Ancient Greece

How did topography impact ancient Greece?

Greece was along the Aegean Sea, allowing for a trade and culturally diffused economy. With mountains, they didn’t have much fertile land, making trade very important as they can’t farm. Mountains —> isolation —> city-states

Athens

• by Agen Sea

• democratic republic (govt. without king)

• direct/indirect democracy

• economy based on trade using coins

• well-rounded education

• women/slaves - no rights

Sparta

• inland —> isolated by mountains

• oligarchy (govt. ruled by few)

• monarchy (2 kings)

• economy based on farming/conquering

• discouraged trade

• military training education

• women/slaves - some rights

Similarities between Athens and Sparta

• mountainous topography

• currency

• polytheism

• greek language

• valued education

• Olympics

Causes of Persian Wars

• Persia wanted to expand west for trade

• Greeks wanted freedom

• Athens, Sparta, and other Poli united

Effects of Perisian Wars

• Persia was a larger force but Greeks defeated them by military strategy (flanking, phalanx, deception)

• Delian League formed by Greek city states for protection (led by Athens)

• Athen’s in control of trade/navy/taxes, rebuilding led to Golden Age (time of peace and prosperity)

Pericles

the leader of Athens during the Golden Age

Socrates

focused in moral and psychological questions, used a series of questions in debates to show the flaws in others ideas - “Socratic Method”

Plato

student of Socrates, discussed ethics, politics, and the nature of ideas

Aristotle

student of Plato and tutor for Alexander the Great, advances in science and logic influenced scholars for thousands of years

Pythagoras

a philosopher who developed a method for explaining the relationship between the angles and legs of right triangles - “pythagorean theorem”

Euclid

a mathematician (geometerand logician) known for the elements treatise, which established the foundations of geometry

Homer

a writer who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, created the Trojan War, created poems of contrasts

Herodotus

a writer who invented the field of the study known today as ‘history’

Causes of the Peloponnesian Wars

• Athens created the Delian League of Greek city-states after the Persian War for protection

• Athens became rich from taxing the other city-states and built the Parthenon

• Sparta resented this and allied with other city-states against Athens

Effects of the Peloponnesian Wars

• brutal 27 year civil war

• Athens was defeated and Golden Age ended

• Sparta and all other poli were greatly weakened

Causes of Alexander The Great’s worldwide conquest

the Peloponnesian War, took advantage of this time to spread and conquer

Effects of Alexander The Great’s worldwide conquest

spread Greek culture (Hellenism)

Hellenism

spread of Greek culture to Egypt, Persia, India

Chronological order of events

Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Age, River Valley Civilization, Persian Wars, Golden Age of Athens, Peloponnesian War, Hellenism

Continuity

• used sea for trade/travel

• farming

• religious buildings (Ziggurat/Parthenon)

• oligarchy/monarchy

• polytheism

• mountainous topography

Change

• democracy

• Greek language/culture

• wars

• philosophy

• medicine

• architecture (columns)

• inland (Sparta)

• no farming (Athens)

• math/science