GRADE 10 HISTORY ANCIENT GREECE

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GRADE 10 HISTORYANCIENT GREECE

• CLASS STARTERS

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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Geography
Unlike the river valley civilizations of
Mesopotamia and Egypt, Greek society developed
around the sea. It has over 3200 km of
coastline, which is remarkable for their small
land area. It is bordered on one side by the
Mediterranean Sea and on the other by the Aegan
Sea. There are many islands in the Aegan Sea,
some very fertile, others not so. The earliest
Greek civilization began on one of these
fertile islands, Crete. Greece has many
geographical features (rivers, mountains,
forests) that separated one city-state from
another.
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Timeline

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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Mycenaens
From about 1600BC to 1200 BC the peninsula of
Greece was dominated by a people called the
Mycenaens. They lived in small kingdoms, each
with its own city, similar to the Mesopotamian
styled Polis. These cities were usually built
on areas of high ground and were surrounded by
walls to make them easy to defend. This type of
fortified city was called an acropolis, which
means High City. After the Mycenaen world
disintegrated Greece entered the Dark Age and a
people called the Dorians came to power.
http//www.athenshash.com/Images/Mycenae/Reconstru
ction_of_acropolis.jpg
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Compare
After reading and learning about the Minoans and
Mycenaens, create a chart comparing the two
civilizations. Explain which civilization you
would have preferred to live in and why.
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Persian Wars
By 450BC, the Persian Empire had become extremely
powerful and had conquered much of the Middle
East, sections of Northern Africa and parts of
the Mediterranean Coast. The Persian leader,
Darius, was interested in acquiring Greek land
also. When the Persian city Miletus tried to
revolt, Athens helped and this gave Darius the
excuse he needed to attack Greece. Many
city-states, like Thebes, surrendered to Darius
or made treaties with him. Athens however,
refused. This led to the beginning of the
Persian wars.the mighty Persian Empire
against the divided city-states of Greece.
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Persian Wars contd
The next Persian king, Xerxes (ZERK-sees), had to
stop a rebellion that began in Egypt and was
determined to avengehis fathers failures by
attacking Greece again. This led to the
continuation of the Persian Wars and the
famousbattles of Thermoplyae Pass and the
Salamis Straits.Eventually the Persians decided
that expansioncosts were too high and settled
on ruling over the lands now known as
Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and
Iran.(Until they were conquered by Alexander
the Great).
http//www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/maps/persianempi
re.gif
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Architecture
the Great).
The Greeks
built simple homes and advanced
tributes to
the Gods. Many of their most famousbuildings
were built on the acropolis,a hill overseeing
the entire city-state ofAthens. Places such as
the Parthenon The Amphitheatre and temples to
various Gods were admired by
all visitors back then and today also.
Their use of various columns are still
copied today in modern buildings.

http//oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/p
rojects/webunits/greecerome/Greecearch1.html
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Famous Greeks
The Greece civilization produced many famous
persons. These include Pericles, the famous
leader, Socrates the original philosopher,
Hippocrates the father of modern medicine,
Thucydides the historianand Aesop the slave
turned writer. Pheidippides the runner,
Pythagoras the mathematician, Leonidas the
warrior and Alexander the Great leader have all
had an impact on modern society and civilization.
Can you recognize any of these figures to the
right?
http//www.moyak.com/researcher/resume/papers/socr
ates.jpghttp//dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Galle
ry/Aristotle.GIFhttp//www.meaus.com/AlaxanderBus
t.gifhttp//www.jecris.com/TXT/INFOS/ANTIQUE/peri
cles.gifhttp//www.mrp.txstate.edu/mrp/images/Phe
idippides.jpg
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Pelopponesian Wars
After the Greeks successfully defended themselves
from the mighty Persians, they realized that with
co-operation how successful they could be. Their
civilization flourished. The Athenians excelled,
constructing the mighty Parthenon. Over time,
however, the Greeks began to argue among
themselves. This eventually led to the
Peloponnesian War, essentially Sparta vs.
Athens. Who do you think won? Why? At what
costs?
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic The Macedonians
The Macedonians lived in Northern Greece and
although they spoke the same language, they
werent as advanced as the Spartans and
Athenians. Most Macedonians were farmers and
shepherds with little desire for power or fame.
This changed when king Philip II found gold in
the area, allowing him to become rich and
develop a huge army. He slowly began
conquering Greek city-states, working his way
south and then east.
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Alexander the Great
Philips son, Alexander, became king of
Macedonia and grew up to be one if, if not the
greatest generals ofall time. As a child, he
was a superb athlete, excellent horserider and
eager to learn, taughtby the famous
philosopherAristotle himself. Fearless
andambitious, he was destined forgreatness. It
should come asno surprise that even to this
dayhe is still referred to as Alexander the
great.
http//www.warweb.com/pegaso/90mm/90-903.jpg
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Grade 10 Class StarterUnit Ancient
GreeceTopic Hellenistic Age
Alexander the Great conquered more territory than
anyone else in the world, covering parts of
Europe, Asia, and Africa. He spread the Greek
language, and culture. Eventually Greek became
the most popular language in the world. He also
shared Greek architecture, and, more importantly,
Greek ideas. Democracy, trial by jury, olympics,
etc., became common. Over 70 cities were named
Alexandria and countless universities, trade
routes and learning centers exist due to his
exploits. This time period following
Alexanders rule is known as the Hellenistic,
or Golden age.
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