religious Beliefs People in Ancient Greece worshipped a family of gods called the Twelve Olympians. Each of these gods had specific characteristics and ruled different aspects of life. For example, Hera, the mother of the Olympian family, was the goddess of marriage and women. These gods had human forms and characteristics: however, they were considered powerful, and had to have immortal life. The Greeks believed Zeus, the head god, ruled from atop Mount Olympus, which was the tallest peak in Greece. In addition to the twelve main gods, the Greeks paid honor to lesser gods and mythological heroes. According to the Illiad, Achilles was a hero during the Trojan War who was invincible except for a small space on his heel. The myth says he was killed in battle when an arrow pierced his one weak spot.

4 While many gods were worshipped, each city-state chose one specifically as their patron god, and built a temple in a central part of their city to honor that god. Athens, whose patron goddess was Athena, builtd a well-known building known as the Parthenon in honor of the goddess of wisdom and war. The Parthenon Today Greek Science and Philosophy While gods and goddesses formed the basis of their beliefs, some people wondered if there were other explanations for the way life was. Philosophers were people who believed in using the mind to reason and understand things about the world. Some of their theories proved correct, others not so much. But these philosophers continued to think critically about life, and some people followed their advice and teachings. One of the first philosophers was a man named Thales. He noticed that there was a great deal of water everywhere: not only in the seas, but also in plants, humans, and animals. He decided water was a basic material of the world, and that everything was made from it. Another man named Democritus believed everything in the world was made of little particles he called atoms. Around 600 B.C., sophists, who were writers and traveling teachers, who were called Sophists, spread and debated these new ideas throughout Greece. During the Golden Age and beyond, the most important philosophers in Athens were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates started a legacy when he began to teach youth in the marketplace. He challenged traditional thinking and asked people tough questions. Not everyone liked or believed in this kind of thinking, however. In 399 B.C., Socrates was put on trial for disrespecting the gods, and influencing young people. He died of hemlock poison when the court ordered him to commit suicide. Plato, who was one of Socrates young students, carried on his teacher s legacy by starting an academy. One of the students who attended Plato s academy was

5 Aristotle. Aristotle then started his own school where students learned to use reason as the basis of their knowledge. These philosophers passed their thoughts from generation to generation, and are still widely This is a map of what philosophers Ancient Greek scientists believed Earth to look like in Ancient Greek times. admired for their ideas; in fact, some of their beliefs ruled the decisions of later nations. An example of this is Plato s idea that inferior children should be discarded for the betterment of the Athenian community as a whole. He reasoned that since disabled or physically weak people could not add anything to the city s military strength, government, or culture, they had no value at all. This is similar to Hitler s philosophy in life, and ledad to many disabled children and adults being killed during World War II. While philosophy brought on challenging questions and changed the world, it also opened the doors to ideas that history has suffered from since. Visual and Dramatic Arts Athenian artists, s, famous for sculpture, portrayed action, balance, and accuracy in their art. However, they always depicted the ideal: their subjects were in prime condition, happy, and healthy. Artists purpose was to depict perfection, rather than reality. The Acropolis, which was the religious center of Athens, was decorated throughout with the skilled art of that day. Another form of artistic expression was Drama. Plays grew in popularity during the golden ages of Athens, and continue to be a source of entertainment today. Wealthy patrons would fund drama contests during religious festivals, and citizens would flock to see tragedies and comedies.

6 While tragedies were serious plays that ended in disaster, comedies made fun of customs and famous people in that time. Between acts, a chorus would sing or recite poems to give background information. Euripides, Aeschylus, and Sophocles were some of the most well-known tragedy playwrights; Aristophanes was the most famous in comedy dramas. Slavery in Ancient Greece While citizens enjoyed art and entertainment, historians estimate that there were about 100,000 slaves in Athens alone, making up one third of the population. It was so common to own slaves that; even the philosophers and politicians did not question it. Slavery was necessary for the lifestyle Greeks lived: they did everything from chores to mining in the mountains. While household slaves were comfortable and safe, miners usually didn t live very long. Because they had slaves, the citizens in Athens were able to focus on art and democracy more. Slaves usually were prisoners of war or captives from pirate ships. Others were the children of previous slaves. The majority of the slaves were foreigners, which was just as well, because many citizens felt uncomfortable having a fellow Greek as a slave. Interestingly, Greece would probably not have been nearly as successful with the advances they made if they had not used slaves in their society. The Persians Invade While the city-states of Greece were known to fight ferociously among themselves, in 400 B.C. they united under a common enemy: Persia. King Cyrus the Great had an empire which he was constantly expanding. By 520 B.C., Persia had control of Greek colonies on the West Coast. In the autumnfall of 490, however, Persian troops landed on the coast of Greece and set up camp at Marathon, only 25 miles north of Athens. The Persians outnumbered the army of Athens 2 to 1, but that did not stop the victory of Athens. According to one account, 6,400 Persians and only 192 Athenians were killed in The Battle of Marathon. While this account may have been exaggerated, no one doubts the ferocity of Athens surprised the Persians, and on that day, a small Greek citystate defeated the Persian Empire. Many more battles between Persia and Greece followed. For the first time, Greece was united and fighting to defend their land as a whole. Conflict and the Athenian Empire

7 The unity of Athens and Sparta did not last. After defeating the Persians, Athens began to grow in wealth and power. Allies surrounding the great city-state, who paid for Athenian protection, soon became subjects who were treated unfairly. The money they had paid for protection went to the construction of buildings in Athens like the Parthenon. The fairness of democracy did not spread to these allies. They were stuck in bondage under Athens. After a while, resentment grew throughout surrounding city-states, and the weak appealed to Sparta for help. Sparta, who had its own strong military, had not made an alliance with Athens. In 431 B.C., war broke out between the two city-states and their allies. This was the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, and would last 27 years. Most of what we know about this time is from the first-hand account from Thucydides. He witnessed the events of the war, and later recorded it. Early in the war, Athens had a blow. A plague struck, lasting five years and wiping out one-third of the population. The sickness left Athens weak and discouraged. Pericles was one of the casualties of this plague, and Athens never recovered. In 405 B.C., Sparta built a blockade to isolate and cut off supply from Athens. With their harbors closed to food supplies and trade, Athens began to starve and was forced to surrender in 404 B.C. Sparta broke down the walls of Athens, and the great city-state was never as it was again. Alexander s Empire Macedonia, a country to the south north of Greece, had a young ruler growing in potential. Young As a child, Alexander was had been tutored by Aristotle, and considered himself Greek. AlexanderWhile he spoke the language and loved learning about Greek ideas, but Alexander s his country of Macedonia was shunned by southern Greeks and thought to be barbaric, or uncivilized. To an extent, this was true. Before Alexander s father, King Phillip, took the throne, Macedonia was poor and divided. Phillip united the country and built an army even stronger than Sparta. One after another, Phillip captured Greek city-states with his capable army. By 336 B.C., when King Phillip was assassinated, Macedonia was ready to take on bigger empires. At the age of twenty, Alexander took the throne. The first thing he did was attack the Persian Empire, a plan his father had had before he died. Alexander went on to conquer Egypt, and went as far as the edge of India. For eleven years, Alexander s energy and military genius drove his army to victory after victory. As he went, he established cities named after himself. Many of his cities, such as Alexandria and Alexandropolis, are still in Western Asia today. After a while,

8 Alexander s army was so exhausted from fighting they refused to go any farther. Alexander was furious, but he finally decided to go back. He made it to Babylon before he died of a fever, in 323 B.C. After Alexander the Great s death, his empire broke: however, the Greek influence he spread throughout civilization can still be seen today.