Citiizens and Communities: The Greek City-State

Citizens and Communities: The Greek City-State
Acropolis-the high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town.
The Greek city-states were first developed at exactly the time the Assyrians were reaching for power westward from Mesopotamia.
Hoplite-a heavily armed and armored citizen soldier of ancient Greece.
Phalanx-a unit of several hundred hoplites, who closed ranks by joining shields when approaching the enemy.
Monarchy-a state in which supreme power is held by a single, usually hereditary ruler (a monarch).
Oligarchy-a state in which supreme power is held by a small group.
Triremes-massive fighting vessels with 3 banks of oars, used to ram or board enemy ships.
Tyranny-rule by a self-proclaimed dictator (a tyrant).
Democracy-in ancient Greece, a form of government in which all adult male citizens were entitled to make part in decision making.
Sparta
The Spartans were the descendants of Greeks who had conquered part of the southern mainland, the territory of Laconia.
Helots-noncitizens forced to work for landholders in the ancient city-state of Sparta.
Athens
The Athenian homeland was the peninsula of Attica in the central region of mainland Greece.
Aristocrats-members of prominent and long-established Athenian families.
In the sixth century B.C., the Persians conquered a realm that stretched from the borders of India to the Nile and the Aegean.
The state covered the cost of official salaries by court fines, custom duties, an annual tax on aliens, and various sales taxes.
Ostracism-banishment for ten years by majority vote of the Athenian Assembly.
Aliens
The fifty thousand or so resident aliens were a very varied group.
Some were wealthy businessmen, or independent women.
Slaves
The hundred thousand or so slaves in Athens were also a very diverse group.
Not all of them live lives of total subjection and powerlessness.

Ancient Greece

Geography of Greece
Mountainous peninsula
-Mountains cover 3/4
Approximately 1,400 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas
Location shaped its culture
Skilled sailors
poor natural resources
Difficult to unite the Ancient Greeks because of the terrain; developed small, independent communities
Approximately 20% suitable for farming
Fertile valleys cover 1/4 of peninsula
Because of geography the Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, and olives
Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization
Temperatures range from 48 degrees in the winter to 80 degrees in the summer
Mycenaens
Began around 2000 B.C.
Located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 ft. thick wall
Kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 B.C.
-Controlled trade in the region
1400 B.C. Mycenaens invade Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language
Culture in Decline
Around 1200 B.C. sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace
The Dorians moved into the war-torn region
-Far less advanced
-Economy collapsed
-Writing disappeared for 400 years
Known as the Dark Ages of Greek History
Homer and Myths
Stories were passed on by word of mouth
Homer lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Age"
Recorded stories of the Trojan War in The Iliad and The Odyssey written 750-700 B.C.
Trojan War was one of the last conquests of the Mycenaens
-Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter

Today in class we had auditions for whoever could a teacher. We also went over some notes that we already learned. We just reviewed everything to make sure that we have all the information. The class was fun because we were teaching the info to other students and they made it go by fast.

Today in class we went over the test. We went over the answer and made corrections. I am happy with my grade but I thought I could get a better grade. We could keep the test because some of the info that was on the test could be on the final.

Building a pyramid

Today in class we played this game where we have to build a pyramid. It seemed fairly easy but everything you choose played a part on ho your pyramid went. It was hard because it was a lot of things you have to do to make it work. We had to complete the pyramid within the class period. It took me a couple of tries but I finally chose everything correctly and I finally was able to build a pyramid.

The First European Civilization: The Greeks

2200—400 B.C.

Within classical Greek civilization there appeared ideas, art forms, and types of government whose influence on Western Civilization has lasted down to the present day.

Greece were innovators in warfare, developing methods of fighting by and sea after 500 B.C., enabled them to preserve their independence against the mighty kings of Persia

Barbarian-the distinctive way of life based on farming, warfare, and tribal organization that became widespread in Europe around 2500 B.C.

By 4000 B.C. farming and village life had spread throughout the continent.

By 3500 B.C. there were people in Western Europe who were numerous and well organized to construct ceremonial monuments.

Megaliths-massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs.

Stonehenge was repeatedly rebuilt over a period of several hundred years, until it was finished about 2000 B.C.

Stonehenge consists of about 160 massive boulders, weighing up to 50 tons each.

Stonehenge is the most famous of megalithic structures was built by a farming and trading people in the west of England in 2000 B.C.

Tribe-a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real mythical ties of kinship.

The Greeks settled in Greece from about 2000 B.C. onward. Between 1200 and 800 B.C. The spread to islands and western coastlands of the Aegean Sea, Greeks continued to migrate across Europe and Asia from the western Mediterranean to the borders of India, but the Aegean region remained the center of the Greek world.

Short Answer

Three Technological Innovations or Inventions of the Ancient Egyptians
The three inventions are the wheel and plow, sailboats, and calendars. The wheel and plow allowed people to grow food so they can store it. Wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile. The calendar was made to make a sense of the seasonal cycles


Three Important features of the Egyptian Pyramids
Pyramids were massive stone tombs, originally covered in marble but the marble was later stripped off during the Muslim Conquest. The Great Sphinx of Giza was a pyramid that was built from 2555 to 2532 B.C. It is a recumbent lion with a human's head. The pyramid is the oldest monument statue in the world.