Mr. West Name:______________________________6th Grade Social Studies

Ancient Greece Study Guide

The Ancient Greece Exam will be on 1/25. This study guide covers the basics, but you should review your notes, as well!

Ancient Greece Geography● Greece Landscape: Very mountainous, lots of little islands. Provided

protection from outside forces, but caused problems inside too.● Many mountains and dangerous seas made communication and

travel difficult. Had to travel on bad roads or by boat. This caused the individual groups of Greeks to become isolated.

● Growing food was tough on the limited and rocky mountainous land. Crops couldn’t take a lot of space, so things like wheat and barley were rare (only for the rich). Olives and grapes, which could grow on the land, were more common.

● As population (people) grew, the limited land became a problem. Wars broke out. Greeks started to create colonies on islands in the Mediterranean Sea. These colonies would grow more food and help out their home area.

● Greeks traveled all over the sea, and became known as traders with other neighboring areas, like modern day Turkey and Egypt.

Early Greeks● People have lived in Greece since 55,000 years ago, but evidence of

the first civilizations comes from about 2000 B.C.E.● The first civilization on Greece was the Minoans, who lived on the

island of Crete, to the south. Minoans traded and fished, and had poor soil (couldn’t easily farm)

● Early art from the Minoans included frescoes, which were colorful paintings on wet plaster.

● Around 1628 BCE a large volcano erupted and destroyed many Minoan homes and towns. This weakened the Minoans, who didn’t recover, and were conquered around 1400 BCE

● The Mycenaeans were the next civilization, and controlled much of Greece, including Crete, from about 1600 until 1200 BCE (400 years).

● Mycenaeans: very warlike, broken up into clans lead by warriors.

● Perfected Linear B, the writing system used by the Minoans and Mycenaeans

● Many earthquakes leading up to 1200 BCE did enough damage to cause their civilization to collapse.

Profiling a Polis● 800s and 700s BCE: Greece started forming into independent city-

states, where the city is essentially its own country● The Greek word for “city-state” is Polis, and citizens were very proud

of their Polis● Poleis (the plural of Polis) were small, with the largest being smaller

than Connecticut● Most city-states had less than 10,000 people, many of whom were

“non-citizens” or slaves. Often, only free adult males had citizen rights● Most city-states were built around a fort on an acropolis, or hill.

Temples and worship would happen on the acropolis● City-states had an agora, which was a large market in the open. The

agora was also the meeting place● Each city-state created its own laws, traditions, and measures● All city-states spoke Greek, and anyone who didn’t speak Greek was

considered a “Barbarian”

Four Forms of Greek Government● The Four Forms: Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, Democracy● Monarchy: “Monos” (One) + “archon” (to rule) One ruler. Had one

ruler, a king, whose rule was passed on to his son. Popular during Mycenaean times, but became rare. Warriors stopped listening to their king

● Oligarchy: “Oligos” (few) + “archon” (to rule) Few rulers. Oligarchies had a small number of leaders making decisions together. Many Greek poleis were oligarchies. Oligarchies either elected their leaders, or passed them down through powerful families.

● Tyranny: “Tyrannos” (illegitimate ruler) One ruler. In a tyranny, one person took power for his own, usually through being popular and having a military. They were “illegitimate” because they were not

granted power by the government. Not all tyrants were bad, but many were, which is why “tyrant” is now a negative word.

● Democracy: “demos” (people) “kratia” (to rule) the people rule. People grew tired of unstable government, so tried to create a fair and just government. People who were qualified (citizens) made the rules and voted on them. In some cases, democracies turned back into oligarchies. Most countries today are democracies.

Athens or Sparta● Athens Government Structure: Democracy, citizens could vote. The

Assembly made laws, men over 18 could join the Assembly. The Council of 500, chosen by lottery, proposed (created) the laws. 10 Generals led the army and navy, were also judges.

● Sparta Government Structure: Oligarchy, few rulers. Assembly makes laws, males over 30 could join, chose 5 ephors each year. Council of Elders, 30 men over the age of 60, proposed laws. Ephors watched over the king.

● Athens values: Art, education, religion, sports (Olympics) and honoring the gods

● Sparta values: Military strength, honor, courage, protection● Athens economy: Trade and tourism, traded away olive oil, honey

and pottery for wheat and grain● Sparta economy: focused on farming and conquering (taking land

from others). Made sure they had enough land for their growing population. Didn’t trade much

● Athens treatment of women: Can’t vote or own property, can’t leave the house alone

● Athens treatment of slaves: “good” slaves farmed or worked in offices, “bad” slaves worked in the mines

● Sparta treatment of women: Could vote and own property (same as men), could divorce and remarry

● Sparta treatment of slaves: Slaves were called “Helots”, were treated poorly to prevent rebellion (murdered), were allowed to earn money to buy freedom

Athens after the Peloponnesian War● Athens government: Democracy replaced with Spartan Oligarchy (30

tyrants). Led by Critias. Athenians were judged by Spartans. Eventually replaced by democracy again

● Athens citizens: Condemned (sentenced) without trial. Citizens were jailed and executed, outspoken critics (people again Sparta) were forced to drink Hemlock (poison)

● Athens forced to give up: Freedom, independence, citizen rights. Had property taken

● Athens recovery: Citizens fought back, Critias killed. 30 tyrants asked Sparta for help, but didn’t get it. Democracy restored

Greek Culture● Gods and Myths: Based on many gods and myths, used to explain

the world and why things happened. Prometheus was a myth that explained fire and how the gods affected people.

● City-States and the Gods: Each city state had a special protector god or goddess Athena was the protector of Athens after giving them the olive tree. We know about these stories from word of mouth, art, poems, pottery, and songs.

● Honoring the Gods: People participated in the Olympic games and sacrificed things to honor the gods. They believed angry gods would cause trouble. In the Olympics, originally only had races and they participated naked. The olympics back then tested military skills.

● Greek Literature: Fables are short stories with animals and morals. Epics are long poems that tell stories about Greece. Aesop and Homer were famous Greek writers. Fables are still used today to teach children morals

● Greek Theater and Drama: Tragedy: sad stories about the downfall of characters, often kings. Comedy: less serious work that makes fun of politics, people and ideas, usually ends happily. No women in Greek theater (men played women), colorful costumes and masks, dancing and singing. Oedipus is a tragedy, it features a king who becomes powerful but then sadly loses it all. (The Sphinx’s riddle answer is the life cycle of a person, or just “man”)

● Greek Art: Focused on humans and gods. Greek pottery lasted longer than other forms of art, and we get a lot of information from it. They glorified humans. Phidias was a famous sculptor who created a 30 foot Athena statue out of gold and ivory.

● Greek Architecture: Three different types of columns were made, as well as temples and other buildings. The Parthenon was a temple to Athena with columns on all sides. Greek Architecture was beautiful and still exists today. The three column types were Doric, Corinthian, and Ionic.

● Greek History: Herodotus was the father of history (may have made some stuff up), traveled a lot. Thucydides believed in using primary sources, like eyewitness accounts, to make history accurate. Herodotus wrote about the Persian Wars, Thucydides wrote about the Peloponnesian War.

● Greek Philosophy: Philosophy is the study of knowledge, reality and existence. Greeks thought the universe was orderly, and that people could understand the laws of the Universe. Socrates was the most famous Greek philosopher, and created the Socratic method, where the teacher asks questions. Plato, his student, and Aristotle, Plato’s student, studied logic and debate.

● Greek Science and Technology: Eratosthenes: estimated distance around the Earth. Ptolemy: said Earth was the center of the Universe. Aristarchus: estimated size of the Sun. Hypatia: first famous female mathematician, leader in geometry. Archimedes: explained levers and simple machines. Euclid: founder of geometry.