Day 14: The Golden Age

I am glad I could get a 95% on my human geography test. Here are some notes I took after the review.

Pericles dominated Athens from 461 to 429 B.C.
He had 3 goals:

1. To strengthen Athenian democracy.
2. To hold and strengthen the empire.
3. To glorify Athens.

To create a stronger democracy, Pericles increased the dumber of public officials who were paid salaries. In the older Athenian days, most positions of the public office were unpaid, so only rich citizens could actually afford to hold a position in the office.

Direct democracy was a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives. It was an important legacy Periclean Athens. In Athens, male citizens who served in the assembly established all the important government policies that affected the polis.
After defeating the Persians, Athens helped organize the Delian League. Pericles took it's treasury to make the Athenian navy the strongest in the Mediterranean sea.

Day 13: My Presentation Information

Today, my group got to present our unique power point. Here is some of the important info we had:

Sculptures

Most all Greek Sculptures were made of two materials, stone and marble but more marble than stone. They also made bronze sculpture which represented higher status but did not last near the amount of time marble or stone did. The Greeks loved to make sculptures of their gods such as Athena or Poseidon. These sculptures were very nice and were taken well care of, they were mainly found in temples and in other important buildings.

Pottery

Even though Greek Potters were not really famous like other artists, they were really dedicated to their work. 

c. 1000 BCE

The first distinctive Greek pottery is produced, the Protogeometric style.

c. 900 BCE

The Geometric style of Greek pottery is first produced.

c. 800 BCE

The first stylized human and animal figures appear on Greek Geometric pottery.

Their Pots were used for multiple purposes, but no matter what the case was, you could see the time in effort they put on them.

The Renaissance and Greek Art

Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were Italians artists. They were often referred to as the Masters of the Renaissance. People also call them some of the greatest artists of all time. Their art was highly influenced by Greece and how they did their art. They were influenced by the Greeks because they wanted to bring back the great art from Greece. One of the most famous artworks which was made by Leonardo Da Vinci, is known commonly as the Mona Lisa.

Day 12: Some Presentation Notes

Even though my group didn't get to present today, I got a chance to take notes about the things that the other groups researched on:

Pericles
Pericles ruled during the golden age.
He had 3 goals
-To strengthen the Athenian Democracy
-Hold and strengthen the empire
-To Glorify Athens

Direct Democracy: A form of government in which citizens ruled directly and not through representation
-This was an important legacy of the age of Pericles.

Aspacia
She demonstrated women power.
She was really smart and accompanied Pericles everywhere to make him look good.

When Athens was under attack by Sparta, Pericles thought it was a great idea to hide behind city walls, and let the Spartans starve out. But then the plague hit Athenians, and it hit them really hard.

Hubris = Overconfident.

The Delian League today keeps peace among countries.

And finally,
Almost every city state had a theater and a festival.

Day 11: Presentation Tomorrow

Stayed up doing tweaking "our" group's presentation, hopefully it pays of well lel.

Day 10: Test Incoming

Tomorrow we have our test in human geography class. Hopefully I will study (I did). lel

Day 9: Armies at War

Each of these armies had their own weaknesses and strengths, but they all had unique strategies to win in the battlefield.

The Spartans were known to be tough people, who were put to live under harsh circumstances since an early age in their lives. After hard training, they seek to be brave in the battlefield, wearing red capes to hide their bloody injuries, and appear unstoppable to the enemy. They also divided their solders into a close group called phalanx, which would basically form a human tank.

The Athenians, on the other hand, preferred to take the fight to the seas. They used their best weapon, called the trireme, to easily make the enemy boat sink, killing a lot of it's militia. Not only that, but the ship itself was the fastest boat at that time period, and it got the job done really quickly.

These people sure know how to fight in their own ways!

Day 8: Cyber Day Video

Today we had a cyber day, so here are the answers to the assignment.

• What is the Greek Acropolis?
• It was the "heart" of ancient Athens. It meant "top city". It is a rock formation that rises to 400 ft. 
• What was the Acropolis used for?
• Athenians would go there to pray, and it was also used for protection in times of war.
• When and why was the Parthenon built?
• It was built 2500 years ago, to honor the goddess Athena.
• Who ordered the Parthenon to be built?
• The famous Greek politician, Pericles, ordered the construction of the Pantheon.
• When was the Parthenon constructed?
• The construction started in 447 BC.
• What is the Parthenon made of?
• 30,000 tons of the finest white marble.
• What do we mean by “Doric-style” construction?
• Doric meant simple, unadorned style characterized by simple columns.
• What can be found inside the Parthenon?
• A 40-foot statue of Athena.
• When was the Parthenon damaged, and by whom?
• It was severely damaged in 1687 when the Venetians attacked Athens.

Day 7: Substitute

Today, Mr.Schick was not here, so we had to answer questions 3 to 5 on page 133. Here is my work:

3. An Aristocracy is a government rules by the highest, noble, landowning families. The power of the rich families often came after serving in the king's army.  Bur when trade evolved, and individual merchants got richer, they formed an oligarchy, where a few people are powerful and rule.

4.  Solon made slavery illegal, and also gave the assembly more power by allowing any citizen to join it, regardless on their wealth, or where they live. Cleisthenes also introduced some new ideas to the Athenian democracy. He broke the power of the nobility, and organized society into ten groups, based on their wealth. He also gave power to the assembly by allowing people to submit and suggest laws and reforms.

5. Athens benefited from the Persian war because when they won, the city-states felt a new sense of confidence and freedom. Not only that, but they also gained more power and used to to control other league members. Finally, the Athenian empire could start entering the golden age.

Day 6: Philosopherpalooza

Today, we took notes and various Philosophers:

Socrates was a man who made people think and use their brains. One of his most famous quotes was "the examined life is not worth living". He taught the Athenian youth to have their own opinions, and to not just be satisfied with what other people tell them to believe. Socrates' passion for teaching people how to have their own minds was so strong, that he could die for his cause. The Athenian government did not like Socrates, since he went against the traditional, Athenian beliefs, and they forced him to die by poison hemlock.

There were multiple philosophers that followed Socrates, even after his death. Plato, a student of Socrates, wrote multiple books about Republic and Justice. After Plato, there was Aristotle (who was one of his students). He started a school; which was called the Lyceum, which was basically the internet back then; but without all the crazy stuff in it. It was a building were people from all over the world could submit their findings and research, and collaborate with each other. This form of collaborative research lead to really big discoveries and development of the human knowledge.

Day 5: Athens, Sparta and Democracy

Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE. When his brother was murdered, his rule became harsh. Due to this, he was eventually kicked out (or ostracized) from Athens.

When Hippias was gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes were trying to take over the empty void in the Athenian government. Isagoras became the tyrant first, and ostracized Cleisthens. The regular people of athens were upset at this, so they revolted against Isagoras and invited Cleisthens back.

This was 508 BCE, and it was when democracy was born.
Cleisthenes was rich, but he believed that reular people had important skills and opinions, so they should also participate in the government. Women were not included yet though.

Also, Infantry is referring to solders who fought on land, which was the spartan way. Athens had really good infantry too, but their real strength was in their navy. A Phalanx was a dense group of warriors with a close rank.

Day 4: Obama is not rich?

Today in Human Geography we discussed how the people in the US government actually don't make that much money. In fact, a person who works at coaching a football team earns more than most people in the government. This is because most people who go into the government already have all the money they need, but is it really worth it taking an average salary for a risky job? That is up to debate.

Also, here are some notes I took:

Aristocrats were the members of the ruling class.They attended symposiums meetings were the elite men would enjoy win and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats. Politics were an exclusive club back then. Not only that, but no women were allowed (except staff), no middle class people and no slaves. Sometimes even some aristocrats were excluded. Some aristocrats where even able to form alliances with some soldiers, and created a center of their own power; attempting to take over the current government. These solders were called "hoplites".

Day 3: Culture, War, and Epics

Today in class we learned about the Mycenaen cultutre, the Trojan war and Homer, the epic storyteller.

First of all,the Mycenaens started influencing Greece around 2000 BCE. They were located on a rocky ridge on Pelopanesus. This was protected by a 20-feet thick wall. Also, the Mycenaen kings dominated Greece for 1600-1100 BCE. This allowed them to cotnrol trade in the region.
In 1400 BCE - The Mycenaens invaded Crete, but they did not force them to change to their culture, but they rther absorbed and united the cultures. (Minoan)


The Trojan War was fought in the 12th or 13th century BCE. Mythology described that the gods were involved in the war, but today that is not believed to be so. They believed that in 1200 BCE, mysterious "sea people" came and destroyed the Mycenaen empire. But since they did not settle on the destroyed land, the Dorians took it, despite their lack of inteligence.