Essay About Great Marble Temples And Hardness Of His Code

History Exam Freshman
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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.
Solons 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.
* 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 ]
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 Themistocless 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