The Greeks

2025-10-28

The Minoans

• Crete had Neolithic communities before the rest of europe
• they formed the Minoan Civilization
• discovered by Arthur Evans in the early 20th century
• the civilization seems to have been a single kingdom
  • Knossos
• developed a writing system called Linear A
• language and writing are unknown/undecyphered
• experienced a tsunami and invasion from the Greeks
• after that, they switched to writing in Linear B
• linear B was used by the Mycenaeans

The Mycenaeans

• the name cones from the site known as Mycenae
• they appear to be the first Greeks to arrive
• Mycenaeans were warlike, but also merchant seafarers
• Mycenaean cities were independent of each other
• they cooperated a few times
  • the invation of Crete
  • the Trojan War

Hellenic Civilization

The Archaic Period

• The Polis

  • community of free people making up a city state
  • critical factor in greece was citizenship
  • greeks were citizens rather than subjects
  • The Agora
    • an open area for markets, public structures, and public gatherings
  • The acropolis
    • a fortified hill

• Athens was the largest

  • around 300,000 people

• each polis was a distinct political and cultural unit

• not all residents were citizens

  • citizens were native-born, free males over the age of 20

• four types of governments in greek poleis

  • monarchy
  • oligarchy
    • aristocracy
  • tyranny
    • autocracy
  • democracy

• Athens and Sparta were the most important poleis

• Corinth and Thebes were also important

• there were many others

Athens

• originally a monarchy
• became an aristocracy
• the oligarchy gave Solon supreme power to impose reforms
• outlawed debt slavery
• Pisistratus became a tyrant
  • numerous reforms
• Cleisthenes became a tyrant
  • founded Athenian democracy
  • Ekklesia - assembly of all citizens
    • absolute pure democracy
  • Boule
    • council of 500 citizens
    • 1 year terms
    • representative democracy
    • ran less important affairs
  • Deme
    • territorial unit
    • similar to a precinct
• Ostracism
  • exiling
  • it was a common punishment
  • lost all rights of citizenship

Sparta

• conquered its nearest neighbors
• a new way of life was established - absolute service to the state
• Lycurgus, a legendary law-giver
• the defeated people became near-slaves - helots
• Spartan males devoted their lives to being soldiers
• Sparta's economy was met by the helots
• Spartan women oversaw farms and raised their children
• Spartan government was made up of the ephors (five officials elected annually)
  • two kings
  • an assembly of citizens 30 yo and up
  • a council of elders (included the kings and elected members of age 60 and up)
• Most greeks admired the Spartan way of life, and Spartan virtues

alexander or sumin

Hellenistic Age

• Greek ideas, art, and culture spread over a wide area
• the concept of a Polis began to fade
• the last Hellenistic kingdom to fall was Egypt(Cleopatra)
• after, Ptolomy took over Egypt
• Greek civilization heavily influenced Rome

Science

• Hippocrates - founder of scientific medicine
• Socrates
• plato
• aristotle