ANCIENT GREECE

LOCATION

• Greece is located at the southernmost end of Europe.It is the southernmost country of the Balkan Peninsula.

CITY-STATE

• There were hundreds of city-states in ancient Greece, some really small ones and some really big ones with large populations.The five most powerful city-states were Athens,Sparta,Corinth,Megara,Argos.

GOLDEN AGE

• The Ancient Greek golden age occurs under the leadership of Pericles in the 5th century BCE. These achievements were mainly confined to the city-state of Athens, where a strong economy and good government created the conditions necessary for such advancements.

ATHENS

• Athens was a city-state of ancient greece,that was named after the goddess athena.They were at war with sparta.Their women were pretty much just housekeepers

ATHEIANS

• Athenians thought of themselves as the best city-state in all of ancient Greece. They recognized that other city-states had value and were Greek, but they were the best. Ask any ancient Athenian and they would tell you that Athens had the best literature, the best poetry, the best drama, the best schools - and truly, they were a leading city-state.

SPARTA

• Sparta was a city-state that focused on their army.As a boy child you were sent to school where you were often beaten,and barely took showers.They didnt get much of any other type of education.When they went to war they were could lose anything but their sheild.If they were hurt or killed in battle they would be carried out on the shield.

SPARTIANS

• The Spartans spoke Greek. They thought of themselves as Greeks.At age 7, Spartan boys entered a rigorous state-sponsored education, military training and socialization program. Known as the Agoge, the system emphasized duty, discipline and endurance. Although Spartan women were not active in the military, they were educated and enjoyed more status and freedom than other Greek women. Because Spartan men were professional soldiers, all manual labor was done by a slave class, the Helots.

HELLENSTIC

• The Hellenistic period covers the period of ancient Greek (Hellenic) history and Mediterranean history between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the subsequent conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year.

DAILY LIFE OF A GREEK

• Life in ancient Greece was quite different for men and women. Whilst men were expected to take an active part in the public life of their city, women were expected to lead a private life as wives and mothers. Their lives were centred on the home. However, daily life in Sparta was rather different from most other city-states. Here women led more active lives, as this would improve their physical strength and their ability to have healthy babies. Sparta also had slaves but these belonged to the city as a whole, rather than to individual families.

GREEK GOVERNMENT

• The Greeks had a lot of different kinds of governments, because there were many different city-states in ancient Greece, and they each had their own government. In addition, people's ideas about what made a good government changed over time.
• The Greek philosopher Aristotle divided Greek governments into monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies and democracies, and most historians still use these same divisions. For the most part, Greece began by having monarchies, then oligarchies, then tyrannies and then democracies, but at each period there were plenty of city-states using a different system, and there were many which never did become democracies or tyrannies at all.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

• Macedonian king Alexander the Great was born to parents King Philip II and Queen Olympia. Tutored by Aristotle, the prince took charge of the Companion Cavalry at age 18 and aided Philip in defeating the Athenian and Theban armies at Chaeronea. After the death of his father, Alexander garnered the support of the Macedonian Army and eliminated his enemies to become king and leader of the Corinthian League. Alexander went on to conquer Persia and Egypt, his kingdom ranging from the Mediterranean to the border of India. Just 32 when he died from malaria, he is regarded as one of history’s brilliant military leaders and most powerful rulers.

PARTHENON

• The Parthenon construction cost the Athenian treasury 469 silver talents.It was presumably dedicated to Athena, and after its destruction much of its ruins were utilized in the building of the fortifications at the north end of the Acropolis. Not much is known about this temple, and whether or not it was still under construction when it was destroyed has been disputed.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

• Social Structure
• Upper class
• Middle class
• Lower class
• Slaves
• Women

3 GODS:ZEUS

• Zeus was the god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. He overthrew his father, Cronus, and then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades, in order to decide who would succeed their father on the throne. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods, as well as lord of the sky and rain. His weapon was a thunderbolt which he hurled at those who displeased or defied him, especially liars and oathbreakers. He was married to Hera but often tested her patience, as he was infamous for his many affairs.

3 GODS:HADES

• Hades was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. After the overthrow of their father, Cronus, he drew lots with them to share the universe. He drew poorly, which resulted in becoming lord of the underworld and ruler of the dead. Nevertheless, he was not considered to be death itself, as this was a different god, called Thanatos. Greedy like his brother Poseidon, he was mainly interested in increasing his subjects, and anyone whose deeds resulted in people dying was favoured by him. The Erinnyes were welcomed guests in his kingdom.

3 GODS: POSEIDON

• Poseidon is the god of the sea and protector of all aquatic features. Brother of Zeus and Hades, after the overthrow of their father, Cronus, he drew lots with them to share the universe. He ended up becoming lord of the sea. He was widely worshipped by seamen. He married Amphitrite, one of the granddaughters of the Titan Oceanus.