Greece

The roots of Western Civilization may be found in the experience and culture of the Greeks. Greek civilization itself, however, was richly nourished by older, magnificent civilizations to the south and east, especially in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Over five thousand years ago in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Mesopotamia) and soon after in the valley of the Nile in Egypt, early agricultural societies underwent a shift to a rich and varied organization that we call civilization. The use of irrigation increased agricultural productivity, and population grew. A (1) food surplus supported (2) non-farming specialists—artisans, merchants, priests, and soldiers—and made possible the earliest cities. The need for organizing this new and varied activity and for keeping records led to the (3) invention of writing. Advances took place in the arts and the sciences, in literature, and in the development of (4) complex religious ideas and (5) complex political organizations. These are the characteristics historians call “civilization.”

Kings dominated these earliest centralized governments. Religious authority bolstered their power: in Mesopotamia, kings were considered to be representatives of the gods; in Egypt they were considered themselves to be divine. Their control over the economy permitted them to raise, train, and support armies. This concentration of political, military, economic, and religious power resulted in societies that were rigidly divided into social classes: slaves, free commoners, priests, and aristocrats, as well as the divine or semi-divine monarchs. Social mobility (the opportunity to change your social status) and individual freedom were sharply limited. Only a handful of people took part in government.

The struggle between great empires sometimes permitted smaller city-states and kingdoms to survive and flourish; two were especially important for the civilization that would some day arise in the West: the Phoenicians and the Hebrews. Phoenicia, in what is now Lebanon, produced great sailors and traders who came into early and frequent contact with the Greeks. Through the Phoenicians, the Greeks learned the art of writing. Absorbed, transformed, and transmitted by the Greeks, the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt became, indirectly, part of the Western heritage.

The Hebrews would have a more direct influence on the civilization of the West. They conceived a religion based on belief in a single all-powerful God who ruled over all peoples and the entire universe and made strong ethical demands on human beings. This religion of the Jews, as they came to be called (from the name of one of their kingdoms, Judah) became the basis of two later religions also of great importance: Christianity and Islam.

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OVERVIEW OF ANCIENT GREECE

Introduction--note the following:

In what ways were the Greeks different from other ancient peoples?
What Greek ideas seem particularly modern (like our own)?

The ancient Greeks originated scientific and philosophical thought, created democracy, developed a humanistic outlook, and gave value to the individual. In contrast to most other ancient peoples, the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians, for example, the Greeks developed a rational and scientific rather than a mythical interpretation of nature. In trying to understand nature, Greek philosophers proposed physical explanations and gradually eliminated the gods. Greek thinkers also analyzed government, law, and ethics in logical and systematic ways. It was the great achievement of the Greeks to rise above magic, miracles, and mystery to explain events. This rational approach did not end traditional religion, particularly for the peasants, who remained devoted to their ancient gods and cults. But alongside this traditional approach arose a philosophical-scientific view of both the natural world and human culture. For the Greeks, the ability to reason defined humans.

The Greeks enshrined the principle of political liberty. Egyptians and Mesopotamians were subject to the authority of god-kings and priest-kings, the common people played no role in political life, they had no awareness of individual liberty. In contrast, many Greek city-states--most notably Athens--developed democratic institutions and attitudes. While most other ancient peoples believed that law was given by the gods, the Greeks came to understand that law was a human creation and a product of human reason. The Athenians abhorred rule by absolute rulers and held that people could govern themselves.

The Greeks originated the Western humanist tradition. They valued the human personality and sought the full developed of human talents. In the Greek view, a man of worth pursued excellence and sought to mold himself according to the highest standards. Greek art, for example, made the human form the focal point and exalted the nobility, dignity, confidence, and beauty of human beings.

Ancient Greek History

Assignment: Read and high-light. Be able to describe the main periods of ancient Greek history, the milestones and significance of each period, and complete the worksheet that follows

The Early Hellenic Period (750 -500 BC)

The Greeks--they called themselves Hellenes-- developed a proud ethnic consciousness. During this period, the characteristic political organization of the independent city-state (the polis) emerges. Although the small Greek city-states maintained their political independence from one another (there was no one "Greece" only many separate Greek city-states), they pursued a similar pattern of political development. Monarchies were slowly replaced, between 800 and 650 BC, by oligarchies of aristocrats, as the noble families acquired land, the measure of wealth and power. About 650 BC many of the oligarchies were themselves overthrown and one-man rulers, called tyrants, replaced the power of the landed nobles.

By 600 BC, Athens and Sparta were the two dominant cities of Greece. Sparta, a military state, led by conquest, and kept its subjects under strict rule. Athens, at first a monarchy, was then ruled by nobles until about 550 BC. The statesman Draco established the first written law code in Athens, which limited the power of these nobles. (The harshness of some aspects of this code gives rise to the English adjective "draconian," which means "harsh or cruel.") A major blow to the power of the nobles was a new code of law sponsored by the Athenian statesman Solon around 590 BC, which gave citizenship to the lower classes. (The English noun "solon" means "wise lawgiver.") The supporters of democracy won an even greater victory around 500 BC when a new constitution based on democratic principles took effect under the great statesman Cleisthenes . This rise of democratic rule was the dawn of the greatest period of Athenian history.

The Persian Wars (499-480 BC)

The Greek colonies in Asia Minor (now modern-day Turkey) were conquered by the Persian Empire in the 500s BC. Some of these colonies, assisted by Athens, revolted against Persia, which invaded Greece to put down the rebellion. Although most of the smaller city-states surrendered to the Persians, Sparta and Athens resisted. At the battle of Marathon near Athens, the Athenians won an overwhelming victory over a Persian force three times as large. Ten years later, the emperor Xerxes, tried to avenge his father's defeat. In 481 BC the Persians again invaded Greece. At the naval battle of Salamis, a small Athenian navy defeated a much larger Persian armada. Xerxes, who had watched the battle from a golden throne on a hill overlooking the harbor of Salamis, fled to Asia Minor in defeat.

The Golden Age of Athens (480 - 431 BC)

The period of Athenian domination during the 5th century BC has become known as the Golden Age of Athens. Under Pericles, who was the leading political figure, the city attained its greatest splendor. The constitution, reformed to further extend democracy, contained provisions such as payment for jury service, thereby permitting even the poorest citizens to serve. Pericles also was determined to make Athens the greatest artistic and cultural center of the Greek world. During the Golden Age, the Parthenon and other great buildings were constructed. Greek drama reached its greatest expression with the plays of such dramatists as Aeschylus and Sophocles. Thucydides and Herodotus wrote great works of history, while Socrates and Plato became the founders of Western philosophy.

As a result of its successes in the Persian wars, Athens became the most influential state in Greece. Moreover, the wars demonstrated the increasing importance of sea power, and the Spartan army lost its prestige to the Athenian fleet. In 478 BC a large number of Greek states formed a voluntary alliance, the Delian League, to defend Greece from further Persian attacks. Athens, however, began to dominate the league to such an extent that the smaller city-states became Athenian subjects rather than allies.

The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)

Despite the strength and excellence of the city, the foreign policy of Athens proved its undoing. The members of the Delian League grew discontented under Athenian rule. Sparta, and the Peloponnesian League of city-states began to oppose Athens actively. In 431 BC the inevitable clash between Athens and Sparta led to the Peloponnesian War. This struggle between the two great city-states and their allies lasted until 404 BC and ended with a Spartan victory over Athens.

The Macedonian Conquest (404-338 BC)

The end of the Peloponnesian War was, unfortunately, not the end of war for the Greeks. For the next three quarters of a century, the Greek city-states weakened themselves in a series of civil wars. During this period of strife in Greece, Macedonia, the northern neighbor of Greece, arose. Philip of Macedon was a great admirer of Greek civilization, but was determined to exploit its lack of political unity. Philip began the conquest of the Greek city-states, which he completed in 338 BC. His son, Alexander, who was then 20 years old, succeeded him. In 334 BC Alexander the Great invaded Persia. During the next ten years, before his death in 323 BC, Alexander's conquests extended Greek influence as well as Greek civilization and language throughout a Macedonian empire that ranged east to India and south to Egypt and Arabia.

Hellenistic Period (323-146 BC)

Following the death of Alexander, Macedonian generals partitioned his vast empire among themselves. The disagreements resulted in a series of wars many of which took place in Greece. Thus, one of the characteristics of the Hellenistic Period, from the death of Alexander until Greece became a Roman province in 146 BC, was the decline of the Greek city-states. One irony of Greece's political decline was the triumph of Greece as the fountainhead of culture, as its way of life was adopted, as a result of Alexander's conquests, and spread throughout most of the ancient world.

Conquest by Rome (146 BC)

In 146 BC, Greek territories came completely under Roman rule. Rome annexed Macedonia and the Greek city-states as a province. While this brought a final end to Greek independence during the ancient period, Greek culture once again flourished, as the conquering Romans themselves were captivated by all things Greek. The Romans will help to preserve, spread, and pass on the Greek heritage to future generations of Westerners. As the Roman writer Horace so aptly put it, in the end, "Captive Greece took captive Rome."

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Ancient Greek History Worksheet Briefly Identify the following

Oligarchies of aristocrats

Tyrants

Sparta

Draco, draconian

Solon, solon

Cleisthenes

Marathon

Xerxes

Salamis