The Civilization of the Greeks

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431 BCE: Period of Warring States in China and beginning of Peloponnesian War between Athens and SpartaPericles Funeral Oration: democracy and importance of the individualGreeks questioned the world around them and created system of logical, analytical thought to examine8th c BCE city-state (polis) emergedClassical era= 5th c. BCEUltimately defeated by Philip II of Macedonia, but Greek culture continued to spread by Alexander the Great(Hellenic “Greek” vs. Hellenistic “Greek-like” culture)

{ Mountainous terrain/ limited arable land: couldn’t unify- rise of independent city-statesMediterranean Sea was KeySparta on PeloponnesusAthens on Attica Peninsula

Early Greece

earliest civilization in Aegean region on island of Crete around 2800 BCE

Palace at Knossos- sea empire Contact with Egypt: evidence in trade Height between 2000 and 1450 BCE Palace had bathrooms with drains! Bull-vaulting Around 1450BCE sudden and catastrophic collapse-

cause still debated: perhaps an invasion by the Mycenaeans?

Minoan Crete

Greek civilization that flourished between 1600 and 1100BCE

Key city= Thebes Epic poetry of Homer- did Mycenaean Greeks, led by

Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, sack the city of Troy c. 1250BCE?

Was Troy a vassal of the Hittites? Decline due to invasion

First GREEK State- Mycenae

The Greeks in a Dark Age (c. 1100-750BCE)

Declining population and failing food production

Large number of Greeks migrated to other places, including SW shore of Asia Minor “Ionia”

Iron replaced bronze in weapons= more affordable and prevalent

8th c. BCE: Greeks adopted Phoenecian alphabet

Homer – Iliad and Odyssey

Homer and Homeric Greece Iliad and Odyssey based on oral tradition Gave Greeks an idealized past Iliad: poem of Trjoan War- sparked by Paris,

a prince of Troy, kidnapping Helen, wife of King of Sparta. Spartan king’s brother, Agamemnon of Mycenae Greeks attacked Troy

Helen was “The Face which launched a thousand ships.”

Tale of Greek hero Achilles “Achilles heel” Odyssey: Epic Romance- journeys of Greek

hero, Odysseus, from fall of Troy until reunited with his wife Penelope, 20 years later

Values of aristocratic heroes

Homer’s Enduring Importance Gave Greeks a common and

idealized past Arete: excellence befitting a

hero…won in a struggle or a contest

Popularity of Homer’s epics as educational tools: memorization

Homer’s Ideal of Excellence: The Iliad “Fate is a thing that no man born of woman, coward, or hero can escape.”

The Greek City States (c. 750-c. 500 BCE)

What were the chief features of the polis, or city – state, and how did Athens and Sparta differ?

Plural poleis Small, autonomous political unity…consisted

of city and its surrounding countryside Acropolis: fortified hill Agora: open marketplace (agoraphobia: fear

of crowds) Polis: community of citizens in which all

political, economic, social, cultural, and religious activities were focused.

Citizens with political rights (free adult males), citizens with no political rights (women and children, and noncitizens (slaves and resident aliens)

The Polis

Greek Way of War New military order based on

hoplites: heavily armed infantrymen who wore bronze or leather helmets, breastplates, and greaves (shin guards)…round shield, short sward, and thrusting spear about 9 feet long

Battle formation= phalanx…safety of which depended on the solidarity and discipline of its members

War was an integral part of the Greek way of life

Excellent weapons and body armor, wide number of citizen-soldiers (rather than mercenaries), use of heavy infantry

Between 750 to 550BCE large numbers of Greeks left to settle in distant lands due to the growing gulf between rich and poor, overpopulation, and the development of trade.

New Greek settlements: coastline of southern Italy, southern France, eastern Spain, and northern Africa, west of Egypt…city of Byzantium in the north…fostered greater sense of Greek identity

Colonization also led to increased trade and industry…new wealthy class to compete with aristocrats

Colonization and Trade

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Tyranny in the Greek PolisGreek tyrants came to power in an unconstitutional way (usurpers of power)…support for tyrants mostly came from new rich and poorOligarchies “rule by small group of wealthy people”Common transition of power in Athens: monarchy-oligarchy-tyranny-democracy

SPARTA

located in the southeastern PeloponnesusSpartans conquered the Laconians and Messenians and reduced them to serfdom…known as HELOTS- forced to work for Spartans…created military state to control the helots

The New Sparta 800-600BCE Lycurgan Reforms: in Sparta to maintain control over the conquered Messenians Spartan’s lives were rigidly organized and controlled Spartan= highly self-disciplined (ex: Spartan lifestyle) Boys moved to military barracks at 7…could marry at 20…could live at home at

30…could visit home, but not get caught Military life: “come back with your shield, or on top of it…” Spartan women had greater rights/freedom…marry later, exercise

The Spartan StateGovernment organized as an oligarchy2 kings, led army, shared power with the gerousia, (council of elders)apella= assembly of all male citizensIsolationistPhilosophy discouraged, focus on warBy 500 BCE: Sparta dominated the Peloponnesian League

Government in Athens: Monarchy to Oligarchy to Tyranny to Democracy

Disparity between rich and poor, some Athenian farmers were being sold into slavery if they couldn’t pay debts by their aristocratic neighbors

Athens

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The Reforms of Solon Solon= reform-minded aristocrat as

sole archon in 594BCE w/ full power to make changes…Solon canceled all land debts, no human collateral, and freed slaves from debts…did not redistribute the land

Pisistratus seized power in 560BCE as a tyrant (usurper of power)

solon

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The Reforms of Cleisthenes Created the Council of 500, chosen by

lot by the ten tribes in which all citizens had been enrolled…administration of both foreign and financial affairs

Assembly of all male citizens had final say

Reforms of Cleisthenes created the foundation for Athenian democracy

Democracy= demos, “people”, kratia, “power”

The Birth of Democracy

Foreign Influence on Early Greek Culture Cultural diffusion between the Greeks and the older

civilizations of the Near East and Egypt Ex: multiple gods and goddesses and the story of a flood

from Mesopotamia Kouros statues= example of diffusion between Egypt and

Greece Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, but added

vowels…Greek was a truly phonetic alphabet, easier to read and use

Greeks versus Persians, Greeks saw the struggle with the Persians was a contest between freedom and slavery

Ionian Greek cities in Asia Minor were subjects of the Persians

Unsuccessful Ionian revolt, aided by Athenian navy, led to Persian ruler Darius to seek revenge by attacking mainland Greeks

490BCE Persians defeated by Athenians at Marathon Xerxes succeeded Darius Greek Trireme= standard warship of ancient Greece…

especially effective at ramming enemy ships Xerxes led an invasion of Greece…Greeks tried to

delay the Persians at the pass of Thermopylae…Greek force led by Spartan King Leonidas and 300 Spartans held pass for 2 days…then a traitor showed the Persians a pass to outflank the Greeks…Spartans fought to the last man

Athenians abandoned their city and Persians burned it

Defeat of the Persians with use of the navy at Salamis

Persians…

The Growth of an Athenian Empire in the Age of Pericles

Formation of the Delian League, led by Athens…city-states had to pay tribute, Athens controlled the treasury

Age of Pericles, 461-431 BCE, height of Athenian power and the culmination of its brilliance as a civilization

Magistrates chosen by lot, many male citizens got the chance to serve during their lifetime

Strategoi: board of 10 officials elected by public vote to guide affairs of the state

Lower-class citizens were now eligible for public offices with state pay for officeholders

However, aristocrats still held most important offices

Pericles used the treasury money of the Delian League to rebuild Athens, for example: the Parthenon

Sparta accused Athens of mismanaging Delian League funds

Athenian Empire in the age of Pericles

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The Great Peloponnesian War and the Decline of the Greek States

Sparta vs. Athens 431BCE outbreak of war Athenians wanted to rely on their walls

and their navy, Spartans wanted to rely on their army

Plague broke out in Athens, losing 1/3 of population, including Pericles

404BCE Athens was defeated by Sparta, and was forced to tear down the walls of their city

Ultimately weakened the Greek City-states, next 70 years Athens, Sparta, and Thebes jockeyed for position, oblivious to growing threat of Macedonia to the north.

{ {Greek Culture Athens was the center of culture The Writing of History Herodotus – Persian Wars Thucydides- Peloponnesian WarDrama First Greek dramas were tragedies

with all parts played by men. Aeschylus: first tragedia Sophocles: most famous work=

Oedipus Rex (or Oedipus the King)…man is destined to kill his father and marry his mother

Euripedes: questioned traditional moral and religious values

Common theme: humans are free but can only operate within limitations imposed by the gods

Comedies came later: Aristophanes= famous comedian with Lysistrata and The Clouds

The Arts Classical style- reason, moderation,

symmetry, balance, and harmony in all things Parthenon: ideal classical style Wisdom Philosophy= Greek word meaning “Love of

Wisdom” Sophists: group of philosophers in the 5th

century BCE – believed in relative truth and that understanding the universe was beyond the reach of the human mind…importance of rhetoric…”true wisdom consisted of being able to perceive and pursue one’s own good”

Socrates: believed in absolute truth…Socratic Method…believed all knowledge is within each person, only critical examination was needed to call it forth…sentenced to death for corrupting the youth

3 orders of columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian

Plato: student of Socrates…how do we know what is real? The objects that we perceive with our senses are simply reflections of the ideal Forms.

Plato’s government ideas- book: The Republic…rule by “philosopher-kings”…established school in Athens called The Academy…believed men and women should have the same education and equal access to all positions

Aristotle: student of Plato, teacher to Alexander the Great. Analyzing and classifying things based on thorough research and investigation

Aristotle’s book on government: Politics…3 good forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional government…believed women were biologically inferior to men

Aristotle Socrates Plato

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Religion was integral to Greek society Public festivals important…civic cult necessary

for the well-being of the state…multiple gods/ goddesses

Axial Age: between 700 and 300 BCE: development of ideas or “axes” that remained the basis for religions and philosophies for hundreds of years: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zoroaster, Hebrews, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Buddhism

Polytheistic, 12 chief gods who lived on Mt. Olympus

Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Poseidon Rituals and sacrifice Olympic games originated to honor Zeus Oracles as interpreters of the gods

Religion

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Life in Classical Athens Polis was a male community, women, slaves, and foreign

residents of Athens were excluded (about 85% of total pop.) Slavery was pervasive Economy and Lifestyle Athenian economy was based on agriculture and trade Lack of arable land…Athens had to import 50 to 80% of its

grain, therefore trade was very important Olive oil Family and Relationships Family was central institution in ancient Athens Women’s primary role was to bear children, especially boys Athenian women married at 14 or 15…Spartan women later

18 to 20 Male homosexuality was a prominent feature of Athenian

life.

Life…

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Alexander the Great

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