The Greeks

Minoans
Around 2,000 B.C.E. the Minoan civilization
developed on the Mediterranean island of Crete
They were influenced by the Egyptians and the
Phoenicians, but they were very different in many
ways
At Knossos they build lavish palaces with
plumbing and drainage systems for their rulers
these palaces indicate a very sophisticated
society
We know a great deal about the Minoans from the
frescoes they painted
They developed a style of writing called Linear A,
which uses symbols to form syllables.

Gradually Crete became the center for
Mediterranean trade
About 1700 B.C.E. an earthquake destroyed the
Minoan society
The Cretans rebuilt their palaces, but their wealth
attracted foreign invaders
By 11000 B.C.E. the Minoans had been taken over
by invaders


Mycenaean
About 2,200 B.C.E. an Indo-European group of
nomads settled the Greek peninsula
The Mycenaeans emerged in present day Greece
and transformed Linear A to Linear B.
They expanded their influence and ventured
beyond Greece to Sicily, southern Italy, and Crete
About 1,200 B.C.E. they became involved in a
struggle with the city of Troy in Anatolia
This war was the source of Homers Iliad
After 1,100 B.C.E. the Mycenaean civilization fell
into decline
Between 1,100 and 800 B.C.E. is known as the
Dark Ages

Archaic Period 800 480 B.C.E.
With no central authority the Greeks developed
independent city-states
Unlike the Chinese or Persians the Greeks did not
develop a centralized state they preferred poleis
These poleis became the centers for population
and trade
By the end of the dark Ages several had emerged
as large and powerful
Most notably Athens and Sparta

Sparta
Sparta, located in the Peloponnesus, used their
prisoners as helots, or slaves, and these slaves
soon outnumbered the Spartans.
The helots were not chained but they were not
free either
The role of the helot was to provide the
Spartans with a constant food supply
Due to this, the Spartans were forced into a life
dictated by military stature to ensure their
power and minimize the chance of slave
revolts.
The Spartans maintained a simple, austere
lifestyle
They did not accumulate wealth, nor did the
women wear jewelry
Success in Spartan society came from military
endeavors and heroism
Boys left their families at seven to live in military
barracks
At 20 they became soldiers and remained soldiers
until they retired
At 30 they could leave the barrack and live with
their wife
Athens
Both Athens and Sparta grew rapidly. However,
Athens was dominated by a government for the
people and was not driven by discipline and
sacrifice like the Spartans
The political process was limited to a small
number of the people, making their democracy
very different than modern day democracies.
Only a few adult males could participate in politics
and not all Athenians were citizens
Gradually, to ease social problems more people
were allowed to participate
Democracy Demos (People) and Cracy (Rule)
With a limited amount of farmland the Athenians
were forced to use the sea and establish colonies
Athenians prospered because of trade which
made the wealthy even wealthier
Gradually the aristocrats purchased all the small
plots of land
Poor people who fell into debt could sell
themselves into slavery to pay off the debt
With a growing population and increasing social
problems Athens was forced to address the
problems debt and land shortages
Solon
Athens grew very rapidly, as did the gap between the
rich and poor.
In response, Solon negotiated a compromise that
cancelled all debts of poor farmers and outlawed the
process of selling yourself into slavery, but he let the
aristocracy keep their land
He also gave the lower class more political rights, setting
examples for future peoples
He allowed any person with enough time the
opportunity to participate on the councils in reality
only the wealthy had the spare time!
Eventually commoners did receive payment for
participation in the government
Classical period 480 323 B.C.E.
Solons reforms help move Athens towards a
democracy, but the greatest changes would be
made by Pericles
Pericles was an aristocratic leader committed to
democratic ideals. He appointed hundreds of
ordinary people to government positions.
He was the leader of Athens from 443 B.C.E. until
his death in 429 B.C.E.
Under his leadership Athens flourished


Greek Expansion
The Greeks grew rapidly and thus
branched out across the Mediterranean,
often staying close to the sea.
They exchanged ideas on the coastal
waterways through trade.
This had a huge effect on the rest of the
world as Greek ideologies and language
spread throughout the world.
The Persians
The Persians had also created a large empire
in Anatolia and felt threatened by the Greeks.
Darius, a Persian king, sent a force to
destroy the Greeks but was defeated at the
Battle of Marathon.
His successor Xerxes also set out to destroy
Greece, but after he successfully burned
Athens he was defeated at the Battle of
Salamis.
The Delian League
After the Persian War Athens was supreme
a) strong navy
b) democratic institutions
c) excellent cultural life
d) prosperous trade
Sparta withdrew returned to isolationism
Athens assume control of the Delian League
a) liberate Ionian cities
b) be prepared for war
Athens supplied 200 ships
Others paid cash
Other city-states that protested were
punished by Athens
Pericles even used Delian League
money was used to build the Parthenon
in Athens
The situation continued to get worse
until several of the poleis combined to
fight back
The Peloponnesian War
The two powerful leaders were Athens and Sparta.
The war started in 431 B.C.E. but neither side
could gain an advantage
Athens controlled the seas and could continually
supply the city Sparta controlled the land but
could not force the Athenians to fight
Sparta lay siege to Athens and in 404 B.C.E. a
massive plague hit the city, the Athenians was
forced to surrender. However, the Spartans soon
realized that their government was not well suited
to oversee such a large area.
Philip of Macedonia
Philip II rose to power in 359 B.C.E.,
building up the military to make himself the
undisputed king of the Macedonians.
He was power hungry and soon attacked
the Greek city-states one by one. Slowly,
they fell and all of Greece was under the
control of Macedonia.
Alexander the Great
After the assassination of Philip II, his son,
Alexander succeeded him as king.
Alexander loved Greek culture and had been
tutored by Aristotle
He soon amassed an empire from Macedonia to
the Himalayas in India, controlling Egypt, Greece,
and Persia.
After taking his troops to India he was forced to
return when they mutinied and refused to go any
further
In 323 B.C.E. Alexander died at the age of thirty-
three
He had created the greatest empire the world had
seen
Hellenistic Age 323 30 B.C.E.
Alexander had spread Greek culture and influence
as far as India and opened the door to the
Hellenistic Age
After his death the empire was divided into three
large states
Antigonid Greece and Macedonia
Ptolemaic Egypt
Seleucid the Persian empire
Greek Rationale Thought
Thales - water was the source of all things
Empedocles - earth, air, water, fire
Democritus - atoms
Heraclitus - constant motion theory
Pythagoras - all things were mathematical
relationships
Protagoras - man is the measure of all
things
Movement away from the supernatural
Hippocrates of Cos - Father of Medicine
stressed observation and experimentation
treated the symptoms

Sophists - turned from the natural to the
human
itinerant teachers
lectured on rhetoric and composition

Socrates, a famous philosopher, employed the
Socratic method in which he asked his pupils
questions, making them think to gain the answer.
Not a sophist - stonemason
Basic views of western philosophy
The unexamined life is not worth living
Arrested for corrupting the youth and not
believing the gods
Socrates believed in arete - excellence
Socrates committed suicide by drinking hemlock
Socrates
Plato
Student of Socrates
Founded the academy
Disliked democracy
Wrote republic
Good life
Aristotle
Student of Plato
Tutored Alexander the Great
Good man-good life
Moderation in all things
Wrote Politics - polis
Systemization of knowledge
Theories lasted until the 17th century
History
Herodotus - Father of History, wrote
History of the Persian War
Thucydides - more analytical and
honest
Greek Society
Greek trade relied heavily on wine & olive
oil because these grew easily in areas with
little fertile soil in the mountains.
The Olympic games, first held in 1896,
were a huge part of the culture, allowing
individuals to maintain their identity.
Women were not really free
They had to raise children and manage the
house
Men spent their time at the gymnasium
Divorces and marriages arranged by males
Girls were not usually educated at the
Academy
Boys also had two years of military service
sound in mind and body
Religion
The Greeks were polytheists
Elements of nature were represented by gods
Unlike the Egyptians the Greeks did not worry
about life after death
Greek deities had human form and had to deal
with human emotions such as love
The gods often fought each other in heavenly
battles
Slavery
Slavery was very popular in Greek society.
They were highly prized, especially those
with educated backgrounds.
Though slaves were not considered
citizens, they could purchase their own
freedom and petition for citizenship.