History Exam Freshman

Chapter 5:

Trojan War

* Mycenaeans, remembered for their part in the war

1250 B.c.

Rivalry between Mycenae and Troy

Legend says it because the Trojan Prince kidnapped Helen...

Mycenaeans sailed to Troy to rescue her

10 year battle

Greeks defeated Troy and burned the city to the ground

Heinrich Schliemann - proved the Trojan War was an actual event

Homer

Wrote the Lliad and the Odyssey

They gave us what we know about life during this time period

He was blind and just credited for writing the poems

Lived about 750 B.c.

Poems were passed orally

Solon

A wise trusted leader

Appointed archon (chief official) - 594 B.c.

Solon's Reforms

Outlawed debt slavery and freed those who had already been sold into debt slavery

Opened high officials to more citizens, granted citizenship to some foreigners

Gave the Athenian assembly more say in important decisions

Introduced economic reforms

Encouraged the export of wine and olive oil

Some groups of citizenship still remained limited

Many positions open to only wealthy landowners

Draco

The first legislator of ancient Athens, Greece

His codification of Athenian law was notorious for its severity

For example: Death penalty was imposed even for trivial crimes

Because of the hardness of his code, this gave rise to the term "draconian"

Lived in the 7th century B.c.

Zeus

* Most powerful Olympian

Presided over the affairs of gods and humans

His children:

Aphrodite - goddess of love

Ares - god of war

Athena - goddess of wisdom [ gave her name to Athens ]

Hera

Queen of Greek Gods

Wife of Zeus

Goddess of:

Marriage

Childbirth

Often described as jealous and quarrelsome

Polis

A unique version of a city-state

Typically the city itself was two levels

Acropolis

High city

Has great marble temples dedicated to different gods and goddesses

Below the Acropolis lays the main city with a market place, theater, public buildings and homes

Parthenon

Temple dedicated to the goddess Athena

This is an example of Greek architecture

Phalanx

*Massive formation of heavily armed foot soldiers

Shared training created a strong sense of unity among citizen-soldiers

Helots

Conquered people who were turned into state-owned slaves

Greatly out numbered their rulers

Spartans set up a brutal system of strict control

Tyrant

People who gained power by force

Won support of the merchant class and the poor by imposing reforms

The word Tyrant has come to mean a vicious and brutal leader

Oligarchy

Power is in the hands of a small powerful elite

Usually from the business class

Xerxes

Son of Darius

Sent a much larger force to conquer Greece

Was defeated by Themistocles's underwater battering rams

Darius 1

Was furious at Athens role in uprising

Sent a huge force across the Aegean to punish Athens for its interference

The army landed