Ancient Greece

Big Idea
Greece’s geography and its nearness to the
sea strongly influenced the developed of
trade and the growth of city-states
Main Ideas:
1. Geography helped shape early Greek civilization
2. Trading cultures developed in the Minoan and
Mycenaean civilizations
3. The Greeks created city-states fro protection and
security

If You were there….
You live on the rocky coast of a bright blue
sea. Across the water you can see dozens
of islands and points of land jutting out into
the sea. Rugged mountains rise steeply
behind your village. It is hard to travel across
the mountains in order to visit other villages
or towns. Near your home on the coast is a
sheltered cove where it’s easy to anchor a
boat.
What could you do to make a
living here?

Mountains
Effect on Greeks
• 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

Seas
•Source of food
•Means of trade
•Transportation
•Helped exchange ideas
with other cultures
Textbook p 229-
Q: What bodies of water surround
Greece?

BOOM!
Greece is located in an
active earthquake zone
and regularly hit by
tremors.
Around 1450 BC, a Greek
island disappeared! Most
of Thera vanished when a
volcano erupted there. The
explosion triggered
earthquakes, tsunamis
and dust clouds that
damaged may other Greek

Greek City-States
Greeks of the Dark Ages left no written
records
About 300 years after the Mycenaean
civilization (early Greeks) fell apart, Greeks
began to join together into small groups for
protection & stability.
Like in Sumer, these groups became
independent city-states known as polis
in Greece.
Creation of polls marks the beginning of
the Greek Classical Period
A Classical Age is marked by great
achievements

Classical Greek City-

Same city-state

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

Polis Agora
(Marketplac
e)
• 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

Coins displayed city
wealth and pride.
• Made of real silver
• Images of gods & goddesses,
heroes, monsters, and favorite local
animals

Quick Check
1.What was a city-state?
2. What was the center of many
cities?
3. What were coins made of?
4. How did the Greeks defend
their cities?

Citizens, Foreigners,
Slaves
Within most city-states, there were different classes of
people.
Citizens were men who were born in the city-state, as well
as their wives and children
Foreigners were traders, sailors or traveling artists and
scholars
Slaves belonged to their owners

In wealthy city-states almost
half the population were
slaves.
Household slaves did the shopping, cooking,
household work & childcare
Groups of slaves worked as laborers as builders,
road-menders, miners, and even security guards
According to a slave’s job, their conditions could
be bad.

In 508 BC, Athenian leader Cleisthenes
established a new system of government
called ‘democracy’
Use textbook pages 236 & 237 to complete this organizer.
Oligarchy Tyranny Democracy
Ruled by a
small group of
powerful
(wealthy)
aristocrats
“Ruled by
Few”
Peisistratus
overthrew the
oligarchy
“Ruled by a
tyrant”- a
strong leader
who has all the
power
“Ruled by the
people”
First time in
history a
government was
based on the
votes of its free
citizens- called
an assembly

What Athenian Democracy
looked like:
Citizens could make speeches at the Assembly to
propose new laws for their community.
Citizens also served as jurors in city-state courts and debate
on important government decisions, like declaring war.
Once a year, Athenian citizens voted to ban unpopular
people from their city for ten years (exile).
They scratched the persons name of a piece of ostrakon
(broken pottery piece)
If 6,000 citizens voted to ban the same man, that person
had 10 days to leave the city!

Democracy then and now
In Athenian Direct
Democracy
In American
Representative
Democracy
• All citizens met as a
group to debate and vote
directly on every issue
• Citizens elect
representatives to debate
and vote on issues for
them
• There was no separation
of powers. Citizens
created laws, enforced
laws, and acted as judges
• There is a separation of
powers. Citizens elect
some people to create
laws, others to enforce
laws, and other to be
judges.
• Only free male citizens
could vote. Women and
• Men and women who are
citizens have the right to

Quick Check
1.What is democracy?
2.Where was it
established?
3.What is an ostrakon?
4.What was it used for?

Mighty Athens
Athens was the greatest city in Greece.
Between 510- 431BC, owned best farmland, a port with a
good harbor, sliver mines, and had a trained citizen
army… all of which made Athens rich, strong and very
confident.
The Acropolis (‘high city’) was considered a holy hill
where an ancient fortress was located. The Parthenon
was one of those buildings there that overlooked
Athens.
The Acropolis 2:29

Delian League
In 490 and 480 BC, armies from Persia (now Iran)
invaded Greece.
The Persians were defeated but the attack left Greek
city-states felling threatened.
The city-states joined together to make the Delian
League- name comes from the island if Delos, where
congress held meetings in the temple and where the
treasury stood.
Athens took charge of the League and build a huge
navy and sent soldiers to “advise” the other city-states.
By 454 BC, Athens controlled most of Greece.

War on Land & Sea
All Greek male citizens were trained to fight when they
were teenagers
Each soldier had to pay for his own weapons and
armor
most were hoplites (soldiers who fought on foot) and
needed swords and spears
Poor men only had sling shots and wooden spears
Soldiers rarely fought on horseback because they
would fall off the back when fighting
City-states paid for fleets of
fast warships called triremes

Family Life
A persons wealth, rank, an
occupation all depended on the
family they were born into
Fathers were the head of the family
and had power over everyone,
including the slaves, who lived in the
house
All Greek parents wanted a son to
pass on their family name to the
next generation and the family
property, business, and wealth

Women in Greece
Most girls married very young, around 13 years
old
Women did not have the same rights as men-according
to the law, women could not vote,
make a public speech or take any part in politics
Horrible Histories:
Greek Women
Festival 2:30

Education
Children were expected to be well-behaved, obedient,
worship their family’s gods and goddesses, and to
always show respect to their parents
Boys from wealthy families stared school at age 7-
taught to read, write, simple athematic, sing, play an
instrument, debate, and how to recite poetry. They
played sport: running, jumping, wrestling, and throwing
the javelin.
School was not for girls
Most boys left school when they were
14 to study under local scholars or
sophist (traveling teachers)
Greek Thinkers Song
3:09

Socrat
es
Lived during the time of Pericles
In his 40s, he began thinking about the
world around him. He asked: “What is
wisdom?” “What is beauty?” “What is the
right thing to do?”
He asked many people the answer to
these questions; some answered some
did not.
He began to teach people to think better
by asking them more questions which
showed them problems in their logic.
This is called Socratic Method or
Questioning.
This often times made people mad at
him and sometimes try to beat him up!!!!
Soon he began to teach other young
men his ideas (Plato was one of them)
He wanted people treated morally equal
in the government as well
Socrates Rescue 1:52

Plato
Plato was a student of
Socrates & from a wealthy
family
Republic- describes Plato’s
thought on a better form of
government for Athens.
Believed most people were
not smart enough to make
good decisions when voting,
so they shouldn’t be allowed
to.
Instead, he wanted the best
people (or educated) chosen
to act as Guardians (or
representatives) for the rest
and make those decisions for
them.

Aristotle
Student of Plato
Tutor of Alexander the Great
Founded the Lyceum school to compete against Plato’s
academy
Tried to create order in people’s governments by
creating a classification system:
Monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies, democracies, and
republics-which we still use today
Also the father of today’s scientific method: sought
logical methods for how the real world worked

The Golden Age of
Athens
Ancient Greece

Big idea
The people of Athens tried many different forms of
government before creating a democracy.
Main Idea:
1. Aristocrats and tyrants ruled early Athens
2. Athens created the world’s first democracy
3. Ancient democracy was different than modern
democracy

The Golden Age
The Golden Age – a time of achievement in ancient
Greece.
Pericles – a member of the aristocracy that led
Athens with the help of an assembly of other male
citizens.
Council of 500 – a group who decided what would be
discusses at each assembly meeting. They were
chosen by a drawing.
Public officials and jurors – Pericles ordered they be
paid a salary for the days they served.
“The school of Greece”
– Pericles hired the best artists
and scholars and put them to work
in the arts and sciences.

Gods & Goddesses
The world was filled with many
things, events, and
happenings that the Greek
people could not understand
or have control over
They believed these unknown
forces were gods &
goddesses
They were pictured as
superhuman creatures- strong
and beautiful, but had
weaknesses like humans

They believed in magic spirits and monsters such as
Gargons (turned men into stone), Sirens (bird-women
whose songs lured sailors to their death), as well as
witchcraft and curses
Oracles- Greeks believed they were holy messengers
who could see the future
Poets retold myths and legend about the gods

Temples & Festivals
Temples/shines were built as holy homes for the gods and
goddesses
Each city-state had its own guardian god with many temples
with lifelike statues of him or her
People hoped & feared they would meet a god in the temple
or in a forest or on a mountain top
Mount Olympus: where they believed all the gods and
goddesses met to make plans, feast, love, and quarrel.
People offered prayers and sacrifices to their gods &
goddesses
A few drops of wine or a valuable livestock was offered
Meat of sacrificed animals was cooked and shared with
worshippers
The bones and skin was burned on the alter so the smoke

Quick Check
1.What were temples?
2.Where did all the gods and
goddesses go to meet?
3.What did people offer to their
gods and goddesses?
4.What happened at shrines?

Olympic Games
Olympic Games began as a
festival to honor Zeus- 776 BC
Every four years athletes
would travel from all across
Greece to participate in the
games
Most popular games: running,
long jump, wrestling and
boxing
Events featured weapons and
war skills
Winners of Olympic games
were deemed heroes and
given a crown of laurel leaves
as a sign of their god-like
strength & speed
Females were not allowed to
Flame
song
3:20
HHTV Sport Ancient Greece Olympics 2:41

Quick Check
1. When were the first Olympic
Games held?
2. Who were the games in honor
of?
3. Could women go to the Olympic
Games?
4. What did winning athletes wear
on their heads?

Plays and Poetry
In early Greek rituals, priests and
priestesses would play the part of their
god or goddess as they acted out
stories about them or local heroes.
Over time, these rituals would
become a new art form known as-drama.
Drama was so popular in ancient
Greece that huge open-air theatres
were built to host performances
Ancient Greek Theatre
5:31

All the parts were
played by men
They wore masks
and elaborate
costumes to look like
women, magical
beings, and monsters
Some theatres even
had ladders and
cranes to make
actors playing gods
seem as if they were
flying or sitting in the
clouds

In Athens, drama was an important part of several
religious festivals
Competitions for best new plays
Serious plays –tragedies and lively comedies
They could last minutes to all day long
Plays were written like poetry
Main actors had singers and dancers with them to portray
the mood of the scene
Music played on the lyre while a poem was
recited
Music set the tone for sadness, tragedy,
happiness, excitement
Poets recited at men’s dinner parties
Storytellers preformed in wealthy people’s
homes
Singing poets entertained with music in
the streets

Scientists & Thinkers
Rap
3:48
Aristarchus was the first person to understand that the
Earth travels around the sun
Hipparchus mapped the stars
Thales discovered the mathematical laws about circle
and triangles
Pythagoras worked out the mathematics behind music
and measured the movement of the Sun and moon
Pythagorean Theory: the square of the hypotenuse (the
side opposite the right angle of a triangle) is equal to the
sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Today this is Algebra & Geometry

Most ancient Greeks believed the gods brought illness as
a punishment. But, Hippocrates, and doctors who
followed him, tried to cur people using food, fresh air,
exercise, and herbal medicines
Engineers designed a clock to time speakers at the
Athenian Assembly using water-power
Archimedes designed a a huge glass lens that focused
the Sun’s rays on enemy ships to set them on fire

Philip II of Macedonia
Philip II, ruler of Macedonia, thought it was his destiny
to unit the Greek city-states and spread the Greek
culture
He conquered Greece in 338 BC by:
building up and equipping his army with stronger
weapons
Bribing Greece officials
Making treaties and alliances with Greek leaders
Philip II began to gear his army up to invade
Persia next, but was killed in the middle of his
preparations
His 20 year old son Alexander took over the
throne

Alexander the Great
Alexander was tutored by Aristotle for three years,
teaching him literature, political science, geography, and
biology
Alexander used much of what he learned by incorporating
it into his army.
He ordered scientist to collect plant and animal samples
from the new places he had conquered and send them
back to Aristotle for examination.
Alexander feared nothing. He never lost a battle.
His conquests would expand his empire more than 22,00
miles, from the Nile to the Indus River.

Alexander the Great wanted
a world-wide state where
everyone lived in peace,
unity, and justice to his
empire
His goal was to unite the
Macedonians, the Greeks,
and the Persians
He began by:
Putting Persian soldiers in
his army
Married Persian women and
had 80 of his leading
officers marry Persian
women too
They also dressed in
Persian fashions

Alexander follows some of the Persian
customs
Rulers claim to be gods- Alexander
claimed he was a god and insisted the
people to treat him as such
The Greeks and Macedonians refused to
acknowledge his request and objected to
equal treatment for the Persians
They called people who did not speak or
follow Greek customs barbaroi or
barbarians.
Alexander did not succeed in united his
empire

Alexander's
Achievements During his rule he founded 70 cities (16 were named
Alexandria)
He encouraged Greeks and Macedonians to settle
these new cities to spread Greek culture
Most famous city founded is Alexandria, Egypt
Within 70 years of its founding it became a center of
trade and learning; attracting Greeks from across the
Mediterranean
It had two great harbors with a lighthouse- one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
There was also a palace and a school with a library
(known as the Museum)- the library had the largest
collection of books in ancient times

End of an Empire
323 BC, Alexander died in
Babylon at the age of 33 from
an illness
His body was wrapped in gold
and placed in a glass coffin in
the Royal Tombs of Alexandria,
Egypt
More than 80 versions in 20
different languages, have been
written about his life’s stories
After his death, Greek city-states
became independent
once again, but economic
conditions grew worse in
Greece
Most Greek city-states were
Iron Maiden- Alexander the Great
8:35

Hellenistic Period
Alexander’s brief but thorough empire-building
campaign changed the world: It spread Greek
ideas and culture from the Eastern
Mediterranean to Asia. Historians call this era
the “Hellenistic period.” (The word “Hellenistic”
comes from the word Hellazein, which means
“to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks.”) It
lasted from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C.
until 31 B.C., when Roman troops conquered
the last of the territories that the Macedonian
king had once ruled
- History.com

Quick Check
1. Why was Alexander unable to achieve
unity among the people of his empire?
2. Why did many Greeks go to Alexandria,
Egypt?
3. How did the physical features of
Alexandria, Egypt help trade?
4. What happened to the Greek city-states
by 146 BC?

Journal
Activity:
City-States
Compare the city-state
of Sumar in
Mesopotamia and the
Classical Age city-state
in Greece.
-5 minute write:
• Similarities?
• Differences?
• Provide examples to
support your
statements.