Ancient+Greece

Clark, Rhiannon and Meyer, Emily 1900-133B.C.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. - Socrates

Ancient Greece is a small area that has mountainous peninsulas and a number of scattered islands. The Ancient Greeks called their land Hella. It is separated from Asia Minor by the Aegean Sea. One fourth of the land is farmland; the main crops produced were olives and gapes. Since three fourths of the mainland is mountains, limited transportation and communication isolated Greek city-states. Greece has three different peninsulas, Peloponnesus in southern Greece, Attica in the north, and the Balkan Peninsula.

The civilization of Greece was based on who was involved in that time and ruled. Many of the great leaders, battles, and stories really defined the Greek way of life. The Minoan Civilization was the first know civilization from 2000 BC to 1450 BC. The story most known for the period was the story of the Minotaur, a half man-half bull creature that was killed by the warrior Theseus. The Minoan civilization collapsed in 1400 BC by what many think was either a volcanic explosion or an invasion of the Greek mainland. After that the Mycenaean Civilization that lasted from 1600 BC - 1100 BC. The Trojan War was one of the most well-known stories of this time. A Trojan prince named Paris kidnapped Helen of Troy the wife of the Spartan king, King Agamemnon. This story was told in the epic poem by the blind poet Homer. Many Civilizations after that continued to rise and fall, as battles had to either be won or fought and lost with honor.

The religion of the Greeks in most all societies was polytheistic, which means they believed in more than one god. One of the twelve Olympian gods, Athena was chosen to be the basis of the name for the city Athens. Throughout Greek history you can see how life was dedicated to the gods through shrines and temples. Gods were the basis of all life. Religion for the Greeks was that they lived their life for the gods. Though the Olympian gods have since then become myth and legend, they are still recognized and even worshiped still today.


 * __Five Key Terms From Ancient Greece: __**
 * 1) __Hoplites__ -In the early Greek military system, hoplites were heavily armed foot soldiers, they were usually middle classed men, particularly farmers. **
 * 2) __Phalanx__ -A phalanx is a wall of shields created by foot soldiers marching close together in a rectangular formation, this formation allowed the soldiers to defend themselves easily and also fight. **
 * 3) __Democracy__ -Also known as, "the rule of many," a democracy is a government by the people, either directly or through their elected representatives. **
 * 4) __Oligarchy__ -Also known as, "the rule of few," a oligarchy is a form of government in which a small group of people exercises controls. **
 * 5) __Helots__ -In ancient Sparta, helots, were captive people who were forced to work for their conquerors,every so often some of them would be killed to remind the others of their place in society. **

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 * __Five important people from Ancient Greece:__**
 * 1) __ Pericles __: He brought on what was called the golden Age of Athens, which was the age of Pericles. He was known as the greatest leader in Athens.: 461 BC - 421 BC**
 * 2) __ Homer __: Homer was a blind Greek poet who wrote the epic tales of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He brought on the ideas of courage and Honor that helped the basis of Greek life.: 750 BC**
 * 3) __ Aspasia __: Aspasia was known as the first Lady of Athens. She fought for education and greater freedom for Athenian women. She was also written about by a few of the philosophers during the time that she lived.**
 * 4) __ Pheidippides __: He ran 26.2 miles to Marathon to tell of the Greeks victory and then died right after. His accomplishment created todays Marathon.**
 * 5) __ Henry Schlieman __: He was a german archaeologist who proved Troy really existed, found many artifacts to prove that he had in fact discovered Troy giveing other archeaoloogists, new pieces to examine and determine from what happened in the past:1870**



Links to different website pertaining to ANCIENT GREECE: Ancient Greece--This websites has pictures that you can click on to visit different parts of the website containing information about different parts of Ancient Greece. Ancient Greece Information--This website has different places in it that lead to places with greek art, philosophies, history, cultures, and maps. Ancient Greece Timeline--This website has a timeline goes from 2900 BC- 641AC. Ancient Greece Government--This is a good website if you want more information about the Greek government. Ancient Greece Philosophy--This website has links to different greek philosophers and their teachings. media type="youtube" key="WP_NeirFIkM" height="315" width="420" Timeline: 1900 B.C. - Minoan Civiliation on Crete Peaks 1300 B.C. - Mycenaean Civilization reaches its height 1250 B.C. - According to Homer, Greeks sack Troy 750 B.C. - Dark Age of Greece ends 750 B.C. - HOmer wrote the epic tales of Iliad and the Odyssey 700 B.C. - Athens becomes a unified polis 500 B.C. - Classical Greece flourishes 431 B.C. - Great Peloponesian War begins 405 B.C. - Athenian Empire is destroyed 323 B.C. - Alexander the Great dies at age 32