Ancient Greek Notes

Who Were the Ancient Greeks?

  • This unit explores the influence of past civilizations on current systems.

  • It investigates how we learn about the past and the factors contributing to the rise and accomplishments of various civilizations.

  • Key themes include culture, identity, time, place, and space.

Ancient Greece: Geography

  • Ancient Greece was located around 750 B.C.

  • It encompassed parts of the Balkan Peninsula, including Macedonia and the Peloponnesus.

  • Important locations included Mount Olympus, Troy, Athens, Corinth, Sparta, and islands like Crete.

  • The region was bordered by the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.

Natural Resources & Technological Advancements

  • To identify Ancient Greece's natural resources and technological advancements.

  • The students are asked to compare those resources to River Valley civilizations.

Greek Mythology

  • The unit introduces Greek mythology, including stories of gods and goddesses.

  • Prometheus: Prometheus is mentioned as a figure in Greek myth.

  • The students are asked to research Greek gods and goddesses like Hermes, Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Ares, Demeter, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hestia, Artemis, and Hephaestus.

  • Activity: create a family tree of the Olympian gods and goddesses.

  • The students are asked to draw Prometheus and write a short description of his myth.

The Myth of Persephone

  • The myth of Persephone explains the changing of the seasons.

  • Persephone, daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest), is abducted by Hades to the Underworld.

  • Demeter's grief causes the earth to become barren.

  • Zeus intervenes, and Persephone spends half the year with Hades and half with her mother.

  • Her return to her mother is associated with the coming of spring.

  • Characters: Persephone, Demeter, Hades, Zeus, Hermes

  • Setting: Earth and the Underworld

  • Problem: The earth dies when Demeter is sad.

  • Resolution: The earth revives when Persephone returns.

Other Myths

  • Pan: Pan is the god of shepherds with goat-like features who chases the nymph Syrinx.

  • Clytie: Clytie is a water nymph.

Homework & Activities

  • Assigned reading: Mythical Creatures of Ancient Greece.

  • Optional viewing: Disney's Hercules.

  • Students make a video about another Greek mythical creature, such as Medusa.

Ancient Greece: Trade

  • Students are prompted to identify what Ancient Greece traded.

Exchange of Goods and Ideas

  • The Greeks engaged in the exchange of goods and ideas.

Greek Art

  • Early Minoan frescoes depicted scenes from palace life, nature, ceremonies, games, battles, and sea life.

  • Archaeologists use frescoes to understand ancient lives.

  • Activities: Coloring Greek art and drawing traded resources in an amphora.

Trade and Migration in the Greek Mediterranean

  • The Mediterranean Sea's climate and calm waters facilitated the rise of civilizations.

  • Power shifted from Egyptians to Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans.

  • The Greeks dominated Mediterranean culture between the 6th and 2nd centuries BCE.

  • They established trading stations that evolved into colonies.

  • Trade and colonization spread Greek influence.

Age of Kings and The Trojan War

  • Before the Golden Age of Democracy, the Greeks had an Age of Kings.

  • Paris: Paris, a prince from Troy, stole Helen, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta (Mycenaean).

  • Menelaus: King Menelaus sent an army led by his brother Agamemnon to reclaim Helen.

  • The Trojan War lasted ten years and involved many deaths, including Hector, Achilles, and Paris.

  • The Greeks used a wooden horse to infiltrate and defeat Troy.

Homer's Epics

  • Homer: Homer's Iliad describes the Trojan War, and the Odyssey tells of Odysseus's journey home.

  • These epics describe Greek life, customs, and ideals between 1000-700 BCE.

Archaeological Evidence

  • Heinrich Schliemann: In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy.

  • Priam's Treasure: He found a collection of gold artifacts known as Priam's Treasure.

  • These artifacts date back to 2600-2300 BC.

  • Artifacts include diadems, rings, goblets and gold cups.
    *Note: artifacts are currently housed in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.

Athens and Sparta: Geography

  • Athens and Sparta were Greek city-states with distinct characteristics.

  • Athens and Sparta were geographically separated.

The Polis

  • The Greek word for city is "polis".

  • This root is reflected in words like "policy", "police", and "politics".

Sparta: The Military Ideal

  • Sparta based its defenses on its army, not walls.

  • The culture revolved around the idea of a "wall of men."

  • Government Structure:

    • Assembly: Elected by citizens.

    • Council of Elders: Proposed laws.

    • Kings: 2 ceremonial kings.

  • Restrictions:

    • Banned use of gold and silver.

    • Forbade citizen travel and discouraged foreign visitors.

  • The aim was to make every adult male citizen part of the military machine.

  • Boys:

    • Officials examined newborns for fitness; weak children were left to die.

    • From age 7, boys lived in military barracks.

    • Harsh education focused on military training.

    • Limited clothing, no shoes, and scarce food to develop endurance.

    • Stealing food was encouraged, with punishment for being caught, not for stealing itself.

    • Military service began at age 20 and lasted until 60.

    • Marriage was allowed at 30, but family time was limited due to military commitments.

    • Citizens were not allowed to engage in trade or business.

  • Activity: Students design their own Hoplite shields.

  • Hoplites:

    • Elite foot soldiers.

    • Wore cuirasses, bronze helmets with horsehair crests, and greaves.

    • Carried bronze shields, spears, and short iron swords.

    • Soldiers would fight in a phalanx formation.

  • Phalanx:

    • A block of soldiers eight ranks deep.
      *Shields formed a protective wall, with soldiers replacing fallen comrades.

  • Girls:

    • Future mothers of soldiers.

    • Strict physical training.

    • Training in patriotic devotion.

Family Life

  • What was family life like in Ancient Greece?

Discussion

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of Spartan society?

Athens: The Birth of Democracy

  • The acropolis was the highest point of the city.

  • The Parthenon:

    • The largest temple on the Acropolis.

    • Made of white marble.

    • Stood 60 feet tall.

    • Had 46 Doric columns.

    • Contained a statue of Athena.

  • Activity: Students research and build a pop-up model of the Parthenon.

  • The Agora:

    • The agora was a busy marketplace.

    • Farmers originally traded goods at small marketplaces.

    • Coins were introduced around 690 B.C., city-states built central marketplaces.

    • The agora included open-air stalls, food vendors, craftsmen, and money-changers.

    • The kykloi was a round platform for political speeches and slave sales.

    • Agoras had altars, statues, and fountains.

Athenian life

  • Athens focused on work and civic duties.

  • Workforce Breakdown:

    • Farming: Olives, grapes, and figs.

    • Herding: Sheep (wool and meat) and goats (milk).

    • Trade: Vases and household utensils; imported grains.

    • Main language for trade: Greek.

  • Greek Suffix “-itis” : inflammation

    • Example today: appendicitis, arthritis, bronchitis, gastritis, hepatitis, etc.

  • Education:

    • Boys: From age 6, a pedagogue (male slave) taught manners and accompanied boys to school.

    • Elementary school was not free.

    • “Sound mind in a healthy body”

    • Studied math, reading, writing, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, music, and gymnastics.

    • Older students (Sophomores) studied poetry, government, ethics, geometry, astronomy, and rhetoric.

  • Boys:

    • At 18, they served one year of military service.

    • At 19, they became full citizens in a public ceremony.

    • Wealthy citizens paid for weapons and armor and served in the army for another year.

    • Those without money rowed warships.

  • Girls:

    • Married young (13 or 14 years old) to older men.

    • Women were considered inferior to men.

    • Stayed home to manage the house, supervise slaves, and raise children.

    • Only appeared in public with permission of their husbands.

  • Child Brides and gender equality awareness

Athenian Citizens

  • Who was a part of the democracy? Athenian male citizens

    • Adults born in a family of citizens.

  • Who was left of the democracy?

    • Women

    • Slaves

    • Children

    • Metic (non-Athenian citizens)

      • Free men, merchants and artisans who could not own land or participate in government.

Athenian Political Development

  • Influential Rulers

    • Draco: known for his harsh code of laws.

    • Laws were written for public knowledge.

    • Modern term: “Draconian Laws”.
      *Solon
      *Pisistratus
      *Cleisthenes - Democracy under Cleisthenes was a direct democracy where citizens participated directly in making decisions.

Sparta vs. Athens

  • Comparison: Venn Diagram activity.

  • Read the