Greece Report for Soc 18

1. Greece: Revolution in the
Meditteranean
Group 5
Apalin
Pino
Mauna
Dacillo

3. Geography
Greece is located on the Balkan peninsula
about the size of Louisiana in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Located on the continent of Europe, it’s very
close to Egypt, the Persian empire (which
includes Turkey) and Rome.
Mountains divided Greece into different
regions. 75% of Greece is covered in
mountains.

4. Seas Surrounding Greece
a.Aegean Sea is to the East of
Greece.
b.Ionian Sea to the West of
Greece in btw. Greece and
Italy.
c. Mediterranean Sea to the
South of Greece.

6. Seas
• Source of food
• Means of trade
• Transportation
• Helped
exchange ideas
with other
cultures

7. Mountains
• Little farmland
• Villages and towns separated from each
other travel difficulty
• Little contact between towns
• Mountains covered 3/4th
of Greece
• Grew olives, grapes, & grain
• Raised sheep, goats, pigs, & cattle for skins
to make clothing

8. Settlements
a. Most people lived along the coast.
b. Soil was rich and there was a mild
climate which was good for farming and
raising animals.
c. The Greeks sold their crops to other
lands located across the seas.
d. Trade spread Greek ideas and Greeks
got the alphabet and coins from other
civilizations.

9. Early Greek Civilization
• This civilization was developing on the
island of Crete while Egypt and
Mesopotamia were flourishing.
• Aegean Civilizations
–Minoan (island of Crete)
–Mycenaean
(mainland Greece)

10. Minoan Civilization
• The Minoan Civilization was an
Aegean Bronze Age civilization that
arose on the island of Crete and
flourished from approximately 2700 to
1450 BC. The Minoan culture was
established by the 27th century BC.

12. • Trade with Fertile Crescent and Egypt
– Olive oil & pottery
• Love of art and beauty
• Knossos = capital
– Flush toilets
– Bath tubs
– Indoor plumbing

13. KING MINOS
• In Greek
mythology, Minos was a king
of Crete, son
of Zeus and Europa. After his
death, Minos became a judge
of the dead in the underworld.

14. • Every nine years, he made King
Aegeus pick seven young boys
and seven young girls to be sent
to Daedalus' creation,
the labyrinth, to be eaten by
the Minotaur.

15. LABYRINTH
• In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an
elaborate structure designed and built by
the legendary artificer Daedalus for
King Minos of Crete at Knossos.
• Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a
mythical creature that was half man and
half bull . Daedalus had so cunningly
made the Labyrinth that he could barely
escape it after he built it.

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17. THE FALL OF MINOANS
• Sometimes in 1600s BC a huge volcano erupted
that created a giant wave or Tsunami that flooded
much of Crete. The eruption also threw up huge
clouds of ash ruining crops, and burying almost all
cities in Crete.
• The eruption devastated the island of Thera (also
called Santorini), including the Minoan settlement at
Akrotiri, as well as communities and agricultural
areas on nearby islands and on the coast of Crete.

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19. MYCENAEAN PERIOD
• Mycenaean Greece refers to the last
phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient
Greece (ca. 1600–1100 BC). It takes
its name from the archaeological site
of Mycenae in Argolis, Peloponnese,
southern Greece.

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21. • This period of Greek history is the
historical setting of much
ancient Greek literature and myth,
including the epics of Homer.

22. KING AGEMEMNON
• When Helen, the wife of
Menelaus, was abducted by Paris
of Troy, Agamemnon commanded
the united Greek armed forces in
the ensuing Trojan War.

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24. TROJAN WAR
• In Greek mythology, the Trojan
War was waged against the city
of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks)
after Paris of Troy
took Helen from her
husband Menelaus king
of Sparta.

25. • The war is one of the most
important events in Greek
mythology and has been narrated
through many works of Greek
literature, most notably
through Homer's Iliad

26. TROJAN HORSE
• The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan
War about the subterfuge that the Greeks
used to enter the city of Troy and win the
conflict.
• In the canonical version, after a fruitless
10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a
huge wooden horse, and hid a select force
of men inside

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28. • The Greeks pretended to sail away, and
the Trojans pulled the horse into their city
as a victory trophy. That night the Greek
force crept out of the horse and opened
the gates for the rest of the Greek army,
which had sailed back under cover of
night.

29. • The Greeks
entered and
destroyed the
city of Troy,
decisively
ending the
war.

30. THE FALL OF MYCENAEANS
• From around 1200 BC, the palace
centers and outlying settlements of
the Mycenaean’s highly organized
culture began to be abandoned or
destroyed, and by 1050 BC, the
recognizable features of Mycenaean
culture had disappeared.

31. • Many explanations attribute the fall of the
Mycenaean civilization to climatic or
environmental catastrophe combined with
an invasion by Dorians or by the Sea
Peoples or the widespread availability of
edged weapons of iron, but no single
explanation fits the
available archaeological evidence.

32. DARK AGES (ca. 1100–
800 BC)
• The Greek Dark
Age or Ages and Geometric or Homeric
Age are terms which have regularly been
used to refer to the period of Greek
history from the presumed Dorian
Invasion and end of the Mycenaean
Civilization around 1100 BC, to the first
signs of the Greek polis in the
9th century BC.

33. HOMER
• In the Western
Classical
Tradition, Homer
is the author of
the Iliad and the
Odyssey, and is
revered as the
greatest
of Greek epic
poets.

34. ILLIAD
• The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic
poem in, traditionally attributed to Homer.
Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year
siege of the city of Troy (*Ilium) by a
coalition of Greek states, it tells of the
battles and events during the weeks of a
quarrel between King Agamemnon and
the warrior Achilles.
•

35. ODYSSEY
• The poem mainly centers on the
Greek hero Odysseus (known
as Ulysses in Roman myths) and his
journey home after the fall of Troy. It
takes Odysseus ten years to
reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan
War.

36. • In his absence, it is assumed he
has died, and his
wife Penelope and son
Telemachus must deal with a
group of unruly suitors, the
Mnesteres or Proci, who compete
for Penelope's hand in marriage.

37. Mythology
• Played dominant role in Greek life
• Myths = to explain their beliefs about life,
world, god
• 12 gods/goddesses
• Zeus = king of Gods
– Apollo = son
• Athena = wisdom
• Many gods had human characteristics
(anthropomorphism)

39. Olympic Games
• Every 4 years on Mt. Olympia
• Physical contest to please the gods
• Goal = to attain physical perfection
• Rare cooperation between Greek city-
states

40. The Greek City-State
• Usually built around a strong fortress (huge walls)
• Fortress was located on top of a high hill called
the acropolis, for added protection
• Farmers lived near fields outside of the city walls
• Women, children, and the elderly would gather
inside the city walls for protection when needed
though
• The men of the polis formed
an army to fight off enemies

41. Polis Agora
(Marketplace)
• City focused on marketplace
• Large open space in city
• Farmers brought their crops
to the market to trade for
goods made by craftsmen in
town
• Shops lined the outskirts of
the agora
• Also served as a meeting
place for people
• Held political & religious
assemblies in the agora

42. Sparta vs. Athens
• Southern Greece
• Strict military state
• Highest goal = best
warrior for Sparta
• Government controlled all
aspects of life
• Even women encouraged
to be physically fit!
• Oligarchy government at
its best!
– Peloponnesian League to
protect against Athens
• Eastern Greece
• Creative and commercial
• Highest Goal =
individualism & preserve
culture
• Early rule by monarch
• Later oligarchy
• Solon created Council of
400
– Represented all sections
of Athens
• After Solon, tyranny
– Pericles – rule of people

43. ATHENS
• GOVERNMENTS IN ATHENS
–Monarchy
–Oligarchy
–Tyranny
–Democracy

44. MONARCHY
• In early Athens, kings ruled the
city states.
• There were no written accounts
about who became one of the
monarchs, but written accounts
said that there are some monarch
that ruled Athens.

45. OLIGARCHY
• A group of rich landowners, or
aristocrats took power. they
dominated the Athenian society
and ran the city’s economy.
• They also served as judges and
generals.

46. DRACO
• A man named Draco
created a new set of
laws for Athens. These
laws are very. For
example, minor crimes
such as loitering is
already punishable by
death.

47. SOLON
• The people of Athens thought
Draco’s laws were very harsh , so
in 590s BC, a man named Solon
created a set of laws that were
much less harsh and gave more
rights for non-aristocrats.

48. • Solon’s law
state that all
free men living
in Athens has
the rights to
became a
citizen, people
who could
participate in
government.

49. TYRANNY
• Because the athenians weren’t
pleased With the rule of the
aristocrats, they wanted a new form
of government. In 546 BC, a noble
man named Pisistratus, over-threw
the oligarchy. Pisistratus is called a
“Tyrant”, which meant a leader who
held power through the use of force.

50. • After Pisistratus died, his son took over
the power. Many aristocrats, however
became unhappy because their power
was gone. Some planned a rival city-state
to attack the Athens. As a result of this
invasion, tyrants lose power and
aristocrats returned to power in Athens.

51. DEMOCRACY
• It was a system of Direct Democracy, in
which participating citizens voted directly
on legislation and executive bills.
Participation was not open to all residents:
to vote one had to be an adult, male
citizen, and the number of these "varied
between 30,000 and 50,000 out of a total
population of around 250,000 to 300,000."

52. • At times, the opinion of voters could be
strongly influenced by the political satire of
the comic poets at the theatres.

53. CLEISTHENES
• He is credited with reforming the
constitution of ancient Athens and
setting it on a democratic footing
in 508/7 BC. For these
accomplishments, historians refer
to him as “The Father Of
Athenian Democracy”.

55. SPARTA
• Sparta was officially ruled by Two
kings who jointly led the army.
But elected officers had more
power than the kings. These
officials ran the Sparta’s day-to-
day activities.

57. SPARTANS
• These are usually warriors that
courageously defend there
city-state.
• It also includes government
officials, judges, and kings.

58. PERIOCI
• They were the skilled artisans that
creates supplies for the city.
• Spartan merchants and traders are
also a perioci.
• They were also the only people
allowed to travel to other cities, which
the Spartans were not, unless given
permission.

59. HELOTS
• The helots were a subjugated population
group that formed the main population
of Sparta.
• Their exact status was already disputed in
antiquity: according to Critias, they were
"slaves to the utmost", whereas according
to Pollux, they occupied a status "between
free men and slaves“.

60. LYCURGUS
• Lycurgus was the
legendary lawgiver
of Sparta, who
established the
military-oriented
reformation of Spartan
society in accordance
with the Oracle of
Apollo at Delphi.

61. • All his reforms were directed
towards the three Spartan
Virtues:
– equality (among citizens)
–military fitness
–and austerity.