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Ancient Greece: Updated 10/29/14

Lesson 1 involved first reviewing a little history from the Fertile Crescent, so that we would not forget that events are occurring elsewhere--there is no vacuum in history, and events occur, whether we are aware of them or not.


The lesson plan notes are here and the slide presentation is here.  Note that both are continuations of all the lessons for Greece.  Incidentally, Mr. Shawley's first term notes from his semester-long class in ancient Greece, taken at SBU, are located here.

His Second term notes in Ancient Greece are here.

Finally, his Third term notes are here.  


Lesson 1:  Early peoples of the Minoan and Mycenaean Cultures, from the textbook, World History, by Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis and Anthony Esler, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Boston, 2009, pp. 113 through 117:

Objectives:  

1. Identify the influences on Minoan culture and how the civilization prospered.
2. Summarize how the Mycenaeans ruled the sea trade and started the Trojan War.
3. Describe the works of Homer and their influence on Greek culture. 

For this lesson we learned the geographical location of the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures, the influence of these cultures throughout the Mediterranean area, the demise of both cultures (and possible causes), and a little on the dark ages of Greek history

We also discussed Homer's Iliad and Odyssey,  the Iliad being a tale of the Trojan War, where Agamemnon and the Mycenaeans attacked Troy, ostensibly over Menelaus' wife, Helen being taken by Paris, a prince of Troy.  

The scholars were asked to read each paragraph, scribble a very brief synopsis, or summary, of each paragraph, answer the "Checkpoint" questions on pp. 115 ("How does the art at Knossos reflect Minoan culture?"), 116 ("How did trade shape Mycenaean society?"), and 117 (What do Homer's epics reveal about Greek culture?").  By completing this part of the assignment, the scholar has answered the "Assessment" question 1 ("For each term, person, or place listed at the beginning of the section, write a sentence explaining its significance"); he or she was also asked to answer "Assessment" questions 4 and 5 ("Draw Inferences  What values of the ancient Greeks are found in the poems of Homer?" and "Demonstrate Reasoned Judgment Do you think the epics of Homer are a reliable source of information about the history of the ancient Greeks?  Why or why not?").

Lesson 2:  The Rise of the Greek City-States  Also from the World History textbook:

Objectives:

1. Understand how geography influenced the Greek city-states.
2. Define the three types of government that developed in the Greek city-states.
3. Explain how Sparta and Athens Differed.
4. identify the culture and values shared by Greeks.

The foci of this lesson are the "city-states," or poleis, of Athens and Sparta.  Each  polis was a unique creation by the Greeks, and each one contributed to Greek history and culture.  Each had its strengths in its design of its government and culture, and each had its particular Achilles' heel in those same unique characteristics.

The Scholars will be studying these particular strengths and weaknesses, to the degree that in each class, one-half will be arguing before Coach Hoegh and me to convince us to become Athenians, and the other half to become Spartans.

To help us understand that Greece was unique among the ancients, we are learning that polis is more than a Greek word for "city-state:"  No, it is that, but it is much more.  And that intangible extra has been borne through the ages to the "more perfect union" that is the United States.

Lesson 3:  Conflict in the Greek World

You can find the Graeco-Persian Wars Lesson Plan notes and what Mr. Shawley used here.

You can find the Slide Presentation that complements the lesson plan here.

 Darius the king of the Persian Empire foreshadowed Rockefeller's dictum:  How much is enough?  Just one more.  But the Ionians didn't appreciate having to pay homage to a god-king.  They revolted, and the polis of Athens aided them.  "Remember the Athenians," whispered Darius' servant at each meal.  Darius got his Ionian city-states, or poleis, back.  Then went after the Athenians.  The Graeco-Persian Wars are what we call this series of conflicts.  It was a hard time, but a glorious time for the Greeks.

Why did the hoplites of Greece fight so fiercely?  What drove them to overcome an enemy who was numerically vastly superior?  It was the unique intangible Mel Gibson cried out about with his character's last breath in "Braveheart:"  "FREEDOM!"  The Greeks were freemen, self-governing.
Theirs was the first experiment in what we in America have carried on:  Democracy and self-government, and participation in the political affairs of the polis.

Sadly, the Greek poleis were comprised of humans like us. They tended to live out Lord Acton's observation that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  The Athenians decided to take the alliance of poleis and leverage it into an empire--just the thing they had joined together to stop in its tracks a few years previous!

Thus the nearly 30-year "Peloponnesian Wars."  Athens was ultimately defeated, but all of Greece was left so weakened, that shortly a tyrannical despot from up north, Phillip of Macedon, soon owned all of what once was a free confederation of city-states, or poleis, each participating, in some form,  in this democratic experiment.

So:  Was it worth it?  This crazy idea of self-government?  I think so.  Mr. Green of "Crash Course on History," seems to have a few doubts.  It's a Youtube video, about 11 minutes long.  What are his arguments?

Things you need to know for this section:

1. The vocabulary words in the textbook:
• Alliance
• Direct democracy
• Jury
• Ostracism
• Pericles
• Stipend
2. Who's who in the Persian Wars:
• Darius
• Xerxes
• Leonidas
• Themistocles
• Pericles
3.  What people groups/empires/poleis were involved:
• Persian Empire
• Ionians
• Athenians
• Spartans
4.  Where these battles and events happened:
• Ionia
• Marathon
• Mount Athos
• Thermopylae
• Strait of Artemisium 
• Athens
• Salamis Island and the Strait of Salamis
• Plataea
5. And finally, what was the result?
• The Greeks beat Xerxes back
• An era of relative prosperity, called the Golden Age of Athens ensued
• But then came the aforementioned imperialist expansion of Athens
• Followed by the Peloponnesian Wars
• Followed by the invasion of Phillip of Macedon

Lesson 4:  The Glory That Was Greece

The objectives of this section include the ability to:

1. Analyze the political and ethical ideas developed by Greek philosophers;
2. Understand how balance and order governed Greek art and architecture; and
3. Identify the themes explored by Greek writers and historians

In this section, we will discover that, despite the ravages of the Peloponnesian Wars, Athenian culture continued to thrive--sometimes because of the War.  The plays come to mind, as do other items:  For example, the Parthenon, built atop the Acropolis, was built as a tribute to the victory over Persia.

The vocabulary words which need to be understood include:

1.  Philosopher
2. Logic
3. Rhetoric
4. Comedy
5. Tragedy
6. Parthenon
7. Socrates
8. Plato
9. Aristotle

 For Section 4,

The Power Point Slide Presentation on Google Slides is here.

It is 8:50am, and I'm just now putting the Slide Presentation for Alexander III (The Great) in Google.  Use it to prepare for the test.

Go here to get to Alex's slides.