The Trojan Warl The Mycenaean Kings

fought a ten year war against Troy

l Legend says the Greeks attacked and destroyed Troy because a Trojan youth kidnapped a Greek queen, Helen - most likely a trade war in the Aegean.

l Troy was thought to be fictional

l A German archeologist discovered what may be Troy on the coast of Turkey

l Possibly one of the last military campaigns of the Mycenaean's

The Seven “Layers” of Ancient Troy

Greek Culture Declinesl After the fall of the Mycenaean's a group

of sea raiders attacked and burned every palace.

l A group called the Dorians moved into the war torn land

l They were far less advancedl Their economy collapsed and trade

stalledl The Greeks apparently forgot how to

read and write for a period of time - hence no written record

Epics and Mythsl Greeks used oral story telling

– Homer was the greatest - a blind man– Little is known about him– Two great poems revolving around the Trojan war

the Illiad and the Odyssey– Two of the great heroes of the Iliad were Hector of

Troy and Achilles– Odysseus followed the war on his journey home

l Myths - traditional stories about their gods

l Helped explain unknown events like the changing of the seasons

Rule and Order in City Statesl Polis - city state, the fundamental

political unit – Made up of a city and its surrounding

country side, included numerous villages– Between 50 and 500 square miles of territory– Often less than 20,000 people– Agora - the public center– Acropolis - fortified hilltop where male

citizens gathered to conduct business.

The Agora

The Rise of the Greek Polis

Athens

Naxos Corinth

Syracuse

Larissa

Eboea

New Armiesl Iron allowed commoners to own

weapons and armorl Citizens became foot soldiers, or

hoplitesl Hoplites stood side by side holding a

spear in one hand and a shield in the other.

l The phalanx became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world

Tyrannical Rule

lThe new armies produced unstable ruling classes

lPoor farmers and in-debt merchants were able to rise up and take control

lSome of these leaders became tyrants

lTyrant - powerful individuals, who gained power through force

Political and Economic Reformsl Conflict between the aristocrats and the

commoners presented a need for lawsl A Greek lawmaker named Draco created the

first legal codel Dealing mainly with contracts and property

ownershipl Conflict continued, the aristocrats chose Solon

to head the governmentl Solon reformed the law

– Outlawed debt slavery ( enslavement to payoff a debt)

– Allowed citizens to debate policy at assembly

– Any citizen could bring charges against a wrongdoer

– Economic changes benefited many• Encouraged the export of grapes and olives• Initiated trade overseas to increase demand

Solon’s Rule Collapsesl Although Solon improved many political and

economic issues he did not correct land disputes

l Fighting erupted between wealthy landowners and the poor farmers

l Athens's first tyrant took power and provided funds for farmers to buy supplies and began building projects to increase jobs

l Cleisthenes takes power and continues reforms• Institutes a full democracy• Increased the power of the assembly• Created the council of five hundred proposed laws

and counseled the assembly• Members were chosen at random• Only 1/5 of Athenian residents were actually

citizens

The Persian Warsl The Persian War between the Greeks and the Persians

began in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia.l The Persians conquered the areal The Ionian Greeks revolted and the Athenians sent ships

and soldiersl The Persian king Darius defeated the rebels and vowed

to destroy Athensl A Persian Fleet landed on northwest Athens. A place

called Marathonl The Greek Phalanx was vastly outnumberedl They defeated the Persians, killing 6,400, losing only 192l The army leaders sent a runner to Athens to inform them

of the victory so they did not give up the city. The runner died upon delivering the message

l The Greek army secured the city and the Persian ships retreated

Consequences of the Persian War

lThe Greeks became confident and created an alliance...

lDelian League - 140 city-states led by Athens, cleared the Persians from the outlying lands

lAthens used its powerful navy - paid for by the League - to control league members

lThis led to a Golden Age of Greek Culture.

Pericles’ three Goals for Athens1. Strengthen Athenian Democracy

1. Increased paid public officials2. Increased public officials with salaries

1. Even the poorest could be elected or chosen2. More citizens got involved in government

3. Political rights were still limited4. Direct democracy is created

1. People run the government directly instead of through representatives

2. Hold and Strengthen the Empire1. Used money from the Delian league to make the Athenian Navy

the strongest in the Med2. Prosperity depended on gaining access the Med waterways and

overseas trade

3. Glorify Athens1. Used $$ to beautify Athens2. Without the Leagues approval Pericles hired many artisans who

spent 15 years building the Parthenon

Greek Art

lGreek sculpture typically did not show emotion

lClassical art - created by Greeks• Their values of order, balance, and

proportion are central to classical artlThe Parthenon was a masterpiece

• Dedicated to Athena, a massive statue was inside

• Contained gold and ivory. • Stood 38 feet tall

Greek Dramal The Greeks built the first theaters for wealthy

citizens to attend dramas.l Dramas expressed civic pride and tribute to the

gods through Tragedies or Comedies– Tragedies - serious dramas, heroes and their

flaws on display– Comedies - satires on real life

l Used colorful costumes, masks, and sets to dramatize stories about leadership, justice, and duties to the gods

Sparta Versus Athens

lTensions between Athens and Sparta peaked when Athens became a Naval power

l Instead of trying to prevent war the leaders of each city-state encouraged it

lBoth assumed they had the advantage

The Peloponnesian Warl Sparta declared war against Athens in

431 B.C.l Athens = the strongest sea power

– Sparta did not want a naval warl Sparta was inland, had a strong infantry

– Pericles did not want a land warl Athens strategy was to strike Sparta’s

allies at sea while Sparta used scorched earth strategy on Athenian land

l Stalemate until...– Athenian plague kills 1/3 to 2/3 of

population– Failed land campaign of Athenians– Athens surrenders

After the War

lAfter 27 years of war, Athens had lost its empire

lBelief in the democratic system of government was failing

lLeaders became corruptlThe assembly frequently changed

its mind and had trouble sticking to a specific political system.

Philosophers

lDetermined to seek the truthl“Lovers of Wisdom”lFollowed Two assumptions

– The universe is put together in an orderly way– People can understand these laws through

logic and understanding

Philosophers

lSocrates • Believed absolute standards existed for

truth and justice• Encouraged the Greeks to question their

moral character• Those who understood Socrates admired

him• A majority of the people could not

understand him• At the age of 70 he was tried for corrupting

the youth of Athens• Later he died from drinking a slow acting

poison

Philosophers

lPlato• A student of Socrates • Approx. 28 yo when Socrates died• Wrote down the conversations of

Socrates• Wrote The Republic - Delivered an idea of

the perfectly governed Society– Not a democracy, but ruled by the persons

with the greatest insight

Philosophers

lAristotle• A student of Plato• Questioned the nature of the world and of

human belief, thought, and knowledge• His work provides the basis for the

scientific method• Taught Alexander the Great as a 13 year

old boy• Teaching ended abruptly when Alexander

became the leader of the Macedonians

Phillip II and Alexander the Great

l After the Peloponnesian War both Athens and Sparta became weak, Greece weaker as a whole

l Phillip II, King of Macedonia took advantage and invaded with a highly trained army– paid for with gold newly found on his lands– professional army; phalanx perfected

l Greeks couldn’t unite and Macedonians take over the entire peninsula

l After Phillip II was assassinated, Alexander - his son - promises to invade Persia

l Doesn’t stop there - takes over Egypt, and parts of Asia - up through the Indus River.

l Wants to take over the world

The Death of Alexanderl Alexander was unable to fulfill his plansl One year after his return to Babylon he became ill

and died a month short of 33rd b-dayl His Macedonian Generals fought over the empire

– Three of the Generals gained control• Antigonous - King of Macedonia and Greece• Ptolemy - Pharaoh of Egypt• Seleucus - Took most of the old Persian Empire

l Did away with Democracy and took total controll Because of Alexander’s conquests cultures

mingled and cultural diffusion was widespreadl Hellenism: blending of Persian, Indian, Greek

(Hellenic), and Egyptian culture

Hellenistic Culturel Alexandria in Africa

– became the center of spread for the culture– The Nile allowed for the intersection for many

cultures– Pharos, 400 ft lighthouse, Alexander’s glass

tomb, museum and Library - first true research library in the history of the world.

l Science and Technology– Biggest advancements until the 16th century AD– Proposal of Heliocentric model, calculated

accurately the size of the Earth, disproved size of sun (still got it wrong though!), developed Geometry, the value of pi, physics (lever and pulley theories), Archimedes’ Screw (to raise water from ground) and steam engines!