Class notes

 1600 – 1200 BC- The Mycenaean Civilization

1200’s BC- X
1150 – 750 BC- The Dark Ages
776 BC- First Olympic Games
750 – 700 BC- Homer composed the Iliad and the Odyssey
621 BC-When Draco set up his law system- very harsh
600 – 371 BC- X
594 BC- X
508 BC- The Athenian people revolted against their leaders, it was the first time in history that anyone has done this in the world. (Took power Isagoris, their king at the time)
490 - 471 BC- X
490 BC- Battle at Marathon
480 BC- When Xerxes decided he would get revenge for his father, King Darius. (But failed)
480 – 430 BC- X
461 – 429 BC- Age of Pericles
447 – 438 BC- Pericles built the Parthenon
431 – 404 BC- Peloponnesian War (Athens vs. Sparta) (Sparta won and Pericles and one third of Athens died of the plague)
399 BC- Trial of Socrates and Death of Socrates ( Was blamed for the loss of the war)
336 BC- X

MEN, WOMEN, GODS AND GODDESSES YOU SHOULD KNOW:  In one or two sentences, describe what is significant about the following people (or immortals):
Homer- Homer was a poet that traveled around Greece telling stories about the Trojan War like the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Odysseus-He was a legendary Greek king and a hero in one of Homer’s books as he tried to get home from the Trojan War.
Zeus- The main Greek God and God of Thunder and of the sky, and was also known as the “Father of the Gods”.
Athena- Athena was the goddess of wisdom, and the patron goddess of Athens.
Draco-He replaced Athens’ system of judgments and punishments of oral tradition and blood feuds for crimes to courts that were known for their harshness.

Solon- X

Pisistratus-A “good” tyrant, who seized power by claiming the woman who had been traveling with him, was Athena. He had also managed to give rights to lower class workers; not only that but he lowered their taxes and gave them loans.
Cleisthenes- He was yet another tyrant that seized power from Hippias, who was Pisistratus’ paranoid son. He also took back power after Isagoris was thrown out by the Athenian people and was tasked with making a new government called a Democratic Republic.
Darius (the Great)- He was the king of Persia and tried to invade and conquer Greece once before, but failed when the Athenians beat him at the battle of Marathon.
Xerxes- Xerxes was King Darius’ son and according to Greek history he built up an army of six million men to try to invade and conquer Greece once and for all. (Although his army was most likely made up of just hundreds of thousands of men, not millions.) He lost to the Athenians as well, when he sent his navy into Strait of Salamis and was ambushed by Athens’ superior army.
Pheidippides- The runner that declared that, “We have won the Battle of Marathon”, when he reached Athens from the Battle of Marathon.
Themistocles- He was elected by the people, built an excellent navy, beat the Persian army at sea, and was soon ostracized ironically.
Pericles- Pericles was a slightly arrogant king, in the way that he thought he could beat the Spartans by simply staying behind Athens’ walls. He would later die of the plague along with one third of the population.
Aristophanes-One of the great play writers; he mainly wrote comedies.
Socrates- Socrates was an ancient Greek scholar who made people question things, and lead them to their own answers to questions. He died of hemlock and was famous for the Socratic Method. He was accused of disrespecting the gods and corrupting the youth. Died in 399 B.C.
Plato-Plato helped to lay the foundation for modern philosophy. His mentor was Socrates and his student’s name was Aristotle; all these men would go down in Greek history for good things.
Aristotle-
Alexander the Great- Alexander was a king and a “great” (you see what I did there) conqueror as he took control of places such as Macedonia, Egypt, Persia, and Asia. Most of this land was first controlled by King Darius III.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:  Be able to locate the following on a map:
Athens                         Sparta                                      Peloponnesus                          Ionia
Ionian Sea                               Aegean Sea                             Persian Empire

GREEK POLITICAL STRUCTURES: Describe these political institutions:
Monarchy                    Democracy                  Oligarchy                    Aristocracy

PERICLES’ THREE GOALS FOR ATHENS: Name ‘em; describe ‘em.

GREEK ART: Identify and describe examples in these fields:
Sculpture                    Architecture                            Drama (tragedy and comedy)