Lesson 3 Inquiry: Who Were the Ancient Athenians?
Completion requirements
Inquiry
Who Were the Ancient Athenians?
It's difficult to know just where to start to introduce the Greeks. They were historians (Herodotus), mathematicians (Thales and Pythagorus who invented the word mathematics “that which is learned"), scientists such as Archimedes, thinkers (Plato, Aristotle, Socrates), actors (Thespis), athletes, architects, artists, storytellers responsible for our alphabet, libraries, names of constellations, lighthouses, and mythological stories.
About 750 BCE, the Greeks modified the Hebrew-Phoenician alphabet. They introduced vowel signs. Our alphabet (aleph/beth from the names of two Hebrew letters) comes from the Greek and later Roman adaptations.
Homer, about 700 BCE, wrote about an earlier civilization, Mycenae is his book The Illiad. Mycenae was named after a large palace. The Mycenaeans had a monarchy. They defeated the people of Troy (an ancient walled city in Northern Turkey) by hiding inside a large, wooden horse (the Trojan horse) which the Trojans were tricked into bringing inside their city walls. After this civilization, Greece entered the dark ages. Out of this rose the Hellenic civilization in which Athens was the most influential. This is the civilization we are studying.
The Persians were a powerful people under King Cyrus the Great (559-529 BCE). His sons, Cambyses and Darius (522-486 BCE) expanded the empire to include northern Greece. Darius built the Royal Road from the capital city Susa to Sardis. Under Xerxes (486-465 BCE) son of Darius, the capital moved to Persepolis. The Greeks in Asia Minor revolted against Persian Rule. Athenians sent help. The Greek hoplites were heavily-armed soldiers placed in a tight formation called a phalanx. They were defeated.
This defeat sparked large wars between Persia and Greece. The Persian wars are described by the historian Herodotus.
In 492 Darius attacked the Greek mainland, but his ships were wrecked in a major storm off the Aegean coast. In 490, Darius tried again. The Greeks met the Persians at Marathon. This is the Battle of Marathon which we still celebrate today by running the marathon.
In 480 Xerxes invaded again. The Spartans put up a noble resistance in the Battle of 300. All 300 Spartans died. This is the most "glorious defeat" in Athenian history.
Persians were well on their way to destroying Athens. The Athenians evacuated the city and asked the Oracle of Delphi for advice. (The oracle answered with riddles.) They were told Athens would be saved by wooden walls. The Persians burned Athens, but the Athenian ships defeated them.
Athens was eventually destroyed in a series of civil wars with Sparta, Thebes, and the Macedonian king Philip whose son was Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Persia, Babylon, and India. He spread the Hellenic civilization (336-30 BCE) throughout the world. The Romans adopted it when they took over the empire and the Byzantine empire continued it.
This defeat sparked large wars between Persia and Greece. The Persian wars are described by the historian Herodotus.
In 492 Darius attacked the Greek mainland, but his ships were wrecked in a major storm off the Aegean coast. In 490, Darius tried again. The Greeks met the Persians at Marathon. This is the Battle of Marathon which we still celebrate today by running the marathon.
In 480 Xerxes invaded again. The Spartans put up a noble resistance in the Battle of 300. All 300 Spartans died. This is the most "glorious defeat" in Athenian history.
Persians were well on their way to destroying Athens. The Athenians evacuated the city and asked the Oracle of Delphi for advice. (The oracle answered with riddles.) They were told Athens would be saved by wooden walls. The Persians burned Athens, but the Athenian ships defeated them.
Athens was eventually destroyed in a series of civil wars with Sparta, Thebes, and the Macedonian king Philip whose son was Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Persia, Babylon, and India. He spread the Hellenic civilization (336-30 BCE) throughout the world. The Romans adopted it when they took over the empire and the Byzantine empire continued it.
The Olympic Games were a religious and sporting event that lasted for several days at the foot of Mount Olympus. They occurred every four years. The winner received a crown of laurel leaves. Events included: long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankration (fighting) and horse (equestrian) events such as chariot racing.
Resources for Inquiry
- Websites