Ideas and Influence: The Ancient Greeks
E. Napp
Objective: To identify geographic features of Greece as well as effects of geographic features and to describe several characteristics of early Greek civilization.
Do Now: A classical civilization is a civilization that has given the world important ideas, ideas that are still used today. For example, democracy is a Greek word and the earliest democracy was in the Greek city-state of Athens. “Demo” in Greek means people and “Kratia” means rule. Therefore, democracy means rule of the people. Of course, this also explains why ancient Greek civilization is considered a classical civilization. The idea of democracy is still used today. Make a list of two other ideas that people use today that came from the past, perhaps the classical past.
______
The Facts: (Followed by a Crossword Puzzle)
· The Greeks called themselves Hellenes
- The Greeks or Hellenes shared a common language and religion
· But rugged, mountainous terrain and the fact that so many of the Greeks lived on islands prevented the Greeks from creating a single nation
- The mountains separated the Greeks
- The islands separated the Greeks
· Instead the Greeks formed dozens of independent and competing city-states or cities that controlled the immediate regions surrounding them
-It is from the Greek word for city-state (polis) that the word “politics” comes
-Key city-states included Corinth and Thebes, but even more important were Sparta and Athens
àSparta àA rigid, slave-holding society à Militaristic à Most feared army
àAthens à culturally and politically advanced à Wealth/Power àtrade and navy
· Slavery was common in all Greek city-states but most prevalent in Sparta
· Greek women were treated as inferiors
· Democratic government began in Athens in 508 B.C.
-But women, slaves and foreigners could not vote. Only men born in Athens voted.
Comparing Athens and Sparta: (Adapted from bbc.co.uk)
Athens / Sparta· Athens was a beautiful and busy city. People came to the city from all over Greece, and from other countries, to study and to trade. The city's most famous building was the temple called the Parthenon. It stood on a rocky hill called the Acropolis. Inside the Parthenon stood a statue of the city's protector-goddess Athena.
· In the early 500s BC a new way of government was invented in Athens. It was "democracy" or "'rule by the people". Not everyone had a vote though. Only a male citizen had a say in how the city was run. There were about 30,000 citizens. The ruling Council had 500 members, all men, and chosen for a year at a time. Women could not be citizens, nor could slaves or foreigners.
· Citizens also voted to get rid of politicians they did not like. They wrote the name of the person they hated on a piece of broken pottery, called an ostrakon. Any politician who got more than 600 votes was banished from the city of 10 years.
· Of the 250,000 to 300,000 people in Athens (at its biggest), between a quarter and a third of them were slaves. Some slaves were captured in wars. Others were born slaves. Some people were forced into slavery when they could not afford to pay money they owed. / · Sparta had two kings. One king might stay at home while the other was away fighting battles
· The Spartans spent so much time training for battle that they would have starved without slaves called helots. The helots were Spartan slaves who worked on farms.
· A Spartan became a soldier when he was 20. However, a boy's training began much earlier, when he left his family home at the age of 7, and went to live in an army school.
· Discipline was tough. He was allowed only one tunic, and had to walk barefoot even in cold weather. He was taught how to live rough and steal food. Men lived in army camps even after they got married.
· It was tough being a Spartan. Sickly babies were killed. Children ran around naked. Boys practiced fighting and did athletics. Girls also did physical exercises. Spartan women had more freedom than other Greek women - a wife ran the family farm and gave orders to the helots or slaves. Old people too were shown more respect in Sparta than in other Greek states.
· Spartan mothers told their sons before they left for battle, "Come back with your shield, or on it." Dead Spartans were carried home on their shields. Only a coward would drop his shield and run away.
Quiz:
1. Name the hill on which the Parthenon was built.A. The Agora
B. The Acropolis
C. The Archon
2. How many people in Athens were slaves?
A. Between a quarter and a third
B. Between a third and a half
C. Between a half and three quarters
3. Which goddess did the people of Athens believe watched over Athens?
A. Hera
B. Aphrodite
C. Athens / 4. What color cloaks did Spartans wear? (Hint a color that could conceal injury during battle)
A. Blue
B. Black’
C. Red
5. What were Spartan slaves called?
A. Serfs
B. Helots
C. Peasants
6. How did Athens differ from Sparta politically?
A. Athens was a democracy and Sparta was ruled by two kings
B. Athens was a dictatorship and Sparta was a monarchy.
From the Global History and Geography Regents:
1. Which geographic feature most directly influenced the development of Greek city-states?(1) deserts
(2) mountainous terrain
(3) vast plains
(4) monsoons
2. Which statement represents a characteristic of democracy?
(1) Religious leaders control government policy.
(2) Citizens are the source of power in government.
(3) The government limits the thoughts and actions of the people.
(4) The laws of the government are made by influential military officers. / 3. Which society practiced direct democracy?
(1) ancient Athens
(2) dynastic China
(3) Gupta Empire
(4) early Egypt
4. Which statement most likely represents the view of a citizen of ancient Athens visiting Sparta?
(1) “The government and society in Sparta are so strict. The people have little voice in government.”
(2) “I feel as though I have never left home. Everything here is the same as it is in Athens.”
(3) “This society allows for more freedom of expression than I have ever experienced in Athens.”
(4) “I have never heard of a society like Sparta that believes in only one God.”