The document summarizes key aspects of ancient Greek geography, society, and government. It describes how Greece's mountainous landscape divided the region into small areas and made unity difficult. It discusses the rise of independent city-states and different forms of government, including monarchies, aristocracies, oligarchies, and tyrannies. It focuses on reforms in Athens that established a limited direct democracy, where male citizens voted directly on laws.
3. Geography Shapes Ancient
Greek Life
Mainlandof Greece extends into
Mediterranean
Peninsula: body of land nearly surrounded
by water
Peloponnesus
Southern tip of Greece
Linked by an isthmus to the rest of Greece
4. Landscape & Climate
Covered by mountains
Divides land into many regions
No large rivers
Made transportation difficult
Rugged landscape
Made it difficult for Greece to unite under
single gov’t
Mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers
5. Agriculture
Rocky land
Small region good for farming
More than ½ Greeks were farmers
Greek society
Landowners were upper class & men
Could also supply himself w/ equipment needed to
defend his homeland
Had higher place in society than merchants & poor
Got more farmland by founding colonies in other
regions
Anatolia
6. Resources
Lacked natural resources
Had to find in other locations
2 important resources
Plentiful stone for building
Coastline w/ good sites for harbors
7. A seafaring People
Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, &
Aegean Sea
Highways of water
Used for transportation routes
Skilled sailors & ship builders
Rowing ships: war
Sailing ships: trade
Seas were source of food too
Fish important part of diet
8. Trade & Commerce
Did not produce much grain
Surplus of olive oil, wine, wool, & fine
pottery
Bought & sold goods between city-states &
other regions
Main items bought was
grain, timber, animal hides, & slaves
Alsotraded for nuts, figs, cheese, & flax (used
to make linen)
9. Mycenaean Civilization
Peloponnesus
Site of 1st civilizations
Mycenae (most important city)
On hills surrounded by a protective wall
King ruled each city of Mycenaean Greece & the
surrounding villages & farms
Nobles within Mycenae lived in luxury
Mycenaeans were traders
Culture: featured writing, gold jewelry, bronze
weapons, & fine pottery
Civilization collapsed around 1200 B.C. because of
invaders
Written records no longer kept; little known until around
750 B.C.
10. New Advances in Greek
Culture
Greeks learned from others
Phoenicians
Developed a writing system that used 22
symbols that stood for sounds
Greeks picked up on alphabet between 900
& 800 B.C.
Later evolved into own alphabet of 26 letters
Also learned about coins from trading w/
other peoples
Eventually developed new forms of literature
& gov’t
12. Greek Gods & Myths
Gods involved in peoples lives
The Gods of Greece
Had divine & human qualities (powerful, but
also had human emotions)
Constantly competed w/ each other
Zeus
Ruler of the gods
He & 11 other major gods & goddesses
lived on Mount Olympus
Each city had a special god or goddess
to protect it
i.e. Athena was protector of Athens
13. Greek Mythology
Myths: stories that people tell to explain
beliefs about their world
Developed to explain the creation of the
world & human beings
Many myths described how gods &
goddess related to one another & to
humans
Others portray Greek heroes & heroines
14. Honoring the Gods
Important to honor gods
Angry god could cause trouble
Built statues, temples, & had special events
15. Holy Festivals
Certaindays each month were hold to
different gods or goddess
Celebrated w/ sacrifices & public
ceremonies
16. The Olympics
Often part of religious festivals
Held every four years during major festival
that honored Zeus
Took place in Olympia
Only men competed in contests
During
Olympics a festival to honor the
goddess Hera wife of Zeus took place
Unmarried girls competed in foot races
17. Early Greek Literature
Stories told of ancient heroes
Passed down through generations & from long poems
that told stories (called epics)
Epics of Homer
Iliad & the Odyssey
Trojan War
Iliad
Greek warrior Achilles
Mother held him by his heel & dipped him in a special
river. Every place the water touched was protected from
injury. He was unbeatable in battle except when struck
by an arrow in his weak spot, his heel, & he died
Odyssey
Describes the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus.
On his trip home from the Trojan War, Odysseus offended
Poseidon (God of the sea). In revenge Poseidon made
Odysseus’ journey take 10 years. He & his men traveled
through strange & dangerous lands on trip home. He
used his wits & trickery to survive
18. Aesop’s Fables
Fable:a short story, usually involving
animals, & teaches a moral lesson.
Many today are credited to a Greek
named Aesop
Most famous is “The Hare & the Tortoise”
20. The Rise of City-States
Geography divided Greece into small
regions
Basic form of gov’t became the city-state
A state formed by a city and its surrounding
lands
21. Greek City-States
Greek word for city-state is polis
Most were small
Limited by geographic features
Athens & Sparta were the largest
Most controlled from 50 to 500 square miles
of territory & had fewer than 20,000
residents
Formed close communities
22. Layout of the City
Center of city-life was the agora (an open
space where people came for business &
public gatherings)
Male citizens meet to discuss politics
As well as festivals & athletic events
Statues, temples, & other public buildings
were found in and around this area
Many had a fortified hilltop or acropolis
1st
used for military later as places for temples
& palaces
23. Forms of Gov’t
Each city-state was independent
People figured out what kind worked for
them
Some kept the same form of gov’t over
time while others changed from one
system to another
24. Monarchs & Aristocrats
Monarchy
Earliest form of gov’t
King or queen has supreme power & rules
Aristocracy
Gov’t ruled by the upper class of society or
by nobility
Descended from high born ancestors
(claimed to be mythical heroes)
Corinth began as a monarchy, then an
aristocracy
25. Oligarchy
Rule by the few
People rule because of wealth or land ownership (not
inherited social class like aristocracy)
Tyrants
Someone who took power in an illegal way
Became king w/o royal birth
Poor were not part of gov’t in monarchies, aristocracies, or
oligarchies (they resented this & often rebelled)
Sometime a wealthy person wanted to seize power & would
ask the poor for help to become the leader
Tyrant would work to help the poor or created building
programs to provide jobs for them
Also made laws to cancel their debts owed
Tyrants helped to overthrow oligarchies & also showed if
common people united behind a leader, power could be
gained
26. Athens Builds a Limited
Democracy
Poor started to demand more political
power
Citizenship
A person who is loyal to a country & who is
entitled to protection by the gov’t of that
country
Only adult males (other variation depending
on your city-state)
Both upper & lower classes were citizens
Gradual reforms took place over time make a
major change to society
27. Solon
500 B.C.
Poor farmers had huge debts & were forced to
work the lands of someone else or become
slaves
They became very angry
594 B.C.
Solon chosen to lead Athens
Created reforms to prevent a revolt
Freed enslaved people
Made a law ending slavery
Organized citizens into four classes based on
wealth not birth
Richest: had most power
All citizens could serve in assembly (lawmaking
28. Cleisthenes
500 B.C.
Increased the power of Athenian citizens
even more
Reorganized the assembly to take power
away from the nobles
Organized citizens into 10 groups/tribes
Based on place of residence instead of wealth or
family ties
Set up a group of 10 commanders to lead
the military
Tribe elected leader to serve for 1 year
Also reformed the council that helped the
assembly to govern
Council of Five Hundred
29. Direct Democracy
Council of 500
50 men from each of the 10 tribes
Any citizen over the age of 30 qualified to be a member
Chosen by lot (random) to serve for a term of 1 year
Could be reelected only once
Council of 500 could suggest laws to the assembly for
debate & possible passage
Laws passed by majority vote
Changes
moved Athens to early form of
democracy
Gov’t in which the citizens make political decisions
either directly or through elected representatives
Athens had a direct democracy: all citizens meet to
decide on the laws
30. Limited Democracy &
Ostracism
Gov’t did not include all of the people
Only free adult males were citizen & could
take part in gov’t
Not women, enslaved people, or foreigners
Also included a system called ostracism
Any member of the assembly who though
someone was a danger to the city-state
could submit the name of the person for a
vote by the assembly. If enough votes
were received then that person was sent
way for 10 years
31. Citizens’ Responsibilities
Hadto serve in the army whenever they
were needed
Athenian citizens were trained for warfare
Also served on juries
Had to be at least 30
Had several hundred people to hear
charges against a person
All citizens were equal in the courts
No professional lawyers or judges
Citizens argued cases before the jury directly