Ancient Greco-Roman Civilisation

Introduction:
- The first civilisation in Europe
- It was called the Cradle Of Western Civilisation
- It still influences the cultures of Europe and the United States
- Ancient Greek start from the civilisation of Aegean region around 3000 BC
- Ancient Roman began around 753 BC on the Italian peninsula
- Ancient Roman conquered Greece in 146 BC
Ancient Greek Ancient Roman
Civilisation Civilisation

Began: 800BC Began: 753BC

Ended: In 146 BC Ended: The western
(conquered by ancient Roman Empire ended in
Time it began and Roman) 476 (conquered by the
ended Goths); the Eastern Roman
Empire ended in 1453
(conquered by the Ottoman
Turks)

The Greek peninsula The Italian peninsula

Birthplace

The people who Ancient Greeks Ancient Romans

started it

The Greek alphabet has 24 Latin has 23 letters

Writing
letters

• Ancient Greeks • Ancient Romans

worshiped many gods worshiped many gods
and believed the gods and also their emperor.
have emotions like • They worshiped similar
Religion human beings. gods to the ancient
• They built many temples Greeks, with only slight
to worship their gods and differences in names.
held festivals to honor
them.

Democracy, art and • Transportations networks,

architecture, literature and the calender, numerals,
Achievements drama, science, laws, art, architecture …
philosophy, the Olympic
Games …

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The ancient Greek civilisation

1. Origins of the ancient Greek civilisation

Map of ancient Greece

- Greek is mountainous
- People lived along the valley and formed a city-state
- Each city-state had different language, government and culture

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The Minoan civilisation ( around 3000-1450 BC)
Introduction:
- Settled on the island of Crete
- Named after their King Minos
- Traded with ancient Egyptians and Babylonians
- Learned from them: writing, building palaces, making pottery and jewellery
- Lasted around 1500 years

Around 1600 BC, the Minoan civilisation reached the height of its power, and its
influence spread to the Greek peninsula and nearby islands.
In 1400 BC, Crete was hit by an earthquake. The Minoan civilisation later ended
when Crete was conquered by the Mycenaeans.

Palace of Knossos in Crete

Knossos was the political and cultural center of the Minoan civilisation.

The Mycenaean civilisation (around 1450-1100 BC)

Introduction:
- Located in southern Greece
- Around 2000 BC, a people migrated from the north and settled there
- Knew how to use metal and make pottery.\

The Mycenaeans were a warlike people and had strong army. However, the
Mycenaean civilisation ended when the Dorians, a people coming from the north
and northwest of Greece, conquered Mycenae in about 11th century.

Bull leaping
Bull leaping was a popular form of Minoan entertainment.

The Lion Gate

The Lion Gate was the entrance to the city of Mycenae. It was also the most
famous symbol of the city.

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The Trojan War (around 1200-1190 BC)
Introduction:
- Prince Paris of Troy fall in love with Helen, the Queen of Sparta
- Paris took Helen back to Troy
- The king of Mycenae, Agamemnon was the brother of Menelaus of Sparta
organised an allied Greek force and attack Troy
- Lasted 10 years

In the end, the Greeks left behind a giant horse and pretended to retreat. The
Trojans thought the wooden horse was a trophy and took it back to Troy. That
night, Greek soldiers hidden inside the horse came out and opened the city gates.
The Greek army successfully entered the city and defeated the Trojans.

2. The rise and development of Greek city-states

Rise of city-states
- Dark Ages (around 1100-800 BC) (after Mycenae was conquered)
- In 800 BC independent city-states began to appear on the Greek peninsula

City-states
Formed by a city and its surrounding lands
- Had army and government

Separate Greek city-states appeared for the following reasons:

- The Greek peninsula was divided by many mountains that made transport and
communications difficult
- The ancient Greeks were made up of different tribes. It was difficult for their
different ideas and culture to be unified as one

The most powerful city-states in 150 city-states are:

-Athens
-Sparta

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 Athens Sparta

Lying on the southeastern Lying on the southern

Location coast of the Greek inland areas of the Greek
peninsula peninsula

• Democracy • Formed by two kings and

• All male citizens aged 20 twenty-eight elders
Government or above could join the • People could not join the
assembly and discuss government
politics

• Farming, fishing, making • Mainly farming

pottery and trading • People were warlike and
• People loved education loved sports; children
Ways of living
and children were sent to were sent to army-
school at an early age training barracks at an
early age

• Was the most important • Won many prizes in the

port and richest city-state Olympic Games
in ancient Greece • Had the strongest army
Others
• Had the strongest navy • Did not build temples and
• Built many temples and open-air theatres
open-air theatres

Sparta
Introduction:
- A warlike people
- Large army and is always ready for battle
- All Spartan men were soldiers
- Farming and other daily tasks were done by slaves
- Ancestors were Dorians
- Dorians conquered Sparta in the 9th century BC
- The Dorians forced the people living there to become slaves for them
- The Spartans minority at the beginning, they trained themselves to become
professional soldiers to prevent rebellion from their slaves
- When Spartan boys were born, weak babies were left to die on the mountains.
- Strong ones ones began military training at the age of 7 and learned to use
different weapons
- At the age of 20, they became formal soldiers
- They served in the army until the age of 60
- Spent most of their lives in the army
- THEY WOULD KEEP FIGHTING UNTIL THEY DIED!!! p.5
Persian War (490-480 BC)
Introduction:
- The Greek peninsula was mountainous
- There was not enough food and land, the ancient Greeks began to set up colonies
along the coast of Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
- In the 5th century BC, the Persians took all the Greek colonies there
- The Persians then attacked the ancient Greece
- The Persian Wars lasted for 10 years

Battle of Marathon (490 BC)

The Persian army arrived at Marathon and prepared to attack the Greek city-
states. Athens asked Sparta for help but was attacked before the Spartan army
arrived. Athens won the battle with a smaller army.

Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)

The Persian attacked the Greek city-states again. They defeated Sparta in
Thermopylae. Then , they took Athens and burnt down its Acropolis.

Battle of Salamis (480 BC, sea battles)

The Athenian navy defeated the Persian navy at Salamis. By 479 BC, the Persians
were driven out of the Greek peninsula.
The Athenian battleship were easier to direct than the Persian battleships. Thus,
the Athenian navy could trap the Persian navy in the Bay of Salamis and destroyed
the Persian fleet.

3. Life in the Greek city-states

Government
Ancient Greek city-states generally follow one of the three different styles below:

- Monarchy: The king ruled the city-state and the throne was passed from father
to son.
- Oligopoly: The city-state was ruled by a small group of people who were mostly
nobility or wealthy people.
- Democracy: The city-state was ruled by the people, and all matters were decided
by the people.

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Democracy
Assembly - freemen (recent: us) accept proposals
Council - to draft out the proposals
Officeholders - carry out the proposals
Jury - make judgement

Advantages:
The system allows the people to join in the policy-making and administration.
The people also have the right to revise the laws, so that the laws can be carried
out smoothly.

Livelihood

Groups Livelihood

Farmers Grew wheat, grapes, olives

Fishermen Fishing

Traders - traded in pottery

- gold and silver as coins
- traded with people in Egypt
and Middle East

Religion
The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods. They believed the gods lived in
Mount Olympus and built temples to honor the gods. For example, Athena was the
goddess in Athens, people worshipped Athena in Parthenon.
Religious festivals were important events to the ancient Greece. For example,
the Panathenaic Festival and he Olympic Games were held every four years to
honor Zeus.
Major ancient Greek Gods
- Zeus (King of the Gods)
- Hera (Queen of the Gods)
- Hestia (Goddess of the Hearth)
- Demeter (Goddess of Agriculture)
- Poseidon (God of the Sea)
- Athena (Goddess of Wisdom and War)
- Hermes (Messenger of the Gods)
- Artemis (Goddess of the Moon and Hunt)
- Apollo (God of the Sun and Music) p.7
Panathenaic Festival
Athenians celebrated the birth of Athena each year in the Panathenaic Festival.
This festival was extended every four years and lasted six days. This was called the
Great Panathenaea.

1. Athenians paraded with a big wooden ship and carried it t the Parthenon.
2. Important buildings, such as the Parthenon, were protected by the Acropolis.
3. Athenians lined up to make offerings to Athena.
4. The statues of Athena stood at the center of the city.
5. Athenians made offerings to Athena at the altar.
6. The Parthenon was the temple of Athena. Its remains standing to he present day.

Sports
- Most city-states held sports games to honor and entertain the gods
- Offerings were made to the gods and music competitions were also held
- All city-states had to stop fighting so that the participants could go to the sports
arena
- Ancient Olympic Games were held every four years from the year 776 BC
- Present-day Olympic Games originate from these games
- Only male citizens were allowed to take part in it
- Events included: the long jump, distance running, boxing, wrestling, chariot
racing …

Opening ceremonies before the sports festival starts

The ancient Greeks offered livestock to the gods before the sports games
started.

Name of the sports games Location Gods honored

Pythian Games Delphi Apollo
Isthmian Games Corinth Poseidon
Olympic Games Olympia Zeus

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4. Decline of the city-states

The Peloponnesian War (431 BC - 404 BC)

- Athens was ruled by Pericles from 461 BC to 429 BC.
- Athens was called the center of art and learning. This period was called the
“Classical Age of Greece”
- Other city-states were jealous of Athens. Sparta led a war against Athens. Athens
was defeated.

Rule of Philip II
- Macedonia, a state in the northern part of ancient Greece, attacked some of the
Greek city-states
- In 359 BC, Philip II became King of Macedonia and began an active expansionist
policy
- Other Greek city- states formed an alliance against Macedonia
- However, in 338 BC, Philip II of Macedonia conquered the Greek peninsula
- He was killed two years later and his son Alexander, later to be known as
Alexander the “Great”, became king

Rule of Alexander the Great

- Within 11 years (334 BC- 323 BC), Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in Africa,
Greece in Europe and Babylon and North India in Asia
- He built the largest library in Egypt and Europe
- He could carry out his father’s plan: built up an empire in Europe
- However, he died in 323 BC in Babylon, and his generals divided up his empire for
themselves

The tank of the ancient times

When attacking India. Alexander’s army met war elephants use by the enemy,
and did not know what to do at first. But they quickly found a method to defeat
the Indian army.

End of the ancient Greek civilisation

During the 2nd century BC, Macedonia came into conflict with Rome. The
Romans defeated the Macedonians more than once, and expanded greatly. The
Greek city-states asked for the help of Rome to gain independence from
Macedonia. Macedonia was finally conquered by Rome in 168 BC, and the Greek
city-states gradually came under Roman control. In 146 BC, the Romans conquered
the Greek peninsula. p.9
5. Legacy of the ancient Greek civilisation
Democracy
- Athens was the birthplace of democracy
- The government was elected by the people
- Government had to explain its laws and decisions to the people
- Athenians invented the secret ballot and the jury system

Art and architecture

- Ancient Greeks had high artistic levels and loved all kinds of art
- They liked to use marble and bronze to make lifelike sculptures
- They built temples with tall stone pillars.
- Ancient Greeks were famous for their great buildings
- The buildings usually had a line of large stone columns that supported the roof
- Beautiful carvings were made at the top of the columns
- With the spread of the ancient Greek civilisation, the architectural style also
spread to other places

Language and writing

- Ancient Greek writing is made up of 24 letters
- Many present-day scientific and mathematical units and symbols still use Greek
letters, such as “∏”
- Many European language originated from ancient Greek
- About 12% of the English vocabulary still in use today comes from ancient Greek
words.

Literature and drama

Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
Aesop
- Aesop’s Fables
Herodotus (Father of History)
- The Histories (Persian wars)

Introduction
- Divided into comedy and tragedy
- Comedies mainly about daily lives and used to entertain the audience
- Tragedies were mainly about gods, heroes and kings
- Open-air theaters were semi-circular in shape. The design allows even the
audience at the back to hear and see the actors p.10
Mathematics and science
Pythagoras
- Pythagoras’ Theorem
Euclid
- Geometry
Archimedes
- invented a screw that could transfer water from low-lying areas to higher ground

Introduction
- know exercise is good for health and how to separate drinking water from
sewage
- They believed that sickness was the punishment from the gods
- Some doctors pointed out that more rest, taking medicine and suitable food
could cure illness

Philosophy
Introduction
- “Philosophy” means “the love of wisdom”
- People pursue knowledge through thinking and observation

Socrates (469-399 BC)

- He was said to be the best man at the time
- Liked to stand in squares and ask people questions, and discuss things with them
in order to encourage them to pursue knowledge
- His ideas were not generally accepted by Athenian officials and the people
- He was sentenced to commit suicide for dishonoring the gods and spreading
wrong ideas

Plato 428-347 BC)

- Was a student of Socrates’
- Organised the sayings of his teacher into a book
- Opened a school in Athens where he taught his students ti think independently
through discussion

Aristotle (384-332BC)
- Was the best student in Plato’s school
- Was the teacher of “Alexander the Great”
- First person to classify knowledge
- Studied in logic
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