Early Years: Ancient Greece

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Early Years Ancient Greece

• 2500 B.C.E. 750 B.C.E.

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Introduction

• Greece is the birthplace of the classical world
• Produced great philosophy, politics and sculpture
• Origin of democracy
• Polis at the center of Greek life

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Geography

• Many small mountain ranges
• No unifying river system like in Egypt and
  Mesopotamia
• Produced some food, but not enough to feed
  growing population
• Result Geography encouraged development of trade
  and the sea became a central part of Greek life

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Geography, cont.

• Greeks isolated from each other due to mountains
• Each city-state independent and established their
  own values, system of government
• Each was attached to their own independence
• Each was small- people get to participate in
  politics
• Also led to great rivalry and wars that damaged
  these great societies

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The Peloponnesus
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Economy

• Majority of Greeks farmed or raised livestock
• Products produced Olives, figs, fish, cheese,
  grapes and chicken
• The Sea influenced the economy and every other
  aspect of Greek life

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The Sea

• Long seacoast
• Good harbors
• Helped Greeks become good sailors and traders
• Their dominance of the sea helped the Greeks
  establish colonies throughout the Mediterranean

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Map of Greece
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Minoans

• 2000 B.C.E. to 1450 B.C.E.
• Earliest civilization to emerge in the Aegean
  region
• On the island Crete
• Named after Minos, a legendary King of Crete

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Minoans Crete
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Minoans, cont.

• Great palace at Knossos
• This was the seat of all kings
• Artifacts reveal a complex and wealthy culture
• Probably part of a great trade empire
• We know that they had contact with Egyptians
• They controlled the seas

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Fresco Painting in Palace
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Crete Palace of Knossos
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Art from time of King Minos
Throne
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Minoan Civilization
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Minoans Collapse

• Collapse suddenly around 1450 B.C.E.
• Cause uncertain
• Some believe it was a tsunami caused by a volcano
  on the island
• Others believe invasions by the Mycenaeans caused
  collapse

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Mycenaeans 1600-1100 B.C.E.

• Named after area where they lived, Mycenae
• An Indo-European people who came from central
  Asia into Europe
• Entered Greece from the north, gained control,
  and established a civilization
• Peak of civilization 1400-1200 B.C.E.

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Map of Mycenae
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Mycenaeans, cont.

• Known for their fortified palace centers, built
  on hills and surrounded by walls
• Royal family lived within the walls, everyone
  else outside

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Mycenaean Politics

• Various palace complexes in this region, with
  Mycenae the strongest
• Formed a loose confederation of independent
  states

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Mycenaean Society

• Language linear B ( a form of Greek script)
• Social Order
• King
• Commanders of the army
• Priests
• Record keepers/govt. workers
• Free citizenry peasants, soldiers, artisans
• Slaves and serfs

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Society,cont.

• Military-based/warrior people
• Pride based on military heroics
• Conquered new territory (Crete and other islands)
• Did they conquer Troy as told by Homer in the
  Iliad?
• Traded extensively throughout Middle East and
  North Africa

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Decline

• New invaders into Mycenae
• Burned Mycenae itself, then other states
• Enter a new period of instability and uncertainty

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Mycenaeans
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Dark Age of Ancient Greece 1100- 750 B.C.E.

• After Mycenaeans collapse, population declines
  and food production dropped
• Farming will not recover until 850 B.C.E.
• Bad times saw people leaving mainland Greece and
  heading to southwest Asia Minor (Ionia)
• Another group moved into the Peloponnesus, the
  Dorians, and also on Crete and Rhodes

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Dark Age Migrations
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Dark Age, cont.

• Due to lack of agriculture, Greeks traded other
  goods
• Iron replaced bronze in making of weapons now
  more affordable
• Farming tools made of iron helped revive
  agriculture
• Adopted Phoenician alphabet made writing and
  reading easier to learn
• At end of Dark Age, Homers works appear

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Homeric Age

• Two great epic poems Iliad and Odyssey
• Stories had been passed down from multiple
  generations, and recorded by Homer
• Iliad The Mycenaens, under Agamemmon attack and
  sack city of Troy for revenge for the kidnapping
  of Helen (Queen of Sparta) by Paris (prince of
  Troy)
• Book teaches values of heroism and honor and that
  a mans character is more important than his
  accomplishments

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Odyssey

• This is the story of the journey of Odysseus from
  Troy back to his home and wife
• Moral lesson morality is tested constantly, and
  virtue is always better than giving into
  temptation

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Homers Importance

• Greeks accepted these poems as recorded facts
• Values and stories became marks Greeks measured
  themselves against
• Greeks valued strength, honor, virtue, excellence
  yet these were aristocratic values (wealthy)
• Homer provided a model of heroism that Greeks
  sought to emulate

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The Polis

• After the age of Homer, came the Archaic (ancient
  times) Age of Greece
• This time period is marked by the development of
  the Greek polis as well as Greek colonization of
  the Mediterranean and Black Sea The polis was the
  center of Greek life
• It consisted of a city and the land that
  surrounded it (think suburb)

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Polis, cont.

• The city was the center for politics, trade,
  religion, and social events
• Each polis had different values (military,
  education, arts) and were distinct influenced
  by geography

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Social Order in the Polis

• Adult males had political rights
• Women and children- no political rights
• Noncitizens slaves and resident aliens (from a
  different polis)
• There was great loyalty to the polis, but great
  distrust towards other poleis
• Cause hostility and warfare

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Summary

• The geography of Greece influenced the
  development of its economy, political and social
  structure as well as its history
• The formation of independent city-states, called
  poleis, led to innovation, creativity and
  advanced cultures, yet also to conflict and
  warfare that would bring ancient Greece to its
  ruin