March 31

Today in class we finished the paper. My plan did not work out. Instead I finished the paper and corrected the errors. I was not able to watch the video, but I will tonight. That will be my way of studying for the test. I think the test will be hard, but hopefully my 100% will continue. I am sure he had fun visiting his daughter, but I am glad Mr.Schick will be back in class.

March 27

Today in class I worked on my paper. I got about half way with my section of the paper in class and will work on it tonight after practice. Alyssa got her section done, but Jess is still working on Aristotle. She says she will get it done this weekend and so will I. So Tuesday we will watch the video in class in preparation for our test the next day. I think I have three test on Wednesday, so the review in class will really help.

March 26

Today in class we started our 1.000 word paper. We have not gotten that far.  We will all work on it this weekend and hopefully get it done. So we have time during class to watch the video. We have a plan on how the paper will look and  divided the work. I am writing the paragraph on Plato. Jess is writing about Aristotle and Alyssa has Socrates. Together we will write the introduction and the conclusion paragraph.  Hope Mr. Schick is having fun in Europe with his daughter while we are in class writing a paper.

March 25

Today in class we finished presenting here are my final notes:

Gods and goddesses

• polytheism- belief in more than one god 
• gods resembled human forms and had similar human characteristics
• Pantheon- the hall of fame of gods

Zeus- god of sky and thunder, king of gods overthrew his father
Poseidon- god of sea, second patron god of Athens
Athena- guardian of Athens, goddesses of reason and wisdom, daughter of Zeus
Aphrodite- goddess of love and beauty
Hera- goddess of marriage and queen of Olympus, wife/ sister of Zeus
Demeter- goddess of agriculture, in charge of seasons
Apollo- god of sun,  skilled at bow and arrow, twin of Artemis, son of Leo and Zeus
Artemis- twin of Apollo, goddess of the hunt, protector of childbirth and labor
Ares- god of war- the bad side, was hated by parents, considered a coward
Hermes- god of trade and sports
Hephaestus- god of fire, only ugly god, mainly worshiped in Athens
Dionysus- god of fertility and wine, patron of the arts, either really nice or really mean
Hades- god of wealth, ruler of the underworld, one of the three major gods


Government

      Aristocracy

• aristocracy: form of government in which power is in the hands of a small privileged, ruling class
• titles: duke, duchess, baron, baroness
• children inherited wealth and power 
• did not like under class people 
• Solon stopped this government 
• overall is looked as a problem for Athens 
• used power only for their benefit 

     Tyranny

• tyranny: government ruled by one ruler 
• did not care about people 
• middle class and military tried to make changes
• made changes to laws once in power
• ruled for short periods of time
• not always evil

     Democracy

• started in 508 BCE
• ekklesia- Executive branch - 5,000 men would meet 40 times a year, any men were allowed to attend, chosen by lotteries not elections 
• ended 406 BC  Pericles 
• turned into aristocracy

March 24

Today in class, more groups presented, but not all of them have. My group went and I think we did pretty well. Here are some notes that I took:

Athens, Sparta, and the Peloponnesian War

• Capital of Greece: Athens
• Top class: aristocrats, Middle: farmers, Lowest: slaves 
• 2 meals a day
• education for males started at age 5 to 14 
• women did house work and husbands were chosen for them
• Sparta Top class: women, Middle: farmers, Lowest: helots - slaves
• had to be in the military for 40 or 60 years
• Sparta males would "borrow" wives
• fought in a phalanx position 
• Peloponnesian War- April 4th 431 BCE ended April 25th 404 BCE 
• Divided into three wars: Archidamian War, Sicilian War, and Decelean War 
• Athenians hid behind a huge wall which isn't a bad idea until a plague came and killed tons of solders

Homer

• born 800 BC in Smyrna, Turkey 
• told stories about the Trojan War
• brought Greeks out of the "Dark Age"
• brought Greeks back into writing 
• his existence is a mystery because not many details on his life was written down
• Iliad and Odyssey 
• iliad is about the Trojan War - ended when Zeus and Hector made a peace treaty
• Odyssey is about Odysseus and how Poseidon got in his way (storms/ cyclopes) 
• Homer's death is unknown but he died in Ios, Greece

Pericles 

• comes from wealthy family 
• born in 495 BC 
• brought democracy to Athens 
• passed laws that allowed the poor to attend plays
• cared about his solders healthy and safety 
• died in 429 BC from the plague 
• was a military leader in Athens

Golden Age

• the Parthenon was built 
• tragedies and comedies plays 
• ended when the Peloponnesian War started 

War

• hoplite: most common type of heavily armed foot- solder 
• 1/2 of men in ancient Greece are thought to have fought 
• received military training 
• all men over the age of 60 were called to fight 
• two common weapons:  doru- long wooden spear and xiphos- short sword 
•  Phalanx formation- eight people in a row and then numerous rows thick 
• triremes- a large boat used for war
•  tri- because it has three rows of oars
• Thucydides, an Athenian General, was into science not gods 
• the crew could carry these triremes onto land even though it was a large ship 
• it was really fast because it was made from pine and fur
• used in the Persian War

Architecture

• Doric: simplest, formal; used in mainland Greece and Italy 
• Ionic:  more decorative and slender (looks like a scroll at the top)
• Corinthian: most decorative; flower design (Most modern people like it); used for really fancy and important buildings 
• the different orders could be mixed together 
• sculptures were made form bronze and marble 
• they were inspired by Egyptians 
• Classical period - skill went up and became more realistic 
• Hellenistic period- more emotion and details; best skill period in sculpting

March 20

 Today we started presenting our powerpoints. Each group was supposed to be given five minutes today to present, but the first group to go had so much info that it took up half of class. So only two groups went. For the groups that didn't go, Mr. Schick is going to look at the info on the slides and give us a grade off of that. Then on Tuesday we will present and depending on how well we present our grade will go up or down. Hope fully my group will do well presenting and have points added. I forgot my book in school, but I did take some notes on the projects.

March 19

Cleisthenes and Isagoras (508 BCE)

• when Hippias left, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both aristocrats) engaged in a power struggle 
• Isagoras had support from aristocrats and Sparta 
• Cleisthenes had support from most of Athens 
• Isagoras became tyrant 
• he ostracizes Cleisthenes 
• Cleisthenes's supporters and Athenian citizens revolted against Isagoras's tyranny
• they trapped Isagoras on the acropolis for two days- on the third day he fled and was banished 

Cleisthenes and Democracy 

• Cleisthenes was a member of the elite 
• very rich
• insulated from the "hoi polloi"
• a crafty politician 

And we started to watch the video that we will watch when Mr. Schick is away. 

March 18

Today we continued the Ancient Greece powerpoint. There are the notes I took:

• 7th & 6th centuries BCE aristocrats ran most of Greece
• aristocrat: wealthy/ noble person 
• influenced society and had more governmental power

Aristocracy:

• aristocracy is ruled by aristocrats
• they attended symposiums (meetings where the  elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussion politics 
• women were for entertainment, had no say in decision making 
• an exclusive club- no women (except the "entertainment"), no middle class or slaves. and sometimes even aristocrats would be excluded because they didn't have the right connections or fell out of favor

Tyranny:

• sometimes they would form alliances with hoplites ( well-armed soldiers) and set up an alternative form of gov't called a tyranny
• a tyrant is someone who rules outside the framework of the polis
• modern meaning of tyrant: an abusive or oppressive ruler
• the Greek meaning of tyrant: someone who simply seized power (usually w/ hoplite help) 

Hippias:

• tyrant who rules from 527 to 510 BCE 
• his brother was murdered, and his rule became harsh 
• eventually he was expelled from Athens (ostracized)
• in revenge, he began working w/ the Persian Kind Darius I, helping them invade Marathon 
• if he was killed, it would have been more honorable because he did for his cause

March 17

Today is Jessica Bauer's Birthday!!!! Happy Birthday Jess!!!! She brought in brownies. Thanks Jess. After eating the brownies, we worked on the powerpoint. We are really close to being done the powerpoint. We will probably finish it tonight and start getting  our ideas for the paper tomorrow. We focused in class and really got a lot done. I think today was our last class time to work on the powerpoint, but if all of us work on the project for about 15 minutes touching up tonight. It will be done. I think we had a total of 22 slides, a decent number. Hopefully Mr. Schick will like it.

March 13

The whole class period was devoted to working on our powerpoints with our groups. Alyssa, Jessica, and I got about 5 more slides done I think and made changes to the ones we had. Jessica for got her computer, but she helped Alyssa. Jessica and Alyssa are working on Socrates and Aristotle. I am making the slides on Plato. I have five slides done and will work this weekend to finish my part of the project. We will then all together take the info from the powerpoint and write a thousand word paper. We hope to get it done as soon as possible so we will be able to relax in class.

March 12

Today Mr. Schick's daughter turned 20. She facetimed us in class and that took about the whole first mod. We sang her Happy Birthday. ! That was Alyssa. During the second mod, we set up our powerpoint and started working on it. Jessica, Alyssa, and I got about 3 or 4 slides done. I was working on Plato and Jess and Alyssa were working on Socrates. Again we talked about what we are going to do when Mr. Schick leaves. He will be gone for four days I think. We will either work on our paper or watch a video.  It is recommended that we watch the video because Mr. Schick will be teaching/testing from it.

March 11

We went over the Ancient Greece powerpoint today in class, reviewing the location of Crete and the parts of the Mediterranean Sea. Then took a pop quiz on it. I thought it was really easy. We also talked about our upcoming project. We will be making a powerpoint and write a paper with a group of three. The paper is due April 1 and we will have a test that day on Ancient Greece. I am with Jessica and Alyssa. Our powerpoint and paper will be on Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (topic 6). Oh also Mr. Schick scared Alyssa and she literally jumped.

March 10

Mr. Schick was Homer and read his favorite part of the Odyssey to us. Since Homer is blind, Mr. Schick ran into the desks.

More Notes:

• Ionian Sea is South of the Adriatic Sea
• Famers, metalworkers, weavers, potters 
• 14000 Islands, mountainous plateu 
•  fertile valleys cover one quarter of the peninsula, 20%  arable- suitable for farming 
• diet consists of grains, grapes, and olives
• lack of resources most likely led to Greek Civilization because they traded and could sail and travel around trading their wine and olives 
• temps = mid. 40s in the winter to low 80s in summer 

Mycenaeans:

• their influence began around 2000 BCE
• located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 - foot thick wall 
• Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from  1600-1200 BCE
• controlled trade in the region 
• 1400 BCE - invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan  culture and language
• 1200 BCE- mysterious "sea people" invaded Mycenae and burnt many palaces (the sea people also invaded Egypt)

Dorians:

• moved into the war-torn region 
• didn't write down and records for 400 years 
• far less advanced 
• no trading nor sailing; the trade-based economy collapsed 

Homer:

• the storyteller 
• Greek oral tradition- stories passed on by talking 
• lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Age" 
• composed stories on the Trojan War c 750-700 BCE 
• The lliad - probably one of the last conquest of the Mycenaeans ( the Trojan War) 
• The Odyssey- Odysseus attempt to return home, being thwarted by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon (won a war, was trying to get home to his son and wife) 
• The Odyssey is 12,110 lines of rhyme
• Not sure if Homer exist- "Homeric question"- may have been a mythical creation or heroic figure
• lliad and Odyssey  may be the culmination of many generations of storytelling 
• not sure if the Trojan War happened either 

Cyber Day- March 6

Plato

Early life:

 Given the name Aristocles, Plato was born in 428 BCE in Athens. He grew up under the care of his mother and stepdad,  Pyrilampes. His real father died when he was young. His nickname Plato came from the word Platon, meaning "board"because he had a board body structure. At a young age he started studying music and poetry in various schools.  When he meet Socrates, he knew was going to be his mentor and guide him in his studies. This early education would be the basis of his contributions in philosophy.  In 409 BC to 404 BC,  Plato joined the military. After his service, he became a member of the Athenian oligarchy. Fighting in the war and being a ruler of the city was to much violence for him so he resigned his position. When terms where better in Athenian government, he hoped to continue his political career, but the execution of Socrates in 399 BC changed his mind from being a leader to leaving Athens.

Socratic Dialogues:

  For the next twelve years, Plato would travel to places like Italy and Egypt, studying religion, geometry, and astronomy. He wrote down his findings and teachings of Socrates in works that are called the Socratic Dialogues. Apology, Crito, Laches, and Major are just a few of the numerous works he wrote during this time period. He returned to Athens in 387 BC where he founded the first European university. The Academy offered astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Plato hoped it would allow thinkers to come together and work toward a better government in Greek cities.

"Middle" or Transitional Period:

  From 387 to 361 BC is known as Plato's "middle" or transitional period. During this stage of his life, he composed Meno, Euthydemus, Menexenus, Phaedrus, and many other books. The difference between these books and his earlier ones are these ones start to contain his own opinion on philosophy. Also, Socrates is still mentioned in them, but as a fictional character. Finally, they discuss  his method of hypothesis. Plato's most influential work, Republic, was written when he was in his middle ages. The book explains the virtues of justice, courage, and wisdom. It also gives directions on how to live a good life and what the afterlife is like. The book then goes on to talk about the education of citizens, the formation of the government, and the soul's nature. Overall the book contains almost all the thoughts and opinions of Plato.

 Mentor:

   In 367 BC, Plato was asked to be a personal teacher to Dionysus II, who was the current ruler of Syracuse.  Plato accepted the position, but was disappointed when it wasn't in philosophy. He taught the leader until 365 BC when he had to go to battle. Plato returned to Athens around the time Aristotle was studying at the Academy. In 361 BC he returned to Syracuse. This time he had a even worse time teaching Dionysus II. He left as soon as possible and spent the rest of his life writing at the Academy.

Later Dialogues:

  His finally years at the Academy is when he wrote the Later Dialogues. They included Parmenides, Theatetus, Timaeus, Critias. Socrates played a minor role throughout the works. The focus was art, dance, music, poetry, architecture, and drama. In conclusion, they wrap up all of Plato's thoughts in the philosophy of mathematics, politics, and religion.

Impact:

 Plato died in 347 BC. He left the Academy in the ownership of his sister's son Speusippus. The Academy was a school for those of higher learning. The university was closed in 529 CE by the Emperor Justinian. Plato influenced the education theory, especially in the importance of mathematics, and areas in logic and philosophy.

Cyber Day - March 5

Ancient Greek Architecture

1. Parthenon of Athens 

When and where:  5th century BC  (447- 438 BC) on the Acropolis of Athens, high rocky hill that overlooks the city

Style: Doric Order, meaning the tops of the columns are plain in design, but includes Ionic architectural features

Materials: ivory and gold, costing 469 silver talents which is about 5 million US dollars

Architectural details:  inside is the Statue of Athena Parthenons; sculpted by Phidias with the help of  Pericles, Kalamis, Ictinus, and Calibrates; 13,400 stones  

Purpose: built as a thank you for the goddesses for their success especially Athena the goddess of  wisdom and military victory; also built to show off power and wealth of Athens

2. Theater of Delphi / Temple of Apollo 

When and where: 4th century BC in Athens on the mountain of Parnassos

Style: Doric order

Materials: limestone and stone

Architectural details:  The theater which is higher above the Temple has a stage in the shape of  a full circle; seats 5,000 spectators; the temple has been built three times, 6 columns in the front and 15 on the sides

Purpose: to perform and watch early forms of theater; the temple is name after a noble Athenian family

3. Ancient Stadium 

Where and when: 330-320 BC in Nemea

Materials: clay running track that was 178 meters long; stone

Architectural details: holds 30,000 people; spectators sat on stone seats or grass hills on the side; judges would sit on a raised platform

Purpose:  hosted the Panhellenic Games every two years



The ancient Greeks had three different styles of columns to build temples: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Doric: The top of the columns were plan in design, but sturdy. This style was found in the mainlands of Greece.

Ionic: The tops look like a scroll on the sides and have a more elegant look to them. These types of columns where found in eastern Greece and the islands.

Corinthian: The tops had a flowery look to them and were complex. This style is very rare in Greece, but is used in Roman works.

March 4

Today in class we talked about up coming cyber assignments. Mr. Schick thinks that we will have both Thursday and Friday off. I think he is right. We are supposed to have a layer of ice and then 6 to 10 inches of snow on top. For our assignment, we will have to look up philosophers and architecture in Ancient Greece. We will have to find important facts and write them in our own words. Finally we have to include a picture.  We also talked about shoveling. I don't have to shovel any snow. My driveway gets plowed. But I hope we get a lot because Jess has to shovel her drive way.

March 3

Today we started our chapter on Ancient Greece.

The world's greatest civilizations are all located on rivers: (this helps with the farming, drinking,  cleaning, transportation, and food)
Mesopotamia - Tigris and Euphrates River
Egypt - The Nile River
India - Indus River
China - Huang He River

Capital: Athens

Location and Geography of Greece:
-  by the Mediterranean Sea (means Middle of the Earth)
-  between Italy and Turkey
- made up of more than 1400 islands
- topography: mountains that run from coast to coast
- faster to sail around the whole Island rather than walking across
- on the west side of Greece is the Adriatic Sea and on the east side Aegean Sea
- Crete is a major island off of the peninsula  of Greece

Greece is divided in city-states separated by the mountains
they only worshipped their city-state no ruler over all