• Mountains impeded communication and allowed the

creation of independent city-statesDid not prohibit creation of a single Greek

culture• The Sea

Natural harbors and limited arable land encouraged the Greeks to turn to the sea

Allowed the Greek city-states to develop trade networks and establish colonies

• Minoan civilization flourished on the Island of Crete (2000-1500 BCE)

• Bureaucratic monarchy• Trading Society- King was

chief “entrepreneur”• Major palace at Knossos• Contact with developing

Mycenaean culture on Greek mainland

• Fall of Minoan civilization due to Mycenaeans and natural disaster

Palace at Knossos

Minoan Trade- Major trade with Egypt, Mesopotamia, mainland Greece, and Mediterranean colonies

Linear A

The yet to be deciphered written language of the Minoans

• Heinrich Schliemann

• Excavations of Troy and Mycenae

• Growth of archaeology

• Indo-European people - invaded the Greek peninsula

• Began to form city-states by 1600 BCE

• The Mycenaeans (after the leading city, Mycenae) dominated the Aegean Sea from 1500-1200 BCE

• Cities were built on hills for protection.

• The Mycenaeans waged war against Troy for dominance in the Aegean

• The Mycenaeans - conquered by the Dorians

• Iron weapons versus bronze weapons

Linear B

The written language of the Mycenaeans

Linear A

Linear B

• Period between the fall of the Mycenaeans and the rise of the city-states (1150 - 800 BCE)

• No written records• Simplified political patterns - village

communities led by kings (tribal leaders)• Little to no trade (no word for merchant)

• 800-600 BCE – growth of independent city-states

• Despite independence, a single Greek culture was established.

• Greek culture characterized by single written language

based on the Phoenician alphabet

Shared polytheistic religion

Regular celebrations including the Olympics.

• Greek alphabet evolved from Phoenician alphabet• Phoenician alphabet lacked vowels (likewise

Hebrew and Arabic) so the Greeks invented them.• Reading and writing became so simple that

literacy became widespread.

• Colonization The emergence of

the city-states was sparked by revival in trade and increasing literacy

Colonization movement began due to population pressures

Colonization centered on Italy and Sicily

Warfare Warfare changed

from horses and chariots (nobles) to infantry and the phalanx (commoners).

This shift from noble warriors to farmer warriors caused political shifts

Phalanx - tight battle formation of hoplites.

Hoplite – armored Greek citizen soldier

• Polis (city-state) –concept that most influenced the lives of Greeks

• Greeks believed they had certain rights and obligations as citizens.

• Government varied from city-state to city-state

• All citizens were expected to serve in the government.

• Acropolis - each city-state built a temple to its patron god on the highest hill (acropolis)

• Agora - open area used as a meeting place and for markets

• Ostracism - the forced exile of a citizen for ten years. 6,000 vote minimum needed The Agora in Athens today

• Oracle at Delphi – temple for Apollo where a priestess (oracle) foretold the future

• Became a place for pilgrimage

• Greek architecture Indirectly influenced

by Egypt Greek columns

Doric - used mostly on mainland Greece

Ionic - used mostly in Greek colonies

Corinthian - used most by the Romans

Doric

Ionic

Corinthian

Greek sculpture idealized the human figure

• Large territory (1,060sqm)• Large mineral deposits

and good harbors • Diverse commercial state• Strong in the arts:

literature and sculpture• Strong in philosophy:

Socrates and Plato• Established numerous

colonies• Use of slavery

The Acropolis in Athens

• Women in Athens Women secluded in the

home Producing children the

primary role – interval of one child every two years

Life expectancy 36 years Girls married at 14 to older

husbands Marriages arranged – dowry Household duties menial Women seen as inferior –

not worthy of a relationship

• Government included oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy

• Move towards commercial estates impoverished small farmers creating social unrest

• Solon instituted reforms giving poor greater voice in government

Solon

• Social conflict led to rule of Pisistratus (tyrant)

• Renewed conflict led to rule by Clisthenes who instituted democratic reforms (assembly, vote)

• Democracy- mob rule? Socrates thought so! Why?

Socrates

• Imperialist phase - Athens dominated Greece through Delian League (trade alliance)

• During its peak of power, Athens was led by Pericles, an aristocrat.

• Pericles increased democratic institutions

Pericles

• Descended from Dorian invaders• Militaristic state built on the slavery

(serfdom) of the Helots• Male children raised by the state • Mandatory military service at age 7• Married men - age 30 could live at home

but eat at mess• Females raised by wives• Spartan women had more freedom than

women in other city-states• Disdained the arts; masters of the art of

war

Spartan Hoplite

• Government Two Kings (to act as military leaders) Council of Elders (28 + 2 kings). Proposed motions to be

voted on by assembly. Citizen Assembly (about 8,000) Panel of Magistrates (5). Replaced annually by assembly

vote. Performed day-to-day business. System emphasized equality among the citizens (8,000

out of about 400,000)

The Persian Empire

• Greek colonies absorbed by Persian Empire when Anatolia conquered by Cyrus (546 BCE)

• Ionian Revolt – Greek colonies revolt with aid from city-states Athens and Eretria

• Persians under Darius destroy Eretria and march on Athens

The Persian army on the move

• Persians defeated at Battle of Marathon

• Darius’ son, Xerxes, invades Greece

• Greek city-states unite under Spartans to resist Persians

• Battle of Thermopylae Battle of Thermopylae – The Three Hundred Spartans

• Athens sacked by Persians

• Persian navy destroyed at battle of Salamis

• Persian army routed at battle of Plataea

• Athens led naval alliance (Delian League) against Persia and liberated Greek colonies

Emperor Xerxes watches his defeat at the Battle of Salamis

• 431-404 BCE• Causes: quarrels over

colonies and fear of Athenian economic dominance

• System of alliances: Athens especially needed allies along waterways due to dependence on food and timber imports.

• Pericles: strategy to remain behind walls and supply Athens through its navy

• Spartans laid waste to area around Athens but could not penetrate its walls.

• Outbreak of plague within Athens’ city walls around 430 BCE - caused death of one quarter of the population

• Pericles himself succumbed to plague in 429 BCE

• Allies deserted Athens. • Defeat of Athenian navy

forced Athens to surrender

A Greek Trireme

Athens

Note city walls, walls protecting road to port, walls protecting port

• End result of the Peloponnesian War – Spartan victory but all Greek city-states greatly weakened.

• Greece could not withstand invasion by Macedonians under Philip II.

• Greece became part of the Macedonian Empire

• With murder of Philip II, Alexander became emperor

• Alexander loved Greek culture- tutored by Aristotle

• Embarked on conquest of Persian Empire

• Conquered Persia, Egypt, and attacked India

• Attempted blending of Greek and Persian cultures through forced intermarriages

• Took on the trappings of a Persian emperor – alienated many in his army

• Established Greek cities throughout empire

• Died in Babylon in 323 BCE at age 33

• Successors carved up empire

• Hellenistic Age established

Alexander the Great

• Who would be Alexander’s successor? “Hoti to kratisto” Greek for “to the strongest”

• Alexander’s generals divide up the empire• Generals established despotic dynasties

and ruled as semi-divine• Greek city-states established throughout

the Middle East• Hellenistic – from the Greek Hellenes

meaning “Greek” - the blending of Greek and Middle eastern culture

Cassander

Lysimachus

Seleucus

Ptolemy

Chandragupta

Original division of Alexander’s Empire by his generals (yellow)

Hellenistic Philosophies

• Cynicism“Cynic” Greek for dog – man should live

as naturally as beastsLeader- DiogenesGoal was self-sufficiency

Hellenistic Philosophies

• EpicureanismFounded by EpicurusGoal was the pursuit of pleasurePleasure defined as freedom from worry

and emotional turmoilAgainst participation in government

Hellenistic Philosophies• Stoicism

Founded by ZenoMost popular philosophyHappiness found by living in harmony

with GodFollowers could bear whatever life

threw at himPublic service and citizenship seen as

noble

• The Hellenistic period - an age of science

• A fusion of the natural curiosity and logic of the Greeks with Mesopotamian and Egyptian science along with patronage of Hellenistic rulers.

• Major advances in astronomy, mathematics, geography, medicine, and physics

• Aristarchus – established the heliocentric theory in which the planets revolve around the sun

• Ptolemy of Alexandria – established the geocentric theory in which the planets revolve around the earth

• Ptolemy’s theory became the prevailing theory during the Middle Ages

• Euclid - work on geometry formed the basis of that branch of mathematics until the 1800’s.

• Eratosthenes - calculated the circumference of the earth with an error of less than 200 miles using sundials. Also first suggested that one could reach Asia in the east by sailing west

• Herophilus Conducted human dissection Rejected Hippocrates’

contention that the body consisted of four humors and also the practice of bloodletting

These false theories were revived by the Roman Galen in the second century CE

• Archimedes of Syracuse Discovered the law of

specific gravity Invented the Archimedes

screw Formulated the principles of

the lever, pulley, and the screw

Invented the compound pulley and screw propeller

The Inventions of Archimedes

Archimedes used his ingenuity to design inventions such as the “claw” to fight off the invading Romans at Syracuse.

Although Rome was held off for a time, Syracuse eventually fell.

Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier.

The Archimedes Screw

• The Hellenistic period was a transition period between the decline of Greece and the emergence of Rome as a world power

• Greek works were preserved and expanded upon later by the Romans

• The Hellenistic Age was an age of the Greek cosmopolitan (universal citizen)

• Travelers could go from Italy to the border of India and all would speak Greek