3. Geography Shapes Ancient
Greek Life
Mainlandof Greece extends into
Mediterranean
Peninsula: body of land nearly surrounded
by water
Peloponnesus
Southern tip of Greece
Linked by an isthmus to the rest of Greece
4. Landscape & Climate
Covered by mountains
Divides land into many regions
No large rivers
Made transportation difficult
Rugged landscape
Made it difficult for Greece to unite under
single gov’t
Mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers
5. Agriculture
Rocky land
Small region good for farming
More than ½ Greeks were farmers
Greek society
Landowners were upper class & men
Could also supply himself w/ equipment needed to
defend his homeland
Had higher place in society than merchants & poor
Got more farmland by founding colonies in other
regions
Anatolia
6. Resources
Lacked natural resources
Had to find in other locations
2 important resources
Plentiful stone for building
Coastline w/ good sites for harbors
7. A seafaring People
Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, &
Aegean Sea
Highways of water
Used for transportation routes
Skilled sailors & ship builders
Rowing ships: war
Sailing ships: trade
Seas were source of food too
Fish important part of diet
8. Trade & Commerce
Did not produce much grain
Surplus of olive oil, wine, wool, & fine
pottery
Bought & sold goods between city-states &
other regions
Main items bought was
grain, timber, animal hides, & slaves
Alsotraded for nuts, figs, cheese, & flax (used
to make linen)
9. Mycenaean Civilization
Peloponnesus
Site of 1st civilizations
Mycenae (most important city)
On hills surrounded by a protective wall
King ruled each city of Mycenaean Greece & the
surrounding villages & farms
Nobles within Mycenae lived in luxury
Mycenaeans were traders
Culture: featured writing, gold jewelry, bronze
weapons, & fine pottery
Civilization collapsed around 1200 B.C. because of
invaders
Written records no longer kept; little known until around
750 B.C.
10. New Advances in Greek
Culture
Greeks learned from others
Phoenicians
Developed a writing system that used 22
symbols that stood for sounds
Greeks picked up on alphabet between 900
& 800 B.C.
Later evolved into own alphabet of 26 letters
Also learned about coins from trading w/
other peoples
Eventually developed new forms of literature
& gov’t
12. Greek Gods & Myths
Gods involved in peoples lives
The Gods of Greece
Had divine & human qualities (powerful, but also
had human emotions)
Constantly competed w/ each other
Zeus
Ruler of the gods
He & 11 other major gods & goddesses lived on
Mount Olympus
Each city had a special god or goddess to protect
it
i.e. Athena was protector of Athens
13. Greek Mythology
Myths: stories that people tell to explain
beliefs about their world
Developed to explain the creation of the
world & human beings
Many myths described how gods &
goddess related to one another & to
humans
Others portray Greek heroes & heroines
14. Honoring the Gods
Important to honor gods
Angry god could cause trouble
Built statues, temples, & had special events
15. Holy Festivals
Certaindays each month were hold to
different gods or goddess
Celebrated w/ sacrifices & public
ceremonies
16. The Olympics
Often part of religious festivals
Held every four years during major festival
that honored Zeus
Took place in Olympia
Only men competed in contests
During
Olympics a festival to honor the
goddess Hera wife of Zeus took place
Unmarried girls competed in foot races
17. Early Greek Literature
Stories told of ancient heroes
Passed down through generations & from long poems that told stories (called
epics)
Epics of Homer
Iliad & the Odyssey
Trojan War
Iliad
Greek warrior Achilles
Mother held him by his heel & dipped him in a special river. Every place the water
touched was protected from injury. He was unbeatable in battle except when
struck by an arrow in his weak spot, his heel, & he died
Odyssey
Describes the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus. On his trip home from the
Trojan War, Odysseus offended Poseidon (God of the sea). In revenge Poseidon
made Odysseus’ journey take 10 years. He & his men traveled through strange
& dangerous lands on trip home. He used his wits & trickery to survive
18. Aesop’s Fables
Fable:a short story, usually involving
animals, & teaches a moral lesson.
Many today are credited to a Greek
named Aesop
Most famous is “The Hare & the Tortoise”
20. The Rise of City-States
Geography divided Greece into small
regions
Basic form of gov’t became the city-state
A state formed by a city and its surrounding
lands
21. Greek City-States
Greek word for city-state is polis
Most were small
Limited by geographic features
Athens & Sparta were the largest
Most controlled from 50 to 500 square miles
of territory & had fewer than 20,000
residents
Formed close communities
22. Layout of the City
Center of city-life was the agora (an open
space where people came for business &
public gatherings)
Male citizens meet to discuss politics
As well as festivals & athletic events
Statues, temples, & other public buildings
were found in and around this area
Many had a fortified hilltop or acropolis
1st
used for military later as places for temples
& palaces
23. Forms of Gov’t
Each city-state was independent
People figured out what kind worked for
them
Some kept the same form of gov’t over
time while others changed from one
system to another
24. Monarchs & Aristocrats
Monarchy
Earliest form of gov’t
King or queen has supreme power & rules
Aristocracy
Gov’t ruled by the upper class of society or by
nobility
Descended from high born ancestors (claimed
to be mythical heroes)
Corinth began as a monarchy, then an
aristocracy
25. Oligarchy
Rule by the few
People rule because of wealth or land ownership (not
inherited social class like aristocracy)
Tyrants
Someone who took power in an illegal way
Became king w/o royal birth
Poor were not part of gov’t in monarchies, aristocracies, or
oligarchies (they resented this & often rebelled)
Sometime a wealthy person wanted to seize power & would
ask the poor for help to become the leader
Tyrant would work to help the poor or created building
programs to provide jobs for them
Also made laws to cancel their debts owed
Tyrants helped to overthrow oligarchies & also showed if
common people united behind a leader, power could be
gained
26. Athens Builds a Limited
Democracy
Poor started to demand more political power
Citizenship
A person who is loyal to a country & who is
entitled to protection by the gov’t of that
country
Only adult males (other variation depending on
your city-state)
Both upper & lower classes were citizens
Gradual reforms took place over time make a
major change to society
27. Solon
500 B.C.
Poor farmers had huge debts & were forced to
work the lands of someone else or become slaves
They became very angry
594 B.C.
Solon chosen to lead Athens
Created reforms to prevent a revolt
Freed enslaved people
Made a law ending slavery
Organized citizens into four classes based on wealth
not birth
Richest: had most power
All citizens could serve in assembly (lawmaking body)
28. Cleisthenes
500 B.C.
Increased the power of Athenian citizens even more
Reorganized the assembly to take power away from the
nobles
Organized citizens into 10 groups/tribes
Based on place of residence instead of wealth or family ties
Set up a group of 10 commanders to lead the military
Tribe elected leader to serve for 1 year
Also reformed the council that helped the assembly to
govern
Council of Five Hundred
29. Direct Democracy
Council of 500
50 men from each of the 10 tribes
Any citizen over the age of 30 qualified to be a member
Chosen by lot (random) to serve for a term of 1 year
Could be reelected only once
Council of 500 could suggest laws to the assembly for
debate & possible passage
Laws passed by majority vote
Changes
moved Athens to early form of
democracy
Gov’t in which the citizens make political decisions
either directly or through elected representatives
Athens had a direct democracy: all citizens meet to
decide on the laws
30. Limited Democracy &
Ostracism
Gov’t did not include all of the people
Only free adult males were citizen & could
take part in gov’t
Not women, enslaved people, or foreigners
Also included a system called ostracism
Any member of the assembly who though
someone was a danger to the city-state could
submit the name of the person for a vote by the
assembly. If enough votes were received then
that person was sent way for 10 years
31. Citizens’ Responsibilities
Had to serve in the army whenever they were
needed
Athenian citizens were trained for warfare
Also served on juries
Had to be at least 30
Had several hundred people to hear charges
against a person
All citizens were equal in the courts
No professional lawyers or judges
Citizens argued cases before the jury directly
33. Sparta’s Military State
715 B.C.
Sparta conquered neighboring area to
gain land
Conquered people forced into slavery
(called helots)
Worked on farms & had to give Spartans ½ their
crops
Rebelled many times, but were always defeated
Sparta focused primarily on building a strong army
34. Gov’t & Society
Gov’t
Part monarchy, oligarchy, & democracy
2 kings ruled Sparta, & 5 elected supervisors ran the
gov’t
Council of Elders (30 older citizens) proposed laws
All citizens were part of the Assembly(elected officials
& voted on laws
Social Groups
Citizens: descendants from the original inhabitants
of the region; lived in city & spent time training to
be soldiers
Free noncitizens: no political rights; lived in nearby
villages
Helots: labor force of Sparta; allowed Spartans to
be full time soldiers
35. Education
Goal: to have strong army
At 7: boys moved into military housed
called barracks
Education stressed
discipline, duty, strength, & military skill
(learned to read a little)
Malecitizens entered army @ age 20 &
served until 60
Had to eat w/ fellow soldiers even if married
36. Women’s Roles
Women also had to be tough
Emotionally & physically
Education focused on making them
physically strong
Had athletic training & learned to defend
themselves
Family life less important
Husbands & wives spent much time apart
Women had more freedom
Allowed to own property
37. Athenian Society
Social Classes: each class also divided smaller
classes
Citizens: several different levels based on wealth
Women
Noncitizen free persons
Enslaved: 1/3 of population; captured during
war; children of enslaved became slaves;
worked in homes, agriculture, industry, & mines
Some earned wages & could buy freedom
38. Education
Prepared boys to become good citizens
Boys of wealthy families started school at 6
or seven
Studied logic & public speaking along with
reading, writing, poetry, arithmetic, & music
Also had athletic activities
39. Women’s Roles
Did not participate in gov’t
Expected to be good wives & mothers
Helped keep family & society strong
Had significant religious roles as priestesses
Had less freedoms than Spartan women
Could inherit property only if father had no sons
Girls didn’t attend school
Learned household duties from mothers; few
learned to read & write
40. The Persian Wars
500s B.C.
Persia conquered Anatolia
499 B.C.
Greeks revolted in Anatolia against Persian
rule
Athens sent ships & soldiers to help
Revolt failed, but Persia wanted to punish Athens
for trying to help
41. 490 B.C.
The Persians arrived near Athens on the plain of
Marathon
A runner was sent to Sparta to ask for help
Spartans came too late
Athenians were outnumbered, but had a plan
Drew Persians toward the center of the Greek line
Then they surrounded them & attacked
In close fighting Greek spears were more effective than Persian
arrows
Persians lost 6,400 men to the Greeks 192
Legend says a soldier ran from Marathon about 25
miles to Athens to tell of the victory
Reached Athens, told the news, & collapsed and died
42. Greek Victory
480 B.C.
Persia invaded Greece
Several Greek City-states united
Army of 300 Spartans guarded the narrow
pass at Thermopylae to stop Persians from
reaching Athens
Held the pass for 2 days before they were all
killed
Sacrifice gave Athenians time to prepare for
battle
Athenians left their city to fight a naval battle
Took place on a narrow body of water where
Persian ships could barely move
Smaller Greek ships sunk 300 Persian ships; war
ended in 479 B.C.