Ethan Blog Western Civ

A direct democracy is a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives, was an important legacy of Periclean Athens.  Classic Art was their values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion became the standard  A tragedy was serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal Comedy contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor  Peloponnesian war was a war between Athens and Sparta that lasted several years that ended by a truce  Philosophers were people determined to seek truth no matter where it took them  Socrates believed that absolute standards did exist for truth and justice Plato wrote down conversations of Socrates "as a means of Philosophical investigation  Aristotle questioned the nature of the world and of human belief, thought, and knowledge 2. The biggest goal Pericoles had that influenced todays world was the fact that he wanted to have a strong army and na...

Today in class we had our first test of Western Civilization. I feel like I did pretty well on the test. I feel like i did well because i did everything I needed to do. I studied the powerpoint that he made and the slides he told us to do. I also, studied my notes that I took in class yesterday so I knew what to study and what type of questions would be on the test. But there was still a few questions that I was not one hundred percent sure on but I feel like I still got them right from what I studied and what I learned in class. So I feel like i did very well on the first test in Western Civilization so I have a goos starting point for the rest of the school year in this class.

Greece is a mountainous peninsula mountains cover three-quarters of Greece approximately 2000 islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas this combination shaped Greece’s culture they had many skilled sailors and shipbuilders also farmers, metalworkers, weavers, potters they had poor / limited natural resources, so they needed to trade it was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain they developed small, independent communities (city-states)  that’s who they were loyal to • although fertile valleys cover one quarter of the peninsu la, only about 20% is arable (suitable for farming) • Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, olives & fish Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1100 BCE Dorians moved into this war-torn region, dominating from 1150 - 750 BCE Dorians were far less advanced the trade-based economy collapsed writing disappeared for 400 years talk about a culture in decline

more reforms (around 500 BCE): allowed all citizens to submit laws for debate at the assembly created the Council of Five Hundred (members chosen at random, to counsel the assembly) but… only free adult male property owners born in Athens were considered citizens sorry, women, slaves, “foreigners” 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 with Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both were aristocrats) engaged in a power struggle Isagoras had support from some fellow aristocrats, plus from Sparta Cleisthenes had support of the majority of Athenians Isagoras becomes archon eponymous (tyrant) He ostracizes Cleisthenes  Cleisthenes’ supporters - and the ordinary Athenian citizens! - revolt against Isagoras’ t...

saw the value of tapping into the talents, intelligence, and energies of the non-aristocrats (the middle class citizens) too bad he didn’t realize the value of women - but, hey, one step at a time Cleisthenes - definitely a member of the elite very rich insulated from the “hoi polloi” but… a crafty politician citizens could participate - but only one-fifth of Athenians were citizens (free adult male property owners born in Athens) after several years, Athens practiced a direct democracy it’s where the state (or in this case, the city-state) is ruled by its citizens rule is based on citizenship majority rule decides vote in the agora , citizens argued, made speeches, then voted with white stones (yes) / black stones (no) it was first practiced in Athens under Cleisthenes by around 500 BCE Poseidon (god of the sea) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home Aphrodite (goddess of love) had lovers of both gods and men Dionysus (god of w...

the “Homeric question” - Homer may have been a mythical creation himself a blind wandering minstrel; an heroic figure Iliad and Odyssey may be the culmination of many generations of storytelling or…Homer actually existed and he was just that awesome Warring City States polis : fundamental political unit, made up of a city and the surrounding countryside politics (affairs of the cities), policy, political, etc. monarchy : rule by a single person (a king, in Greece) aristocracy : rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families oligarchy : wealthy groups, dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help) tyrant : powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support  During the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece Back then, rich people wielded much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle ...

Greeks have fought in many wars over time Trojan War - fought around 1200 BCE part of Greek mythology - until the 19th cent. most historians thought it was fictional because gods and goddesses got involved  the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera were given the “apple of discord” Paris judged Aphrodite as “the fairest” Aphrodite made Helen (who was married) fall in love with Paris, who took her back to Troy sure… except a war was really fought in Troy so, the Dorians moved into this war-torn region, dominating from 1150 - 750 BCE Dorians were far less advanced the trade-based economy collapsed writing disappeared for 400 years talk about a culture in decline around 1200 BCE the mysterious “sea people” began to invade Mycenae, and burnt palace after palace Greek oral tradition - stories passed on by word of mouth Homer lived at the end of these “Greek Dark Ages” he composed stories (epics) of the Trojan War c. 750-700 BCE The Ili...

Today in class we reviewed what we learned in class on Thursday. We went over all of the things that made Greece what they were in ancient times. They had three fourths of their geography as mountains. This made it hard for them to farm which made them trade with other people to get good farming materials and food. They had to work around with what they had so it made it hard to work with certain things. So I will make sure to study that so when it is quiz time I know what to do.

Today in class we took notes because Mr. Schick was not here. Yesterday we got out quiz back that we took two weeks ago. The first time I took it I did very poorly but I got to retake it so I did better on it. I did better on it because I studied harder than I did the last time and actually learned the material I was being testes on instead of just trying to memorize it. So that showed me in order to do well on tests I have to study and learn the material instead of just trying to memorize it.

1. Mycenaean was people that settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 B.C. Dorians were people that spoke a dialect of Greek and may have been distant relatives of the Bronze Age Greeks. Homer was the greatest blind storyteller according to tradition. Epics were narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds, sometime between 750 and 700 B.C. Myths were traditional stories about their Gods. 2. The Mycenaeans helped Greece out the most because they dominated everything in Greece from 1600 to 1100 B.C. 3.With the sea being so close to Greece it helped them trade more with other civilizations. The main thing it helped them with was trade and food because they did not have very fertile land so it was difficult for them to farm things. 4. They picked up how to trade with other people through seaborne trade which is sailing and trading with people while you are sailing. 5. It would talk about how their Gods would help them fight off other civilizations and if the people they were fighting aga...

Today in class we took a quiz on ancient Egypt. I feel like I did well on it because I studied hard and knew what the answers were while I was taking it. Then after we took the test we took notes on ancient Greece. Greece was one of the biggest civilizations in ancient times. But they had a lot of land issues. Most of the land was mountains and valleys meaning that they did not have a lot of places to make communities and to settle. Also, they did not have a lot of space to farm because their land was not fertile and ready for farming. But they did have a few seas that helped them trade and move faster for transportation. They would use boats to cross the sea and to trade with other people because they did not have the farming materials that they needed to be an advanced country or civilization.

Today in class we took more notes and reviewed a bit for the 75 point quiz we have coming up on Friday. We talked about how the Egyptians would mummify the people that died that had a lot of money or that was really important to the people. Also, we talked about some of the quiz questions that we should know or study so we can get them right when it comes time to take the quiz. Another thing that made the Egyptians so powerful was that they had the Nile River they could do a lot of stuff with like farming and fishing and stuff of that nature.

Today in class we retook a quiz and took notes on Egypt. The quiz I did ok on but I felt like I did the best that a possibly could have so I am ok with the grade that I got. I studied everything that I had that I could have possibly studied with so I am ok with what I got. Then after I took the quiz we took notes on Egypt. We took notes on the certain things they believed in. One of the things they believed in was a Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was the king or leader that had God like powers that saved their people. They also used mummies to wrap bodies when they were dead and took out their organs so in the after life they could use them again.

Today in class we got to catch up on certain things and study for the quiz some people are taking tomorrow. I got to catch up something in a different class and study because I am retaking the quiz tomorrow in class. I got to look over some of the notes that we took so I can do well on the quiz. I am going to study at home to so I can boost my grade up in the class. I am trying to get an A so I can have a good grade in the class again. So I will make sure to study to the best of my ability on everything that we went over so I can get a good grade this time when I take it.