Ch. 5 Sections 1 and 2

Oligarchy Overview

1. State rule by a small group of citizens. 2. Rule is based on wealth or ability. 3. Ruling group controls military 4. Practiced in Sparta by 500 BC

Monarchy Overview

1. State ruled by a king 2. Rule is hereditary 3. Some rulers claim divine right. 4. Practiced in Mycenae by 2000 BC.

Direct Democracy Overview

1. State ruled by its citizens 2. Rule is based on citizenship 3. Majority rule decides vote. 4. Practiced in Athens by about 500 BC.

Aristocracy Overview

1. State ruled by nobility 2. Rule is hereditary and based on family ties, social rank, and/or wealth. 3. Social status and wealth support ruler's authority. 4. Practiced in Athens prior to 594 BC.

Cleisthenes

500 BC. Athenian leader who introduced further reforms. Broke up power of nobility by organizing citizens into ten groups based on where they lived rather than on their wealth. Increased the power of assembly by allowing all citizens to submit laws for debate and passage. He created the Council of Five Hundred (chosen at random). Body proposed laws and counseled the assembly. Reforms of _______ allowed Athenian citizens to participate in a limited democracy. Only free adult males were citizens.

Acropolis

A fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city. Citizens might gather here to discuss city government.

Democracy

A government controlled by its citizens, either directly or through representatives. It is a rule by the people. Citizens participated directly in political decision making.

Monarchy

A government in which power is in the hands of a single person (king). Some city-states chose this.

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people—especially one in which rule is based upon wealth.

The Persian Wars (500-479 B.C.E.)

A series of wars in the 5th century BC, in which Greek city-states battled the Persian Empire. They began in Ionia (Battle at Marathon) on the coast of Anatolia. The Greeks had long been settled there, but the Persians conquered the area in 546 BC. When the Ionian Greeks revolted, Athens sent ships and soldiers to their aid. King Darius defeated the rebels and vowed to destroy Athens in revenge

Homer

According to tradition, the greatest storyteller was _________, a blind man. Little is known of his personal life. He supposedly composed his epics between 750 and 700 BC. The Trojan War forms the backdrops for one of his great epic poems, the Iliad. Also, the works of Homer and another epic, Theogony by Hesiod, are the source of much Greek mythology.

What happened at the channels near Salamis?

After setting fire to Athens, Xerxes sent his warships to block both ends of the channel. But the channel was very narrow, and the Persian ships had difficulty turning. Smaller Greek ships armed with battering rams attacked, puncturing the hulls of many Persian warships. 1/3 of the Persian fleet sank.

Where would citizens gather to discuss city government?

An agora (marketplace) or an acropolis.

Importance of Greek Geography

Ancient Greece consisted mainly of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. It also included about 2000 islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas. Lands on the eastern edge of the Aegean were also part of Ancient Greece. The region's physical geography directly shaped Greek traditions and customs.

Pheidippides

Army leaders chose a young runner named _____________ to race back to Athens. He brought news of the Persian defeat so that Athenians would not give up the city without a fight. Dashing 26 miles from Marathon to Athens, ____________ delivered his message: "Rejoice, we conquer." He then collapsed and died.

Defending Athens

Athenians debated on how to defend their city. Themistocles, an Athenian leader, convinced them to evacuate the city and fight at sea. They positioned their fleet in a narrow channel near the island of Salamis, a few miles southwest of Athens.

Aftermath of the Battle at Marathon

Athenians won the battle, but their city was defenseless. The Greeks sent Pheidippides. Moving rapidly from Marathon, the Greek army arrived in Athens quickly. When the Persians sailed into the harbor, they found the city heavily defended, so they retreated back to sea.

Beginnings of Democracy in Athens

Athens was beginning to entertain the idea of representative government. Athens went through power struggles between rich and poor. But it avoided major political upheavals by making timely reforms. Athenian reformers moved toward democracy.

Polis

By 750 BC, the city-state, or _______was the fundamental political unit in Ancient Greece. Made up of a city and its surrounding countryside, which included numerous villages. Most city-states controlled between 50-500 square miles of territory. They were often home to fewer than 10,000 residents.

What did struggles and dangers bring to Athens and Sparta?

Danger of a helot revolt led Sparta to become a military state. Struggles between the rich and poor led Athens to become a democracy. The greatest danger of all—invasion by Persian armies—moved Sparta and Athens alike to their greatest glory.

Weaponry during the Dorian Age

During the Dorian Age, only rich could afford bronze spears, shields, breastplates, and chariots. Only rich served in armies.

Spartan Women

Educated, enjoyed status, power and respect, married at 19 or 20. Girls led hardy lives. They received some military training and ran, wrestled, and played sports. They were taught to put service to Sparta above everything--even love of family. Spartan women had considerable freedom, especially in running the family estates when their husbands were on active military service. Freedom surprised men from other Greek city-states, especially Athens.

T or F: There was one form of government in Greek city-states.

False

Solon

Far-reaching democratic reforms came from _______ who came to power in 594 BC. Stating that no citizen should own another citizen, he outlawed debt slavery. He organized all Athenian citizens into four social classes according to wealth. Only members of the top three classes could hold political office. All citizens could participate in the Athenian assembly. _______ introduced the legal concept that any citizen could bring charges against wrongdoers.

Mycenaean Contact with the Minoans

Following 1500 BC, the Mycenaeans came into contact with the Minoan civilization, which let them see the value of seaborne trade. Mycenaean traders soon sailed throughout the eastern Mediterranean, making stops at Aegean islands, coastal towns in Anatolia, and ports in Syria, Egypt, Italy, and Crete. The Mycenaeans adapted the Minoan writing system to the Greek language and decorated vases with Minoan designs. The Minoan-influenced culture of Mycenae formed the core of Greek religious practice, art, politics, and literature. Western civilization has its roots in these two early Mediterranean civilizations.

Herman Schliemann

For years, historians thought that the legendary stories told of this war were fictional. But in the 1870s, _____________ ___________ suggested that the stories of the Trojan War might have been based on real cities, people, and events. Further archaeological excavations conducted in the 20th century supported his findings

Price of Military Supremacy

From 600-371 BC, Sparta had the most powerful army in Greece. However, the Spartan people paid a high price for their military supremacy. All forms of individual expression were discouraged. Spartans didn't value the arts, literature, or other artistic and intellectual pursuits. They valued duty, strength, and discipline over freedom, individuality, beauty, and learning.

Girls' Education

Girls didn't go to school. They were educated at home by their mothers and other female members of the household. Learned about child-rearing, weaving cloth, preparing meals, managing the household, and other skills that helped them become good wives and mothers. Women had little to do with Athenian life outside family and home.

What two major changes happened during the Dorian period?

Greek civilizations declined. Two things changed life in Greece. 1. Dorians and Mycenaeans alike began to identify less with the culture of their ancestors and more with the local area where they lived. 2. By the end of this period, the method of governing areas changed from tribal or clan control to more formal governments--the city-states.

What major thing happened in the Dorian Age?

Greeks appear to have temporarily lost the art of writing during the Dorian Age. No written record exists from the 400-year period between 1150 and 750 BC. As a result, little is known about this period of Greek history. Lacking writing, the Greeks learned about their past through oral history. Homer and his epics arose during this time. Greek myths were also developed and have impacted modern culture throughout the world since then.

Greek gods

Greeks gave their gods human attributes and immortality. They named cities in honor of their gods. For example, Athens was named after Athena. They believed that she was the guardian of cities and was wise. The main Greek god was Zeus, and his jealous wife and sister was Hera.

What did the Greeks do as a result of their loss of writing?

Greeks learned of their past through oral history.

Delian League

In 480 BC, several Greek city-states formed an alliance called the _________. Took its name from its HQ on the island of Delos. League members continued to press the war against the Persians for several more years. They drove the Persians from the territories surrounding Greece and ended the threat of future attacks.

Battle at Marathon

In 490 BC, a Persian fleet carried 25,000 men across the Aegean Sea and landed northeast of Athens in a plain called Marathon. 10,000 Athenians, neatly arranged in phalanxes, waited for them. Vastly outnumbered, the Greek soldiers charged. The Persians, wearing light armor and lacking training in this kind of land combat, were no match for the disciplined Greek phalanx. After several hours, the Persians left the battlefield. They lost 6,000+ men. Athenian casualties were fewer than 200.

Tyrants

In ancient Greece, a powerful individual who gained control of a city-state's government by appealing to the poor for support. They were not harsh or cruel. They were looked upon as leaders who would work for the interests of ordinary people. They set up building programs to provide jobs and housing for their supporters.

Ancient Greece

In ancient times, Greece was not a united country. It was a collection of separate lands where Greek-speaking people lived. By 3000 BC, Minoans lived on the large Greek island of Crete. The Minoans created an elegant civilization that had great power in the Mediterranean world. At the same time, people from the plains along the Black Sea and Anatolia migrated and settled in mainland Greece.

Repeated Clashes in City-States

In many city-states, repeated clashes occurred between the rulers and the common people. Led to tyrants.

Helots

In the society of ancient Sparta, a peasant or slave bound to the land. They were forced to stay on the land they worked.

What were the city-states' relation to Athens?

In time, these city-states became little more than provinces of a vast Athenian empire.

Political Influence of the Greek Geography

Instead of a single gov't, the Greeks developed small, independent communities within each little valley and its surrounding mountains. Most Greeks gave loyalty to their local community.

Iron

Iron later replaced bronze in the manufacture of weapons. Harder than bronze, iron was more common and cheaper. Ordinary citizens could arm themselves. Shift from bronze to iron weapons made possible for a new kind of army to be formed.

Spartan Social Order

It consisted of groups. The first were citizens descended from the original inhabitants of the region. This group included the ruling families who owned the land. A second group, non-citizens who were free, worked in commerce and industry. The helots, at the bottom of Spartan society, were little better than slaves. They worked in the fields or as house servants.

Athens After Persian War

It emerged in 470s as the leader of the Delian League, which had grown to have 200+ city-states. Soon thereafter, Athens began to use its power to control the other league members. It moved the league's HQ to Athens, and used military force against members that challenged its authority.

Epic

It is a long, narrative poem celebrating the deeds of legendary or traditional heroes. They celebrate heroic deeds. Homer was known for composing epics between 750 and 700 BC. Some epics include the Iliad and Theogony.

Myths

It is a traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society. The Greeks developed a rich set of _______. The works of Homer and another epic, Theogony by Hesiod, are the source of much Greek mythology. Through the ________, the Greeks sought to understand the mysteries of nature and the power of human passions. ________ explained the changing of seasons, for example.

Trojan War

It was a 10-year long war, fought in 1200 BC, in which an army lead by Mycenaean kings attacked the independent trading city of Troy in Anatolia. According to legend, a Greek army besieged and destroyed Troy because a Trojan prince had kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king. Although the exact nature of the Trojan War remains unclear, the attack on Troy was one of the last Mycenaean battle campaigns. Following this war, Mycenaean civilization fell.

Mycenae

It was located in southern Greece on a steep, rocky ridge and surrounded by a protective wall more than 20 feet thick. ________ could withstand almost any attack. A warrior-king ruled the surrounding villages and farms. Strong rulers controlled the areas around other Mycenaean cities such as Tiryns and Athens. These kings dominated Greece from about 1600 to 1100 BC. And so, the Mycenaeans were the "first" who settled in Greece.

The Climate

It was the third most important environmental influence. Varied climate with temperatures averaging 48 degrees in the winter and 80 degrees in the summer. Moderate temperature supported outdoor life. Men spent much of their leisure time at outdoor public events. They met to discuss public issues, exchange news, and take an active part in civic life.

Formation of an Oligarchy

Later, as trade expanded, a new class of wealthy merchants and artisans emerged in some cities. When these new groups became dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, they sometimes took power or shared it with the nobility. They formed an oligarchy.

Spartan Army Training

Men served in the army until the age of 60, so their daily life centered on military training. Boys left home at 7 and moved into army barracks until age 30. They spent days marching, exercising, and fighting. They undertook these activities in all weathers, wearing only light tunics and no shoes. They slept without blankets on hard benches, and their daily diet consisted of a coarse black porridge. Encouraged to steal food if not satisfied. This training produced tough, resourceful soldiers.

Draco

Nobleman that took power. In 621 BC, he developed a legal code based on the idea that all Athenians, rich and poor, were equal under the law. The code dealt harshly with criminals, making death the punishment for practically every crime. It upheld debt slavery (debtors worked to repay their debts).

Boys Education in Athens

Only sons of wealthy families got formal education. Schooling began at 7 years old and largely prepared boys to be good citizens. It was important to train and develop the body, so part of each day was spent in athletic activities. When they got older, boys went to military school to help them prepare for another important duty of citizenship—defending Athens.

Aristocracy

Others adopted this. A government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families. These very rich families often gained political power after serving in a king's military cavalry.

The Land

Rugged mountains covered ¾ of ancient Greece. Mountain chains ran mainly from northwest to southeast along the Balkan Peninsula. Mountains divided the land into a number of different regions. Uneven terrain made land transportation difficult. Most were little more than dirt paths. Often took travelers several days to complete a journey that might take a few hours today. 25% land was fertile; most of the land was stony. Tiny streams that watered valleys were not suitable for large-scale irrigation projects. .

Some Greek Women's Careers

Some women were able to take education further and learned to read and write (some became accomplished writers).

Messenia

Sparta conquered the neighboring region of ________ and took over the land. The ____________ became helots. The Spartans demanded half of their crops every year. In about 650 BC, ________, resentful of Spartan's harsh rule, revolted. The Spartans, outnumbered 8 to 1, barely put down the revolt. Shocked by their vulnerability, they dedicated themselves to making Sparta a strong city state.

Contrast In Values and Outlooks

Sparta contrasted sharply in outlook and values from other city-states, Athens in particular. Instead of democracy, Sparta built a military state.

Legendary Spartan Wife Phrase

Spartan women told husbands and sons going to war, "come back with your shield or on it".

Boys' Studies

Studied reading, grammar, poetry, history, mathematics, and music. Citizens were expected to debate issues in the assembly, so boys also received training in logic and public speaking.

Xerxes' Invasions

Ten years later, in 480 BC, Xerxes, Darius' son and successor, assembled an enormous invasion force to crush Athens. The Greeks were badly divided. Some fought Persians, others thought it would be better for Xerxes to destroy Athens and return home. Some Greeks even fought on the Persian side. Xerxes' army met no resistance as it marched down the eastern coast of Greece.

Characters in the Iliad and Arete

The heroes of the Iliad are warriors: the fierce Greek Achilles and the courageous and noble Hector of Troy. Hectors' response to his wife gives insight to arête, meaning virtue and excellence. A Greek could display this ideal on the battlefield in combat or in athletic contests on the playing field.

Phalanx

The new kind of army was composed of the rich, merchants, artisans, and small landowners. The foot soldiers of this army, called hoplites, stood side by side, each holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. This fearsome formation became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world.

Peloponnesus

The peninsula forming the southern part of the mainland of Greece. The Spartans lived here and were nearly cut off from the rest of Greece by the Gulf of Corinth.

Gateway to the Athenian Golden Age

The prestige of victory over the Persians and the wealth of the Athenian empire set the stage for a dazzling burst of creativity in Athens. The city was entering its brief golden age.

The Sea

The sea shaped Greek civilization just as rivers shaped the ancient civilizations of Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, India, and China. In one sense, the Greek lived around the sea instead of on it. They rarely traveled more than 85 miles to reach the coastline. Aegean, Ionian, and Black Seas were important transportation routes for the Greek people. Seaways linked most parts of Greece. As the Greeks became skilled sailors, sea travel connected Greece with other societies. Sea travel and trade were also important because Greece lacked natural resources (timber, precious metals, and usable farmland).

Spartan Government

There were several branches in Spartan government. An assembly, composed of all Spartan citizens, elected officials and voted on major issues. Council of Elders, made up of 30 older citizens, proposed laws on which the assembly voted. Five elected officials carried out the laws passed by the assembly. Men controlled education and prosecuted court cases. Two kings ruled over Sparta's military forces. They had an oligarchy.

Dorians

They were a Greek-speaking people that, according to tradition, migrated into the war-torn countryside of mainland Greece after the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization. They may have been distant relatives of the Bronze Age Greeks. They were far less advanced than the Mycenaeans. The economy collapsed and trade eventually came to a standstill soon after their arrival. Most important to historians, Greeks appear to have temporarily lost the art of writing during the Dorian Age.

Mycenaeans

They were some of the Indo-Europeans who migrated from the Eurasian steppes to the Greek mainland around 2000 BC. Their name came from their leading city, Mycenae. One of the last military campaigns of the ____________ was the 10-year long Trojan War. Not long after it, the ________civilization collapsed when sea raiders attacked and burned many of their cities in 1200 BC. The Dorians replaced the Mycenaeans.

Victory over the Persians

Victory over Persians brought confidence and freedom to Greek city-states. Athens basked in the glory of the Persian defeat.

Thermopylae

When Xerxes came to the narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae, 7,000 Greeks including 300 Spartans blocked his way. Xerxes underestimated them and the Greeks stopped the Persians for 3 days. Only a traitor's informing the Persians about a secret path around the pass ended the brave stand. Fearing defeat, the Spartans held the Persians back while the other Greek forces retreated. The Spartans' valiant sacrifice—all were killed—made a great impression on the Greeks.

Population of Greece

With such little farmland, Greece was never able to support a large population. No more than a few million people lived in ancient Greece at a time. Even with a small population, could not expect the land to support a life of luxury. A desire for more living space, grassland for livestock, and adequate farmland may have been factors that motivated the Greeks to seek new sites for colonies.

Battle of Plataea (479 BC)

Xerxes faced another defeat at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. After this major setback, the Persians were always on the defensive.