Ancient Greece Flashcards
1
Q
Minoans
A
- Civilization in eastern Mediterranean (island of Crete) of Crete
- tropical climate
- First settlers sailed to island (7000 - 6000 BCE)
- Food: ; rudimentary knowledge of farming (growed grain crops); pasturing sheep and goats; hunting and fishing
2
Q
Early Minoan period (3200-2000 BCE)
A
- Early Bronze Age; use of metal to make better tools and weapons
- Bronze: nine parts copper to one part of tin
- Engaged in agriculture; had a form of writing, social organization, advanced metal working, and highly skilled forms of art
3
Q
Middle Minoan (ca. 2000 - 1550 BCE)
A
Wealthy people built bigger and finer houses; these eventually became palaces
4
Q
Knossos
A
- The site of the largest and most important palace on Crete
- The oldest of similar palaces on Crete
a centre of political power; most likely a home to a powerful monarch, king, or queen - Rooms used for administrative, residential, religious purposes; storage and workshops
- Frescoes: watercolour paintings done on wet plaster
- earthquakes destroyed earlier palaces
5
Q
Late Minoan (1550 BCE - 1100 BCE)
A
- 1450 BCE: all palaces destroyed except for Knossos
- Knossos fell to Mycenaeans; took over Knossos
- Palace at Knossos destroyed by a great fire: Mycenaeans did not bother to rebuild
- King Minos - legendary king of Knossos
6
Q
Mycenaeans
A
- People who lived on mainland Greece
- Neolithic farming villages scattered in the narrow valleys from 6500 BCE - 3000 BCE
- Bronze Age : from 2200 BCE, pace of change quickened
Carefully planned houses; increased wealth; use of seals to identify personal property
Invaders from the north resulted in people reverting to a poorer and simpler farming life (2000 BCE)
7
Q
Middle Helladic ca 2000 - 1500 BCE
A
- Myceneans spoke an early form of Greek
- A very wealthy civilization sprang up; the political centre of this culture was Mycenae
- Kings lived like feudal lords; each governed his own wide area of Greece from a well fortified palace; all of these kings may have owed some allegiance to the King of Mycenae (most powerful state)
1200 BCE - all of the citadels (except Mycanae) were captured and Destroyed. Mycenae eventually fell 100 years later
8
Q
Theseus and the Minotaur - how does this story relate to history?
A
Concept of ritual human sacrifice; reflected in Minoan art (young men and women leaping over bull horns); archaelogists have found recent evidence of this
9
Q
Heinrich Schliemann - Who was he?
A
Archaelogist who discovered Mycaenae in fall of 1876; was unsure of what he originally found
10
Q
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
A
- Homer (750 BCE) : an Ionian Greek; believed to be from the island of Chios; a professional writer; his tales would have been passed down orally, and then eventaully written down-
- Iliad and Odyssey: two epic poems; creited to Homer, but may have been the work of many people
Iliad - chief source of information regarding the Trojan War; story involves gods, doddesses, and a talking horse
Odyssey - tells of the struggles of the Greek hero Odysseus returning home to his wife Penelope (after the fall of Troy); Odysseus encounters a sea monster, a race of one-eyed giants, and a beautiful sorceress who turns men into swine
11
Q
Trojan War - destroyed in a battle ca. 1240 BCE.
A
- Story of conflict between the kingdom of Troy (western Turkey) and Mycenaen empire
- Myth has story of construction of a wooden horse; it was used in a rouse to fool Priam (leader of Troy); he had taken Helen as prisoner (wife of Mycenean King). Horse was filled with soldiers who ransacked and destroyed Troy
12
Q
Olympic Games - began in 776 BCE
A
- Considered to be very important; the fragmented city states would for the events
- Free born Greeks could participate; participants seeked fame and honour; not for money
- A Spartan women (Kyniska) was the first woman to win an event at the ancient Olympic Games; she was part of a 4 horse chariot team; married women were banned from Olympia during the games
13
Q
Democracy
A
- Athens: 700 BCE : noble landowners (aristocracy) held power and chose the chief officials; nobles judged major cases in court and dominated the assembly
- Discontent spread amongst ordinary people; merchants and soldiers resented the nobles
- Farmers demanded change also; forced to sell their land to nobles in hard times; some sold themselves and their families into slavery to pay their debts 620 BCE : written code of law is created
14
Q
Ostracism
A
- a proposal put for by Cleisthenes (a member of a noble family)
- Allowed the state to send any citizen, along with huis family.into exile for 10 years.
- Was meant as a means to rid Athens of any citizen who might try for tyranny (create instability in athen)
- Assembly voted to decide if the ostracism procedure was needed; 600 minimum votes were cast among citizens; the name that appeared most was sent into exile.
15
Q
Xerxes
A
Persian King; invaded Europe and moved towards Greece (480 BCE)
Athens and Sparta united to defend Greece
16
Q
Delian league
A
- was a permanent alliance to defend to defend Greek
states from further aggression from Persia - formed after Persian invasion of 480-479 BCE.
- Aristedes represented Athens; each Greek state paid an annual tribute (tax) toward a common naval fleet.
- Treasury and meetings held at the sanctuary of Apollo on the island of Delos (thus the name Delian League)
- This alliance did not include Sparta (did not want to be involved in affairs outside the Peloponnese)
- Eventually became a forced union; alliance members who wanted out were still forced to pay their share
17
Q
Pericles
A
- a young Athenian commander; tried to free the Greeks on the island of Cyprus from the Persians; started a revolt in Egypt against the Persians.
- Fear of revolt by Persians; Pericles had the treasury of the Delian League moved back to Athens in 454; Delain League became an empire controlled by Athens
- guided Athens for 30 years
– every citizen could speak and vote on every piece of legislation in the assembly (direct democracy)
– every man had an equal chance to hold every public office - Women slaves, and foreigners could not hold citizenship
Citizenship restricted to men whose parents (both mothers and fathers) had been born of citizen fathers.
18
Q
Peloponnesian Wa
A
- Sparta and other enemies of Athens formed the
Peloponnesian League - Sparta encouraged oligarchy in the Peloponnasin League; athens supported democracy amongst its allies
- Athen started to interfere with the affairs of Corinth’s colonies (corinth was a rich city state). It was a part of Peloponnesian League.
- 431 BCE - war breaks out between Sparta and Athens; lasted for 27 years
- Sparta was inland; difficult to attack
- Sparta marched north to Athens; Pericles allowed people from surrounding countryside to move inside city walls
- Overcrowding led to plague; a third of the population (including Pericles) died.
- Sparta allied itself with Persia to capture Athens (404 BCE).
- Athenian domination of the Greek world ended at this point
19
Q
Thucydides
A
wrote the history of the Peloponnesian War; he caught the Plague but survived.
20
Q
Parthenon
A
- the Acropolis is an ancient citadel in Athens; located on a high rocky outcrop; the Parthenon is a temple that is part of this structure.
- A temple dedicated to Athena; completed in 431 BCE
21
Q
Philip The Great
A
- gained the throne of Macedonia in 359 BCE; formed alliances with many Greek city-state
- defeated the combined forces of Athens and thebes in 338 BCE; brought all of Greece under his control.
- his goal was to conquer the Persian Empire
- assassinated at his daughter’s wedding
- Phillip’s wife outmaneuvered his other wives and children and put her own son (Alexander) on the throne.
22
Q
Alexander the great
A
- was 20 years old when he ascended to the throne
- began organizing forces to conquer Persia
- Persia was weakened at this time; Emperor Darius III was weak and provinces were in rebellion at different times against him.
- Persian Empire stretched over 2000 miles (from Egypt to India)
- started defeating the Persians in battles and gained territory
- Battle of Gaugamela 331 BCE: decisive battle victory over Persian army what is now Iraqi Kurdistan
- 331 BCE: Babylon is captured, and then other Persian capitals. Alexander’s troops moved eastward
- 326 BCE crossed the Hindu Kush mountains into northern India; faced soldiers mounted on war elephants.
- soldiers grew weary and refused to go further east; Alexander agreed to turn back and headed towards Babylon to begin planning a new campaign
- Alexander suddenly fell ill; after years of disorder, three generals divided up the empire
- Macedonia and Greece went to one general; Egypt to another general; and most of Persia to another general
- following 300 years: descendants of these generals competed for power over these lands,
23
Q
Legacy of Alexander the Great
A
- one of history’s most successful military leaders
- spreading of Greek culture
- founded many new cities (many named after him); Greek soldiers traders, and artisans settled these new cities
- building of Greek temples (architecture) display of Greek statues; athletic contests
- local people assimilated Greek ideas
- blending of eastern and western cultures
- Alexander married a Persian woman; adopted Persian dress and customs
- Hellenistic culture: blended Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian influences
24
Q
Socrates
A
- Plato called him “the wisest, justest, and best of all I have ever known.”
- Socratic Method: he would pose a series of questions to his students; they would be challenged to examine the implications of their answers
- seen as a way to help others seek truth and self knowledge
- at age 70, was put on trial; enemies accused him of corrupting the city’s youth and failure to respect the gods
- Socrates offered a calm defense; jury of 501 citizens condemned him to death
- he accepted the death penalty; died by drinking a cup of hemlock ( a deadly poison).
25
Q
Plato
A
- execution of Socrates left him with a life-long distrust of democracy
- fled Athens for 10 year; returned and set up an Academy and wrote about his own ideas
- returned and set up an Academy and wrote about his own ideas
- emphasized the importance of reason; rational thought leads to the discovery of ethical values, recognize beauty, and better organize society
- “The Republic” - Plato described his vision of an ideal state
- Society should be divided into three classes:
a. workers to produce the necessities of life
b. soldiers to defend the state
c. philosophers to rule : ensure order and justice; wisest would be a philosopher- king that would have the ultimate authority - some women were superior to men generally, men surpassed women in mental and physical tasks
- Talented women should be educated to serve the state
26
Q
Aristotle
A
- Plato’s most famous student; developed his own ideas about government.
- found good examples of both monarchy and democracy
- was suspicious of democracy; felt it could lead to mob rule.
- favoured rule by a single strong and virtuous leader.
- promoted reason as the guiding force for learning;
- “golden mean”: good conduct is a moderate between extremes
- Education: set up a school (the Lyceum )
- left writings on politics, ethics, logic, biology, literature, and other subjects
- first universities in Europe evolved 1500 years later;largely based on the works of Aristotle
27
Q
Hippocrates
A
- approx. 400 BCE, studied the causes illnesses and looked for cures
- Hippocratic Oath - set ethical standards for doctors
a. Physicians swear to “help the sick according to my ability and
judgement but never with a view to injury and wrong”
b. Physicians swore to protect the privacy of patients
28
Q
Sappho
A
- a poet / singer
- From the island of Lesbos; wrote about love and the beauty of her home island
- Ran a finishing school (etiquette) for aristocratic girls on lesbos; a common theme in her poems is an expression of deep love for certain students
- regarded by Greeks as among the most beautiful poetry ever produced
29
Q
How did Greek philosophers impact the development of their society?
A
- Greek thinkers challenged the belief that events were caused by the whims of gods; used observation and reason to find causes for what happened.
- believed that reason and observation could lead to discovery of laws that governed the universe
- Sophists: questioned accepted ideas; developed skills in rhetoric (art of skillful speaking)
- Sophists gained a following by young Athenians following the Peloponnesian War; older citizens felt that they were undermining traditional values
30
Q
Describe elements of architecture in Ancient Greece and its influences.
A
Doric and Ionic styles
- order, balance, and logic
- product of tremendous engineering and mathematical skills
31
Q
What advancements were made during the Hellenistic civilization?
A
- New Schools of thought
- Zeno (founder) urged people to avoid desires and disappoints thru “stoicism” (calmly accept what life brings)
- stoics preached high moral standards (i.e - protect the rights of fellow humans
- Unequal people in rights (i.e - slaves and women) were morally equal because all had the power of reason.
- stoicism later influence many Roman and Christian thinkers
32
Q
Euclid
A
wrote The Elements textbook became the basis for modern geometry)
33
Q
Astronomy
A
Aristarchus argued that the earth rotated on its axis around the sun; theory of a heliocentric (sun centred) solar system; theory not accepted by scientists until about 2000 years later.
34
Q
Physics
A
Archimedes made practical inventions; mastered the use of the lever and pulley
35
Q
Role of women in Ancient Greek society? How did Sparta differ ? Changes during Hellenistic civilization?
A
Athens: women led sheltered lives; oversaw the running of their households; rarely ventured out in public (even to shop)
- Produced textiles , but cloth was usually woven to fill household needs (not commercial reasons)
Sparta: women enjoyed more independence and rights than other Greek women
- Military based Spartan society meant that men were often away from home (either at war aor barracks type conditions)
Hellenistic period: women were no longer restricted to their homes during the Hellenistic period
- More women learned to read and write; some became philosophers or poets
