Glory of Greek Civilization

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Glory of Greek Civilization
The sanctuary of Dodoni was as spiritual place in
ancient Greece. It was the oldest of the Greek
oracles and ancient people traveled great
distances in order to consult the priests who
foretold the future. Outside the temple of Zeus
the priests gathered under the sacred Oak tree
and listened to the sound of the leaves as they
shivered in the breeze and glimpsed at the
future. People from the entire known world would
make the pilgrimage in ancient times in order to
consult the future-telling Oak tree and to attend
cultural festivals that took place regurarly at
Dodoni
The rocky hill of the Acropolis ("topmost part of
the city") rises to 156 meters in the middle of
the Attica basin.  Three of its sides are sheer
and its top can only be reached from the west. 
On top of the Acropolis there is a large (300 x
150 meters) space.  On its slopes there have been
springs of drinking water since antiquity.  This
naturally fortified rock was an easily defended
site and invited settlement as early as the
Neolithic age (3000 BCE).  By degrees, the hill
began to be transformed into what was primarily a
place of worship.  In the Archaic period, the
Acropolis became firmly established as the
sanctuary of Athena. In the mid-5th century BCE,
Pericles persuaded the Athenians to begin a grand
program of new building work in Athens that has
come to represent the political and cultural
achievements of Greece. The work transformed the
Acropolis with three contrasting temples and a
monumental gateway. The Theater of Dionysus, on
the south slope, was developed further in the 4th
century BCE and the Odeion of Herodes Atticus was
added in the 2nd century CE.
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I. Three Aegean Civilizations

• 1. Trojans- N. Mainland
• 2. Hellenes-Central Mainland
• 3. Minoans-Island of Crete

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II. Wealth of Minoans

• 1. Minos
• a. Great King of Greece
• b. Minoans
• -live on the island of Crete
• c. Mineral wealth
• -gold, silver
• -swords
• d. Excellent Navy
• -protection
• e. Capital Knossos
• f. Bull Sacred
• -symbol of life fertility

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III. Fall of the Minoans

• 1. Theories
• a. Invaded by Hellenes
• -mainland Greeks
• b. Volcano eruption
• 2. Benefit to Hellenes
• a. Open Mediterranean trade
• -Egypt Syria
• -Financial gain
• 3. Sir Arthur Evans discoveries
• a. Ruins of Knossos
• b. Important info about
• prehistoric Minoans