Ancient Greece
Founding Cultures
Minoans + Myceaneans
Achievments from Minoans
- wet fresco painting technique
-stamped jewlery
-lots of trading
- First plumbing system!!! ( toilet)
Differencfe between Minoains + Myceaneans
- Minoans valued life, art , happieness , beauty
Myceanens were about war / conqueres
Signifgance of palace of knossos - Crete Island
- Gave insight inot Minoanian civilzation
- pushed the story of the minator + king minos
- Most prominate artifact of first euro civ
- first plumbing
Myceaneans
- conquered minoans
-known for being warlike
- where myths like the iliad came from( war stuff)
-Gained much of wealth from trade + piracy
- Myceana ( captial) more of a fotress tahn city
- King Agamemmnon
What influnce did Myceanens take from Minoans?
- Used Minoan style of painting, dress, vase design and style of writing
Succession of philosphers
Socrates -> his student was Plato -> his student was Aristotle
Socrates
Believed in reason, leaders shoud be educated, happiness achieved by knowing oneself, always asking questions, never answering to stimulate thought of others
Plato
- believed earth was center of universe, wrote about platonic love,Studied astronomy, maths,geometry, religion + geology
Aristotle
Believed the universe is eternal,deductive reasoning, animals and vertibraes and invertibraes, meterology + everything changes over time
Purpose of Mythology: ( important i think)
- Myth as primative science , ways of understanding things we cant understand ( science), - Teaches not fact but way the people at that time thought
Religion practices
- People practiced religion indvidually
-many shrines, alters, temples , etc
- HAD NO ORGINIZED CHURCH
- or priests or establisehd religious teaching ( priests that were there did not have much power)
POWER OF ORACLES
-believed in signifgance of dreams
Death
Believed that existance beyond the grave had few joys and could never compare to the rich life of this world ( beauty)
Women washed bodies with oil + wrapped in shroud
coin in the mouth as payment to charon
body was laid on couch for 1 day ( for realitives)
Body next day carried to tomb
Cults?!
- cermonies intended to purfiy an individual + ensure happy afterlife
- cults honored diynouses, demeter, perspohone
- To be admitted someone had to abstain from paticurlar foods, bathed in sea to be purfifed during celebration
wore whtie sang hyms to dionysus
Social structure - Athens
Citizens - Adult Males born in state
Were at the top
citizens included the upper class citizens, lower class, merchants , farmers and artisans - as long as they were citizens
Next wives and children of citizens
next Residant forigners called Metics : Forginers from other greek city states or descendents of immigrants, someone born of a citizens and non citizen or freed slave.
Could never become citizen : (
last slaves
- from " barbaric " lands ( lands that didnt speak greek or that didnt have greek customs) Slaves were considered property of owners most in athens had them
Sparta - social pyramid
Citizens : adult males over 30 born in sparta - dedicated to state + military
did not work land or engage in trade
Wives and children of citizens
Forigners ( Perioikoi)
-could engage in industry + trade but not in poltiics
Slaves or helots - indgenous people of lacedaemon ( other indegnous people of lands sparta conquered)
slaves were owned by state no hope of freedom treated pretty badly
Helots eventually outnumbered citizens- and the threat of revolt was imment
Everyday life
Mothers raised children, sometimes also grandfathers - boys named after grandfatheres
Education
- formal education began early in childhood on offered to boys- was also costly but was well rounded in arts athlectics, liteature, math , reading , writing, could have a private tutor or go to school( athens)
(sparta) education made to produce a good solider, babies inspected for mental or physical weakness, if defect found infant left to die
infants harshly trained taught to be tough, to endure pain and elements without complaiment
at age of 7 boys were taken from home sent to live in barracks where taught ridgid disipline, barefoot only wore a single garment, lots of physical excersies
at 18 males were drafted into secret corps, for 2 years lived away from society expected to survive by wits - at 30 became citizen
Marrige
Betrothal - like busnicess contract
wedding night bride sacrificed toys to artimes
seperate feasts held for brides and grooms
role of women
- few rights+ little freedom
- fathers posseisin to husbands
- her stuff became property of husbands - in laws eyes no indpenedednt statues
- if husband died became father or brother property
- husband could initate divorce but wife could notwithout support of gov offical
( In athens)
In sparta- women could own property and take part in athlectic competitios
young girls recieved as rigiours training as boys - women also taught to betough
Rise of city state + colonzation ( early classicacl period)
After dark ages
- started to form very small city states( expect for athens and sparta)
- greek world started growing- needed more food
- greeks started colonzing cause they were in need for more land for farming and places to for people ( citys becominging crowded)
- wanted to create colonies taht were self sufficant only tied to the parents via farmining
- trade became more promiantent
different city states had different exports
new middle class emerged where people made money from commerce an industry rather than farming
first olympic games were held during thsi period
Geography - ( overview ) pros + cons
-Aegean sea- heart of civilization
-unlike river civilzations of mesoptamia and egypt - greek society was oriented around the sea
- some islands were rocky and infertile, some ahd rich soil ideal for farming ( ex.Crete)]
- Greek mainland had rocky coastline that had deep fjords which made for excellent harbors
-proximity to sea meant trading
-aegean had violent storms- forced naviigators to learn precise wind conditions
- mainland is marked by mountains which means land could not be cultivated for farming easily ( small amount of fertile land)
- the mountains also acted as natural parition between the city states, which lead the city states of ancient greece to act fiercly indepentend ( greatest weakness)
- had very few mineral depositis except in sprata laconia and athens , cause of limited farmland and natural resoucres many city states relied on forigen trade
Greece periods timelines ( jighlights)
early period
-minoans and myceaneans
-dark ages ( raiding partys invade from the north , and greek speaking people are disperesed all over aegean)
- end of this period
Early classical period
-rise of city state and age of colonzation- city states start to build up which causes colonzation ( search of new resources)
-Persian wars
- after successful (mroe or less) persian wars this period gives way to the classical period
Classical period
- height of greek pwoer and influnce
- atheans becomes democratic
-peloponnesian wars
- sparta emerges victorios but all the turmoil leads to weakness and city states fighting for power
- this lets Macedonia invade ( end of this period)
Hellenistic age
- Phillip ii of macedonai defeats city states
-alexander becomes king od macedonia
- conquerss a lot of stuff
- he dies
-generals fight for control of his empire
- turmoil and unrest was on greek mainalnd - Rome conquered greece in the end
after life prt 2
- coins under deceased tounges would allow for payment to charon to ferry them across river styx
-Cerberus stood at entrance - preventing people for exiting
Judges of dead assigned each ghost to appropiate place
-believed dead relied on living for its well being , thereofre remebering dead was very important , on appointed days dead recieved offeriengs of food and drink
Women prt 2
Appareal they wore: dresses like peplos,chilton
Women wore makeup in ancient greece, though ancient greece dress was simpler as compare to egyptian dress
lived in seperat quaters than their husbands - did not eat with men or entertain guests with men, when apperaing in public they were accopmpied by slave or attendent
Interactions between individuals :
- women didnt eat, entertain or live with men
however girls in sparta were treated very similary to boys
slaves were treated better in athens than in sparta, male citizens ( adults) were valued the most
Decline of Greece Factors
war: indvidiual city states constatnly fighting for power, left greece ununitited ( like mesopotamia)
Political instibilty:After death of alexander the great tons of political instibilty- warlords fighting for territory
Loss of resources: Because of all the past wars ecomony was low as well as spreading of natural resoucrces
Rise of Roman ( hostile neighbors)
Egypt vs Greece
Gov:
Egypt was a centerilzed monarchy with more or less long lasting dynastys
Greece was a collection fo city states each ahd their own rulers- also had democracy ( to some extent)
Geography-
Egypt centered around the Nile - fertile land and stable agriculture
greece - very little fertile land- had to rely on trading( and colonzing)
Egypt was isolated ( deserts) were as Greece was right on the sea
Egypt excpereince protection and unifcation by the deserts where as greece expcerinced protection and seperton from the mountains
Religion both practices however:
Egypt- pharoph was god king
religion was highly centerilized and hierchical
after life was complex + major focus ( hopes of being good)
Greece: No god kings
religon was practiced more indvidually , people worshipped which gods they wanted
Underworld was complex but bleak
Art and archituecture
Egyptian art + archticutre had major religious themes
Egyptian art remained unchanged for a while
Greek art evolved over time- emphsisi on human beauty - ideal human form ( similar to egypt in a way)
Political structure:
Egypt:
pharoph, preists,nobles,scribes,artisans,farmers,slaves
greece:Male ctiizens, women and children of citizens, forigners, slaves
Athens vs Sparta
Athens valued education,democracy philosphy whereas sparta valued strenght simplicity and miltary skills
Athens was democracy Sparta was an oligarchy ( even when it did have an assembly it was limited)
Athens economy relied on trade, Spartas relied on farming and conquest
Education: Athens boys given more well rounded education, girls taught household skills
sparta Boys and girsl taught military skills
Sculptures Greek art
Sculptures
-started out akward and rigid, hair looks more unnatural, later in classical period artists sought to repersent ideal human form - most beautiful repersentation possible : focusd on creating ideal types instead of indvidual people
During hellnstic period focused on realism instead of idealism, emotions depcited more greatly
shows that greek art changes throughout ancient greece - focus on beauty and then realisim
Archietcutre
concerend with harmony and unity(symmertry)
temples were remarkable- used coloums- as well as decorative crown
3 main styles Doric,Ionic,Corinthian
Liteature
HOMER ( illiad and odessy) written during the dark ages created national liteature
epics-long poems told the past stories of heroic deeds
lyric poetry also popular-shorter and more persoanl than epics-written to be sung
fable:convey moral message, Aesops fables, inherintaed and implement in modern day
Theatre
Greek theatre : greek chorus - recited and danced during play in the orchestra
stage and greenroom
Science : Philosphy
Socrates: lived during height of atheanian power- argued tons
questioned ideas generally accepeted during his life time
employed question and answer method- he posed a question and students would respond, then would use his logic to find flaws in their anwers helped students clarify thinking and sharpen their resoning skills
belive his mission to exspose ignorance and lead people to truth
charged no fee- lived in poverty
people questioned his loyalty to the state and gods because of the questions he asked
gov charged him with atheismim and sentenced him to death - death by poision
Plato: socrates pupil
- intrested in politics
plato established school called the academy where he taught philosphy and science
aristotle -pupil of plaots
tutroed alexander teh great
established school called Lyceum
intrested in biology
observed world around him
completed scientific method
MATHS
Acheivments:
- discoery of 5 gemoetric theromies including the base of an isosceles triangle are equal, pythagrous , pattern of numbers , created intervals of musical scale, area of the circle, creation of pi
some influnce from eastern thinkers in alexandria
MEDICINE
- used knowlodge from egypt
-medicine included spirtuailty
-shirnes to god of healing
- sometime during the era approaches to medicine changed
doctors abonaed earlier noations about healing in favor of scientific approach
Doctors did not need liscene or medical degree ( judged by results)
achievemnts: diagnosis of quinsy and epilepsy, devolpment of strict ethical and scientific rules of doctors
astronomy
lots of achievments
- earth was round (moon travelled around it)
- sun was center of the universe
- better estmiations in length of solar year, lenght of moons travles
- devolped differnt lunar calender
philospy prt 2
Philosphy emphisized logic and reason
devolped scinetific reason
created mathimatical proofs ( if that counts)
the academy
order socrates -plato - aristotle