Ancient Greece (1)

1.

Dr Muzaffar Munavvarov
Lecturer in History of International
Relations Dept. of IR/UWED
[email protected]

2.

Aegean Civilization
• Greek civilization began sometime after 3000
BCE on the island of Crete. Crete lies south of
Greece, on the southern border of the
Aegean Sea. This first civilization is called the
Minoan civilization.
• In the 1500s BCE Greek-speaking people
developed another civilization on the Greek
mainland. This civilization was called the
Mycenaean civilization. The Mycenaeans
conquered the Minoan capital between 1500
and 1400 BCE. In about 1200 BCE they
probably fought a war against Troy, a city in
Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Many Greek
legends tell of this war, called the Trojan War.
Two great poems from ancient Greece tell of
Mycenaean times. The poems, the Iliad and
the Odyssey, were said to be the works of a
man named Homer.

3.

Historians often divide up the history of ancient Greece into three
periods:
• Archaic Period - This period ran from
the start of Greek civilization in 800 BC
to the introduction of Democracy in
508 BC. This period included the start
of the Olympic Games and Homer's
writing of the Odyssey and the Illiad.
• Classical Period - This is the time that
many of us think of when we think of
ancient Greece. Athens was governed
by
a
democracy
and
great
philosophers like Socrates and Plato
arose. Also, the wars between Sparta
and Athens were during this time. This
period ended with the rise and then
the death of Alexander the Great in
323 BC.
• Hellenistic Period - The Hellenistic
period lasted from the death of
Alexander the Great until 31 BC when
Rome defeated Egypt at the Battle of
Actium. The name Hellenistic comes
from the Greek word "Hellas", which
is the original word for Greece.

4.

Greek Cities
• In about 1100 BCE the Dorians, a people from the north, invaded.
Mycenaean civilization came to an end. Many Mycenaeans moved across
the Aegean Sea. They settled in Ionia in Asia Minor.
• The Dorians settled mostly in the western sections of Greece. The people in
the eastern parts became known as Ionians. Together, the Dorians and the
Ionians formed the civilization known as classical, or ancient, Greece. They
built cities in most of what is now Greece.
• By 800 BCE the Greeks were building cities in new lands, too. Some went
east to the Black Sea. Others settled in the west, on the island of Sicily and
the mainland of Italy.
• Most of the classical Greek cities, called city-states, were independent of
each other. Athens and Sparta grew to be the most important city-states.
Athens spread its influence by uniting all the surrounding villages. By
contrast, Sparta sent armies to make slaves of its neighbors. By the 500s
BCE Sparta had the strongest army in Greece.

5.

6.

The Hellenes
• Despite their differences, the Greeks came to think of themselves as
one people. They called themselves the Hellenes. The Hellenes
shared a similar culture and spoke forms of the Greek language. They
even invented the word barbarian to describe anyone who did not
speak Greek.
• The ancient Greeks believed in many gods. They pictured their gods
as larger, more beautiful, and more powerful humans. These gods
were said to live on Mount Olympus in northern Greece.
• People often gathered together for festivals in ancient Greece. The
most famous festival was the original Olympic Games, which began in
about 776 BCE.

7.

8.

Democracy & Culture in Athens
• Powerful leaders ruled most of the city-states. Eventually, Athens took
the first steps toward democracy. In 621 BCE a ruler named Draco
drew up a written code of laws. Then, in the last years of the 500s
BCE, another leader set up a democratic government. All free men
with Athenian parents were members of the city’s lawmaking group.
However, women, foreigners, and slaves were not included.
• Athens also became the Greek center of literature and the arts. The
philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were great teachers there.
Poets and playwrights wrote works that are still read and performed
today. Painted pottery became a fine art and a great industry.
Athenians built beautiful buildings and sculptures out of marble.

9.

10.

The Persian Wars & The Peloponnesian War
• In the 500s BCE the empire of Persia (modern Iran) took over the Greek cities in
Ionia. In about 499 BCE the city of Miletus started a rebellion against the Persians.
Athens sent 20 ships to aid the Ionian Greeks, but the Persians crushed the revolt.
• Beginning in 490 BCE, the Persians attacked the Greek mainland several times.
The Greeks fought back and finally defeated the Persians in 479 BCE. After the
Greek victory, Athens grew stronger.
• By the 400s BCE, Athens controlled most of eastern Greece, many of the Aegean
islands, and the Ionian coast in Asia Minor. The Spartans thought that Athens was
too powerful. They began the Peloponnesian War against Athens in 431 bce.
• At first, the Athenians avoided battle on land. They stayed within the walls of
their city. Their navy attacked Sparta from the sea. The Athenians stayed safe
until 430 BCE, when plague (a deadly disease) broke out in the city. The disease
killed one-quarter of the people, including Pericles, their leader.
• Sparta won the war in 404 BCE. Sparta kept a leading position for only 30 years,
however. In 371 BCE another Greek city, called Thebes, defeated Sparta.

11.

12.

Rise of Macedonia
• In the 300s BCE Macedonia, a kingdom to the north, gained strength. The
Macedonians were distantly related to the Greeks. The Macedonian king Philip II
conquered the Greek city-states by 338 BCE. When he died in 336, his son
Alexander came to power.
• Alexander, called Alexander the Great, was a military genius. First he defeated the
Persian king Darius III in 333 BCE. Then he spent a decade conquering lands from
Egypt to India. He took Greek civilization to much of the ancient world.
• Alexander died in 323 BCE. The period following his death is called the Hellenistic
Age. “Hellenistic” means “Greek-like.”
• Alexander’s empire broke into three main kingdoms in Macedonia, Egypt, and the
Middle East. In these kingdoms, Greek culture mixed with local cultures. In
Greece itself, some of the cities regained their independence or joined together
in leagues.
• Ancient Rome conquered all of Greece and the three Hellenistic kingdoms by 30
BCE. Greece remained under the Roman Empire until 395 CE. Then it became a
part of the Byzantine Empire.

13.

• Athens and Sparta were
the two main city states
that ruled much of ancient
Greece. They were often
rivals and fought each
other in the Peloponnesian
Wars. At other times they
united together in order to
protect the Greek lands
from invaders.
• The cultures of the two
cities were very different.
Sparta was almost entirely
focused on war and how to
fight, while Athens focused
on the arts and learning.

14.

Interesting Facts about Ancient Greece
• The Greeks often ate dinner while lying on their sides.
• They invented the yo-yo which is considered the 2nd oldest toy in the world after
the doll.
• About one third of the population of some city-states were slaves.
• There were more city-states than just Sparta and Athens, ancient Greece had
around 100 city-states.
• The Romans copied much of the Greek culture including their gods, architecture,
language, and even how they ate!
• Pheidippides was a Greek hero who ran 150 miles from Marathon to Sparta to get
help against the Persians. After the Greeks won the war, he ran 25 miles from
Marathon to Athens to announce the victory. This is where the marathon running
race gets its name.
• When law trials were held in the city of Athens, they used large juries of 500
citizens. That's a lot more than the 12 we use today.

15.

What were the two main city states in Ancient Greece?
• 1) Roma & Alexandria
• 2) Corinth & Olympia
• 3) Sparta & Athens
• 4) Thebes & Argos
• 5) Delphi & Sikyon

16.

What do we call the period of Ancient Greece history that occurred
before the Greeks introduced democracy?
• 1) Monarchy Period
• 2) Hellenistic Period
• 3) Classical Period
• 4) Archaic Period
• 5) Feudal Period

17.

What effect did the geography of Greece have on its early development?
• 1) Greece had lots of natural
resources, so they never traded
with other nations.
• 2) Being located on the
Mediterranean sea limited
cultural diffusion.
• 3) 75% of Greece was covered by
mountains, which led to
independent city-states (called
polis).
• 4) Its location limited
colonization outside of Greece.

18.

Who was the Persian king who led his massive forces in an invasion of
Greece, only to be held off by the Spartans?
• 1) Darius I
• 2) Artaxerxes I
• 3) Bardiya
• 4) Xerxes

19.

Which statement describes a direct democracy?
• 1) The government controls the
actions of the people.
• 2) Citizens participate in
government decisions by voting
on all laws.
• 3) The military leaders create
laws.
• 4) Religious leaders control the
government.

20.

What period was marked by democracy and great philosophers such as
Plato and Socrates?
• 1) Monarchy Period
• 2) Hellenistic Period
• 3) Classical Period
• 4) Archaic Period
• 5) Philosophic Period

21.

What was the primary focus of much of the culture of the city of Sparta?
• 1) Food & celebration
• 2) Music & literature
• 3) Painting & sculpture
• 4) Fishing & farming
• 5) War & fighting

22.

Which of the following statements best describes the historical
significance of Ancient Greece?
1) It was a powerful civilization
with little lasting influence.
2) Much of today`s Western
culture has been influenced by
Ancient Greek culture.
3) Greek culture had a large
impact on Asian culture including
China and Japan.
4) The Ancient Greeks had little
impact on the rest of the world
other than the Olympic games.

23.

What was the primary focus of much of the culture of the city of Athens?
1) War and Fighting
2) Athletics and Competition
3) Art and Education
4) Power and Conquest
5) Food and Drink

24.

What do we call the last period of Ancient Greece, before they were
conquered by the Romans?
• Romantic Period
• Hellenistic Period
• Classical Period
• Archaic Period
• Golden Period

25.

What toy was invented by the Greeks that many children still play with
today?
• Slinky
• Kites
• Marbles
• Yo-yo
• Blocks

26.

What area of modern Western society was greatly influenced by the
Ancient Greek culture?
• Government
• Art
• Literature
• Sports
• All of the Above

27.

Explanations
• Sparta placed more importance on
the military compared to Athens.
The city-state of Sparta was known
for its highly disciplined and
militaristic society. The primary
focus of Spartan society was to
produce strong and capable
warriors. Military training and
service were highly valued, and
every aspect of Spartan life
revolved around preparing for and
supporting the military. On the
other hand, Athens, while having a
strong navy, placed more emphasis
on education, art, culture, and
democratic governance.
• The geography of Greece, with 75%
of its land covered by mountains,
led to the development of
independent city-states or polis.
The mountainous terrain created
barriers between different regions,
making it difficult for a centralized
government to control the entire
area. As a result, each city-state
developed its own government,
laws, and culture. This led to a
sense of independence and
competition among the city-states,
which influenced the political,
social, and economic development
of ancient Greece.

28.

• Xerxes was the Persian king who
led his massive forces in an
invasion of Greece, only to be held
off by the Spartans. This is a wellknown historical event known as
the Battle of Thermopylae, where a
small group of Spartan warriors,
led by King Leonidas, held off the
Persian army for several days.
Xerxes' invasion ultimately failed,
and this event became a symbol of
Greek resistance against Persian
aggression.
• A direct democracy is a form of
government where citizens have
the power to participate in
decision-making processes by
directly voting on all laws. In this
system, the government does not
control the actions of the people,
and neither do military or religious
leaders. Instead, the citizens
themselves have the authority to
shape and determine the laws that
govern them through their active
participation in the voting process.