General
What is a characteristic of the Greek territory?
Explain the influence of such characteristics in the social organization of their population.
All of Hellada was close to the sea, which is why sea travel and trade were important in ancient Greece
Hellada was also made up of mountains, which meant that communication between areas and agriculture was hard.
This is why ancient Greece was organized into independent city-states (poleis).
What were the three architectonic orders? What were they made of and what were they used for?
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
established proportions between parts of a building
Made of stone & marble
When was the Archaic Period and what is one thing that happened during this time?
From 8th-6th centuries
Poleis (singular: polis) consisted of an urban center surrounded by agricultural land, forests, pastures, each polis had its own government, laws, army, and currency. Greece had over 200 poleis.
Greeks also colonized territories on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas
Greek influence spread around the Mediterranean region
What did the Ancient Greeks call themselves?
Hellenes
Who won the Peloponnesian War?
Sparta
What was the acropolis?
The original center of an ancient Greek city
It was located on high ground to provide defense, surrounded by a wall
What were the greatest contributions to culture that they Greeks made?
Rational thought - tried explaining the world using reason rather than religion
Philosophy
Math
Physics
Astronomy
Geography
Medicine
Theatre
What was the Classical Period? What is one thing that happened during that time?
During this period, the Greek poleis were at their greatest power
From 490 BC-480 BC, the Persians tried to conquer Greece, leading to the Greco-Persian Wars
The Greek poleis of Athens helped a lot in conquering the Persians. This caused Athens to become the most powerful Greek polis.
Other poleis then formed the Delian League, an alliance against Persia that was led by Athens
What did all Greek people share?
They all shared the same geographic space, culture, language, and religion.
Differences in education between Athens & Sparta:
Who taught them?
What subjects did they learn?
How was it different for boys and girls?
The women of the house educated their children up to age 7
Subjects: reading, writing, rhetoric, math, philosophy, music, and poetry.
In Athens, boys were educated by a private teacher from 7-18 and then served 2 years in the military
In Sparta, boys received a public education from 7-20 and girls trained in sports
What was the agora?
The main public space for markets and social activities
Main public buildings: theatre (odeon) and stadium (for sports events)
Describe Greek pottery:
What kind of vessels did they use?
What colors did they use?
What kind of scenes did they paint?
Using clay materials, used brown and orange
Vessels were used for storage, carrying water, etc.
Scenes painted on vessels give us clues about ancient Greek life
When was the Hellenistic Period? What is one thing that happened during that time?
338 BC to 30 BC
King Philip’s son, Alexander the Great, expanded his empire even further
With an army of 400,000 men, he conquered the Persian Empire in 10 years
His empire extended from the Aegean Sea to the Indian border
After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided into Hellenistic monarchies
Each Hellenistic monarchy had its own king and trade
Greeks were encouraged to migrate between monarchies
Eventually, the Hellenistic monarchies became part of the Roman Empire
What were the main economic activities of Ancient Greece? Give details.
Agriculture was the foundation of the ancient Greek economy
-There were few good areas to farm, and they were all controlled by wealthy landowners, main crops were olive trees, fruit, vegetables, cereals, vines
Trade was the most important economic activity
-Greeks sailed around the Mediterranean, since ancient Greece was close to Europe, Asia, and Africa
Livestock farming was practiced in mountains and villages
Artisans created pottery, glassware, and textiles
What political system did Athens have?
How did they chose their rulers?
What were the assemblies?
Who were the people that had political rights in each city?
Athens had a democracy.
This democracy was made up of the Assembly of Citizens, which was made up of free Athenian men over the age of 18.
The Assembly discussed and voted on laws proposed by citizens
They chose a Council of 500 citizens to draft laws, as well as magistrates (decision makers) and tribunals (judges)
(Women, foreigners, and slaves were excluded from political life)
What was a stoas?
A covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use
What were kore and kouros?
Statues made in the Archaic period
Kouros - "male youth" and used to describe young men without a beard
Kore - "maiden" and was used to refer to a young woman
What were the differences between hellenistic sculptures and classical sculptures?
Classical: idealized subject and figures
Hellenistic: more lifelike, focused on suffering and pain
Who were the metics?
The lower class, they did not have citizen rights.
What political system did Sparta have?
How did they chose their rulers?
What were the assemblies?
Who were the people that had political rights in each city?
Their system of government was an oligarchy.
They elected two kings, a council of elders, and Spartan men over the age of 30 - all these people made and voted on laws.
Aristocracy (rich, powerful men) were the ones with political rights.
Explain their religion: who did they worship? What were their gods like?
They were polytheists - they believed in many gods
Greek gods looked and acted like humans, but they were immortal with special powers
Believed in heroes: sons/daughters of one god and one human parent (demigods)
Give an example of a Greek philosopher.
Aristotle, Socrates, etc
What was the social structure in cities like Athens?
Who were considered as citizens with rights and who were not?
What could citizens do?
In each polis, people were divided into citizens and non-citizens
Citizens were free men whose parents were born in the polis
They were the only ones who could take part in political life
Could be rich or poor
Paid taxes and served in the army
Non-citizens couldn’t participate in political life, and consisted of:
Foreigners (metics) who couldn’t own land, so worked in trade
Slaves, who were prisoners of war or people in debt
Women, who had no political rights