The Greeks

Polis

City-Satates: A comunity of citizens with distictives cotums, gods, and patriotic devotion. They were self-governing between 50,000 and 300,000 people. Here are some polies: Athens, Sparta, Thebis, Argos,etc.

The rulers of the Polies were rich people or aristoi, so this form of government was called Aritocracy, as Sparta. Later "Democracy" replaced it, they started metting on " assemblies" to chose their representatives and take desitions. Also they created "counsils" where they prepared subjects to discuss.

Origins

Located in the Aegean Sea, in the Balkan Peninsula, Islands, and Asia minor (Turkey). They started to live together as city-sates (Polies)

Around 1400 BCE, the Mycenean civilization supplanted the Minoan and dominate Greece until about 1100 BCE. on 800 BCE the the Hellenic a new civilization became dominant in Greece, they were composed of two threads the Dorian and the Ionian, and they rise the new social and political form called the Polis.

Culture

The Greeks were the first to look for an explanation of natural phenomena using logic and reasoning. That is why they considere them the fathers of Phylosophy and Science. The most representative philosophers were Socraates, Plato and Aristotle.

In education they sent boys to school to learn Mathematics, writing, ethics, traditions and milatary training. Girls weren´t allowed.

The Theater was so important for the Greeks,, they represented tragedies, comedies and Satyr plays. They still influence our actual culture.

Architecture and Sculpture

Architecture: They built different types of buildings, the most important was the temples, they were rectangulars and normally constructed with white marble and painted in colours, under three orders. Doric, Ionic, and Chorintinian.

Sculpture: Most of their sculptures represented deities and heroes, and they were in temples. Greeks were interested in show the beauty of the naked humand body. They used as materials marble and bronze painted in bright colours

Society

They were divided into two groups: citizens and non-citizens. Citizens were a minority that had many rights, as vote. Non-citizens were divided into three diffrent groups; foreigners, slaves and women.

The two principal polies were Sparta and Athens. Sparta was Dorian and had an Agricultural based ecomy. Athens were Ionian democratic, and depended on seafaring and trade.

Expansion

Colonization spread Greek influence beyond its frontiers. Between the 8th and 6th century BC. They got into a crises because the population grew and the land wasn´t fertile. Many Greeks migrated and founded colonies around the Mediterranean Sea

Beliefes

They believe in many different Gods, each Poli had their own deity.

Their Gods were inmortals but they behaved as humans, they ate, loved and fought. Zeus was the king of Gods, and all of them lived in the Olympus Mount. They also believe in Heroes, they were the sons of the Gods, they inveted myths that were stories about them.

The Gods communicated with humans throgh " Oracles" that were messages from the Gods interpreted by a Priest.

Contributions

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