Ancient Greek Civilization - 500 and 323 B.C

Greece

Between 500 and 323 B.C., the Ancient Greek civilization thrived. The ancient Greeks gave us many things: the Olympics, theater, advancements in science, art, great works of literature, amazing architecture, philosophy, mathematics, and the world's first democratic government. For all of these reasons, Greece is sometimes referred to as the "Birthplace of Western Civilization." Ancient Greece was organized with many independent city-states. A city-state was a tiny country made up of a single city and the surroundings villages. City-states had their own system of government, military, and laws. The city-state of Athens was the center of Greek culture and is considered to have had the first democracy. The word democracy is actually a Greek word meaning "government by the people." Many of the government terms we use today are rooted in the Greek language: politics, monarchy, anarchy, and oligarchy. While democracy thrived in Athens, a totalitarian government ruled in nearby Sparta. Here the military used force and power to rule the people. Athens and Sparta battled frequently, eventually weakening Greece. In the end, the Romans conquered the Greeks and adopted many of their customs into their own culture. As the Roman Empire spread across Western Europe, they were also spreading Greek ideas and culture to all of the people they conquered.

For this lesson you will need to take notes on the following readings using the Cornell Notes template. The Main Ideas have been provided for you in the template, as well as starters in the note taking section. Please be sure to visit the Cornell Note-Taking Method for tips and directions on how to use your template prior to beginning the reading.

The Cornell Notes for Lesson 01.05 will not be submitted for a grade. This is your practice round. You will submit your next set of Cornell notes for a grade.

Rome

In its heyday, Rome was the capital of an enormous empire spanning from Africa in the south, north to Scotland, west to Spain, and east to Persia. Its influence on civilization is great, and includes the Latin language, legal systems, and innovations in both engineering and architecture. At first, Rome had a republican form of government that was ruled by a senate. The senate was made up of wealthy members, called "patricians" and represented the common people, called "plebeians." This gap between the rich and poor widened so much that the republican form of government collapsed and an imperial form of government took over. The imperial government was ruled by an Emperor. The senate still existed, but the Emperor made the ultimate decisions. The time period is referred to as the "Roman Empire." In the end, problems caused by the enormous size results in the downfall of the Roman Empire. It faced attacks from barbarians on the outside, and rebellions on the inside. The Roman empire split into two, led by two different emperors. Eventually the two empires would not resemble each other at all. The Eastern half thrived, while the Western half eventually fell. In all, the Roman empire ruled much of Western Europe for almost one thousand years and shared with the people many new customs and cultural ideas.

Western Europe

The 17th and 18th centuries were known as the Age of Absolutism. It was during this time period that absolute monarchs ruled most of Western Europe. It was believed that the kings and queens had "divine rights," meaning it was God's wish that they rule here on Earth. In 1688, the Glorious Revolution occurred in England. It was called "glorious" because there was no bloodshed, and this was uncommon at the time. Prior to this revolution, James II had taken over the throne after his brother died and he wished to rule despotically (with force) and re-establish the Roman Catholic religion in England. This troubled the common folks, who were mostly Protestants. The people rose up and won their fight with no bloodshed and established a constitutional government, where the king ruled, but acted as the people desired. It was the Enlightenment ideas of the 18th century that made Europeans start to question the "divine power" of kings and queens and prompted revolutions across Europe. In 1789 the French Revolution began. France had been one of the richest countries in Europe, though its people did not share in the wealth. Anger over this class discrepancy and the money problems of the French king would result in a bloody revolution. It was the French Revolution that would begin the collapse

Governments can be classified into several types. Some of the more common types of governments are:

1. Democracy

The word "democracy" literally means "rule by the people." In a democracy, the people govern.

2. Republic

A literal democracy is impossible in a political system containing more than a few people. All "democracies" are really republics. In a republic, the people elect representatives to make and enforce laws.

3. Monarchy

A monarchy consists of rule by a king or queen. Sometimes a king is called an "emperor," especially if there is a large empire, such as China before 1911. There are no large monarchies today. The United Kingdom, which has a queen, is really a republic because the queen has virtually no political power.

4. Aristocracy

An aristocracy is rule by the aristocrats. Aristocrats are typically wealthy, educated people.