Sunday, January 24, 2016

Warring City-States 1

Power And Authority
- the growth of city-states in Greece led to the development of several political systems, including democracy.
- many political systems in today's world mirror the varied forms of government that evolved in Greece.

Setting The Stage
- during the Dorian period, Greek civilization experienced decline.
- two things changed life in Greece.
- first, Dorians and Mycenaeans alike began to identify less with culture of their ancestors and more with the local area where they lived.
- second, by the end of this period, and method of governing areas had changed from tribal or clan control to more formal governments---the city-states.

Rule and Order in Greek City-States
By 750 B.C., the city-states, or polis, was the fundamental political unit in ancient Greece. Polis was made up of a city and its surrounding countryside, which include numerous villages, and controlled between 50 and 500 square miles of territory. At the agora, or marketplace, or on a fortified hilltop called an acropolis, citizens gathered to discuss city government.
- Greek Political Structures
    - had many different forms of government
    - a single person, called a king, ruled in a government called a monarchy.
    - adopted an aristocracy, a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families.
    - a new class of wealthy merchants and artisans formed an oligarchy, a government ruled by a few powerful people.
- Tyrants Seize Power
    - repeated clashed occurred between rulers and the common people.
    - powerful individuals usually nobles or other wealthy citizens seized control of the government by appealing to the common people for support. These ruled called tyrants.
    - they are not harsh and cruel
Athens Builds a Limited Democracy
The idea of representation government also began to take roots in some city-states particularly Athens. Athens went through power struggle between rich and poor. They avoided major political upheavals by making timely reforms, and reformers moved toward democracy-ruled by people.
- Building Democracy
    - first step toward democracy is when a nobleman named Draco took power.
    - he developed a legal code based on that all Athenians were equal under the law.
    - Solon came to power in 594 B.C.
    - he state that no citizens should own another citizens, he outlawed debt slavery.
    - organized all citizens into four social classes.
    - 500 B.C., Cleisthenes organizing citizens into ten groups based on where they lived rather than on their wealth.
    - he allow all citizens to submit laws for debate and passage
    - this reform allow Athenian citizens to participate in a limited democracy.
- Athenian Education
    - for the most part, only the son of wealthy families received formal education.
    - they studied reading, grammar, poetry, history, mathematics and music; then they received training in logic and public speaking; athletic activities.
    - boys went to military school when they got older, to help defending Athens.
    - girls did;t attend school but was educated by their mother or other female members.
    - they learned about child-rearing, weaving cloth, preparing meals, managing the household, and other skills that helped them become good wives and mothers.
Sparta Builds a Military State
Southern part of Greece known as the Peloponnesus, Sparta was nearly cut off from the rest of Greece by the Gulf of Corinth.
- Sparta Dominates Messeninans
    - 725 B.C., Sparta conquered the neighboring region of Messenia and took over the land.
    - the Messenians became helots, forced to stay on the land they worked.
- Sparta's Government and Society
    - Spartan government had several branches.
    - An assembly-all Spartan citizens, elected officials and voted on major issues; The Council of Elders-30 older citizens, proposed laws on which the assembly voted; Five elected officials carried out the laws and controlled education and prosecuted court cases; two kings ruled over Sparta's military forces.
    - Spartan social order consisted of several groups.
    - First were citizens descended from the original inhabitants of the region.
    - Second, noncitizen who were free.
    - The helots, at the bottom, little bit better than slaves.
Spartan Daily Life
    - 600-371 B.C., Sparta had the most powerful army in Greece.
    - did not value artistic and intellectual pursuits, value duty, strength, and discipline over freedom, individuality beauty and learning.
    - men expected to serve in the army until 60.
    - girls were taught to put service to Sparta above everything-even love of family, were expected to remain out of sight and quietly raise children.
The Persian Wars
Danger of a helot revolt led Sparta to became a military state; struggles between rich and poor led Athens to become a democracy. The Greatest danger of all-invasion by Persian armies---moved Sparta and Athens alike to their greatest glory.
- A New Kind of Army Emerges
    - Dorian Age, only rich could afford the things in the armies.
    - soon, citizens could afford arm and defend themselves.
    - the foot soldiers called hoplites stood side by side; this fearsome formation, or phalanx, became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world.
- Battle at Marathon
    - the Persian Wars, between Greece and thePersian Empire, began in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia.
    - 546 B.C., the Persians conquered the area.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Greece Class Note

The world's great civilizations all located on water.
- Place
    - Africa
    - Arabla
    - India
    - China
- Why
    - drink
    - wash
    - transportation
    - grow food
- Key River
    - Mesopotamia/Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
    - Egypt/Nile River
    - India/ Indus River
    - China/Huang He River
Mediterranean-middle of the Earth, fresh water
Greece-not united, easier to sail because of the mountains.

Greece is a  mountainous peninsula
    mountains cover 3/4 of Greece
approximately 1,400 islands in the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean Sea
    this combination shaped Greece's culture
      they had many skilled sailors and shipbuilders
      also farmers, metalworkers, weavers potters
      olive oil, wine

20% is suitable for farming
grains grapes olives
lack of resources
temperature: 40 F winter; 80 F summer (pretty nice year-round)

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea

Cultural Interaction:
- the roots of Greek culture are based on interaction of the Mycenaean, Minoan and Dorian cultures.
- Much of Western cultural heritage were started during this time period.

Setting the stage
- ancient times, Greece was a collection of separate lands where Greek-speaking people lived.

Geography Shapes Greek Life
Ancient Greece consisted mainly of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into Mediterranean Sea. 2,000 islands and Ionian seas.
- The Sea
    - Greeks did not live on a land but around a sea. the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea and the neighboring Black Sea were important transportation and they linked most parts of Greece. Important because they were lack of natural resources.
- The Land
    - Rugged mountains covered about three-fourths of ancient Greece. The Greeks developed small, independent communities within each little valley and its surrounding mountains. With little farmland  or fresh water Greece can never support a large population.
- The Climate
    - Greece have a varied climate, with temperatures averaging 48 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 80 in summer.

Mycenaean Civilization Develops
Some of the people who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 B.C. were later known as Mycenaeans.
- Contact with Minoans
    -Sometimes after 1500 B.C. the Mycenaeans came into contact with the Minoan civilization, then they saw the value of seaborne trade. The Mycenaeans adapted the Minoan writing system to the Greek language and decorated vases with Minoan designs.
The Trojan War
- 1200s B.C., the Mycenaeans fought a ten-year war against Troy. They besieged and destroyed Troy because a Trojan prince had kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek King.
Greek Culture Declines Under the Dorians
A new group of people, the Dorians, moved into the war-torn countryside.
- Epics of Homer
    -Lacking writing, the Greek go this time learned about their history through the spoken word. The greatest storyteller was a blind man named Homer. Hector's response to his wife gives insight into the Greek heroic ideal of arete, meaning virtue and excellence.
- Greeks Create Myths
    - The Greeks developed a rich set of myths, or traditional stories, about their gods. Greeks attributed human qualities to their gods.