Ancient Greeks

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Ancient Greeks
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Geography

• The Sea
• Aegean Sea
• Ionian Sea
• Black Sea
• Important for transportation and
• trade

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Geography

• Land
• Mountains cover about ¾ of the land
• Small independent communities developed
• Only 20 was suitable for farming
• Grains, grapes, and olives

• Climate
• 48 in the winter
• 80 in the summer

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Mycenaeans

• City-state Mycenae (my-SEE-nee)
• Ruled by warrior-kings
• Trojan War
• Thought to fictional
• At least the story was based on real cities,
  people, and events
  
• Who knows the story?

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Homer

• Blind man
• Poet and author
• Traveled from village to village playing harp and
  telling heroic tales.
  
• Stories passed down orally for generations, until
  finally written down.
  
• Iliad and Odyssey
• Iliad
• Achilles versus Hector
• Odyssey
• Odysseuss use of the Trojan horse and travel
  home to wife Penelope

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Myths

• Used to understand the mysteries of nature and
  the power of human passions

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Greek gods and goddesses

• Using the Websites below please write a five line
  typed description on eight famous Greek gods or
  goddesses.
  
• http//www.mythweb.com/
• http//www.greekmythology.com/
• Due Friday, November 30

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Rise of City-States

• Unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greece did not
  create one large Empire.
  
• Divided into city-states.
• Defended their independence fiercely.

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What city-states looked like

• Cities were called the polis
• Built on two levels.
• Top level on the hilltop called the Acropolis.
• Included marble temples dedicated to the gods.
• Bottom level below included the walled city
  limits, market place, theater, public buildings
  and homes.

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Forms of Government

• Monarchy
• Rule is hereditary
• Rule by a king or queen
• Divine right
• Practiced in Mycenae

• Aristocracy
• Rule by nobility
• Based on land ownership and hereditary
• Social status and wealth support rulers
  authority
  
• Practiced in Athens

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Forms of Government

• Oligarchy
• State ruled by a small group of citizens
• Based on wealth
• Control military
• Practiced in Sparta

• Direct Democracy
• Ruled by citizens
• Majority
• Practiced in Athens

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Greek Culture

• Tragedy
• Serious drama about common themes such as love,
  hate, war and betrayal.
  
• Satyr
• Performed between the acts of tragedies. They
  made fun of the predicament of the tragedy's
  characters.
  
• Comedy
• Scenes filled with slapstick situations and
  poked fun at men in power.
  

http//library.thinkquest.org/CR0210200/ancient_gr
eece/face_memory.htm
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Wars in Ancient Greece
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Persian Wars

• Persians versus Greeks
• Greeks used a phalanx
• Soldiers standing side by side
• Major battle occurred at the city of Marathon
• Greeks win and sent Pheidippides back to Athens
• Outcome of the wars is the formation of the
  Delian League

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Peloponnesian War

• Sparta versus Athens
• Athens navy v. Spartan army
• Athens population were trapped within the city
  wallsa mysterious plague killed almost 2/3 of
  the population
  
• Athens surrender to Sparta

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Greek Culture

• Parthenon
• Inside was a statue of Athena by the sculptor
  Phidias

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Socrates

• One of the first great Greek philosophers
• Encouraged students to examine their beliefs
• Question and answer teaching
• Died by drinking hemlock

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Plato

• Studied under Socrates
• Formed a school called The Academy that lasted
  for 900 years

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Aristotle

• Taught by Plato
• Studied at The Academy
• Opened his own school that rivaled Platos school

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Alexander the Great

• From Macedonia
• FatherPhillip II
• Phillip will take control of Greece before
  Alexander comes into power
  
• Alexander believed to be bi-sexual

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Alexander the Great

• After the death of his father, Alexander gains
  support from the army
  
• He becomes King of Macedonia

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Alexander the Great

• Invasion of Persia
• Plan was a goal of his fathers
• Alexander drove his soldiers to Anatolia
• Alexander was victorious

• Egypt
• Conquered Egypt
• Was seen as a liberator for some in Egypt
• While in Egypt sought to discover if he was a god
  or not

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Alexander the Great

• Conquering of Persian Empire
• Wanted to conqueror Persia and Darius III, leader
  of the Persians
  
• Darius III had avoided capture several times,
  because of this Alexanders desire to capture him
  grew
  
• When Alexander found Darius, he was already dead
• Alexander conqueror 90 of the known world of the
  Greeks and Persians

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Alexander the Great
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Hellenistic Culture

• Hellenistic- blend of Egyptian, Persian, and
  Indian influences
  
• Cultures blended due to the travels of Alexander
  and his troops
  

• Alexandria became the center
• Several cities are named Alexandria, but the one
  in Africa became the most important
  
• It became the center for commerce

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Hellenistic Culture

• Science and Technology
• Eratosthenes (HER- uh-TAHS-thud-NEEZ), closely
  calculated the earths true size
  
• 24,662 miles for him v. 24,860 miles
• Hipparchus invented longitude and latitude

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Hellenistic Culture

• Math and Physics
• Euclid- developed a geometry text
• His book Elements was used until the 1900s
• Archimedes- developed the value of pi