ANCIENT GREECE

1
ANCIENT GREECE
Ancient Greeks contributed to many things we
enjoy today

• Theater
• The Olympics
• Concepts of Democracy
• Architecture

2
Geography

• Included southern parts of Europes Balkan
  Peninsula
• Mountains make up ¾ of mainland Greece
• Fertile plains are between the mountains and the
  sea.
• Many seaports along the coast, no place in Greece
  is more than 50 miles from the sea.
• Many people used the sea for a living, fishing,
  trading, even piracy.
• Mountains isolated and protected Greece
• Mountains limited travel and communication
  therefore Greece was never united under one
  government but did have one language and
  religion.
• Mild climate, rainy winters mild/dry summers
  allowed for many outdoor activities, classes,
  meetings and outdoor theater.

3
Minoans

• Knussos, Crete
• King Minos
• Minoans had the classic curled hair, wore
  jewelry, were fond of dancing and sports, such as
  boxing.
• Women had higher status than in other ancient
  civilizations
• More goddesses than gods in Minoan religion, the
  chief deity on Crete was the Great Goddess or
  Earth Mother
• Minoans were sea traders, who reached as far as
  Egypt and Mesopotamia.
• By 2000 BCE Minoan fleets dominated the region in
  trade as well as protection from pirates.
• Ships guarded Crete against attack therefore
  their cities had no wall for protection.
• Minoan Civilization peaked in 1600 BCE and
  collapsed 250 years later.
• 2 theories, great tidal waves or most likely
  invasion from the Mycenaeans

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Mycenaeans

• Indo-Europeans came to the Balkan Peninsula in
  2000 BCE.
• Kingdoms centered around a royal fortress built
  on a hilltop stonewalls circled the fortress,
  which gave shelter during times of danger.
• Nobles lived outside of the walls on estates.
• Slaves and tenants worked the lands of the
  estates.
• Palaces houses government offices as well as
  production facilities.
• Artisans created clothes, tanned leather, made
  jars for olive oil and wine, bronze weapons and
  shields.

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Mycenaeans Cont

• Taxes were collected and records were kept of
  each persons wealth.
• Taxes were collected in the form of wheat,
  livestock and honey.
• Mycenaeans adopted much of Minoan culture ship
  building, navigation by the sun, worship of the
  Earth Mother.
• By the 1600s Mycenaeans conquered the Minoans
  and controlled the entire Aegean region.

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Mycenaeans Cont

• 1100 BCE Internal fighting destroyed the
  fortresses and led to invasion and takeover by
  the Dorians, who came in from the north, with
  iron weapons.
• The take over by the Dorians led to what has
  become know as the dark age.
• Sea trading stopped poverty rose, writing and
  other skills were lost.
• Thousands fled to Ionia on the west coast of
  Asia-Minor.
• By 750 BCE, the Ionians reintroduced culture,
  crafts and skills of their homeland, therefore a
  new Greek civilization emerged, with Mycenaean
  settlements
• Hellenic, named for the original Greek people,
  this civilization flourished from 700BCE to 336
  BCE.

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Homer and the Greek Epics

• Homer, principal figure of ancient Greek
  literature the first European poet.
• Wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, set during and
  after the Trojan War.
• Both were used to teach Greek values such as
• Pride in Greek heritage
• Love of Nature
• Importance of husband/wife relationship
• Tender feelings
• Loyalty between friends
• Taught to always strive for excellence and meet
  with dignity what fate has in store.

8
Gods and Goddesses

• Ancient Greeks thought that the gods explained
  why people acted as they did.
• Believed that gods caused things to happen,
  seasons, storms, etc.
• Greeks did not fear their deities like other
  ancient peoples did.
• Greeks placed importance on the worth of the
  individual, therefore had self-respect and
  approached their deities with dignity, not fear.
• Their gods were humanized, behaved like humans,
  married, had children, were jealous of each
  other, fought with each other and played tricks

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Festivals

• Greatest of festivals was a held every 4 years,
  it was an athletic contest held For the greater
  glory of Zeus Poems were read and competitions
  were held.
• Festival held in the city of Olympia thus these
  contests became the Olympic Games.

10
Polis

• Greek city-state, city, and surrounding area.
• Center of the city was the Acropolis or fortified
  hill with a temple on top of a local deity.
• Agora was at the bottom of the hill, this is
  where citizens, those who were allowed to take
  part in government, met for public affairs.

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Polis Cont

• Citizens had rights and responsibilities
• Vote, hold office, own property, in return they
  had to serve in government and protect the city.
• Slaves and Foreign born could not be citizens
• Women had no legal rights.
• The polis established colonies to aid in food
  production and trade, colonies kept contact with
  the parent city.
• 600 BCE, traders started to use coin currency
  instead of bartering, later cities took on
  minting of money.