Greek history Flashcards
What legacy did Alexander the Great leave behind?
Although Alexander’s empire did not last long he had on lease changes that would ripple across the Mediterranean world in the Middle East for centuries.
Alexander’s most lasting achievement was the spread of Greek culture.
Across the Empire local people assimilated(or absorbed)
In turn, Greek settlers adopted local customs.
How did Alexander the great encourage the blending of eastern and western culture?
Alexander had encountered this blending by marrying a Persian woman and adopting Persian customs.
3 most famous Greek philosophers.
Socrates- develop Socratic method whereby a series of questions are posed in order to challenging implications of answers.
Plato-emphasized importance of reading and believed the ideal state should regulate every aspect of citizens’ lives to provide for their best interest.
Aristotle- Favored rule by single strong and virtuous leaders. Also taught good conduct meant pursuing.
What did the geography of Greece prevent?
It prevented the Greeks from creating a large United empire.
Instead they built many small city states, cut off from one another by mountains or water.
Oligarchy
A government in which power is in the hands of a small, powerful elite, usually from the business class.
How was the purpose of education different in Athens and Sparta?
In Athens, boys received education in many areas(not just military training) and girl were inferior(not equal).
In Sparta, All boys received military training and girls were raised to produce healthy sons for the Army.
What were the Persian Wars?
Despite their cultural ties, the Greek city-states were often in conflict with each other.
However, the threat of the powerful empire United the Greek city-states. United, the city-states defeated the Persians and ended the threat.
What was the impact of the wars?
- Victory over the Persians increased the Greeks’ sense of their own uniqueness.
- Athens emerged as the most powerful city state.
- Athens used the Delian league to create an Athenian Empire.
Athens under Pericles
Periclean Athens was a direct democracy. In this form of government, large numbers of citizens take part in the day to day affairs of government. This meant Athenian men participated in the Assembly and served on juries.
Pericles hired architects and sculptors to rebuild the Acropolis. Pericles turned Athens into the cultural center of Greece.
Pericles gave a speech at the funeral of Athenians slain in battle, which is considered to be one of the earliest and greatest expressions of democratic ideas.
Peloponnesian Wars
Cause & Effect
CAUSE- Many Greeks outside of Athens resented Athenian domination. Sparta formed the Peloponnesian league to rival the Delian League. Sparta encouraged oligarchy, while Athens supported democracy.
EFFECT- Athenian domination of the Greek world ended. Athens recovered economically and remained the cultural center of Greece. Democratic government suffered. Corruption and selfish interests replaced older ideals such as service to the city state.
What was Alexander’s the great first victory?
What did he go on to conquer?
Alexander the great won his first victory against the Persians at the Granicus River.
He then conquered the Asia minor, Palestine, Egypt and Babylon
Describe the fact that although city-states rivaled each other, they were also bound by one another.
Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula, but mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Off the Greek mainland are hundreds of small islands that prevented the Greeks from creating a large empire, so instead they built many small city states, cut off from one another by mountains or water.
What is Jason’s quest?
To find the Golden Fleece ??
How can a country be both a democracy and a monarchy at the same time?
Royal families are figureheads; they have no actual power. Instead they act as symbols of the countries they act as symbols of the countries they represent.
(Britain??)
The Evolution of Democracy
Trials were an important part of government developed by the citizen of Athens. They developed a new form of government called democracy.
Examples:
Athens- 1st democracy, direct democracy
United States- Example of a representative democracy or democratic republic.
The Origins of Democracy
Another system of government was in Greek city-states. A monarchy. The king was mostly Head of the most powerful family. Greek kings relied on wealthy landowners and Nobles to help defend their land from invaders. Nobles begin to demanding for king’s power. Some oligarchies grew so large food shortages occurred.
The Rule of Tyrants
Many people supported tyrants because they promised to reform laws and aid the poor. Tyrants played an important role in the development of democracy. They taught citizens that by uniting behind the leaders back, they could gain power to make good choices.
“In short, I say that as a city we are the School of Hellas.” What does this mean?
It means that as a city (Athens) we are the school of the land of Greece.
Political Realism
The view that the subject matter of politics is political power, not matters of the principle.
Persian Empire
- People were allowed to keep their kings and elites
- taxes weren’t too high and Perisans improved infrastructure with better roads.
- Embraced freedom of religion
- No slavery
Legislative Bodies
- A body tasked with making laws.
- Athens democracy had two legislative bodies
- Any Athenian citizen could gather and debate/discuss topics going on in the city.
- Citizens were selected to serve on the council by drawing lots. Then men made the decision and served for one month at a time.
A Tale of Two City-States
The general of Athens ordered Phidippides, the general’s fastest runner to ask Sparta for help. The Spartans agreed, though they’d have to wait nine days because of religious festivals. The genera said he could not wait that long, he ordered troops to clash against Persians. Phidippides ran back to Athens said “Rejoice! We have won!” Fell to the ground, and died.
Sparta and Athens
S&A were the two largest city states on Greece, but when events took over, S&A took different directions. Athens lost wealth & territory, but it wasn’t destroyed. Sparta was conquered by the Dorians, taking over the region surrounding the city-state of Sparta. They enslaved former inhabitants of Sparta, and even though the people in towns near Sparta were free, they had to serve in the Spartan Army.
The government of Sparta
Sparta’s government began as a monarchy, however Sparta had two kings who ruled together. This custom may have come from the fact that the Dorians had two tribes each with its own leader, who later became part of a 30 man Senate, but they could not propose laws, only vote for or against laws by ephors ( five government leaders elected by the assembly. Sparta remained an oligarchy
