Ancient Greece and Rome - Commack Schools
Ancient Greece, Rome, India, and China
Ancient Greece
golden age: A time in a culture of high achievement in arts, literature, and science. Generally occurs in times of peace.
Polis: also known as a city-state. It is made up of two parts. The two most powerful city-states were Sparta and Athens.
Aristocracy: a government ruled by the landholding elite.
Direct democracy: a large number of male citizens took part in a daily running of the government through voting. Women did not participate because they were thought to be inferior to men. Slaves did not participate either. Slaves had no political rights or social freedom. This is one of Ancient Greece’ effects on the world today.
Alexander the Great : (356 BCE-323 BCE) He conquered most of the ancient world from Asia Minor to Egypt and India, which began the Hellenistic culture which was a blending of Greek, Persian, Indian, and Egyptian influences.
Philosophy: using observation and reason to understand why things happen.
Geography: The Greek Homeland
Ancient Greece consisted mainly of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. The region’s physical geography directly shaped Greek traditions and customs. Rugged mountains covered about three-fourths of ancient Greece. Unlike the Egyptians or the Chinese, it was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks under a single government. Greece developed small, independent communities within each little valley and its surrounding mountains. Most Greeks gave their loyalty to these local communities.
The geography of Greece made it hard for people from different communities to get together. It is because of these reasons that the communities of ancient Greece thought of themselves as separate countries. Each community was ethnocentric and they were more than ready to go to war to protect itself. For most of their history, the Greeks were busy fighting among themselves. It is easy to forget that they shared a common heritage, spoke the same language, and worshipped the same gods. A desire for more living space, grassland for raising livestock, and adequate farmland may have been factors that motivated the Greeks to seek new sites for colonies.
Differences and similarities between the two most powerful city-states:
|ATHENS |BOTH |SPARTA |
|Limited democracy |Common language |Monarchy with two kings |
|Laws made by assembly |Shared heroes |Military society |
|Only male citizens in assembly |Olympic games |Trade and travel not allowed |
|Trade with other city states |Same gods and religious beliefs |Military training for all boys |
|Education for boys | |Girls trained to be mothers of soldiers |
|Women were inferior | |Women own property |
Philosophers: lovers of wisdom
• Socrates: developed the “Socratic Method” learning about beliefs and ideas by asking questions. He was put to death by the government.
• Plato: believed that the government should control the lives of people. Divided society into three classes; workers, philosophers and soldiers
• Aristotle: believed that one strong and good leader should rule. Believed that people learned through reason.
Contributions:
Homer wrote epic poems that inspired many writers.
Art and architecture: Artists focused on the ideal/perfect form in their statues and paintings.
The style of columns in buildings is adapted from the Greeks. The Parthenon is the most famous Greek building.
Science and math:
Hippocrates studied the causes of illnesses and looked for causes.
Pythagoras developed a formula to measure the sides of a right triangle. Euclid wrote a book that is the basis for modern geometry.
Ancient Rome
Republic: a form of government in which power rests with the citizens who have the right to vote to select leaders to represent the peoples interests. Citizenship with voting rights was granted only to free, male born citizens.
Senate: the most powerful governing body in the republic.
Patricians: upper class. (The senate was mostly made up of them)
Plebeians: farmers, workers, artisans, and traders. Made up most of the population. Had little power (lower class.) [Later on in the empire, they gained more power and were allowed t elect their own officials and serve in government jobs.)
Pax Romana: =”roman peace” the roman golden age that started with the rule of Augustus. He turned the republic in to an absolute monarchy. The Romans spread stability over a large part of the world. It lasted for 200 years.
The Twelve Tables: the plebeians said that they wouldn’t know what the laws were unless they were written down. So they displayed laws on 12 tablets in the market place.
Aqueducts: bridge-like stone structures that carried water from the hills to the cities.
Accomplishments
Engineering: they made aqueducts. They also had good infrastructure and built many roads, bridges, and harbors, arches, domes.
Trade: The Empire traded with Egypt for grain, Africa for ivory gold and lions, India for cotton and spices, and China for silk. They built roads that promoted trade and made the empire wealthy, as well as used the Mediterranean Sea, which was a “natural highway.” New coins were used to make trade easier.
Military: The Roman army was strong and therefore able to conquer a lot of land. They treated conquered people well and let them keep their own government and customs, yet had to serve in the army and pay taxes to Rome.
Pax Romana: The emperor Augustus (Octavius) stabilized the government. He instituted a system of a good civil service to make sure that government officials were both well trained and well educated.
The empire started in Rome and spread throughout the Mediterranean, from Spain to parts of Asia Minor. It spread from modern France and in to parts of Britain.
The coliseum was a stadium-like structure which held deadly gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. The emperor and wealthy citizens often used this free entertainment for the lower class citizens of Rome. This was to distract the lower class citizens because their lives were not very good.
The Fall of Rome - Causes
|Military causes |Economic causes |Political causes |Social causes |
|Visigoths and other Germanic |Heavy taxes were necessary to |Government becomes too strict |Population declines because of |
|people invade the empire |support the government. | |disease and war |
|Roman army lacks training and |Farmers leave land |People stop supporting the |People become selfish and lazy. |
|discipline | |government | |
|Romans forced to hire foreign |Middle class disappears |Many corrupt officials | |
|soldiers to defend their borders| | | |
| |Romans use too much slave labor.|Divided empire becomes weak. | |
The Fall of Rome of Rome - Effects
The fall of the Roman Empire: over expansion of the empire, high taxes, and foreign invasions all weakened the empire. Diocletian, the emperor, split Rome in to two (2) separate empires. The western empire fell, but the eastern empire survived, and became the Byzantine Empire and lasted for over 1000 years.
When the Western Roman Empire collapsed it led to the Middle Ages/ Dark Ages in Western Europe.
As a result of having no central government, Europe enters a period of chaos and disorder leading to the Feudalism.
Ancient India
Mauryan Empire (321 b.c.-185 b.c.) Many competing kingdoms were spread across the northern plains. Into this battleground of rival kingdoms came Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta first gained power in the Ganges Valley, but with his army he soon conquered much of northern India.
Maurya rule was harsh, however. Chandragupta was suspicious of his many enemies. A brutal secret police force. reported on crime, corruption, and dissent within his empire.
ASOKA AND REFORM Chandragupta's grandson Asoka ruled differently. Horrified by the brutality of a campaign to conquer the Deccan, Asoka rejected further conquest. Asoka converted to Buddhism rejected violence and resolved to rule by moral example. Asoka became a vegetarian and limited Hindu animal sacrifices. He sent missionaries all throughout Asia to spread Buddhism. He preached tolerance for other religions. Asoka rule brought peace and prosperity. After his death The Maurya Empire declined in 185 B.C.
Asoka’s Rock Edicts -
GOLDEN AGE OF THE GUPTAS
They ruled from AD 320- 550. They organized a strong central government. That ensured peace and prosperity.
Mathematics
ZERO AND THE DECIMAL SYSTEM Indian mathematicians developed the concept of zero as well as the decimal system. The decimal, system is the system we use, based on the number 10.
ARABIC NUMERALS Gupta mathematicians developed the system of writing numerals that we use today. They are known as Arabic numerals because Arabs brought them from India to the Middle East and Europe.
Medicine: Gupta physicians began to use herbs and other remedies to treat illnesses. Surgeons were able to set bones and repair facial injuries with plastic surgery. Furthermore, Gupta physicians vaccinated people against smallpox approximately 1,000 years before this practice began in Europe.
HINDUISM AND GUPTA SOCIETY
Society came to be ordered by Hindu concepts during the Gupta period. Most Indian people lived in small villages, where Hindu ideas about caste and family regulated society.
Ancient China
THE ZHOU DYNASTY
In 1027B.C., the Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty and ruled until 256B.C. The Mandate of Heaven- The Chinese believed that whoever had the mandate of heaven, had the right to rule.
The Dynastic Cycle- the rise and fall of dynasties. This is the cycle of the history of China. When a dynasty gets old, problems are blamed on them. The people believe that this empire lost the mandate of heaven. A new dynasty rises, claims the mandate of heaven, and fixes the problems left by the old empire. As time goes by, the New Dynasty becomes old, and the cycle begins once again.
By 1000B.C., Chinese learned how to make silk from silkworms and cocoons. This later became China’s primary export.
Qin Dynasty
United China under a central government for the first time.
Created the Great Wall to keep out the Mongols.
Han Dynasty 206 BCE – 220 CE
China enjoyed a true golden age under the Han. Many cultural and intellectual achievements came as a result of the strong leadership of the Emperor Wudi. Under Wudi, China strengthened both its government and economy using the civil service system, setting the conditions for the golden age. This included a period of expansion that saw the opening of the Silk Road as a major trade route. Trade along the Silk Road brought China in contact with other civilizations.
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