These Periods of Greek History Are Important Because They Give You a Reference for The

Greek History

These periods of Greek history are important because they give you a reference for the rest of Greek history that we have talked about

Archaic Greece 3000-1600 BCE

Mycenaen Greece 1600-1200 BCE

Dark Ages 1200-800 BCE

Greek Renaissance 800-600 BCE

Classical or Hellenic Greece 600-323 BCE

Hellenistic Greece 323-31 BCE

The Minoans

Part of the archaic period of Greek history

Have long been seen as one of several peoples who helped to found the Greece that we are more familiar with

have been the subject of extensive archeological digs

The Minoans are also part of mythological tradition

 The Minoans established a brilliant early civilization on the island of Crete.

 The Minoans traded with Egypt and Mesopotamia. They acquired ideas and technology that they adapted to their own culture.

 The Minoans helped to shape the first Greek civilization.

Theseus and the Minotaur

According to legend, King Minos ruled Athens and forced the Athenians to deliver seven youths and seven virgin maidens every nine years.

They became prey of the Minotaur in the labyrinth, and Athens escaped further sanctions through their obedience. The Minotaur was a terrible monster with the body of a man, and the head of a bull, born from the union of Pasiphae and the bull offered as a gift to Minos by Poseidon.

The sacrifices of the Athenians ended only when Theseus, son of Aegean ruler of Attica, traveled to Crete as part of the youths to be sacrificed, but once in the labyrinth he killed the Minotaur and managed to find his way out of the labyrinth with the aid of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus as soon as he arrived, and gave him a ball of thread which he unraveled behind him as he walked through the labyrinthine corridors. Exiting then became a simple matter of following the thread backwards towards his freedom.

In a tragic turn of events, Theseus sailed back to Athens forgetting in his elation to replace the black sails with white ones as a signal of victory. His father Aegean who was watching for the returning ships from the Sounio rock saw the black sail, and in despair for what he thought was a failed mission that resulted to the death of his son, ended his life by jumping into the sea. The sea henceforth is named Aegean sea in his memory.

Minoan History

 c. 3000 B.C., Crete was settled by a people from Asia Minor

 By 2000 B.C. they lived in cities and traded with other nations in the Mediterranean.

 They had a written hieroglyphic language that evolved into a linear form. §

They built magnificent palace centers at Knossos, Phaistros, and, Kato Zakros.

Their government system was ruled by priests and consisted of bureaucratic monarchies, who served as “chief entrepreneurs” or CEOs

They built large navies of armored merchant ships and traded throughout Asia Minor and Egypt.

 They had large multi-room homes – even the peasants. § They are the first civilization that appears to have “leisure time”

The decline of the Minoans

The concentration of wealth produced a society with social equality, which was unknown in the in ancient world.

 No gender inequality seems to have existed.

 Palaces had no defensive works, throughout much of their history.

Their concentration of economic resources on mercantilism and their generous distribution of wealth among their people may have led to their downfall.

Earthquakes and volcanoes weakened their cities. Eventually the Minoans were conquered by the Mycenaens

As historians, we are still trying to figure out exactly what happened to the Minoans, we are also still trying to figure out why there was a decline in Minoan civilization

Women in Minoan Civilization

 Crete was a class-based society with little inequality.

Women played an important role in city public life, serving as priestesses, functionaries, & administrators.

They participated in all the sports men did, including bull-jumping.

 They also participated in every occupation & trade available to men, including skilled crafts, entrepreneurs, bureaucracy, priesthood.

The Mycenaens

Are another of the founding civilizations for Greece

Like with the Minoans the Mycenaens have been the source of much historical, mythological and archeological curiosity

Archeologists have searched for years to the site of ancient Troy

The Mycenaens conquered the Greek mainland and Crete.

 Mycenaen civilization dominated the Aegean from about 1400 B.C. to 1200 B.C.

 They traded with Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.

 Mycenaens absorbed Egyptian and Mesopotamian influences and passed them on to later Greeks.

Differences between the early Greeks

Most of what we know about this culture comes from Homer’s epics.

The archeological sites at Troy and Mycenae indicate a strong influence on their culture from the Minoans.

 There were differences. The government consisted of monarchs who ruled over large administrations.

Mycenean kings accumulated vast wealth, but it was not shared by the rest of society.

 Mycenean kings were warlords, constantly ready for battle or invasion.

Cities had heavy defenses.

Mycenean Religion

Early Myceneans had a sky-god, who would become Zeus.

Later, they adopted the Minoan goddesses. Particularly the snake goddess

 Offerings and sacrifices were made to the gods, and may have involved human sacrifices.

The Greek Dark Ages

Between 1200 and 1100 BC populations in cities dwindled & they could no longer support artisans and craftsmen.

 Writing was abandoned leaving no history to explain it the 500 years of mystery.

 Greeks returned to an agricultural or nomadic life in small tribal groups.

 Many Greeks took to the sea and migrated to the islands of the Aegean.

 Dorians, invaders from the north, soon followed bringing new weapons and tools.

Greek Civilization

Ancient Greece

Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula. Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys.
Off the Greek mainland are hundreds of small islands.
The geography of the region prevented the Greeks from creating a large, united empire.
Instead, they built many small city-states, cut off from one another by mountains or water.
The seas linked the Greeks to the outside world. The Greeks became skilled sailors, traveling and trading all over the Mediterranean.

The development of the City States

The Greeks developed an alphabet based on the Phoenician’s that became the basis for all western alphabets.
Between 750 B.C. and 500 B.C., the Greeks evolved different forms of government.
At first, the ruler was a king, who exercised central power, or a monarchy.
Slowly, power shifted to a class of noble landowners, who defended the king, but in time, they won power for themselves, creating an aristocracy.
As trade expanded, a new class of wealthy merchants, farmers, and artisans came to dominate some city-states, creating an oligarchy

Athens

Society grew into a limited democracy, or government by the people.
Only free, native-born, landowning men could be citizens.
Male citizens over age 30 were members of the assembly.
Rulers encouraged trade with other city-states.
Women were considered inferior.
Boys received education in many areas, not just military training.

Sparta

• Rulers were two kings and a council of elders.

• Rulers formed a military society.

• Conquered people were turned into slaves, called helots.

• Rulers forbade trade and travel.

• Male, native-born Spartans over age 30 were citizens.

• All boys received military training.

• Girls were raised to produce healthy sons for the army.

• Women had the right to inherit property

Shared Greek Culture

Local ties, independent spirit, and economic rivalries led to fighting among the Greek city-states.
Despite these divisions, the Greeks shared a common culture:

They honored the same ancient heroes.
They participated in common festivals.
They prayed to the same gods.
They shared the Greek language.
They felt superior to non-Greeks, whom they called “barbaroi,” or people who did not speak Greek.
Despite their cultural ties, the Greek city-states were often in conflict with one another.
The threat of the powerful Persian Empire united the Greek city states.

Greek Culture

Greek culture still has an enduring legacy in the world of today

much of our language , culture and even our alphabet are inspired by the Greeks

Words that we use every day that have Greek origin:

Biology, Science, History, Antibiotic,Cosmic, Sarcasm, Mathematics

English Vocabulary Derived from Greek

(know the terms in bold)

anti (old) – antique, antiquated

arch (first, ancient) – archetype, archangel

athl (prize) – athlete, athletic

auto (self) – automatic, automobile, autonomous

basi (bottom) – basic

bibl (book) – bibliography, bible

centr (center) – eccentric

cid (fall) – accident

ceram (clay) – ceramic

doc (teach) – doctor, doctorate

graph (draw, write) – graphic

id, ido (shape) – idol, idolize

kudo (glory) – kudos

log (thought, word, speech) – logic, logical

mim (repeat) – mimic

par, para (beside or near) – parallel, parameter

sacchar (sugar) – saccharin

sy, sym (with) – symbol, system

tele (far, end) – telephone, telegraph, telescope

the (put) – theme, thesis, thesaurus

zon (belt, girdle) – zone

The following Greek roots can be found in various scientific vocabularies.

( know the terms in bold)

acro (height, summit) – acrophobia

aesthet (feeling, sensation) –- aesthetics

archeao (ancient) – archeology

baro (weight, pressure) – barometer

bio (life) – biology

calli (beautiful) – calligraphy

carci (cancer) – carcinoma, carcinogen

chrom (color) – chromosome, chromatic

dactyl (finger, toe, digit) – dactylology

dino (terrible, to fear greatly) – dinosaur

dys (bad, ill) – dysentery, dysplasia, dystrophy

eco (house) – ecology, economics

endo (inside) – endocrine

epi (upon) – epicenter

geo (earth) – geology, geography, geological

hal, halo (salt) – halogen

hel, helo (sun) – helium

hex (six) – hexagon

is, iso (equal, same) – isometric

kine (movement, motion) – kinesis, kinetic, kinesthetic

leuco, leuko (white) – leukemia, leucocytes

lip, lipo (fat) – liposuction

meaning (membrane) – meningitis

meno (moon) – menopause

narc (numb) – narcolepsy, narcotics

naut (ship) – nautical

oed (swollen) – edema

paed (child) – pediatric

path (to feel, hurt) – pathology,

rhiz (root) – rhizome

schem (plan) – schematic

scler (hard) – scleroderma, sclerosis

techn (art, skill) – technology, technological

xen (foreign) – xenophobia

zo (animal) – zoo, zoology

zym (ferment) – enzyme

Prefixes

( know the terms in bold)

a-, an- (without) – atypical

anti-, ant- (opposite) – anticlimax, antacid

hyper- (excessive) – hyperactive, hypersensitive

mono- (one, single) – monologue, monosyllable

neo- (new, recent) – neonatal, neoclassical

pan- (all) – pandemic, panorama

Suffixes

-ism (the act, state or theory of something) – racism, optimism, Buddhism

-ize (to make into something) – Americanize, legalize, computerize

-graph (something written or drawn) – phonograph, photograph, seismograph

-logy (the study of something) – biology, geology, zoology

-oid (the shape or form of something) – humanoid, trapezoid

-phobe, -phobia (fear or terror of something) – agoraphobia, claustrophobia

-phone (something that receives or emits sound) – telephone, gramophone

Greek Culture

One thing that is a hallmark of Greekness is a common religion
The Greek religion was polytheistic
And did have variations overtime and also variations between the different Greek city-states
At the center of the Greek religion was the Olympian pantheon
Often each city-state had its own partron god or goodesss
For example Athena for Athens
Olympia and Delphi became cult centers for Greek religion
In addition to the Olympians the Greeks also worshiped the Titians, the musses and also glorified the Greek heroes

(Remember the charts that we looked at with the Greek Gods and how they were related to each other , also have a general idea of who was the god or goddess of what)

The birth of Athena

Zeus came to lust after Metis, and chased her in his direct way. Metis tried to escape, going so far as to change her form many times; she changed into various creatures such as hawks, fish, and serpents. However, Zeus was both determined and equally proficient at changing form. He continued his pursuit until she relented. An oracle of Gaea then prophesied that Metis' first child would be a girl and that her second child would be a boy that would overthrow Zeus, similarly to what had happened to his father and grandfather. Zeus took this warning to heart. When he next saw Metis, he initially flattered her and put her at her ease. Then, with Metis' guards down, Zeus opened his mouth and swallowed her and her unborn child. This was the end of Metis, but also the beginning of Zeus' wisdom.

After a time, Zeus developed an unbearable headache, which made him scream out of pain so loudly it could be heard throughout the earth. The other gods came to see what the problem was. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, fully grown and in a full set of armour. Due to the way of her birth, she became the goddess of intelligence and wisdom.

City Life in Ancient Greece

Remember the hallmarks of civilization that we discussed on the first day of class
The cities of ancient Greece were planned and has spaces for living, government, worship, business and recreation
The Polis- could be defined as a small but autonomous political unit in which all major political, social, and religious activities were carried out at one central location.
The Polis consisted of a city, town, or village and its surrounding countryside
The Acropolis served as a center meeting point that could be used for defense and was later often used for religious purposes
Below the Acropolis was the Agora , or an open space that served as both a market and a place where the citizens could assemble
Poleis varied greatly in size, from a few square miles to a few hundred square miles
They also varied considerably in their populations
For example Athens had a population of about 250,000 by the 5th century BCE
the polis consisted of : Citizens ( with political rights) Adult males, Citizens ( with no political rights) women and children, and Non-Citizens( slaves and resident aliens)

Ancient Greek Dress

Remember to think about how the dress of the Greeks changed over time, but also think about the elements that were consistent over time

Know the Greek philosophers and philosophies

Classical Greece

The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used drama as a way of investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human.
The three genres of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most important of all, tragedy.
Comedy: The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for their vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was the playwright Aristophanes. Much later Menander wrote comedies about ordinary people and made his plays more like sit-coms.
Tragedy: Tragedy dealt with the big themes of love, loss, pride, the abuse of power and the fraught relationships between men and gods. Typically the main protagonist of a tragedy commits some terrible crime without realizing how foolish and arrogant he has been. Then, as he slowly realizes his error, the world crumbles around him. The three great playwrights of tragedy were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging us of our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that there can be nobility in suffering. He called this experience 'catharsis'.
Satyr Plays: These short plays were performed between the acts of tragedies and made fun of the plight of the tragedy's characters. The satyrs were mythical half-human, half-goat figures and actors in these plays wore large phalluses for comic effect. Few examples of these plays survive. They are classified by some authors as tragicomic, or comedy dramas.

Greek Architecture

An order, in architecture, is the technical term for a column and its related elements - in particular its top (the capital).
Since Greek architecture provides the pattern of classicism, the differing Greek styles have become standard terms in the vocabulary of architecture. The three orders which feature most frequently in classical buildings are the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian.
The Doric, named after the Dorian invaders who dominate most of Greece from the 12th century BC, emerges from the 7th century BC as the standard style of mainland Greece and of the Greek colonies to the west, in southern Italy and Sicily.
A Doric column is sturdy, with a plain round top. This squashes out, like a cushion, to support a larger square slab of stone (the abacus) on which the horizontal beam (the entablature) rests.
The Ionic is named after the region in which it develops - Ionia, on the west coast of Turkey, where there are many rich and powerful Greek colonies. These cities trade with the eastern Mediterranean and are influenced by oriental styles. In Egyptian architecture the tops of columns often have carved decoration, using themes such as palm leaves or lilies.
In Greek architecture the carving at the top of an Ionic column is equally decorative but more formal - looking much like a pair of ram's horns, curling inwards to a point. Extending outside the column, this design provides a single broad load-bearing element - in place of the separate circle and square in the Doric model.
Ionic columns are traditionally thinner for their height than the solid Doric version. From the 5th century in Greek architecture, following the example of the Parthenon, the architects of Doric temples find it convenient to use the Ionic style for interior pillars.
The Ionic design has an intrinsic disadvantage when viewed from an angle, as happens at the corner of a building or in any interior colonnade. Its attractive curves feature only on two of the four sides. A compromise is attempted, placing the design on all four sides; but this results in an awkward jutting corner where the rams' horns meet. A more satisfactory solution is found in the Corinthian order.
The Corinthian capital in Greek architecture is developed late in the 5th century BC, at first only for interior use where the all-round aspect is particularly important. The top of the column is like an inverted bell and its surface is richly carved with acanthus leaves, curling outwards. The ornament is pleasing and consistent from all angles.
A variation on the Corinthian capital, bringing in elements of the Ionic, is sometimes referred to as a separate order under the name of 'composite'. It is a Roman development, unknown until the 1st century AD.

Hellenistic Greece