Chapter 11 Ancient Greece
How did the Greeks honor their gods?
- They created statues of the gods - They built temples for them to live in - They held special events like holy festivals and the Olympics to honor them
fable
A brief story that teaches a moral, often using animals as characters
polis
A city-state in ancient Greece
Sparta
A city-state in ancient Greece known for military
Athens
A city-state in ancient Greece; the capital of modern-day Greece.
democracy
A form of government in which the citizens make political decisions
isthmus
A narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas.
Olympics
An ancient Greek festival in honor of the god Zeus, which took place every four years and featured competitions in athletics and poetry.
Phoenician
An important seafaring and trading people who lived on the Eastern Mediterranean, who began to trade around 1100 B.C.
What roles did Athens and Sparta play in defeating the Persians?
Athens defeated the Persians at the Marathon and Salamis. The Spartans fought the Persians at Thermopylae, allowing Athenians time to prepare.
What made democracy in Athens a limited democracy?
Athens had a limited democracy. It did not include all of the people who lived in the city-state. Only free adult males were citizens who could take part in the government. Women, slaves, and foreigners could not take part. Noncitizens were not allowed to become citizens.
What were two major differences between the civilizations of Greece and Mesopotamia?
Differences: Greek culture centered around trade. Greece is located on the sea. Mesopotamian culture centered around agriculture, and they had a surplus of grain. Mesopotamia was a land-based culture. It was not located on an ocean.
Would you rather have lived in Sparta or in Athens? Explain why.
EXPLANATION HERE: Would you rather have lived in Sparta or in Athens? Explain why.
How were direct democracy and education related in Athens?
Education prepared Athenians for being good citizens so they could make good political decisions
How did Greece's geography influence trade?
Excellent location for sea trade -Easy to reach harbors -small sailing ships could sail the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea because the seas were small. Easy access to the Mediterranean.
What were two types of early Greek literature and what were they about?
Fables: short stories, usually involving animals, that teach a moral lesson. Example, Aesop's Fables Epic poems: long poems about ancient heroes. Example, Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey
How was an aristocracy different than an oligarchy?
In Aristocracy you are born into your social class, whereas in oligarchy you are in a social class by wealth and/or land ownership
How was education in Sparta different that education in Athens?
In Athens: - boys entered school at age 7 (if you came from a wealthy family) - they were taught to be good citizens - learned about logic and public speaking - Athenian women did not go to school In Sparta: - boys entered the barracks at age 7 - Education revolved around the military - Sparta stressed military skills and did little reading and writing
What was the role of tyrants in the development of democracy in Greece?
In Greece, a tyrant was someone who took power in an illegal way. Tyrants played an important role in the development of the rule by the people. They helped overthrow oligarchy. They also showed that if common people united behind a leader they could gain the power to make changes.
What were key factors leading to the rise of tyrants?
In aristocracies and oligarchies, the needs of the poor were often ignored. As a result, the poor became angry. A tyrant used this anger by asking the poor to support him in becoming a leader and making changes that benefitted the poor.
What lesson might the Greeks have learned from the myth of Prometheus?
It was important not to anger the gods because the gods might punish them
How did the geography of Greece lead to the rise of city-state?
Mountains and seas divided the county into small, separate regions. As a result, independent city-states became the main form of government.
Why was mythology important to the lives of the ancient Greeks?
Mythology was important to the lives of ancient Greeks because the stories explained the creation of the world and human beings. The myths described the gods and goddesses and how they related to one another and to humans.
What role did religious festivals play in Greek life?
Religious festivals played an important role in Greek life because they were held in honor of the 12 Olympian gods.
In what key ways were the religions of Egypt and Greece similar and different?
Similarities -they believed in many gods (polytheistic) -they believed in honoring the gods and keeping them happy -they both built special places for their gods to live (temples and pyramids) Differences -in Egypt, some gods were animals and had animal heads -in Greece, the gods looked and acted like humans
How was the role of woman different in Athens and Sparta?
Spartan woman could own property, but Athenian woman could not. Spartan women were expected to be tough and family life was less important. In Athens, woman's main roles were to be good wives and mothers. Girls were trained in household duties.
Why did the Greeks develop trade with other regions?
The Greeks had limited amounts of grain and precious metals, so they needed to get them from other regions. They did this through trade. Greeks had a surplus of fish, olive oil, wine, and wool that they could trade for the things they needed.
How are the Iliad and the Odyssey connected?
The Iliad and the Odyssey are both epic pieces of literature written by Homer. They both were based on the Trojan War.
What form of government existed in ancient Sparta?
The Spartan government was part Oligarchy, Democracy, and part Monarchy. Sparta had kings, supervisors, and an assembly.
How did the conquest of the helots make it necessary for Sparta to be a military state, and how did the conquest make such a state possible?
The helots outnumbered the Spartans so there was always a thought of rebellion. The Spartans were trained as soldiers so they can defeat the helots if they rebelled. Sparta became a military sate to prevent helot revolts Helot labor produced the food that fed Spartan society, allowing Spartan citizens to spend all their time in the army.
Why was the invention of the idea of citizenship important to the development of democracy?
The idea of citizenship encouraged people to be loyal to their government and get involved in politics. People learned they could influence government and they demanded more power.
How did geography affect the development of Greece?
The rugged landscape and the lack of large rivers made transportation and communication between regions of Greece difficult. As a result, it was hard to unite Greece under a single government. But access to the sea became Greek's link to other peoples, products, and ideas. The contacts with these peoples led to the spread of ideas that spurred the development of the Greek civilization.
How did the geographyof the Greek peninsula affect the political organization of the region?
The rugged landscape and the lack of large rivers made transportation and communication difficult. As a result, it was hard to unite Greece under a single government.
How were the seas important to the Greeks?
The sea became Greek's link to other peoples, products, and ideas. The contacts with these peoples led to the spread of ideas that spurred the development of the Greek civilization.
How did the seas affect Greek trade patterns?
The seas became important trade & transportation routes that linked most parts of Greece. They also allowed Greek regions to trade with one another and with the wider Mediterranean world.
How did trade with other peoples contribute to Greek civilization?
Trade with other people exposed Greeks to other cultures. They adopted ideas from these other cultures. For example, the Phoenician alphabet influenced the Greek system of writing and the Greeks started using coins in trade.
oligarchy
a government ruled by a few powerful people
aristocracy
a government with rule by the upper class or nobility
epic-poem
a long poem about ancient heroes
citizen
a person who is loyal to and protected by the govenrment
tyrant
a person who takes power illegally
Marathon
a plain in Ancient Greece nears Athens
helot
a slave
myth
a story people told to explain beliefs about their world
alphabet
a system of 22 symbols that stand for sounds
Mount Olympus
highest mountain in Greece, gods were believed to have lived there
peninsula
land surrounded by water on three sides
barracks
military houses
Zeus
ruler of the Greek gods
Peloponnesus
the peninsula that forms the southern part of Greece.
