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