Periodization
its advantages and disadvantages in the study of history
Trojan War
Bronze Age Mycenaeans vs. Troy of Asia Minor
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What Started the Trojan war?
The war began because the goddess of discord was not invited to a wedding, and in revenge threw a golden apple to the other goddesses, saying that it belonged to the most beautiful goddess. Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera grabbed for the apple. Zeus decided that prince Paris of Troy, the most attractive man in the world, would decide who was most beautiful.
Troy chose Aphrodite because she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris then went to Sparta and eloped with Helen. Menelaus, her husband became outraged and, with the help of Helen’s old suitors, declared war on Troy. They besieged Troy for 9 years and fought Troy’s allies nearby. The war reached a standstill, until Odysseus came up with an idea.
Qualities within Arete
Selfless, noble, victorious, strong, warrior, dutiful, being a man, heroic
What is the purpose of Mythology?
to “demonstrate” Arete to the people and pass the ideal and the values of Greek culture through the generations
What does Homer’s “The Odyssey” tell us?
it teaches us about what was expected of the men in Ancient Greece and we know that the story of the Trojan War is mostly ficton
Examples of Arete in the Trojan war
1.Both the warriors of Troy and Greece selflessly and fearlessly went to war over a woman2. Achilles represents the idea of Arete, being an “invincible” man and heroic warrior, seemingly without weakness.
3. The cunning strategy used to defeat the Trojans, hiding and then slaughtering the unsuspecting people, in order to be victorious.
What was the significance in the Creation myth?
It was a myth that tells of all the races that the gods had put upon the earth. The earliest race was known as the Gold Race, and they were seen as the best race. The writer of the myth speaks highly of earlier races and badly of his own, which demonstrates how we glorify the past as a better time.
What are some things the Athenians valued?
knowledge, philosophy, art, literature, education, debate, living their lives to fullest and facing outside threats as they came up, equality, and individuality
Athenian Government
direct democracy: meaning all people had a say in politics.
in the end only the land-owning males could participate (about 60,000 or 1/5 of population)
What kind of society did Sparta have?
A militaristic society
What was an ideal Spartan? (Spartan Arete)
a man who does not respond to pain or show any emotion, blindly follows order, outwardly displays no fear, and is patriotic, determined, victory or death in battle, and extremely aggressive
How did a Spartan gain political power?
through their military rank, the higher military rank, the higher political position you held
What was required of Spartan men?
All men must train and fight in the army
Who was Pericles?
He was an Athenian political figure between 461 and 429 B.C. and classical Greece saw its political height and brilliance under him –> wrote funeral oration that expresses what made Athens so great
What Philosophy did Socrates emphasize?
Philosophy of human ethics
Why was Socrates arrested?
for atheism and corrupting the youth of Athens
Polis
Located in city-states, where people went to discuss religion, politics etc.
Acropolis
Located at the top of a polis, fortified, it was a place of refuge
Agora
Located below the acropolis, open assembly area, market
Arete
The ideal combination of essential qualities
Democracy
A type of government run by the people
Oligarchy
A type of government run by the few
Agamemnon
King of the Mycenaeans during the Trojan war
Homer
A Greek poet who wrote about the Trojan war in his two epics: “The Illiad” and “The Odyssey”
Achilles
One of the most famous warriors of the Trojan War, Achilles is featured in Homer’s first epic, “The Iliad”. Achilles was a warrior who battled for Agamemnon, the Trojan’s nemesis in this particular war (Greeks) and is known for slaying the Trojan hero Hector, and riding his chariot, with Hector’s dead body attached to it, around the gates of Troy. Achilles later dies, after Hector’s rather, Paris, prince of Troy, shoots an arrow to his ankle, killing him, and coining the phrase, “Achilles Heel”
Heinrich Schliemann
An archaeologist, obsessed with revealing the truth of Troy, devoted his adult life to digging up an archeology site near where Troy was said to exist.
He miraculously found an inner city, which is most likely the ancient ruins of Troy. His findings made people realize that although the entire story of the Trojan War is not true, some major historical parts are in fact truthful. For example, the geography of Troy, as found by Heinrich.
What are ways the Greeks have influenced our society today?
Democracy, art, architecture, sciences, philosophy, and literature
After Persian war, how was the Greek world divided?
into Athens and Sparta
what advantage did the Spartans have?
Great army (on land)
what advantage did the Athenians have?
Great navy (over seas)
One cultural determinant based on Athenian geography
they became great sailors
What side initiated the Peloponnesian war and in what year?
431 bc and Spartans
What significant thing happened to Athens in the second year of the war?
A plague broke out that killed 1/3 of population
The athenian navy was utterly destroyed in a sea battle with which of Sparta’s allies?
Syracuse
Who surrendered and in what year?
Athens in 404 bc
One thing Athens lost in as a result of this war
their pride
What was a result of the people’ confidence dropping?
People turned to art to express joys and sorrows AND Philosophy
During the 2nd invasion in the Persian war, the Persians were delayed by 7,000 Greeks at a narrow mountain path called ______________.
Thermoplyae
The Triremes helped the Greeks destroy the Persian fleet at the Battle of _____________.
Salamis
After Persian war, Athens became a leader of an alliance of 140 city-states known as _____________.
The Delian League
What government was created under Pericles that allowed all male citizens to participate?
Direct democracy
What government body in Athens passed all laws, elected public officials, and made decision concerning war and foreign policy?
The assembly
Of the 300,000 citizens in Athens, how many were actually males with political power?
60,000
In 46, Pericles was made 1 of 10 leading ________.
Generals
Greece is in the south eastern part of what continent?
Europe
What physical feature characterizes the terrain of Greece?
Surrounded by water, many small islands, and lots of mountains
What is one example of how the Geography of the Greece shaped the culture?
exposure and access to water led to being good sailors
What is the earliest period recorded in Greek history?
The bronze age
What famous war took place during the Bronze age?
Trojan war
What heroic ideal shaped much of Greek culture?
Arete
When was the idea of Arete formed
During the Dark Ages (Homer)
What theme characterizes Spartan society?
It was a militaristic state
What experience shaped Spartan culture to be a militaristic state?
The helot revolt
What type of government ruled Sparta
Oligarchy headed by two kings
what city-state was sparta’s rival?
Athens
What war did the Greek city-states team up to fight a common enemy?
Persian war
During the classical period, what did Greek philosophers focus on?
How people should live
What Greek philosopher/mathematician taught that the essence of the universe could be found in music and numbers?
Pythagoras
What were the sophists known for?
stressing the importance of individuals and arguing effectively
Who was the most famous sophist?
Socrates
According to Socrates, how could one find truth?
by living moral lives
According to Socrates, what was Arete?
knowledge
What teaching system did Socrates use?
question-answer format later called “Socratic method”
According to Plato, where did truth exist?
The realm of thought, or the spiritual world of ideas of forms
According to Aristotle, where could “forms” be found?
In objects themselves
Who was Aristotle’s most famous pupil?
Alexander the great
Identify one factor that led the greeks to settle in distant land between 750 bc and 550 bc
they were in search for good farmland
Each colony became its new, independent ___________.
City-state or polis
What Greek colony eventually became the capital of the Roman Empire ( Constantinople)
Byzantium
What did the Spartans call the people they captured
Helots
What privilege were the Spartan men granted at the age of 30?
The right to vote in assembly
How did the Spartans feel about art and literature?
Art of war was ideal, the other arts were frowned upon
How did the Dark Ages pass on knowledge to their children, considering they were lacking writing?
Spoken word
In what athletic competition did the ideal of arete manifest itself in Greece?
The olympic games
