THE TROJAN WAR AND THE ORIGINS OF GREECE I) The Illiad a. Greatest epic poem in literature b. Homer, blind poet, tells the story the Trojan War i. Greeks lay siege to Troy for ten years because Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband, Menelaus, king of Sparta ii. Credits divine origin as the cause of the Trojan War 1. Eris gives the Apple of Discord, for the fairest, to Athena, Hera, Aphrodite 2. Zeus sends the goddesses to Paris to settle the dispute a. He choose Aphrodite i. Aphrodite makes Helen, the most beautiful of all women, fall in love with Paris 1. Agamemnon, Greek king, leads forces to Troy for the siege II) The Trojan War a. 1300BC Achaens rise to power b. Troy controls the Dardanelles i. Levied tolls on shipping ii. They were an obstacle enemy to Greek expansion c. 1183BC Traditional date of the fall of Troy d. Agamemnon, Mycenaean king, enlisted other Greek kings i. Attacked, defeated Troy, Greece spread into Asia Minor
III) IV) Origins of Greece a. Greek kings conquered the coasts and islands of the Aegean b. Led to the creation of city-states i. Sovereign state and the territories surrounding it ii. People became critical of their leaders 1. Monarchy gave way to republic (representative gov t) c. When monarchy was abolished, the gov t passed into the hands of those who abolished it the noble families i. Aristocracy gov t of the best individuals or by a small, privileged class. ii. Generally upper class, hereditary nobility iii. Men of noble class were of the greatest importance to the state and birth was the best test of excellence iv. The aristocracy practiced ruling, were trained in it, and passed it from father to son d. Alphabet i. Greeks encountered the Phoenicians, a sea-faring people 1. Called the Greeks Ionians 2. Gave the Greeks alphabetic writing a. Writing is an important tool for civilization Greek Views of History a. Why believe a mythical version of the Trojan War? b. Believed a legendary past is practical i. Myths could be basis for diplomacy or territorial claims ii. Noble families wanted their origin to be from a god iii. Greeks came to believe they were all descended from Hellen 1. This is where the name Hellenes is derived c. The manufactured, legendary past separated the Greeks from the barbarians but also helped them connect to foreign lands through myth d. The myth creates an idea of struggle between Greece and Asia i. Trojan War, Persian War
SPARTA I) Government a. Spartan constitution breaks the government into four parts b. Kings i. Dual kingship 1. One in Sparta, a second in S. Laconia a. Dual kingship to prevent absolutism ii. Supreme commanders of the army, right to war anyone with ultimate power of life and death c. Apella a collective body of Spartan citizens over 30 years old i. No debate, just voted on issues presented by the Gerousia d. Gerousia Policy making council of thirty men including the two kings. Other 28 must be over 60 years old and held office for life e. Ephors Represented the people by popular election. Five ephors, one year terms, cannot be reelected. i. Judges in civil cases ii. Responsible for the strict maintenance of the order and discipline of the Spartan state. f. Sparta was a mixture of kingdom (dual kings), oligarchy (apella), and democracy (ephors) II) People a. The people lived to serve the state i. The people were Lacedaemonians Area of the Peloponnese ruled by Sparta was Lacedaemon b. Spartans i. Citizens; every citizen a solider. Male. Agoge (training) ii. Ruling class - %5 of the population iii. Owned a plot of land cultivated by Helots 1. Free from labor dedicated to military training and warfare c. Perioikoi People from the surrounding area; not full citizens i. Useful for the Spartan army made armor, tools, etc
d. Helots i. Slave class. Bound to the land. Accompanied their masters into battle. Could only be freed by the state ii. Annually whipped, forced to wear distinct garments this was to ensure obedience 1. Sparta was terrified of a Helot revolt 2. Sparta had conquered Messenia and all were reduced to Helotry iii. Spartans would receive a yearly stipend of food, wine, fruit 1. Wife got less. 2. Helots got the leftovers iv. Helots could acquired property after doing something great in battle v. Each year the Ephors would declare war on the Helots e. Krypteia i. Secret police ii. Krypteia youth would go into the countryside and kill as many Helots as they could catch 1. This was part of Spartan training f. Spartan women i. Exercised together, trained to be strong mothers ii. Produced children if the state required it 1. Even outside marriage vows if needed
ATHENS I) Athens a. A Greek polis; one of the three most powerful i. Sparta, Athens, Thebes ii. Polis (city-state) sovereign political unit made of the city and the surrounding countryside b. Acropolis i. Elevated point in each polis 1. Placed temples, public monuments there 2. Parthenon, in Athens, monument to Athena, patron goddess of Athens c. Agora i. Public square, market place ii. Originally where warriors met, became a political center d. Four ways to govern a polis i. Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy II) Athenian Aristocracy a. Athens had been ruled by a monarch b. Created the polemarch i. Military commander ii. Elected by, and from, the aristocracy c. Created the archon, elected by the community d. Council of Elders i. Aristocracy that overthrew the monarchy
III) Athenian Democracy a. Cleisthenes i. Promoted popular assembly b. Pericles, a general, ruled Athens from 460BC to 429BC i. Introduced two major reforms c. Lot A Council of 500 and the Archons were appointed by lot (a lottery) i. Every citizen had a chance to hold public office and take part in public affairs d. Pay Public officers received pay, this allowed the poor to contribute e. Pericles wanted Athens to dominate central Greece
PERSIAN WARS I) Greek Military a. Hoplite i. Greek citizen soldiers 1. Needed wealth had to provide own weapons, armor b. Phalanx i. Hoplite battle formation; square or rectangle ii. Front line locked shields (worn on left arm) iii. First, second lines used their 8ft. long spears (right hand) c. Trireme i. Boat with three levels of oars ii. Tight quarters went ashore to eat and sleep iii. Battered enemy ships with a bronze clad battering ram d. Athens operated 200 triremes II) Persia and Greece a. Ionian Greeks, with Athenian support, rebel against Persia rule b. Darius and 20,000 Persians invade Greece III) Battle of Marathon 490BC a. Athens march to Marathon, take the high ground, attack Persians b. Cut the Persians to pieces and drive them into the sea i. 6400 Persians dead, 192 Athenians dead c. How? i. Athenian general Miltiades changed the order of battle ii. Collapse the center of the phalanx and flank the Persians d. Athenians dispatched a runner from Marathon to Athens i. 26.2 miles
IV) Battle of Thermopylae 480BC a. Xerxes invades Greece b. Greeks choose to defend at Thermopylae i. Coastal path between mountains and the sea ii. Called the Hot Gates c. 7,000 hoplites were led by Spartan king Leonidas i. Holds position for three days d. Greek traitor Ephialtes showed Persians a passage behind the Greeks e. Leonidas sends most of his army away a strategic withdrawl f. Leonidas and 300 Spartans (and some other Greeks) hold the position with the other Greeks retreat i. Spartan ideal was to defend a post to the death. They did. g. Go tell the Spartans, o passerby, that here by Spartan law we lie, i. Epitaph over Leonidas grave V) Battle of Salamis 480 BC a. Trust to a wooden wall. Oracle of Delphi i. Ships Themistocles 1. In command of the Greek fleet b. Greeks were considering retreat c. Themistocles tells Xerxes, pretending to be on his side i. Xerxes and Themistocles are looking for decisive victories ii. Themistocles convinces Xerxes to attack Greek fleet at the Straits of Salamis d. Persians outnumber Greeks, but numbers become a hindrance i. Triremes are more maneuverable than Persian ships e. Xerxes becomes upset when things do not go well i. Beheads Phoenician sea captains f. Phoenician (and Egyptian) fleets leave, so does Xerxes g. Greece wins in an upset
PELOPENESIAN WAR, ALEXANDER AND THE FALL OF GREECE I) Victory a. Pyrrhic victory i. You win but at great coast b. Cadmean victory i. Nobody wins, everyone loses ii. This is the result of the Peloponnesian War c. War lasts for 27 years; 431-404BC. Sparta win; Greece loses II) Athens v Sparta a. Alliances i. Sparta belonged to the Peloponnesian League ii. Athens belonged to the Delian League b. After Persian war, Athens grows in power; Sparta becomes wary c. Helots revolt in Sparta i. Sparta calls for assistance from Greeks 1. Athens sends a force, is turned away a. Sparta feared Athenians would side with helots d. Sparta is a land power e. Athens is a naval power III) End of Greece a. After 27 years of war, Athens surrenders to Sparta b. Athenian democracy (temporarily) gone c. Fleet destroyed, economy collapsed, almost half the population dead IV) A New Conqueror a. Alexander of Macedon i. Interested in only excellence and glory ii. Conquered 7/8 of what he knew was the world b. Tutored by Aristotle c. Son of Philip, King of Macedon i. Macedon is a state on the northern edge of Greece d. Alexander dies in 323BC at 33 years old i. Conquered from the Mediterranean to the edge of India
GREEK CONTRIBUTIONS I) Greek Survival a. Greek empires did not survive, but their true triumph culture did i. Art, Literature, Philosophy, Politics
GREEK CHRONOLOGY (SOURCE: LOCKARD, CRAIG. WORLD P.135) Greece, 750 BC 338 BC ca. 750 550 ca. 594 Greek colonization in Mediterranean, Black Sea Solon s reforms in Athens 561-527 Peisistratus tyrant in Athens 507 Athenian democracy under Cleisthenes 499 479 Greco Persian Wars 477 Founding of the Delian League 469 399 Life of Socrates ca. 460 429 Era of Pericles in Athens 431 404 Peloponnesian War 428 347 Life of Plato 384 322 Life of Aristotle 338 Philip of Macedonia s conquest of Greece