crucible of civilization

crucible of civilization - "Athens was the center of the world"

cleisthenes - father of Athenian democracy
broke up power of nobility , so that not just the rich and aristocrats had all of the power.

Geography of Greece:

• Mountainous peninsula - Mountains cover 3/4 of Greece
• Approx. 1400 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas
• Location shaped it's culture
• skilled sailors (easiest way to get around the land)
• Poor natural resources
• Difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain; developed small, independent communities - city states
• only 10% suitable for farming
• fertile valleys cover 1/4 of Peninsula
• Greek diet due to geography - grains, grapes & olives
• lack of resources most likely led to colonizations
• temperatures range from 48 in winter to 80 in the summer

Mycenaean's:

• began around 2000 BC
• Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 ft. thick wall
• Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 BC - controlled trade in the region
• 1400 BC Mycenaean's invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language
  Decline of Culture:
• 1200 BC sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace
• The Dorian's moved into the war-torn region
  -far less advanced
  -economy collapsed
  -writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer and Myths:

• Only stories were kept and passed on by word of mouth
• Homer lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Ages"
• Recorded stories of the Trojan War in The Iliad and The Odyssey (written 750-700 B.C.)
• Homer was probably blind
• Trojan war was probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans

Concepts:

• Arete - virtue and excelle
  do everything as well as it should be done
• Epics - narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
• Myths were created to explain creation:
  Zues: leader of the gods
  Hera: Zeus' wife
  Athena: goddess of wisdom