Ancient Greece

1. Ancient Greece Heroes, Epics and City States

2. Geography – Mountains & Seas Ancient Greece was divided by mountains Ancient Greece was united by the Aegean Sea

3. Mycenae • The first Greeks centered their culture on the city of Mycenae • Mycenaean culture was dominated by a warrior elite equipped with bronze weapons • Mycenaean culture valued personal heroism • These cultural ideas were taught to young Greek men through the Epic poetry of Homer

4. The Dark Age • Mycenaean culture declined during the Dark Age • Learning, trade, food production and population declined • The dark Age ended when… The Greeks developed iron technology • This allowed for better tools and more food More food led to growing population and colonization • Colonization led to increased trade and the adoption of an alphabet (alpha – beta) based on the sophisticated Phoenician alphabet Colonies were created in many places • Southern Italy and Sicily • The Black Sea coast • Southern France • The North African Coast

5. Iron and Political Participation • The advent of Iron technology led directly to Iron Weapons and the rise of broader political participation • Hoplites demanded power in exchange for their military service • This political participation was always centered on a single polis – never on Greece as a whole • Greece developed several types of government, including Monarchies, Aristocracies, Democracies, and Oligarchies

6. The Polis • The Polis was the center of Greek life • Individual identity was attached to particular poleis • The beating heart of the Polis was the Agora and the Acropolis • The Agora was a marketplace were products were bought and sold and ideas were exchanged • The Acropolis was a fortress and the home of political assemblies • Citizens enjoyed certain privileges and also were required to fulfill certain responsibilities • The most important responsibility was to serve in the army as a Hoplite

7. Sparta • Sparta developed a unique expression of Greek culture • Sparta dominated the Peloponnese • Sparta was small but conquered Messenia • Messenians were enslaved and called helots • Messenians outnumbered Spartans 8 to 1 • Spartans were taken by the state at age 7, became soldiers at age 18, lived in the barracks until 30 and remained part of the army until age 60

8. Athens • Athens also was unique • Athens was the largest Polis in Greece • The government was controlled by the Aristocracy – the rich • Eventually a tyrant called Cleisthenes seized power and changed the government of Athens • Cleisthenes allied himself with the common people, and received in exchange their support He threw out the aristocrats and created a a new government • Cleisthenes is considered the father of Athenian democracy