HISTORY V101

Section 002

Dr. Powers

Fall, 2008

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

 

III  THE GREEKS

A.    The Influence of the Environment

B.     Development [See “Greek Civilization: Stages of Development” Power Point Outline]

1.      Minoan Crete

2.      The Myceneans

3.      The Dark Age

a.       Homer, Homeric Greece, and Homeric Values

b.      The Alphabet

c.       Iron replaces bronze

4.      The Archaic Age

a.       The development of the polis

b.      Development of varied political systems

1)      Rise and decline of monarchy

2)      Aristocracy/oligarchy

3)      Tyranny

4)      Democracy

c.       Colonization and the spread of Greek culture

d.      The new military system

1)      hoplites

2)      the phalanx

3)      Social and political repercussions (military determinism)

e.       Sparta vs. Athens

1)      Sparta

a)      Lycurgus and the creation of the Spartan system

b)      Spartan classes

i.                    Spartiates

ii.                  Perioeci

iii.                Helots

c)      Spartan political institutions

i.                    2 kings

ii.                  ephors

iii.                gerousia

iv.                apella

d)     Spartan values and culture

e)      Cultural and economic isolation

2)      Athens

a)      Development

i.                    The areopagus and the archons

ii.                  The crisis of the 7th century

iii.                Solon's reforms

iv.                The Tyranny of the Pisistratids

v.                  The reforms of Cleisthenes

b)      Political institutions

c)      The cultural center of Greece

d)     Note the gradual expansion of democracy

e)      [See Online Reading #4]

5.      Classical Greece

a.       The Persian Wars

1)      The motif of freedom vs. slavery

2)      Marathon

3)      Thermopylae

4)      Salamis

5)      Plataea and Mycale

b.      Athens in the Age of Pericles

1)      Political institutions [See “Periclean Athens: The Origin of Democracy?” Power Point Outline]

a)      Ecclesia

b)      Council of 500

c)      Prytany

d)     Strategoi

e)      Other magistrates and public officers

f)       Courts and Juries

g)      Ostracism

2)      Extension of political rights

3)      The question of Pericles’s leadership

c.       The Delian League and the Athenian Empire

d.      The Peloponnesian Wars

e.       Fragmentation and political decline

f.       [See “Military Determinism in the Hellenic World” Power Point outline]

C.     Philosophy [See “Greek Philosophy” Power Point outline]

1.      Pre-Socratic

2.      Sophists [See Online Reading #5]

3.      Socrates

4.      Plato [See Online Reading #6]

5.      Aristotle [See excerpt from “The Politics” handout]

6.      The Persistent nomos/physis argument

7.      The Tripartite Psyche [see separate handouts]

D.    Art & Culture

1.      The Classical Ideal

2.      Drama

a.       Aeschylus

b.      Sophocles

c.       Euripides

d.      Aristophanes

3.      Poetry and literature

a.       Sappho

b.      Hesiod

c.       Theognis of Megara

4.      History

a.       Herodotus

b.      Thucydides

5.      Sculpture and other visual arts

6.      Architecture

E.     Religion

1.      The Olympian Gods and Goddesses

2.      Local Attachments to Particular Gods

3.      Early Mystery cults

4.      Importance of rituals, sacrifices, festivals, and divination

F.      Other Themes and Ideas

1.      The Roles of Women in Greek Society and Culture

2.      The Failure to Achieve Political Unity, and the Constant Intra-Cultural Wars

3.      The Role of Slavery in Greek Society

4.      The Importance of Trade and Colonization

5.      Homosexuality in Greece

6.      The Persistent Legacy of Homeric Values and Virtues