western civ day thirty-seven

CYBER DAY

This time that we are going through is certainly hard for everyone. I find my family stressing over extended families health, unemployment, and social distancing due to COVID-19. I myself am fearful of the disease and it effecting my family. I see how it is very easy for students to just look up the answers or copy someone else's work because there are video games and other things to do in front of them. We are all going through this crisis together and I agree that we shouldn't let this bad situation become worse. I find myself waking up and pushing off the work because I would rather do other things and help my family. When I push it off so much, I don't have any motivation to do my day's worth of work and it makes the situation worse. I also recognize that some teachers are putting in 100's and they don't really check over the work as they would in school. This makes some students turn it in empty or not their best work because they would just get a 100. I do not like how everything is now essays and reading instead of the hands-on activities that we did in school that got me engaged and learning the material. I myself am trying to take advantage over this situation and use the schoolwork as something to do because I have been very bored lately. Some teachers give us loads of busy work and end up not grading it because they are overloaded as well which is unfair because we are spending lots of time on it. I needed your motivation because as this goes on my motivation for doing my work goes down and I end up pushing till later in the day when I am tired and can't do my best work. This is difficult on the students so I think some of the teachers should give a little more help when they decide to assign busy work on busy work. 

western civ day thirty-six

Compare the plague that hit Athens during the Peloponnesian War with COVID-19.

The plague that hit Athens brought fevers, violent coughs, vomiting, sneezing, throat and tongue irritation, the body broke out in ulcers and it made the patient hot to the touch. The plague was very contagious and spread rapidly. The effected couldn't sleep and were restless. The people usually died 7-9 days from the first day of symptoms. 7-9 days was when the peak of symptoms hit the person. There were doctors that attempted to cure and help the suffering the people but there was no treatment. The plague was new to Athens and it swept across Athens affecting many. If someone survived the plague they would be left with blindness, memory loss or other serious conditions. The Corona Virus brings a dry harsh cough, violent fever, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, digestive issues, and body aches which is similar to the plague. The symptoms usually last 2-14 days after exposure which is similar. The COVID is very contagious which is why we are told to social distance. The COVID is also a new disease which means we don't have a vaccine or cure to it yet. It is sweeping across the world currently with about 500,000 confirmed cases. The symptoms and lack of knowledge of the disease make the plague and corona virus similar. Both of the diseases swept across an area without a cure and wiped out thousands. 

western civ day thirty-five

BIOGRAPHIES

Phillip II was born in 382 B.C in Pella, Greece. His parents were King Amyntas III and Eurydice. His brother took the throne and Philip was held hostage for 3 years in Thebes. After his brother was assassinated Perdicas III took the throne and broke Philip back from Thebes. In Thebes, Philip learned a lot about military power and became very educated on military strategy. Perdiccas was killed in 359 and Philip gained power using his military education he began building the Macedonian army. Philip and his army claimed many victories. As Philip was invading the Persian empire, because of the League of Corinth, his own people assassinated him in July 336 B.C when Philip was 46 years old.

Alexander the Great was born in Pella, Macedonia in 356 B.C. His parents were King Phillip II and Queen Olympias. His father, Philip II, was a great military man and always talked about conquering the Persian Empire. When he was 12, he trained Bucephalus and they became lifelong companions. Aristotle tutored Alexander at age 13. At age 16, Alexander was left in charge of Macedonia and he led a cavalry against the Sacred Band of Thebes on his own killing most of them. In 336 B.C. Alexander's father, Phillip, was assassinated and at age 20 he took the throne. Alexander led many battles in his father's legacy and he would too try to conquer the Persian Empire. In 333 B.C. he encountered Darius III's Persian army. Alexander's army was outnumbered but they were more experienced so Darius fled. Alexander was an excellent military leader and had never lost a battle. Alexander broke through the Tyre's walls and killed many of the citizens of Tyre. Alexander conquered Egypt and when faced with Darius again his own people assassinated Darius so Alexander became the King of Persia. Alexander the Great died in June 323 B.C. at age 32. He conquered many lands and was one of the most influential and powerful leaders in ancient history.

Darius III was born in 380 B.C. in Persia. He was originally named Artashata and the Greeks called him Codomannus. Darius was the son of Arsames and Ostanes. In 336 B.C he took the throne at age 43. In 336 BC Philip II was ordered by the League of Corinth to start a sacred war against Persia. Philip was then assassinated and the war was over. His empire was unstable and troubled with all of the rebellious leaders. In 334 B.C Alexander the Great began to invade the Persian empire and defeated them multiple times before destroying the Persian capital. The Persian Empire was now under control of Alexander the Great. Alexander pursued Darius until Darius's cousin, Bessus, killed him in July 330 BC at age 50.

western civ day thirty-four

CYBER DAY FIVE

Philonicus the Thessalian brought the horse to King Philip and he tried to mount the horse but, Bucephalus was unmanageable and wild. Philip ordered to have the horse taken away because of his behavior. That is when Alexander stood up and said he could manage the horse better than anyone else and if he couldn't he would pay Philip the amount the horse cost. Alexander was able to mount the horse while the others couldn't mount him without getting bucked off. Alexander rode Bucephalus and the crowds laughs turned into clapping and excitement. Alexander found that Bucephalus was afraid of his own shadow. The kingdom felt that Alexander should be king because he was the only one that could ride Bucephalus. Bucephalus and Alexander were companions ever since and Alexander was the only one that could ride Bucephalus. Alexander rode Bucephalus into every battle until he was kidnapped after the defeat of Darius.  Alexander fought to find him until Bucephalus returned with a request for mercy. Most historians believe Bucephalus died of old age after the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BCE). Alexander named a city after Bucephalus in honor of their friendship. 


https://www.ancient.eu/Bucephalus/

western civ day thrity-three

CYBER DAY FOUR

The online school is running better than I thought it was. There are a lot of teachers that just give you a lot of busy work which is annoying because usually in their class we don't do any work. The communication and emailing is running smoothly and you can reach any teacher all day which is helpful. The online school is making me do more assignments than I usually do on a regular basis. It is interesting to see all the different ways the teachers can provide info (teams, flipgrid, veracross, etc). In school there is also a social aspect and you get to see all your friends and teachers and communicate with them so that is something I miss. The online school is helping me with time management because when I am presented with all the work I would rather do other stuff. It is helping me to make sure I can do the things I want and get my work done. I do find myself doing work all day because of the amount the teachers give. I feel that I learn more in school because some of the teachers are just giving busy work while in class we would be taking notes.  I would rather be in school so I am hoping we aren't doing online school the rest of the year.

western civ day thirty-one

CYBER DAY THREE

There were generals that conducted war over sea and when they came back they thought they were going to be thanked for being a hero but instead they were all thrown into prison. The Athenian commanders sailed back to Athens and didn't pick up any of the fallen soldiers because of a storm. The failure to rescue the men was ruled to be such a bad crime that all the generals should be executed. Socrates tried to stand against the assembly and was the only one. Socrates tried to stand up for the generals but the angry citizens didn't agree. Socrates questioned the society he lived in because he felt there was no more good in the society. He didn't bow to anyone or follow anyone's requests so it was him against all and couldn't sway the assembly. The generals were put to death by drinking poisonous hemlock. It was a loss to Athens war effort and they had no chance in wars anymore. The society had lost all effort and power and they wouldn't even fight for Socrates. After the disease, the society was a mess and there was no more drive to fight for anything leaving Socrates to question traditional beliefs. 

western civ day thirty

CYBER DAY 2 

All of the Athenians were behind the Athens walls and the plague was introduced to Athens. Because all of the citizens were in one tight space the disease "spread like a wildfire". The symptoms were beyond human suffering and the city was in horrible shape. There was so much terror going around Athens because the citizens were worried about being attacked and the disease. With the crisis erupting, the people began breaking all laws and religious customs. The Athenian society broke down because people stopped being good because the good and the evil were being affected by the disease. The plague killed over a third of Athen's population. Pericles got the plague and lost all strength, he began relying on magic potions to help him survive. After 6 months of struggling, Pericles died in 429 BC. Pericles planned to make Athens the best in the Mediterranean sea but his plan of close quarters brought death and disease. Pericles underestimated the power of the uncontrollable factors. Pericles was the strongest leader so after his death many other leaders tried to take his position. The other leaders did anything and everything to gain power. Direct democracy began "sliding into mob rule".Because of mob rule they had no power to fight a war. Pericles plan to glorify Athens and make it the strongest only brought death and disease which led to them not being able to fight a war. 

western civ day twenty-nine

CYBER DAY ONE 

Pericles was a statesman who ran Athens during most of the Golden Age. Pericles was wise, able, honest, fair, skillful, inspiring, and respected. He was a politician, speaker and a very popular general. He held onto popular support for 32 years. He was such a strong leader from 461 to 429 BC, that his period his also called the Age of Pericles. His goals for Athens was to strengthen the Athenian democracy, hold onto and strengthen the empire, and to glorify Athens. A direct democracy is a form of government in which citizens rule directly, and not through representatives. Every Athenian citizen is equal under the law and they could all participate in the government. The male citizens who served in the assembly established all of the important government policies then it was up to the people for their opinions. Athens helped organize the Delian League once the Persians were defeated. Athens took leadership over the league and dominated all the city-states in it. Pericles used the money in the leagues treasury to make the Athenian navy the strongest in the Mediterranean Sea. Once they had a stronger navy they were strong against attacks and could focus on rebuilding Athens. Pericles used money from the Delian league to then glorify Athens with architecture and art. 

western civ day twenty-eight

Today, we talked about how our online classes will work. Mr. Schick explained how he doesn't want to do online calls and he will post all of our work on veracross. We will have to read posted textbook pages and answer the questions he provides in a blog by 11;59 that night. He doesn't believe in giving us 45 minutes of busy work so he will give us some work that we usually do in class. We also talked about the symptoms, effects, and risks of the coronavirus and he told us that to stop the spread we should all try to stay home and not go about our regular days and risk getting others sick.

western civ day twenty-seven

VIDEO NOTES PT 2

• Revolution
•  began in 490 BC in Greece 
• between Athens and Persians 
• changed the course of civilization
• the people of Athens have established democracy for the first time ever in history
• Themistocles and Pericles would change the course of civilization
• The Battle of Marathon:
• Pheidippides was a regular citizen in Athens and he was the one who started the marathon, he was running because his home town was getting taken over by the Persian Empire 
• he ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the Athenians the Persians were going to attack
• he ran 140 miles in just two days
• the help was refused 
• The men had to fight with spears against the Persians 
• Persians were outnumbering them 2 to 1 
• Themistocles thought the Persians would still be a danger
• Early 5th century BC the Persians were very strong
• Athens began gaining power
• Persians had to destroy Athens to win
• greeks are the people who emphasize free
• Persians follow obedience
• Themistocles was the leader of Athens- cocky and not many followers 
• Known as the savior of the city 
• Believed Persia would attack again
• Athenians were defeated by land but very strong over seas (navy)
• trienes were Athenian boats used as weapons
• 483 BC the Athenians found a large amount of riches and wanted to divide it among themselves, but Themistocles wanted to spend it on ships 
• Xerxes conscripted troops from every corner of his empire
• They had 2 million men with a great force ready to march
• Xerxes was confident of victory, but when the Greeks realized they were about to be invaded they turned to the gods 
• They sent out a messenger to find their fate 

western civ day twenty-six

Video Notes

• Greeks laid the foundation for western civilization 
• Greeks achievements shape our world
• Heracles was a famous politician
• Panamanian ruled the streets of Athens 
• Cleisthenes born to be a ruler and save Athens 
• Thought people should have own freedoms 
• Born around 570 BC into one of the richest families- Alkamihoded
• Taught that he was an aristocrat because he grew up that way 
• Greedy family
• Set Greece on the path for an. empire
• 6th century BC aristocrats controlled everything in Athens
• impossible to think this place would soon rule a huge empire
• most houses made out of mud brick
• Athens smelled terrible
• No society of equality 
• Greece used to be called Hellas
• Athens was built around acropolis 
• women spent their days in the house cooking cleaning etc
• Reading and writing was a rare skill
• life expectancy was under 15 years
• the society was not equal and was ruled under the aristocrats
• did not expect Greece to have an empire by the appearance
• south of Greece was Egypt
• to the east were the Persians
• Greatest civilizations were based off rivers 
• countless tiny nations called city states
• over a thousand city states in Cleisthenes time
• Each polis sought to maintain it's own independence and only some were successful
• the Spartans every year caused war against the Helots
• Legitament to kill a Helot because they were strong war-like fighters
• Athenian potters were motivated by out doing each other
• Hippiates became ruler and his brother died and he tortured many people
• by Cleisthenes time the games were open to anyone
• chariot racing, running, boxing
• no real prize, just fame throughout Greece
• homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey about war 

western civ day twenty-five

PHILOSOPHERS

Socrates

• Looked to science and logic for explanations of how the world worked 
• The Socratic Method fostered critical thinking
• Had a famous quote- "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 describes himself as a stinging gadfly, and Athens as a lazy old horse- he was trying to give Athens life 
• Did not deny what he had done; asked for free dinners because he believed that he helped everyone
• Found guilty by a Athenian jury, and was sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock- body starts to stop working and you slowly die 

Plato 

• Plato was a student and follower of Socrates
• He wrote out Socrates’ teachings, and described his trial in the book he wrote; Apology
• Republic was Socrates’ discussion of justice and the ideal state - one of the most influential books on philosophy ever written
• Republic was the second book Plato wrote

western civ day twenty-four

NOTES

• Greeks were certainly war-like- spartans especially
• Spartan were known for their tough, ruthless infantry
• Infantry: Soliders who fought on land
• Spartan boys began training when they were seven years old 
• Athens had a great infantry, but their navy was the best out of everyone's 
• Trireme- most technologically advanced, fastest ship in the world, rowed by 170 men on 3 different levels, battering ram- agile and fast 
• Athens used a formation called phalanx- group of 100-150 warriors in lines of 10 with long spears and moved toward the enemy in unison
• Persians had a huge army and nearly unlimited resources
• Greek army- iron weapons, foot soliders (hoplites), spears, swords, shields, phalanx, home-field, and very determined because they wanted to preserve democracy
• Persian army- archery, then calvary, then lightly armed infantry, huge #, not home, and hired a professional army 
• 490 BC- Persian fleet attacks marathon, loses, Pheidippides runs to war them- he runs 26 miles
• 480 BC- Greeks abandon Athens to fight Persia 
• Greeks win

western civ day twenty-three

GODS AND GODDESSES

• The gods interaction with the humans is unique 
• Poseidon- (god of the sea) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home to make his look bad
• Brother of Zeus 
• Aphrodite- (goddess of love) had lovers of both gods and men 
• Archises was a mortal who fathered her baby 
• Dionysus- (god of wine) was a son of Zeus and of Semele (a human princess)
• Zeus- ruler of heaven and Earth; father of Athena; god of sky, weather, law, order, thunder, lightning, and justice
• Zeus had a temper and was known to hurl thunderbolts 
• Athena- goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare, peace, intelligence, battle strategy and handicrafts
• Athena was born from Zeus's head fully formed (adult) and armored
• She was a patron of Athens (city named after her)
• Apollo- god of music, arts, knowledge, and healing 
• Zeus was his father
• Artemis was his twin
• Associated with the sun and his sister was associated with the moon
• Demeter- goddess of grain, harvest, and agriculture
• Zeus's sister

western civ day twenty-two

Today we went over the test and I did a little worse than I thought I would. I got an 88 and I am glad that we went over the test so that I can do well on the final. 


Notes:

Direct Democracy- a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives
Classical Art- values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion
Tragedy- serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
Comedy- contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor
Peloponnesian War- Athens vs Sparta- Athens had stronger navy and Sparta had a stronger Army
Philosophers- "lovers of wisdom"
Socrates- critic of sophists
Plato- student of socrates
Aristotle- philosopher who questioned the nature of the world and of human belief

NOTES

• Pericles led Athens during the Golden Age 
• Pericles increased number of public officials for a stronger democracy
• After the defeat of the Persians, Athens helped organize the Delian League 
• Pericles goal was to have the greatest Greek artists and architects to glorify Athens 
• The Parthenon was not unique in style 
• Greeks wrote 2 kinds of drama- tragedy and comedy
• 3 notable dramatists- Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
• No written records of the Dorian Age besides Homer's stories
• Athenians and Spartans go to war (Peloponnesian)
• Sparta gains victory- marched 20,000 soldiers to Athens wealthiest city 
• Greek philosophers based on this 
• The universe is put together in an orderly way, and subject to absolute and unchanging law 
• People can understand the laws through logic and reason
• Socrates believed that absolute standards did exist for truth and justice
• Plato wrote down the conversations of the Socrates- famous work was the Republic 
• Aristotle came close to summarizing all the knowledge up to his time 
• Aristotle invented a method for arguing according to rules of logic