Greece (up to 12/05/24) Flashcards
The Minoan Civilization laid-
the groundwork for later Greek civilizations.
The Minoans were-
ancient, native people of the island of Crete
The Minoan Civilization was named after-
after King Minos
The Minoans were great ——-, not ——-
traders/warriors
(eventually bad for their civilization)
Location helped the Minoans-
make contact with Egypt and Mesopotamia
learn new things
Palace at Knossos
Important elaborate place of the rulers
Art showed that women had more status than in other parts of the world
Minoan Civilization disappears
Volcanoes, earthquake
Invaders- Mycenaeans, took over Minoans
Aryans conquering Dravidians in India = the Mycenaeans conquering the Minoans
Mycenaeans were-
Indo-European invaders, conquered Greece and Crete
Mycenaeans were NOT sea traders
True or False
False
they were sea traders
How did the Mycenaeans live?
They lived in city-states
Each city-state had a large wall to protect the rulers home
Conflict between Mycenaeans and Troy (a trading city in present day Turkey)-
Trojan War
Why was the Trojan war fought?
Troy controlled the Straits that connected the Black Sea into the Mediterranean Sea
These straits, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, made them a lot of money through trade
Therefore, Trojan War was probably over economics (control of the strait), not love
Many people thought the Trojan War was a legend, but then-
Later discoveries proved there was a war (Heinrich Schliemann found evidence)
The Mycenaeans were ———– and ———–, similar to China.
ethnocentric/xenophobic
*However, they did not see other city states as foreign and while they fought among each other they still were part of the same “race”
The age of Homer was a-
dark age
Overview of The Age of Homer Dark Age-
Many records were destroyed due to wars and invaders. People lost many of the skills they had.
Verbal traditions
Epics
1. The Iliad is our chief source of info about the Trojan War
Verbal traditions in The Age of Homer
Most of the knowledge we have came from poems like the Iliad and the Odyssey
Homer was a blind, wandering poet (750 BC) (did not write the poems down, just told them)
Who brought the Dark Age to Greece? What did this lead to intellectually for Greece?
Dorians brought the Dark ages into Greece, attacking for a long time
made them have to stop working because they needed to fight, halted cultural and intellectual progress
The Dorian invasion eventually failed
Geographically, Greece is an-
archipelago
a bunch of islands that make up a country or a state
Mountains and Valleys in Greece-
Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe
Mountains divided the land into distinct regions
The mountains dividing the land into distinct regions in Greece lead to what?
This caused them to be decentralized (not one big empire), with many different city-states
pros and cons of being decentralized-
Good:
Communication may have been easier if restricted to a small land area
Healthy competition may have furthered technological advancements
Bad:
Would fight with each other often
if a city state was attacked others would often leave it to be invaded
What did the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas provide?
Mediterranean and Aegean Seas were the things that could provide a link to the outside
In this case, the seas surrounding Greece acted not as barriers but as highways, linking Greece with the outside world (trade)
What was the soil like in Greece? What was the result?
River sucked, soil sucked, Greece was instead a crossroad for trade
Greece had a(n) ——- coastline. What this good or bad? Why?
irregular (jagged)
this is very good because it created natural harbors
This allowed boats to be safer, good for trade
What did greek city-states trade?
goods and ideas
*Although greece was decentralized and city states would fight with each other, they absolutely traded with each other for the money🤑
The Polis=
The City
Basic city-state layout
A city-state is a walled city surrounded by an area of farmland it owns.
Most people live in the farm and will take shelter in the city when being attacked, during especially bad attacks people would seek higher ground in the Acropolis.
Greek city-state layout
Most people live in the farm and will take shelter in the city when being attacked, during especially bad attacks people would seek higher ground in the Acropolis.
The Acropolis (high city) with statues dedicated to gods
On flatter ground was the main walled city
The city was small, so each member felt responsible for successes and defeats
What was the purpose of the Acropolis?
(high city) with statues dedicated to gods
This was where the most religious rituals happened
1. The best example of an acropolis is the Parthenon in Athens
2. It is dedicated to Athena
3. still standing today
In ancient greece, early government was-
different across different city states
Different forms of early government in ancient greece?
Monarchy- rule by a king
Aristocracy- rule by a landholding elite (The aristocrats would create armies and overthrow the monarchy)
Oligarchy- power in hands of business class (modern day Russia)
Democracy - a government for the people and by the people (It’s just Athens though in ancient greece)
Pros and cons of Monarchy (do not need to memorize, but a general understanding is very useful)
Pros
Quick and efficient decision-making
No bias
Cons
Limited Representation/people have almost no say
Prone to corruption
Inexperienced rulers can easily be present through hereditary rule
Pros and cons of Aristocracy (do not need to memorize, but a general understanding is very useful)
Pros
Fast decision making
Somewhat reliant on citizens (working the land)
Run by a well educated group of people
Good for rich people
Cons
Corruption
People have almost no say
Extremely hard to switch social classes
Pros and cons of Oligarchy (do not need to memorize, but a general understanding is very useful)
Pros
The wealthy, who know how to make money, rule and make money for the state
Mostly well-educated people rule
Strong military
Rich people profit
Cons
People have almost no say
Lack of understanding
People who rule politically also control a lot financially
*People with liquidity basically are all powerful
Your assets don’t count
Pros and cons of Democracy (do not need to memorize, but a general understanding is very useful)
Pros
Many minds, many ideas
Freedom to pursue goals
In theory everyone’s voice is heard
May contain checks & balances
Cons
Infighting can happen
Uneducated “idiots” have a say
Decision-making can be very slow
What was the result of Iron metallurgy being mastered?
Bronze was an expensive metal, and therefore was only accessible by the wealthy – only the wealthy had weapons, so peasants had less power. When iron was introduced (iron was much cheaper), peasants suddenly had access to weapons, making them a notable force. In this way, having iron moved toward democracy - the advent of iron metallurgy had a political effect.
650 BC
Phalanx -
Massive formation of heavily armed foot soldiers
This reduced class barriers (moved toward democracy) because all men would join - everyone needs each other
Spartan Government
Brutal system of government to control people
Government had 2 kings and advisors
Assembly of all citizens approved decisions
Who was really in charge in Sparta?
5 ephors were men in the assembly with the real power (this is an oligarchy)
What were the requirements to be a Spartan citizen-
Citizens were all males 30 years or older
Summarize the life path of a man in Sparta-
Children trained to be in the army
Age of 7, males entered the barracks and began to train for special warrior skills (They were treated brutally to make them hardened soldiers)
Men would marry at 20, but live in the barracks for another 10 years
Eventually they would become part of the assembly
Why were women also very physically fit in Sparta?
They thought a fit women would bear healthy babies
Women in Sparta-
Women were very physically fit
They were expected to have 3 sons for the army
Women did have some rights, but were expected to obey fathers and husbands
Spartans were ——- from all other Greeks
isolated
How did the Spartans view trade and wealth?
They looked down upon it
What lead to Sparta’s downfall?
In the long run, their own choices and stupidity
Sparta is located on the ———
Peloponnesus (southern portion of Greece)
Messenians were-
Inhabitants on the Peloponnesus before the Spartans
Sparta conquered the ———
Messenians (The Messenians were living there before)
Sparta made the Messenians —– and called them ——
slaves/Helots
What was the ratio of Helots to Spartans?
What was the result of this ratio?
There were many more Helots than Spartans (7-1 ratio). OUTNUMBERED
The Helots eventually orchestrated an uprising against the Spartans and almost won. CLOSE CALL
This scared the Spartans, who became brutal and extremely warlike to completely oppress the Helots. SCARED
The Spartans are often viewed as brutal and terrifying, when in Mr. kelly’s words-
the Spartans, for all their reputation of brutality, were actually just scared of being overthrown by the Helots.
What was the major governmental change in Athens from the rest of Greece?
What lead to this?
Democracy - government by the people and for the people
Too much power in the hands of the wealthy
Soldiers, merchants, trailers want a say in government
What kind of Democracy did Athens have?
Athens’ democracy was a direct democracy - the people gathered and voted directly on problems such as whether or not to go to war
Who were the leaders of Athens?
There were 9 Archons - these were the parallels to Ephors of Sparta
The most influential Archon we are learning about is-
Solon
Solon made several reforms:
Outlawed debt slavery
Allowed more people to be involved in govt.
Boosted exports (wine, olive oil)
In Athens, many tyrants-
claimed power
(A tyrant is only someone who claims power by force, nothing else)
What was debt slavery in Athens?
a citizen incapable of paying his debts became “enslaved” to the creditor.
Pisistratus-
Pronounced pie-SIS-trat-uhs
a good tyrant, claimed power and helped the poor & farmers
The poor likely loved him
Cleisthenes
a good tyrant, created the Council of 500 (to prepare laws/supervies)
The members of the Council of 500 were chosen by lot (random)
He also made the assembly a legislature
What was a pro and con of the members of the Council of 500 being chosen by lot (lottery)
Pro: This ideally represents the entire population, with people from all walks of life
Con: People with no experience and knowledge will have power
Limited Rights in Athens-
Only males could vote
Slaves had no rights at all
Foreign born citizens could not vote.
Women did not participate in Govt.
(They stayed home, cared for children)
Education in Athens
Boys attended school if they had money
They were well versed in many arts, public speaking, which was emphasized in grecian society
There was military training, physical fitness
Was public speaking important in Athens?
Why or why not?
Public speaking was very important in Athens
People needed to be able to speak to and convince a large number of people (council of 500, and maybe 5,000 onlookers).
Despite being decentralized, how was ancient
Greece unified?
The different city-states had things in common
Same language, same heroes, Olympics
Same Religion
Greeks felt superior to all non Greeks and
thought everyone else was barbaric, therefore-
they were xenophobic
What were the similarities in religion across different greek city-states?
Polytheistic – gods lived on Mt. Olympus
Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena
They consulted priests, oracles
Greeks felt superior to all non Greeks and
thought everyone else was barbaric
What were the requirements for attending school in Athens?
Boys attended school if they had money
Who was the leader of Persia during the first expansion campaign into Greece?
What was the symbol of power transfer he required from each city-state?
Darius of Persia
Darius only requested a tiny amount of dirt and water from every conquered city-state. This showed that the Persians completely owned the city-states.
Which city-states denied Persia’s antics?
Athens & Sparta would not (they were strong city-states)
How did Athens and Sparta rebel against Persia?
Athens sent resources to other parts of Greece that was under Persian rule
Darius hated Athens vehemently due to its defiance
Both Sparta and Athens publicly defied Darius’ rule, actions such as imprisoning Darius’ messengers were the spark to the Persian Wars.