A new form of government

A new form of government

• What Cleisthenes did was a huge step forward - getting "regular folks" involved in governing but this first democracy had its limits.
• Citizens could participate - but only one-fifth of Athenians were citizens (free adult male property owners born in Athens) 
• After several years, Athens practiced a direct democracy 

This is what direct democracy looks like

• It's where the state (or in this case, the city-state) is ruled by its citizens
• Rule is based on citizenship
• Majority rule decides vote
• In the agora, citizens argued, made speeches, then voted with white stones (yes) and black stones (no)
• It was first practiced in Athen sunder Cleisthenes by around 500 BCE.

Women would not even think to fight against this government

Warring City-States

Greek civilization declined during the Dorian period. Dorians and Myceaneans alike began to identify less with the culture or their ancestors once more with their surroundings. By the end of the period they became more like city states.

Rule and order in Greek city-states

by 750 BC, the polis was the fundamental political unit in Ancient Greece. The polis was made up of a city and its surrounding country side. City staes usually covered/ controlled 50-500 sq.  miles of the territory. They usually housed 10,000 residents. The agora or acropolis citizens gathered to discuss political actions.

Types of Government in City-states

• Monarchy -  Ruled by a king
• Aristocracy - Ruled by a group of land owning, noble families 
• Oligarchy - Ruled by a few powerful people

Tyrants seized power - Tyrants (usually noble/ powerful people) would gather groups of citizens and fight for the right and wants of the common people. The people enjoyed being able to have a say in their government, especially in Athens, which eventually led to the formation of democracy.

Building Democracy

Draco's code began Democracy. Draco, a noble man in power in 621 BCE, made a code that allowed ALL Athenians to be equal. The code also gave almost all criminals the death sentence . It also made people in debt become slaves to repay their debts. Democracy was advanced further when solon came into power in 594 BCE. He created a caste system which only allowed members from the top 3 castes could hold political office. However, he let all people participate in Athenian assembly. 

PWRPNT

• Polis - A fundamental political unit, made up of a city and the surrounding countryside 
• Politics - (affair of the citizens), policy, political, etc
• Monarchy - Rule by a single person (a king)
• Aristocracy - Rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families
• Oligarchy - Wealthy groups, dissatisfied with Aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help)
• Tyrant - Powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support.

Transformation of Government 

• During the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece
• Back then, rich people wielded much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle class or the poor
• It is like that in America right now, MANY governmental officials are multimillionaires.

Aristocracy - members of the ruling class

• They attended symposiums, meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of heteras (courtesans) while discussing politics

Politics - an exclusive club

• No women (except the "entertainment")
• No middle class
• No slaves
• Sometimes even certain aristocrats who fell out of favor or did not have the right connections 

Tyrants seize control

• Sometimes aristocrats would form alliances with hoplites (well-armed soldiers), and set up an alternative form of government called a tyranny 
• Tyrant - someone who rules outside the framework of the polis
• Modern meaning of tyrant - an abusive or oppressive ruler
• the Greek meaning of tyrant - someone who simply seized power (usually with hoplite help)

Rules, codes, and laws

• Draco (621 BCE) 
• Draconian - harsh punishment 
• All athenians (rich or poor) are equal in the law
• Death is the punishment for many crimes
• Debt slavery is OK (work as a salve to repay debts)

Solons reforms (594 BCE)

• Outlaws debt slavery
• all Athenian citizens can speak at the assembly
• any citizens can press charges against wrongdoers

Eventually leading to ... Cleisthenes 

•  more reforms (around 500 BCE)
• Allowed all citizens to submit ;was for debate at the assembly.
• created the council of Five Hundred (members chosen at random to council the assembly) 
• Can you see this leading to democracy?
• BUT .. only free adult male property owners born in athens were considered citizens 

Rewind to ... clash of the tyrants 

• Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE.
• His brother was murder and his rule became harsh
• Eventually he was expelled from Athens (this is classed ostracized)
• In revenge, he began working with the Persian King Darius I, helping them invade marathon

Next in line

• With Hippies gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both aristocrats) engaged in a power struggle
• Isagoras had support from some fellow aristocrats, plus from Sparta
• Cleisthenes had support of the majority of Athenians 

Isagoras wins! (but not for long)

• Isagoras becomes archon eponymous (tyrant)
• He ostracizes Cleisthenes 
• Cleisthenes' supporters - and the ordinary Athenian citizens! - Revolt against Isagoras tyranny.
• They trap Isagoras on the acropolis for two days - on the third day he flew and was banished 
• 508 BCE! Beginning of democracy!

Cleisthenes and Democracy 

• Cleisthenes - definitely a member of the elite
• Very Rich
• Insulated from the "hoi polloi"
• but ... a crafty politician
• saw the value of tapping into the talents, intelligence, and energies of the non- aristocrats (the middle class)
• No women

One Eyed Giants Cove

Book 9 - One Eyed Giants Cove

Notes about the story:

• Goats
• Feasting
• Traveling by ship
• Strange land
• Giant monster - Mountain
• Wine
• Sharing gifts
• Wine needed to be diluted 
• Flocks of sheep
• Sacrifice to the gods
• Huge boulder blocking exit
• Fire
• Hospitality
• Cyclops doesn't care about gods
• Odysseus is crafty
• Cyclops ate a total of 6 people
• The club is the size of a ships mast
• Burning club was forced into the cyclops's eye
• Escaped by holding onto the sheep
• Trash talk
• A fatal flaw? Pride?

Homers epics are not just stories, they are stories that tell about History and they teach morals.

Overall I thought Book 9- One Eyed Giants Cove was enjoyable. I think it is crazy that someone could remember that whole story, much less the whole book which is 173,600 words. This has led me to have suspicions about Homer's existence. I think that Homer was probably a real person, but some facts about him seem a little too good to be true. 

Trojan War and Homer

Trojan is to Troy as American is to America.

The Trojan horse was probably real, but there is no physical proof due to the fact that it was probably made of wood which would not have stayed in tact for 3000 years.

Around 1200 BCE the mysterious "sea people" began to invade Mycenae, and burnt palace after palace.

So, the Dorians moved into this war-torn region, dominating from around 1150-750 BCE.

• Dorians were far less advanced
• The trade-based economy collapsed 

HOMER (storyteller)

• He composed stories (epics) of the Trojan war c. 750-700 BCE
• The Iliad - probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans (the Trojan war)
• The Odyssey - Odysseus attempt to return home after the Trojan war, being thwarted by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon.
• The Odyssey is 12,110 lines of Dactylic Hexameter

Did Homer actually exist?

• The "Homeric question" - Homer may have been a mythical creation himself 
• A blind wandering minstrel; a heroic figure 
• Iliad and Odyssey may be the culmination of many generations of storytelling 
• Or he actually existed and told stories

Greeks geographical significance

From Friday Jan 19

Geography/Significance
Greece is a mountainous peninsula mountains cover 3/4 of Greece.

Approximately 2000 islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas.

This combination shaped Greece's culture. They had many skilled sailors, ship builders, farmers, metal workers, weavers, and potter's.

They had poor/limited natural resources, so they needed to trade.

It was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain (city-states) thats who they were loyal to.

Relative to ourselves and location

North Carolina: 53,818 mi
Greece: 50,949 mi
Pennsylvania: 46, 056 mi

small in size, HUGE in influence

Fertile valleys cover one quarter of the peninsula, only about 20% is arable (suitable for farming)
-Greek diet consists of grain, grapes, and olives
-Lack of resources led to colonization
-Back then, temperatures usually ranged from mid 40s in winter to low 80s - although it could get hot in the summer, it was pretty nice all year round.

First Mycenaeans

• Their influence began around 2,000 BCE
• Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge protected by a 20ft thick ball
• Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1110 BCE
• Controlled trade in the region 
• 1400 BCE- Mycenaeans invaded crete and absorbed Minoan culture 

THE TROJAN WAR

• Greeks have fought in many wars over time 
• Trojan war was fought in the 12th or 13th century BCE
• Part of Greek mythology - until the 19th century most historians thought it was fictional
• The goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera were given the "apple of discord"
• Paris judged Aphrodite "the fairest"
• Aphrodite made Helen (who was married) fall in love with Paris, who took her back to Troy.
• The mythological part was probably fake, but there was a real Trojan war.

Mycenae was at one point one of the strongest city-states (they had a 20ft thick wall) Mycenaeans learned sea trade from Minoans. Dorians ruined Greek culture due to the fact that they were MUCH less advanced

Greece cont.

From Thursday Jan 18

How geography shaped the earth pt. 2

The Land:
Rugged mountains covered a large part-- 3/4 of ancient Greece. The chain of mountains went from northwest to southeast along the Balkan peninsula. The mountains separated by Greece into regions. This affected the culture by affecting political life since the mountains created regions, they made small, independent governments instead of one large one. The mountainous terrain also made travels difficult in Ancient Greece and usually took a long time. They had very little roads if any, and they were mostly dirt paths. IT also made for bad farming conditions which led to a smaller population.

The Climate:
Greece's climate varied from 48° F in the winter and 80° F in the summer. These temperatures were moderate and made Greek life take place commonly outdoors.

(back to PowerPoint)

Traveled mostly by ship

Greece's Geography
-Note the significance of Greece's location.
-Describe Greece's topography
-Look at Greece's surroundings

How does Geography affect culture? -
Mountainous land is bad for farming, therefore they must TRADE with other countries. They could not take care of themselves. Water was EVERYTHING to them.

Be able to identify:

Aegean Sea

Ionian Sea

Adriatic Sea (N of Ionian)

Peloponnesus

Athens

Sparta

Crete

Asia Minor

Macedonia

Classical Greece

From Tuesday Jan 16, 2017

UNIT ONE- Cultures of the mountains and the sea.

Main Ideas
-Power and Authority
-Cultural Interaction
-Empire Building

You can learn a lot about culture from its works of art and literature. The roots of Greek culture are based on interaction of the Mycenaean, Minoan, and Dorian cultures.

Book Work:


Geography-
Ancient Greece consisted mainly of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean sea. It also included about 2,000 islands in the Aegean and Ionian sea. Lands on the Eastern Edge of the Aegean sea were also a part of ancient Greece. The physical geography shaped the Greek traditions and customs.

How it shapes Greek life

The sea: Due to the sea, the Greeks rarely had to travel more than 85 miles to reach the coast line. The Aegean, Ionian, and Black sea were all crucial transportation routes for Greece. They linked most parts of Greece. Sea travel was also important to their culture because it allowed for trade which gave Greece access to more resources since they lacked many.

Powerpoint:

The world greatest civilizations were all located on water (usually rivers). Mesopotamia was the first civilization (it is speculated that they were not now)

Great Civilization/ Key River
Mesopotamia/ Tigris and Euphrates
Egypt/ Nile River
India/ Indus River
China/ Huang He River

The Adriatic, The Ionian Sea, and the Aegean sea. Greece is SUPER mountainous. Enormous amounts of coastline.

Mediterranean = Middle of the Earth. The people then believed Europe was the whole world. They did not know about other continents.