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