Trevor Biorn
Krista Birth
English
31 May 2004
Ancient Greece
There once was a nation who thrived over anyone else. They were once
the most technologically advanced nation in the world. This nation was known
for advances in philosophy, architecture, drama, government, and science. They
survived for thousands of years before their great empire was smashed down to
almost nothing.
Ancient Greece thrived in the Classical Age which lasted from 480 to
323 b.c. (Ancient Greece) Part of the reason for their prosperity was they were
one of the first Democracies. Being free abled them to discover many things.
Studies say that people may have moved to the Greece area around 50,000
years ago in the Stone Age. 10,000 years ago people began to farm this land. The
farming technology spread into Ancient Greece by 7000 b.c. The Stone Age
people built their weapons and tools with bones, wood, leather, and rocks. Then
around 3000 b.c their technology increased greatly. When people from the east
taught them to work with metal. This period was known as the Bronze Age. It
lasted till 1200bc.
People began sailing from Asia to Crete about 6000 b.c because the island
had large plains for farming and ports for fishing and trade The Minoans were
the first great culture of Aegean civilization. They mastered metallurgy and other technologies, and knew how to write. Farmers made their labor efficient by simultaneously growing olives, grapes, and grain, which each required allotter work
in different seasons. This combination of crops provided a healthy diet, which
helped the population grow, and enabled the Minoans to produce olive oil and wine
for trade. The rulers controlled the economy through a redistribuutive system,
farmers and craft workers sent their products to the palaces, which then r
edistributed goods according to what the rulers decided everyone needed. Earthquakesmade it hard, but the Minoans prospered until about 1400 b.c. Not
having an effective
defense made it easy for Mycenaean to attack em‘. The Mycenaean Period
lasted 1550-1000 b.c (Ancient Greece)
By 500 b.c Sparta had become the most powerful city. It had the most
fearsome army, which was made of disciplined hoplite fighters. A pair of kings
shared power in Sparta. The large city of Athens had established an early form
of democracy by 600 b.c. Fearing the Spartans would attack their recovering
democracy, the Athenians sought protection from King Darius I of Persia. But, the Athenians soon gave up their alliance with Darius to help Ionians on the coast of
Asia running from Persian control. The Athenians actions started the Persian Wars
in 490-479 b.c. In 490 b.c Darius dispatched a fleet to capture Athens, expecting it
to surrender. But, in the Battle of Marathon Athenian hoplites charged the Persian
forces and drove them away. A messenger ran more than 20 miles from Marathon
to Athens to tell the news, a run turned into modern marathon races. Then they
attacked again several years later, by the time they reached Athens, the residents
had evacuated, and the Persians burned an empty city. Athens was prepared to fight
with its navy, built up from the proceeds of a rich discovery of silver a few years
before. In 479 b.c the Greeks completed their triumph by defeating the Persian infantry
at Plataea, relying on superior tactics and armor. This string of unexpected Greek victories in the Persian Wars preserved the Greeks’ independence and gave them so
much self confidence that they felt superior. (Connolly, 24)
Throughout its long history ancient Greeces economy depended on agriculture
and trade. Farmers worked small farms, changing crops to try to preserve the
land’s nutrients and terracing rocky hillsides to create as much crop area as possible. Rainfall posed the greatest problemm to successful farming. Farmers grew mostly
wheat. The scarcity of good grazing land forced them to raise more small animals
like sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. The best cash crops were grapes for wine and
olives for oil. Besides grain, oil, and wine, trade centered on natural resources such
as metals and timber, luxury goods from jewels to spices, and craft products from
painted vases to bronze mirrors. The Greeks traded ideas as well as goods across
the water, acquiring an alphabet, architecture, and religious ideas from Egyptian
and Middle Eastern civilizations such as Babylonia and Phoenicia. Traders sailed
the Mediterranean Sea from the Iberian Peninsula to Egypt looking for products that
they could sell for high profits at home. Prized goods included such natural resources
as iron for tools, silver for coinage, clay for pottery, marble for statues, and timber
for houses and ships. These essential raw materials were relatively scarce, found only
in rare places. Greeks in western Asia had adopted the use of coins as money to make commerce easier between strangers, although barter never disappeared. Coinage
gradually spread throughout the Mediterranean world as others realized the convenience of currency. Most craft production took place in small shops employing a handful
of workers. The largest known from the Classical period had 120 slaves manufacturing shields. Slaves worked side by side with owners and free laborers in craft shops and on farms. Paid labor was at least as important as slave labor in the Greek economy. (Connolly, 48)
The way of life in Greek citys remained mostly the same for a long time. People
in the urban center lived in low apartment buildings or single family homes,
depending on their wealth. Dwellings, public buildings, and temples were situated
around the agora, where people gathered for conversation and to buy food and
crafts at daily markets. Citizens also lived in small villages or farmhouses scattered around the city-state’s countryside. In Athens, more people lived outside the city’s
wall than inside.(Walters,14)
Houses were simple, containing bedrooms, storage rooms, and a kitchen around
a small inner courtyard, but no bathrooms. Waste was dumped in a pit outside t
he door and then collected for disposal in the countryside. Most families were
nuclear, meaning a household consisted of a single set of parents and their children,
but generally no other relatives. Fathers were responsible for supporting the family
by work or by investments in land and commerce. Mothers were responsible for managing the household’s supplies and overseeing the slaves, who fetched water in
jugs from public fountains, cooked, cleaned, and looked after babies. Fathers kept a separate room for entertaining guests, because male visitors were not permitted in
rooms where women and children spent most of their time. Wealthy men would frequently have friends over for a symposium, a dinner and drinking party. Light
came from olive oil lamps, heat from smoky charcoal braziers. Furniture was simple
and sparse, usually consisting of wooden chairs, tables, and beds. Food was simple
too. The poor mainly ate barley porridge flavored with onions, vegetables, and a bit
of cheese or olive oil. Few people ate meat regularly, except for the free distributions
of roasted pieces from animal sacrifices at state festivals. Bakeries sold fresh bread
daily, and small stands offered snacks. Wine diluted with water was the favorite
beverage. The style of Greek clothing changed little over time. Men and women both wore loose tunics, of somewhat different shapes to fit their body types. The tunics
often had colorful designs and were worn cinched with a belt. In cold weather,
people wore cloaks and hats, and leather boots replaced the sandals worn in warm temperatures. Women wore jewelry and cosmetics, especially powdered lead to give themselves a pale complexion. Men sported beards until Alexander the Great started a vogue for shaving. (McDerrmott,123)
Greece went through many things both very bad and very good. From rich and prosperous to poor and having nothing. Many wars and many technical findings. Most Greeks lived a healthy happy life, and most were rich at heart. Thousands of years the Greeks have lived through makes them one of the most interesting topics ive researched. Learned many things how they started most of what we do today. Almost makes you think we could possibly end the same way.
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