Ancient Greece

1
Ancient Greece

• p. 8
• (go to Google Earth)

2
Lecture/Discussion

• Material from your reading

3
Why Ancient Athens?

• The Western World uses many Athenian ideas about
  science, art, and social organization.
• We will focus on social organization
• Government (democracy, ethics)
• Philosophy (fairness, beauty, ego)

4
Government of the Few

• city-states
• Had jurisdiction over the city and surrounding
  lands.
• Ancient Greece was not united, it was a
  collection of city states
• Monarchy
• a government ruled by a king/queen

5
Early Greek city states

• Sparta
• The fiercest of all the Greek city states
• Its society demanded that its men and women be
  strong and trained for war. Such a national
  attitude is called
• Militaristic society
• Depends on war to solve its national and
  international problems
• Is always ready for war.
• Spartan Women
• Spartan women were freer than Athenian women,
  because they were expected to fight as well as
  the men.
• Demanded that their husband and sons either come
  back from war with their shields or on them

6
One city-state changes

• Athens
• Most Greek states had government systems similar
  to Sparta except Athens
• They developed a government that included more
  peoples opinions.

7
Government of the Few

• Tyrant
• Greek word for a powerful and unchallengable king
  
• (EC) A similar word, which today means a
  non-royal person who takes control of a country
  is..
• dictator

8
Peoples Government

• Democracy
• Government ruled by the people.
• Evolved in ancient Athens..
• First, tyrant had to share power with the land
  owners
• have the right to make laws and taxes
• Later, merchants gained a role in the government

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Athenian Democracy

• legislature
• A group of citizens, often elected, who have the
  power to
• make laws,
• tax,
• declare war
• Jury
• A group of citizens who have the power to decide
  innocence or guilt in a court

10
Athenian Democracy

• Pericles
• Leader of Athens, 460-429 BCE
• His reforms included
• Legislative assembly met and voted many times a
  month,
• 6000 (all male citizens qualified) needed to make
  a vote legal
• Any number of required voters need to make a vote
  legal is called a
• quorum
• pay for office-holders (rich or poor citizens
  could hold office),
• jury service required.

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Greek Philosophers

• Greek philosophy is also present in our modern
  western societies.
• EC The pioneer and perhaps the greatest, was
• Socrates
• He taught that a persons actions must lead to
  the greater good or they were immoral.

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Greek Philosophers

• Plato
• Socrates best student
• His principle belief..
• Reason (using evidence to prove the truth) and
  not emotion to explain or decide important things
  for society.

13
Greek Philosophers

• EC Platos Academy students worked to (3)
• seek ethical principles,
• recognize perfect beauty,
• and learn how best to organize society.

14
Greek Philosophers

• Plato, wrote, (EC)
• The Republic,
• In it, he describes a perfect society or (EC)
• Utopia
• Platos perfect society consisted of three social
  classes (EC)
• workers,
• soldiers,
• philosophers.
• Philosopher-kings had to be specially trained in
  the ways of utopian order to rule.

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Greek Philosophers

• Aristotle
• Platos greatest student
• Aristotles view of government
• run by agreed-upon rules (a constitution).
• An educated middle class would run it..
• He felt they were not selfish as the nobles, nor
  ignorant as the poor.
• Governments job was to provide stability and
  justice.
• A leaders job was to follow and operate the law
  for the benefit of everyone.

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EC Review

• Who believed that in an ideal society the
  government should be controlled by a class of
  philosopher kings?
• A. Pericles
• B. Solon
• C. Plato
• D. Aristotle
• How did you find the answer?
• I read and studied the text last night..

17
Homework correction/notes
18
Image, p. 9

• Question
• The development of iron weapons rather than
  bronze.

19
p. 10, Solon of Athens

• Question
• Northeast

20
Standards Check, p. 11

• Question
• Tyrant (king)
• Nobles (landowners) demand and get power
  (aristocracy)
• Later Middle class (businessmen in
  peace/warriors in war) got power
• In Athens, some common men got power (Navy
  oarsmen)

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Standards Check, p. 11

• Question
• Confederated (united) Greeks fought courageously
  and skillfully to defeat the numerically superior
  Persians.

22
p. 11, The Persian Wars

• Question
• Warrior on the right has a Greek helmet and
  shield.
• Warrior on the left wears pants and has a beard.

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Thinking Critically. p. 12

• 1.
• Athenian citizens were directly involved with
  government and were not governed through elected
  representatives.
• 2.
• Both systems used majority rule, civic debate,
  juries, courts, and rule of law
• Athenian citizens participated directly in
  decision making while US citizens participate
  indirectly.

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government

• EC Of a city or citizen, or citizenship
• civic
• EC What are your civic responsibilities, today?
• Obey the law
• Contribute to/help the community
• Lead the community

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Standards Check, p. 13

• Question
• Athenian men participated in direct democracy
• In the Assembly
• Served on juries

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p. 14, Biography, Socrates,

• Question
• He was constantly questioning others and
  reassessing himself

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Standards Check, p. 15

• Question
• Socrates
• Defended democracy
• Even when it was used to judge him a traitor.
• Plato
• Distrusted it
• Could be abused by corrupt and ignorant leaders
• Blamed democratic process for prosecuting and
  executing Socrates.
• Aristotle
• Feared it could lead to mob rule (what if the
  ignorant and poor were allowed to vote?)
• Respected stability and fairness it could bring.

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Common Core Mini-Project

• Philosophers

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Map Skills, p. 16

• 2.
• The places he conquered adopted some aspects of
  Greek culture.
• 3.
• No.
• If one had the money necessary to afford the
  military and government required to run it.
• Violent measures would be needed to keep people
  under control.
• Yes.
• It would be very difficult to keep such a large
  empire united. Especially during a time when
  transportation and communication were difficult.

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Greek Culture Changes

• A new Greek philosophy emerged during the
  Hellenistic period.
• EC It taught that practitioners could only have
  true, personal peace, if they gave up wanting
  things, envying others, and trying to be better
  than others
• Stoicism
• It is similar to an Indian philosophy, that
  started a few hundred years earlier.
• Buddhism

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Standards Check, p. 17

• Question
• Alexanders expansion spread Greek culture to
  Egypt and the Persian Empire
• Greeks settled in foreign lands, marrying into,
  learning those cultures
• Hellenistic culture developed.

Alexander of Macedon defeating Persian Emperor,
Darius III, at the Battle of Issus, c. 333 BCE
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Text, p. 18, The Republic, by Plato

• 1.
• He thinks tyranny is the worst form of
  government.
• People (the state) are poor, miserably degraded
  and enslaved.
• No state has more lamentation and sorrow and
  groaning and pain.
• 2.
• A dialogue is a clever or interesting way to
  explain an argument to some.
• To others, a straightforward essay would clearer.

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Thinking critically, p. 19

• 1
• Are not capable
• Aristotle warns that humans have the element of
  the wild beast that makes them incapable of
  ruling fairly (just rule).
• Are capable
• If officials act as guardians and ministers of
  the law, they are capable of ruling fairly.
• 2
• Might have approved of Platos philosopher kings
• They were expected to rule justly and by the law.
• Might not have approved of Platos philosopher
  kings
• Expecting people to rule fairly and by the law is
  too idealistic and impractical.

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The Ancient Greeks before and after Alexander of
Macedon

• Pure Greek culture was EC called..
• Hellenic
• Alexander of Macedon (the Great) conquered the
  Greeks and then other peoples in the world.
• He mixed Greek Culture with the EC cultures of
  (4)
• Persia,
• Central Asia,
• Middle East,
• North Africa.
• The new culture that arose and would affect the
  Western world EC is called
• Hellenistic

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Review What can you conclude?

• Which is a concept from classical Athens that is
  central to Western socio/political thought today?
• Individuals should fight against nature and
  society to achieve greatness.
• Individual achievement, dignity, and worth are of
  great importance
• Individual recognition impedes societal progress.
• Individuals play an insignificant role in shaping
  ideas, society, and the state.

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Brief Response

• Compare Points of View The table compares the
  city-states of Sparta and Athens as they existed
  around the mid-400s B.C. How would a Spartan
  describe the ideal citizen? How would an Athenian
  describe the ideal citizen? What differences in
  the status of women do you observe?
• chart