Ancient Greece

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Ancient Greece

• Geography
• Athens vs. Sparta
• The Persian War

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Review of Geography

• Part of the Balkan Peninsula
• Greece is mountainous
• Development of independent city-states
• The soil is rocky and therefore unfertile
• Seas were important for communication but also
  for trade

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Review of Geography

• Because so little farmland and freshwater
• Never able to support a large population
• Diet based on staple crops such as grains,
  grapes, and olives
• Desire for additional resources and adequate
  farmland probably the motivation to establish
  colonies

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Review of the City-State

• Polis Greek version of the city-state
• Divided into two levels
• Acropolis located on the hilltop
• Agora located on the flatter land, the walled
  city, the marketplace, and public buildings

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The Two Main Greek Powers

• Athens and Sparta

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Athens

• Eventually create a limited democracy
• Only free adult males counted as citizens
• Foreigners gain citizenship
• Women had no say in public life (imperfect)
• Council of 500
• Prepared laws and supervised work of the
  government

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Athens (contd)

• Education
• Boys attended school if families could afford it
• Studied to become skilled public speakers
  (orator)
• Also studied music and poetry, received military
  training
• Girls received little or no formal education
• Stronger navy than army

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Sparta

• Government
• Ruled by a pair of kings
• Advised by a council of elders
• Assembly consisted of all male citizens over 30
• Citizenship male, native-born Spartan, over 30
• Approved major decisions
• Ephors five selected overseers
• Held the real power and ran day-to-day affairs

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Sparta (contd)

• Women
• Treated and fed like boys. Trained in various
  sports
• Married at age 19
• More personal freedoms than women of other
  city-states, but no political rights
• Important Role producing strong men for military

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Sparta (contd)

• The Training of Soldiers
• Examined at birth
• Age 7 boys taken for military training
• Age 20 men become soldiers, get married
• Age 30 men become citizens and part of assembly
• Age 60 men could retire from military
• Obviously men were groomed to be strong soldiers
  throughout their lives

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Sparta (contd)

• Story of Example
• About a young boy in military training who
  followed the Spartan code of conduct. The boy had
  captured a fox which he intended to eat but
  shortly after catching it he noticed soldiers
  coming and hid the fox in his shirt. He was
  confronted by the soldiers and as they spoke to
  the boy the fox began to chew on his stomach.
  Instead of confessing, he allowed the fox to
  continue to chew on his side without expressing
  any sign of pain. Eventually, the boy collapsed
  and the soldiers discovered the fox inside his
  shirt. The boy had allowed the fox to eat his
  side which resulted in his death.

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Persian Wars
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The Persian Wars

• Conflict began in Ionian Greece in Anatolia
• These self-governed Greek city-states which were
  under Persian rule would rebel
• Ask for aid from the Greek mainland, Athens comes
  to their aid
• Persians are slow to mobilize but finally arrive.
• Rebellion ended quickly by naval battle

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Persian War (contd)

• Aristagoras is killed and the city-state of
  Miletus is destroyed.
• Persian emperor Darius (Father of Xerxes) vows to
  punish Athens for its involvement

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