The Greeks

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http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/myth4web/05troy
gold.jpg.
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Minoans Mycenaeans The Greeks

• Origins of the Greeks Minoans Mycenaeans
  2800 B.C.E. - 1500 B.C.E.

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Minoans (2800-1400 BCE)

• Lived on island of Crete
• Existed during Egypts Old Kingdom
• Government Priest-kings
• Religion Polytheists
• Cities NOT surrounded by walls
• Ship Builders Traders
• Farming
• Fishing
• Overpowered by Mycenaeans by 1400 BCE

http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/Myth3web/05athe
seusmincan.jpg.
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Minoan Art

• Sculptures, Pottery, and Frescoes

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Minoans created and traded pottery, leather,
bronze armor, and metal jewelry. They also
enjoyed sports such as boxing and bull leaping.
http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/Myth3web/05athe
seusmincan.jpg
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Minoan Fresco at the Palace of Knossos
http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/myth.html.
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Minoan fresco Prince of Knossos
http//www.graeco-roman.com/items/G4310.htm
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Minoan Religion

• Polytheists
• Main god Great Goddess, Mother Earth)

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Minoan Religion

• Built shrines on housetops, hilltops, and in
  caves
• Why hilltops?
• Why caves?
• Offerings included
• Human hair
• fruit
• flowers
• jewels
• gold

Mother Earth
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The fall of Minoan civilization is described in
the legendary fight of Theseus, a young Greek
prince and the Minotaur.
Relief Sculpture of Theseus and defeated Minotaur
http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/Myth3web/05athe
seusmincan.jpg
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Mycenaeans (2000 - 900 BCE)

• Lower Greece (lowlands)
• Built fortress-palaces on hilltops
• Engaged in farming, herding, olive growing.
• Traded gold bronze
• Learned from Minoans Shipbuilding, navigation,
  gold bronze work, fashions, art, writing.
• Better warriors than traders (pirates)
• Became most powerful people in Aegean world by
  1400 BCE
• Trojan War (1200s BCE)
• Conquered by Dorians (late 1200s)

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The Dark Age (1100 -800 BCE)

• Civil wars broke out following Trojan War
• Dorians conquered Mycenaeans
• Aegean world began era of wandering and killing
• Independent communities developed

Layered view of nine major settlements of Troy
by Christopher Haussner based on archaelogical
excavation.
http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/myth4web/05troy
gold.jpg
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Greek City-States (700 - 338 BCE)
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Greek City-States

• The Hellenes, or Greeks emerge from the Dark Age
• The Polis, or city-state was the center of Greek
  life
• Polis structure
• Acropolis (fortified hill)
• Agora (marketplace at foot of acropolis)
• Polis included homes, farming villages, fields,
  and orchards

http//www.indiana.edu/kglowack/athens/acropolis.
html
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Greek Civics and Politics

• Civic and personal honor is one and the same
• The Polis (city-state) is above everything else

Greenblatt, Lemmo. Human Heritage. Glencoe,
McGraw-Hill 1995.
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A New Government

• Solon created 1st Constitution (594 BCE)
• Set of principles and rules for governing
• Purpose To end oligarchy and to prevent
  uprising against government by middle and lower
  class

http//www.indiana.edu/kglowack/athens/images/07.
017.JPG
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The FirstDemocratic Constitution

• Created by Cleisthenes in 508 BCE (lasted 300
  yrs.)
• Limits power of rich land ownership
• All male landowners could vote
• All debts were erased
• All enslaved due to debt, were freed
• All Athenians became citizens and able to
  participate in government
• Assembly created to make laws

Representation of Cleisthenes
http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekd
emocracy_2.shtml
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The Athenian Government Structure
http//norfacad.pvt.k12.va.us/project/pericles/Per
icles.htm
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Greek Religion
The most popular priestess was a priestess in the
temple of Delphi. The Delphi was the center of
the world for Greeks.
http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/mythslides1/27d
elphiview.jpg
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Gods with human qualities (anthropomorphism)
Poseiden
The Courtship of Venus and Mars
Aphrodite
http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/mythslides1/myt
hslides1.html
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Greek Theater

• Began during festivals honoring the god Dionysus
  (600 BCE)
• Types of Plays
• Tragedies
• Aeschylus
• Sophocles
• Euripides
• Comedies
• Only men could act in plays
• A civic responsibility

http//ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/tjmoore/mythslides1/28f
eastofgods.jpg
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The Great Greek Philosophers

• Socrates
• Plato
• Aristotle

http//www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/PHIL/cpshelle/Gallery
/Greek/aristotle.jpg
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Socrates (469-399 BCE)

• Stonemason, spent time arguing with assembly
• Taught Question everything, use step-by-step
  questioning to final conclusion (Socaratic
  Method)
• Executed for denying gods, corrupting youth, and
  trying to overthrow gov.

Greenblatt, Lemmo. Human Heritage. Glencoe,
McGraw-Hill 1995
http//www.btinternet.com/socratic/
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Plato (427-347 BCE)

• Pupil of Socrates
• Recorded speeches of Socrates
• Father of Political Science
• Founded The Academy to train government leaders
• Wrote The Republic The Dialogues

http//plato.evansville.edu/
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Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

• Pupil of Plato at The Academy
• Trained in Medicine
• Master of Them That Know
• First to classify plants animals
• Developed final steps in scientific method
  (Hypothesis and Test)

Plato
Aristotle
http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/aristotle.htm
l