Greece Paper

Today in class, we had Mr. Fendryk sub our class. We got in our groups and started working on the Greece paper. It was easier to go back to our power point and add it to our paper. We decided to have a rough draft ready for Monday, so we can look over it or change anything. I think my group will do a good job on this paper. Have fun in the Netherlands Mr. Schick- Plezier hebben in het Nederland Mr. Schick!

Fighting Spartans and Greek Gods

Fighting Spartans
-Greeks were certainly a warlike people- especially the Spartans
-sent to train at age 7
-Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on land

A Naval Power
-Athens had a great infantry, too, but nothing could compare with their navy
-most effective weapon-trireme
-a technological marvel
-fastest ship in the world at the time
-rowed up to 170 men on three levels
-could be used as a battering ram
-agile, fast

The Phalanx
-close- rank, dense grouping of warriors
-armed with long spears and interlocking shields
-soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy, until they broke through their ranks

Philosopherlapalooza- Socrates
-looked to science and logic (not gods) for explanations of how the world worked
-Socratic Method- fostered critical thinking
-"the unexamined life is not worth living"
-Socrates was charged with serious crimes
     -Impiety (disrespecting the gods)
     -corrupting the youth of Athens
-at his trial, he described himself as a stinging gadfly, and Athens as a lazy old horse
-did not deny what he had done; asked for free dinners
-found guilty by an Athenian jury, and sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock

Plato
-a student and follower of Socrates
-he wrote out Socrates' teachings, and described his trial in Apology
-Republic-justice

Aristole
-a student of Plato
-helped foster the idea of Athens as an intellectual destination
-his school- Lyceum- focused on cooperative research- building on knowledge gathered from all over the world
-had dream of having the sum of mankind's knowledge easily accessed in one location
-wrote on topics: logic-physics-biology, ethics-politics-rhetoric, motion-theatre- poetry, metaphysics-psychology-dreams...
-tutored Alexander the Great

Greece Gods and Goddesses

Today in class, we took more notes on the Greece power point.

Next in line...

-with Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both were aristocrats) engaged in a power struggle

-Isagoras had support from other aristocrats, plus from Sparta

-Cleisthenes had support of the majority of Athens

Isagoras

-Isagoras becomes archon eponymous (tyrant)

-ostracizes Cleisthenes 

-Cleisthenes' supporters- revolt against Isagoras' tyranny

-trap Isagoras on the acropolis for two days- on the third day, he fled and was banished

-508 BCE

-Direct democracy

Cleisthenes and Democracy

Cleisthenes- a member of the elite

-very rich, insulated from the "hoi polloi"

-a crafty politician 

-saw the value of tapping into talents, intelligence, and refineries of the non-aristocrats (the middle class citizens) 

-no women

Gods and Goddesses 

-unique about Greeks' relationship- interaction with humans

-Poseidon (god of the sea) interfered with Odysseus returning home

-Aphrodite (goddess of love) had lovers of both gods and men

-Dionysus (god of wine) was son of Zeus (a god) and of Semele (a human princess)

-Zeus- ruler of heaven and earth; father of Athena; god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice

-Had a temper and was known to hurl thunderbolts 

Athena

-goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare (& peace), intelligence, battle strategy, and handicrafts

-she was born from Zeus' head fully formed and armored

-a special patron of heroes- such as Odysseus

-she was the patron of Athens (city named after her)

-Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter

Mr. Schick's Imaginary Wife

Today in class, Mr. Schick's computer wasn't working, so we had a group talk. It somehow lead to Mr. Schick talking about Taylor Swift. After that interesting conversation, we continued to present our Greece power points. We learned about great philosophers, Homer the storyteller, and warfare on land. My group got to present today, and I think we did a good job. We also talked about the 1,000 word essay, and how it should be done. Can't wait to learn more about Greece!

Greece Project Presentations

Today in class, we presented our Greece power points. We learned about Pericles and the Golden Age of Greece, Athens, Sparta, Peloponnesian War, and Athenian architecture. The slides looked great, and I thought all three groups did very well. Some things shocked me and were very interesting. Unfortunately, my group and two others did not get to go. We will be ready first mod on Monday!

Greece's Government

Transformation of Government
-During the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece
-Rich people held much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle class
-Aristocracy is rule by aristocrats
-They attended symposiums, meeting where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussing politics

An Exclusive Club
-no women (except the "entertainment")
-no middle class
-certainly, no slaves
-sometimes, even certain aristocrats (who didn't have the right connections or who fell out of favor) were excluded

Tyrants Seize Control
-Sometimes aristocrats would form alliances with hoplites (well-armed soldiers), and set up an alternative form of gov't called tyranny
tyrant- someone who rules outside the framework of the polis
modern meaning- an abusive or oppressive ruler
Greek meaning- someone who simply seized power (usually with the hoplite help)
-Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE
-His brother was murdered, and his rule became harsh
-Eventually he was expelled from Athens (this is called being ostracized)
-In revenge, he began working with the Persian King Darius I, helping them invade Marathon

St Patricks Day Party!

Today in class, Mr. Schick was not there and Mr. Kimble subbed. Last class, Mr. Schick mentioned something about bringing peanut butter and jelly to class. Since it was Kelsey and Pierce's birthday, and St. Patricks Day, we celebrated. I was surprised to see that Ryan actually brought peanut butter, Kelsey brought jelly, and Pierce brought bread. Alayna, Meredith, and I continued to work on our Greece project. Today's class was so fun, and Mr. Schick really missed out!

Greece Project Continued

Today in class, we continued to work on our Greece project. Alayna and I have worked together very well, and got done a lot of slides. We are almost finished the project, which is great. Unfortunately, Meredith wasn't there on Friday and today. We decided which part to leave Meredith to do, and what parts to add. Today we added more to his life, the Iliad and Odyssey, and him being a blind poet. We present our projects on Friday, and after that we will start working on the paper together.

Start of Greece Project

Today in class, we started to work on our Greece project. Before we started, Mr. Schick gave us back our pop quizzes. I finally got the double bell for getting 100%, and was very happy. Our class averaged at a 90.5%, which is a big improvement from last semester. After that, Alayna and I found many interesting topics about Homer. We are doing well on our power point, for only the first day. Our slides so far include who Homer was, his life, and his famous books.

Pop Quiz, Gumby Stories, and Babies Crying?

In class today, Mr Schick went over the slides we learned about Ancient Greece. We had a pop quiz, and only had ten seconds to answer each question. I got 100 on the quiz, and was happy I did well. The last slide of the test was a picture of a baby crying or a piece of cake. We got to answer Mr. Schick's favorite question "Are you crying?" After the quiz, we had time left so Mr. Schick told us his crazy gumby stories. The stories were really funny and class today was fun!

Greece Project

Topic: The Life and Writings of Homer

Meredith Engelhaupt 

Alayna Meekins

Kacey Newman

Further into Ancient Greece

-Ancient Greece is surrounded by the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic Sea

-Greece is a mountainous peninsula (covers 3/4 of Greece)

-1,400 islands in the seas

-This combination shaped Greece's culture

-They had many skilled sailors & shipbuilders

-They had poor/limited natural resources, so they needed to trade

-difficult to unite Greece

-Known for olives- used for olive oil, and soap- also known for wine

-arable- good farming land

-valleys cover one quarter of peninsula , 20% is suitable for farming

-diet consists of grains, grapes, and olives

-lack of resources led to Greek colonization

-temperatures usually ranged mid 40s in winter and low 80s in summer

Mycenaeans 

-their influence began around 2000BCE

-located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20-foot wall

-kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200BCE (400 years), controlled trade in the region

-1400BCE- Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language "sea people" & Dorians

-around 1200BCE sea people began to invade Mycenae, burnt palace after palace

-Dorians moved into this war-torn region

-Dorians were far less advanced

-the trade-based economy collapsed

-writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer the storyteller

Greek oral tradition-stories passed on by word of mouth

-Homer lived at end of "Greek Dark Ages"

-composed stories of Trojan War c.750-700BCE

The Iliad- probably one of the last conquests of the Myceneans (Trojan War)

-The Odyssey- Odysseus attempt to return home, being thwarted by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon

-12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter

Did Homer actually exist?

-the "Homeric question"- Homer may have been a mythical creation himself

-a blind wandering minstrel; a heroic figure

Iliad and Odyssey may be the culmination of many generations of storytelling

Cyber Day.. Again

For today's cyber assignment we have to choose a Greek philosopher, and write about them.
Socrates
Socrates is a Greek philosopher born in Athens in 407 BC. He was a founder of  western philosophy. Socrates created the Socratic method, this method is the question and answer method. He was also sentenced to death because he worshiped false God's and corrupted the youth. Socrates could have escaped however he didn't. He was a true role model for everyone, with everything he has done. Standing up for what you believe in is truly amazing.

Mr. Schick Predicts the Future and the Weather?

Since we had a short class today, we talked about the weather coming up the next two days. Mr. Schick talked about how we will have a cyber day tomorrow, and how we might get off Friday as well. We started talking about cyber days, and what our cyber day could possibly be on Friday. This lead to Mr. Schick explaining how we should have class video chats on cyber days. He believes in the future, schooling will all be online. Somehow this technology talk, lead to chip trackers in the back of our heads. He talked about how everyone should have these, to track people down in case of an emergency. We also talked about how in the future, if you look into someones eyes you can tell what they are thinking. The future should be interesting, and I hope to get off school tomorrow!

Start of Ancient Greece

Today in class, we got back our Ancient Egypt test and reviewed the questions. We marked the ones we got wrong, to prepare for the final exam. After we went over the test, we started to look through the Greece power point. The world's great civilizations are all located on rivers, Mesopotamia (Tigris & Euphrates), Egypt (Nile River), India (Indus River), China (Huang He River). Greece is a peninsula on the Mediterranean Sea. It is known for olives, and making olive oil. Mediterranean- "terra" means Earth and people believed the Mediterranean was the "Middle of the Earth."

March 2

For today's cyber assignment, we are to take notes on Ancient Greece and answer the questions on the slides.
Ancient Greece
-The world's great civilizations, all located on rivers
Mesopotamia- Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Egypt- Nile River
India- Indus River
China- Huang He River

Note the significance of Greece's location.
Greece is significant because it is located on the southernmost point of the Balkan Peninsula.

Describe Greece's topography.
Mountain ranges divide parts of Greece and plains are very small.

How would all of this affect their culture?
Location and topography are very important in creating civilizations. This could affect them if there were no seas for a water source.

What bodies of water surround Greece?
The three seas that surround Greece are the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.

What large island is to the south/southeast?
The large island south/southeast is Crete, located at the southern edge of the Aegean Sea.

Describe where Athens and Sparta are located relating to the sea, and to each other.
Athens and Sparta are both located in southern Greece, Athens is on eastern and Sparta is western. There is a body of water between them, but do not separate.