Kings Ruled During Greek Dark Ages

Name:______Date:______

Civilization / Era:
GREEKS / Political Characteristics

• Polis – city-state, an urban center on an acropolis (fortified hill) ruling surrounding lands
  -Each had an agora (central meeting place & marketplace)
• Kings ruled during Greek Dark Ages
• Landowning aristocracy began assuming power, forming councils in each polis
• City-states fiercely independent, competitive, & jealous of each other
• 650 BC – 500BC – Tyrant rule:
  -Trend for fussy aristocrats to use coins to pay for supporters/weapons to stage coup and take over polis
  -Most ruled for short time periods
• Oligarchy – rule by wealthy class
• Democracy – political participation of free adult males (not women, kids, slaves, or foreigners)
• Delian League – alliance of city-states to face Persian attack (Athens leads, but soon threatens its peers by demanding tribute for use of its navy.)
• Athens – dominant economic leader backed by navy. Pericles spent Delian League taxes on building: Parthenon, Piraeus (port) , city walls)
• Sparta– dominant warrior-state who devoted all men’s lives to training while oppressing local helots (slaves) to work fields for them

/ Achievements (Cultural)

• Multiple styles of painted pottery
• Rich, oral tradition of stories, myths, speechwriting even before alphabet
• Humanism – belief in the value of the uniqueness, talents, & rights of the individual (inspires much thinking)
• Philosophy – pre-Socratic thinking sought rational explanations of world origins, its makeup, & its changes
• Poetry – skilled wordplay stories
• Prose – used everyday speech
  (Ex: ethnographers, geographers, historians)
• Sophists – studied logic, public speaking, & rhetoric (persuasive argument)
  Ex: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
• Academics – most modern disciplines hail from Greek approach to study

/ Religious Characteristics (Cultural)

• Polytheistic belief in distinct, well-rehearsed set of gods w/ unique powers and human-like qualities
  (reinforced by the Iliad & Odyssey)
• City-states sponsored festivals that culminated in sacrifices at altars in temples to the gods. Gifts meant to inspire gods’ favor/protection.
• Oracles provided info, advice, predictions
• Fertility cults popular amongst peasantry

Time Period:
1000 BC – 30BC
Related Key Concepts
2.1. Development & Codification of Religious & Cultural Traditions
2.2. The Development of States & Empires
Most Important Thing to Remember:
Competitive city-states
Lasting culture
Technological Characteristics (Cultural)

• 1st true alphabet
  (borrowed from Phoenicians)
  -Much easier to learn than hundreds of symbols in cuneiform/ hieroglyphics
  -Increases literacy beyond just wealthiest elite
• Hoplite – armored infantry arranged in close phalanx formation
• Atomic theory – concept that matter is made up of invisible parts (atoms)
• Trireme – battering-ram tipped rowing warships
• Catapults – for lobbing heavy things at enemy forces/city walls

/ Interaction with Environment

• Mediterranean region is mild and dry, and very similar on all its coasts
• Aegean Sea serves as a connector, not a barrier to the Greek mainland, many islands, & west coast of Anatolia (Ionia)
• Rivers only in north, south very dry & dependent on rainfall
• Great access to sea, while overland travel proved too rugged

/ Economic Characteristics

• Resource-poor region, thus Greeks sought access to foreign markets & materials
• Sea trade routes much easier & cheaper than overland routes
• Colony-building
  (Excess population, criminals, & desperate could establish new settlements elsewhere for trading purposes with parent city)
• Silver, gold, bronze coinage used

/ Social Characteristics

• Hellenes – Greeks’ word for their own identity
• Barbaroi – Greeks’ word for everyone else (barbarians comes from it)
• Class hierarchy in place:
  1. Tyrants (in some cases; temporary)
  2. Aristocratic landowners
  3. Middle-class merchants/craftsmen
  4. Free peasants/debt-slave farmers
  5. Slaves – living piece of property
  (Must do any work, submit to any sex acts, take any punishment)
• Women experienced more freedom in Sparta (due to respect for giving birth to strong warrior boys)
• Women repressed in Athens (exploited, confined to house, dominated by men)
• Bisexuality & Homosexuality prevalent throughout society
  (men lacked strong husband-wife relationship & spent time w/ other men)

Name:______Date:______

Civilization / Era:
GREEKS (cont.) / Political Characteristics (cont.)

• Athens (politics)
  -594 BC – Solon ushers in 1st forms of democracy via class-based voting rights
  -546 BC – Pisistratus consolidates city’s power as a cultural center thru building of temples & hosting numerous festivals
  -460 BC – 450 BC – Pericles creates Assembly, Council of 500, & People’s Courts, thus extending political rights to all citizens
• Philip II of Macedonia (359BC - 336BC)
  -Upgrades hoplites w/ long spears, adds cavalry, & introduces catapults
  -Defeats alliance of southern Greek city-states, then merges them & leads them across Aegean Sea into Anatolia
  (1st successes in uniting city-states)
  -Killed by assassin in 336 BC
• Alexander the Great- (356BC-323BC)
  -Vows revenge on Persians for Xerxes’ invasions; defeats Darius III
  -Settles many Greek-style cities called Alexandria across conquered lands
  -Wisely keeps Persian policies in place, earning respect of many.
  -Merged Persian w/ Greek customs
  -Dies at 32
• Empire of Alexander plunges into chaos as officers fight for succession rights
• Seleucids – Rule empire from Anatolia to IndusValley. Capital at Antioch.
• Ptolemies – Rule Egypt w/ claims to Syria & Palestine. Capital at Alexandria.
• Antigonids – Ruled Macedonian homeland and parts of Greece in Aegean.
• This Hellenistic period known for large expansive empire, trade, and Greek mixing of values w/ local cultures.
  

Time Period:
1000 BC – 30 BC
Related Key Concepts
2.1. Development & Codification of Religious & Cultural Traditions
2.2. The Development of States & Empires
Most Important Thing to Remember:
Competitive city-states
Long-lasting culture