Espanol: Revista 47 Los Primeros Griegos Temas 1-8
Study Guide:
Part 1 - Greece is located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. -Greece is bordered by the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Ionian Seas. -The southern part of Greece’s mainland is called the Peloponnesus. It is connected to the rest of the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth. (An isthmus is a strip of land that connects two large pieces of land.) -Greece is also made up of thousands of islands and islets. -On the mountainous mainland of Greece, people built communities in the valleys and plains. -Communication, travel, and trade between mountain villages was very difficult. This gave rise to individual city-states instead of a unified empire. -By the fifth century BCE, the harbor of Piraeus, near Athens, became the busiest trading center in the Mediterranean. -It was said that anything could be bought in Piraeus, including food, pottery, gold, spices, marble, and more. - The Mediterranean supplied an abundance of fish to eat and sell. Greece’s central location fueled its economy. Greek merchants traded goods with people in Egypt, areas we now call Spain and Italy, and other nations. - Crete is the largest of the Greek islands. In ancient times, it was home to two civilizations, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. - According to legend, King Minos built the labyrinth, or maze, to house the Minotaur. (That’s a mythical beast with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man.) - Great warrior kings like Agamemnon who, according to legend, fought in the Trojan War. -The Odyssey, the great blind Greek poet Homer. -The Minoan civilization began in 2000 BCE and was named after the mythical king Minos. Minos was the son of the god Zeus and the goddess Europa. - The Minoans built cities around lavish palaces. The largest was built in 1700 BCE in the city of Knossos. -The Minoans were great sailors and successful traders. - They developed a system of writing to keep track of their trading activities. - The Minoan civilization fell in about 1450 BCE. Many say it was because of a Mycenaean invasion. Others blame a volcanic eruption, earthquake, or fire. Some believe it was a combination of all these events. - From about 1450 BCE to 1100 BCE, the Mycenaean civilization ruled over Crete and the Peloponnesus. Named after the city of Mycenae. - They were greatly influenced by the Minoans. They adopted many Minoan customs as their own. This cultural borrowing included sailing techniques, a writing system, and pottery styles. They’re called the first Greeks. - Some say the Mycenaean civilization fell because it was invaded by the Dorians, a people from northern Greece. Others blame economic troubles; Whatever caused it, that collapse started the Greek Dark Ages. - The Cyclades is a group of islands in the Aegean Sea. According to Greek mythology, Poseidon, god of the sea, was so angry at a sisterhood of mermaids that he turned them into islands. - Between 1650 BCE and 1550 BCE, the volcano on Thera (modern-day Santorini) erupted and covered the town of Akrotiri in ash, perfectly preserving it to this day. - The Aegean Sea lies between Greece and modern-day Turkey. It is home to about 2,000 islands, including Crete and Thera. - It shows up in many great writings, such as Homer’s Odyssey, the dialogues of Plato, and the Histories of Herodotus. - Storytelling was a very important part of early Greek life. Myths and legends were not only entertaining, they were also the basis of the Greek religion and taught valuable lessons. - They greatly influenced world culture, language, and literature – and they still do today. - Greek myths, which are stories about gods, all the myths make up a mythology. Each god and goddess in Greek mythology ruled over a different domain and had a unique power. The most powerful Greek god was Zeus, the god of thunder and lightning. Zeus ruled over all the other gods. - Homer was one of the ancient world’s greatest poets. The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the best-known epic poems, or long poems about heroic deeds. - Many believe Homer was born in Ionia, in Asia Minor, between 1200 BCE and 700 BCE. - These epic poems helped define Greek identity, and they have influenced literature through the ages. - The Trojan War was an actual war in 1200 BCE. It inspired Homer to write his epic poems. - The Odyssey tells the adventures a man named Odysseus has on his ten-year journey home from the war. - It includes the tale of the Trojan Horse, a trick the Greeks used to get into the walled city of Troy. - The Trojan War ended around the time th- e Greek Dark Ages began. From about 1100 BCE to 750 BCE, trade and the arts in Greece declined.Poverty increased, and cities were abandoned. - Greek myths and legends survived, thanks to storytellers. - If there was a bright spot in the Dark Ages, it was the introduction of iron. Iron was first brought to Greece from Cyprus or the Near East. Iron led to great changes in Greece, including the beginning of the Iron Age. - One of the most famous is the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. Phidias, one of the greatest sculptors of the day, had made it of gold and ivory. Part 2 - Greece survived through a dark time that began after the Trojan War. - Around 750 BCE, the Greek Dark Ages finally ended. It was the dawn of a new time – the age of the Greek polis, or city-state. - All city-states were independent and separated by geography from other city-states. - Some of the greatest city-states included Sparta, Argos, and Corinth. As home to more than 20,000 people, Athens was the largest. - An acropolis, or “city on a hill.” An acropolis housed temples and gave citizens a place to take shelter in case of attack. - An agora, or open-air market. - In the eighth century BCE, each city-state was ruled by an oligarchy, or small group of wealthy aristocrats. By the seventh century BCE, many city-states were under the rule of tyrants. In the fifth century BCE, some city-states, like Athens, overthrew tyrants and created democracy, or rule by the people. - The Greek philosopher Aristotle. - Male citizens over the age of 18 could vote for their leaders, serve on juries, and help make laws. Citizenship meant that ordinary people helped make the decisions for their city-state. - Commerce, or large-scale. - The introduction of iron in the 700s BCE helped change Greece forever. Tools and weapons made of iron were stronger. - In search of more land and resources, Greece founded colonies in Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. (A colony is a country, or area of a country, that is under the political control of another country.) - There were about 1,500 Greek city-states of all sizes. - Sparta’s military ruled over most of the Peloponnesus. - Greek colonies included Cumae ,Syracuse, Smyrna, Alalia, and the seaport of Kyzikos. - According to Greek mythology, gods and goddesses competed to be the patrons, or protectors, of cities. - Zeus’s daughter Athena was the goddess of wisdom, justice, and war, among other things. - Poseidon, Zeus’s brother, was the god of the sea, storms, earthquakes, destruction, and horses. - In one myth, Athena and Poseidon both had their eyes on the same town. - Athena and Poseidon Myth: Poseidon tapped his trident, or three-pronged staff, against the ground and a spring appeared. The people of the town rejoiced and named him the winner. But when they tasted the water, they found that it was salt water. Then, Athena created an olive tree. People could harvest its wood for building or burning, and they could use its olives for food or to make oil for cooking or for lighting lamps. The people rejoiced and chose Athena as their guardian. They named their city Athens in her honor. - Greece was united in many ways. All Greeks used the same alphabet. They had similar forms of government and customs. They worshipped Zeus, Poseidon, and all the same gods and goddesses. - In 776 BCE, an amazing event happened that would help bring the city-states together;It was the first Olympic Games, held in Olympia. - In the 700s BCE, the Greeks developed their own alphabet. It was inspired by the Phoenician alphabet, which used symbols to represent different sounds. - Having a common written language helped bring the city-states closer together. - Homer’s epic poems. The Odyssey and The Iliad are considered the very first examples of Western literature. - The Greeks were united by a common religion, which they learned through myths. - The first Olympic Games were dedicated to Zeus. Stories suggest the games were held in memory of Zeus’s battle with Kronos, his father; Only men. Even in ancient times, the Olympics were held every four years. - Female athletes competed in their own version of the Olympics, which were called the Heraean Games. Named for Hera, Zeus’s wife. Having - Hoplites - City militia, or part-time soldiers. - Athens had mandatory military service for men between the ages of 18 and 20. - Places like Sparta and Thebes prided themselves on having mighty, well-trained militias. - The Greek alphabet has 24 letters, from alpha to omega.The word “alphabet” comes from the first two Greek letters: alpha and beta. - Sparta - “Spartan” means “having no comforts.” - Legend has it that Spartans were descendants of powerful Heracles, son of Zeus. - Sparta was the most powerful city-state on the Peloponnesus. History tells us that Spartans were descendants of the Dorians, who came from northern Greece and invaded southern Greece and the Peloponnesus in about 1100 BCE. -Athens - Athens was located on the Aegean Sea, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia Minor, and Africa. - In the 600s BCE, Athens was also at a crossroads historically. - In 621 BCE, a lawmaker named Draco instituted Athens’ first written laws, which were very harsh. - Draconian” means “cruel” or “severe. - In 600 BCE, many Athenian farmers were in such deep debt that they lost their farms. This caused great civil unrest among the poor. - A leader named Solon came to power in 594 BCE. He made many reforms, or changes, to the laws of Athens. He canceled all debts and freed all Athenian citizens who had sold themselves into slavery. - Solon’s reforms allowed all male citizens to attend the assemblies, which elected leaders, passed laws, and served as juries. - The richer a man was, the higher the position in government he could hold.Every man had one vote. -Decisions were made by majority rule. That means that if more than 50 percent of the voters approved an idea, it would win. Many of Solon’s reforms laid the foundation for democracy. - Education was very important in Athens. Boys and girls studied writing, reading, arithmetic, physical education, and the arts. - Many enslaved people were educated, too; some became doctors and teachers. - The children of Athens learned valuable lessons from Aesop’s Fables. - Aesop’s Fablesinfluenced world literature, and people today still enjoy the wisdom they offer. - Threat by Persian Empire -By 539 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great had conquered much of Asia Minor and the Babylonian Empire. -Next, King Cambyses II conquered all of Egypt. -Later, King Darius I set his sights on conquering all of Greece and its valuable trade routes, but his attempts failed. - In the 500s BCE, Sparta created a league, or a group of allies, called the Peloponnesian League. At first, the league’s goal was to protect its member city-states against Athens. Under Sparta’s leadership, the Peloponnesian League became a major fighting force that would help hold back the Persians.
“Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.”– Democritus
WEDNESDAY 3/22
THIS WEEKS OBJECTIVE: Students will: Start learning about Ancient Greece. Work on topics 1-4.
THURSDAY 3/23 & FRIDAY 3/24
THURSDAY 3/23 & FRIDAY 3/24
THURSDAY and Friday Objectives: Magazine 16 Early Greeks Topics 6-8
Espanol: Revista 47 Los Primeros Griegos Temas 6-8