A. Named after Minos, a legendary king of Crete
B. The rulers of the empire lived in a place called Knossos
C. About 1400 B.C. the Minoan civilization vanished
II. Rulers of Mycenae
A. The Mycenaeans were an Indo-European people
B. Like the Minoans the Mycenaeans were sea traders
C. The Mycenaeans were the ones who defeated the Trojans
III. The Age of Homer
A. The Mycenaeans were defeated by Sea Raiders
B. The history of the Mycenaeans was passed down orally
C. Most of these stories were told by the blind poet, Homer
IV. Looking Ahead
A. After the invasion from the Dorian�s the Greeks lived in small, isolated villages
B. They had no system of writing and few contacts with the outside world
C. As they came out of obscurity they benefited from the legacy of early civilizations
V. Geography: The Greek Homeland
A. Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula, which extends southward in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
B. The Greeks instead of building one large city, built many small cities isolated form each other
C. The Greeks became skilled sailors and become involved in overseas trade
VI. The Polis
A. Greeks evolved a unique version of the city-state caked the Polis
B. The city was built on two levels
C. At the top of the hilltop they would have a acropolis
VII. Sparta: A Nation of Warriors
A. The Spartans were Dorians who conquered Laconia
B. The Spartan government included two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs
C. From childhood, a Spartan prepared to be part of a military state
VIII. Athens: A Limited Democracy
A. Athens was located in Attica, just north of the Peloponnesus
B. The Athenian government evolved from a monarchy to an aristocracy
C. Many people were unhappy with the aristocracy and the people wanted to move towards a democracy
IX. Forces for Unity
A. The Greeks were polytheistic
B. The most powerful Olympian god was Zeus
C. Greeks felt superior to the non-Greeks they traded with
X. The Persian Wars
A. By 500 B.C. Athens had emerged as the wealthiest Greek city-state
B. The Persians crushed rebel cities an the emperor Darius sent huge forces to punish Athens for its interference
C. In a 430 B.C. Darius� son Xerxes sent a much larger force to conquer Greece
XI. Athens in the Age of Pericles
A. Pericles believed that all male citizens, regardless of wealth or social class, should take part in government
B. Athenians had a direct democracy in which a large number of male citizens took part in the day-to-day affairs of government
C. Thucydides, a historian who lived in the age of Pericles, recorded a speech given by Pericles at the funeral of Athenians slain in battle. In this famous Funeral Oration, Pericles praised the Athenian form of government.
XII. Greek Against Greek
A. Many Greeks resented Athenian domination
B. Before long, the Greek world split into rival camps
C. In 431 B.C., warfare broke out between Athens and Sparta
XIII. Lovers of Wisdom
A. The people who used observation and reason to find causes for things that happen were called philosophers or �knowledge lovers�
B. Philosophers explored many subjects, from mathematics and physics to music and logic, or rational thinking
C. In Athens, one group of thinkers, the Sophists, questioned accepted ideas about truth and justice
XIV. Death of a Philosopher
A. Socrates wrote no books, but instead lounged around and questioned other citizen�s beliefs
B. When he was about 70 years old, Socrates was put on trial
C. To jurors, Socrates� cool reason seemed like arrogance. They condemned him to death
XV. Ideas About Government
A. The death of Socrates so shocked and disturbed Plato that he left Athens for 10 years.
B. When he returned, he set up the Academy, a school that survived for almost 900 years
C. Aristotle was Plato�s student and developed his own ideas about the best kind of government
XVI. The Search for Beauty and Order
A. The most famous Greek temples, the Parthenon, was dedicated to the goddess Athena
B. Early Greek sculptors carved figures in rigid poses, perhaps imitating Egyptian styles
C. Greek sculptors later developed a new style of sculpting with more natural poses, such as athletes in motion