HIST 101 GREEKS & ROMANS

chapters 5 & 6

Greeks

most brilliant people, lay foundation down for Western Civilization; first to have a democratic government

Greece

huge influence on western world: science, art, drama, poetry, architecture

Democracy

ruled by the people

Monarchy

ruled by one king

aristocracy

ruled by an elite, small ruling class with membership determined by birth

oligarchy

ruled by an elite small ruling class with membership based on wealth

tyranny

ruled by one person but gained power through extra legal means (working the system, using loop holes)

Barbaros

non-greeks, as referred to by greeks

they felt they were free men

Why did greeks view themselves as different from everyone else?

certain laws

Greeks believed kings still had to follow what?

Hellenic and Hellenistic

Ancient Greece was divided into what 2 eras?

Greek

Hellenic and Hellenistic are both derived from hellas meaning…

Hellas

greek word for Greece

Greece land

not good for farming; soil is dry and rocky, mountainous

poor communication, isolation, independent cities, war

moutainous areas led to what?

self-governing cities

Greece didn't have a central government; they were composed of what?

polis

city-state; self-governing city

each city could rule in its own way

was superior form because it was large enough to protect and small enough that everyone could participate

list positives of polis

lacked unity which left them vulnerable to more powerful enemies

list negatives of polis

Minoan and Mycenaean

What were Greece's first civilizations

Minoans

• on the island of Crete

• written language never deciphered: known as Linear A

• 1st people to have indoor plumbing

• worshiped polytheistic religion (one mother god)

• prosperous/peaceful farmers and traders

• had non war-like weapons

Minoan women

held high positions, did the same things as men and were equal to men

weakened by natural disasters, invaded by Mycenaeans, culture disappeared

what caused the downfall of the Minoans?

Mycenaean

who took over Minoan civilization?

Mycenaeans

• inhabited Greek mainland

very aggressive, war-like people

• worshiped god of the sky who yielded a thunderbolt (Zeus figure)

wars amongst themselves and civilization eventually disappeared

What caused the downfall of the Mycenaeans?

Dark Ages

a time when Greece had no functioning civilizations

Agora and Acropolis

each polis had its own version of this and was based around 2 parts of town called what?

Agora

"town square" with government buildings, where political events took place and business was conducted

Acropolis

cultural center where entertainment such as religious ceremonies, plays, and artistic events took place

Sparta and Athens

2 leading cities in Greece

Sparta

• located in southern part of Greece

• one of the first totalitarian systems

• boys sent to military school at age 12

• women given more legal rights than in other cities (independent)

• economically underdeveloped

• patrolled their borders

conquests (conquering neighboring lands)

began outgrowing their resources due to a growing population so they turned to what?

Messenia

what land did Sparta take over?

Helots

people that Sparta conquered and were forced to work on behalf of Sparta who later revolted

serfs

tied to the land and forced to work; Helots were known as this

maintaining a strong army

Sparta's main focus was what?

totalitarian society

state is in total control of the lives of citizens

Sparta children

if defected at birth they were left to die in an effort to save resources

come back with your shield or on it

what was Spartan Code?

Athens

• governed by an oligarchy

• later became prosperous and wealthy

• later became most intellectually advanced city in Greece

• later became a trade society and commercial merchant society

• later established a democracy

Draco

who gave Athens its first code of law?

Athen's first legal code of law

known as "code written in blood"; harsh towards common people; provided the death penalty for a large number of offenses

Solon

• given complete control for one year (dictatorship) to reform the system

• instated a lot of reforms

• put a limit to land holding

• seen as a figure everyone trusted

convinced land owners to stop attempting to be self-sufficient and focus on trade (produce and export olives and olive oil)

What was Solon's biggest reform?

Cleisthenes

ran the first democratic government, created Ecclesia and Boule, and divided the population into 10 diverse tribes in hopes to unify

Ecclesia

an assembly of all the citizens of Athens; was the law making body

Boule

also known as the "Council of 500"

an administrative assembly that handled finances, made sure laws were carried out, and prepared bills;

randomly selected and only served a limited time

every 10 days

How often were new bills sent to the Ecclesia for voting?

ostracism

every year the citizens of Athens could vote on who they believe was the most dangerous to Athens (politically ambitious or would be able to overthrow their government); if the person received enough votes he was banished from Athens

participatory democracy

created by Athens, the first democratic type of government where the people ruled it

Ionia

Where did the first Persian War start?

Ionian Greeks

Greek cities living in Persian empire

!st Persian War

• Greek cities revolted against Persia and declared independence

• called upon Athens who sent a fleet of ships, attracting attention

• Darius overthrows Athens government and put someone friendly to Persia in charge

Darius I

Persian king that launched an expedition against Athens with about 20,000 soldiers

first battle of the Persian Wars

Battle of Marathon

Battle of Marathon

battle where Athenians made defense in Marathon, knew area better, had better military strategies, Persian army withdraws and Athens won

Xerxes

new Persian king that launched his own large invasion with plans to add Greece to Persian empire

Battle of Thermoplyae

• battle where Greeks came together

• Sparta and Athens were leaders

• Spartans made defense at Thermoplyae

Spartans fought Persians off at 3 days

• Persians came in and won

a Greek informer told Persians to come up from behind; Spartans told allies to leave and inform the Athenians then prepared themselves for burial

How did Persia win the Battle of Thermoplyae?

Battle of Salamis

• naval battle

• Athenians evacuated Athens and went to sea

• Athens outnumbered, but better ships and knowledge of area

• Greeks were more motivated than Persians

• Xerxes withdrew from Greece worried about supply lines due to depletion of his navy

Battle of Platea

• very last battle of Persian wars

• Spartan led army defeated Persians

• Persians withdrew

Delian League

enabled alliance, common navy made up of Athens to be prepared in case Persians invaded again; costs money but no use for it; keeps cities in by force if they try to leave; essentially created an empire which was a threat

• some cities wanted to pull out of Delian League when they realized Persia was not returning

• Athens forced them to stay

• used the league for its own interest to extend their power