Western Civ Blog 28

Today in class we talked about how our online classes will work. Mr. Schick explained how he doesn't want to do online calls and he will post all of our work on veracross even though he usually uses blogger, but all the other teachers are going to be using veracious so it will be easier. We will have to read posted textbook pages and answer the questions he provides in a blog by 11:59 that night. He doesn't believe in giving us 45 minutes of busy work so he will give us some work that we usually do in class. We talked about the virus and how it spreads, how we're effected, and. how it works. 

Western Civ Blog 27

Today in class we watched episode two of Crucible of Civilization. The revolution began in 490 BC in Greece, between Athens and Persians , it changed the course of civilization. The people of Athens have established democracy for the first time ever in history. Themistocles and Pericles would change the course of civilization. The Battle of Marathon: Pheidippides was a regular citizen in Athens and he was the one who started the marathon, he was running because his home town was getting taken over by the Persian Empire . He ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the Athenians the Persians were going to attack, he ran 140 miles in just two days, the help was refused. The men had to fight with spears against the Persians . Persians were outnumbering them 2 to 1. Themistocles thought the Persians would still be a danger. Early 5th century BC the Persians were very strong. Athens began gaining power. Persians had to destroy Athens to win. Greeks are the people who emphasize free. Persians follow obedience. Themistocles was the leader of Athens- cocky and not many followers . Known as the savior of the city. Believed Persia would attack again. Athenians were defeated by land but very strong over seas (navy), trienes were Athenian boats used as weapons. In 483 BC the Athenians found a large amount of riches and wanted to divide it among themselves, but Themistocles wanted to spend it on ships. Xerxes conscripted troops from every corner of his empire. They had 2 million men with a great force ready to march. Xerxes was confident of victory, but when the Greeks realized they were about to be invaded they turned to the gods. They sent out a messenger to find their fate 

Western Civ Blog 26

Today in class we watched the Crucible of Civilization. Some notes I took were that Greeks laid the foundation for western civilization. Greeks also achievements shape our world. Heracles was a famous politician. Panamanian ruled the streets of Athens . Cleisthenes born to be a ruler and save Athens. He thought people should have own freedoms. He was born around 570 BC into one of the richest families- Alkamihoded. He was taught that he was an aristocrat because he grew up that way, he had a greedy family. He set Greece on the path for an empire. 6th century BC aristocrats controlled everything in Athens, its impossible to think this place would soon rule a huge empire. Most houses were made out of mud brick. Athens smelled terrible, and had no society of equality . Greece used to be called Hellas, and Athens was built around acropolis . Women spent their days in the house cooking cleaning etc. Reading and writing was a rare skill, and life expectancy was under 15 years. The society was not equal and was ruled under the aristocrats. They did not expect Greece to have an empire by the appearance, south of Greece was Egypt, to the east were the Persians. Greatest civilizations were based off rivers , countless tiny nations called city states. Over a thousand city states in Cleisthenes time. Each polis sought to maintain it's own independence and only some were successful, the Spartans every year caused war against the Helots. Legitament to kill a Helot because they were strong war-like fighters. Athenian potters were motivated by out doing each other. Hippiates became ruler and his brother died and he tortured many people, by Cleisthenes time the games were open to anyone. There was lots of chariot racing, running, boxing, there was no real prize, just fame throughout Greece. Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey about war.

Western Civ Blog 25

Today in class we went over some more slides in the Greece is the word powerpoint. First we learned about socrates. Socrates looked to science and logic, not the mythological gods, for explanations of how the world worked. The Socratic Method fostered critical thinking. Socrates was charged with serious crimes for impiety, disrespecting the gods, and corrupting the youth of Athens. At his trial, he described himself as a stinging gadfly, and Athens as a lazy old horse. He did not deny what he had done, asked for free dinners. He was found guilty by an Athenian jury, and sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock. Then we learned about Plato who was a student and follower of Socrates. He wrote out Socrates’ teachings, and described his trial in his other book, Apology. Republic was Socrates’ discussion of justice and the ideal state. It one of the most influential books on philosophy ever written, it includes the Allegory of the Cave.

Western Civ Blog 24

Today in class we learned about the wars in Ancient Greece. First we leaned about the fighting Spartans. Greeks were warlike people, especially the Spartans. Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry soldiers who fought on land. Spartan boys started training for war from the time they were seven. Then we learned about the Athens naval power. Athens had a great infantry too, but nothing could compare with their navy. Their most effective weapon was the trireme. Trireme was a technological marvel. It was the fastest ship in the world at the time. It was rowed by up to 170 men on three levels. It could be used as a battering ram. The boat was extremely fast. The phalanx was a close-rank, dense grouping of warriors. They were armed with long spears and interlocking shields. The soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy, until they broke through their ranks. Greece appears little and insignificant. The Persian Empire is very big. Persians have a huge army, and nearly unlimited resources. The greek army had iron weapons meant ordinary citizens could afford to arm themselves, foot soldiers (hoplites) trained from an early age, armed with spears, swords, shields, often fought in phalanx formation, “home field” advantaged they were motivated to preserve democracy. Persian army first archers, do damage from a distance. Then the cavalry disrupt communication between generals and soldiers. Then lightly armored infantry, carried spear, sword, and bow. Huge numbers, long way from home, professional army, soldiers for hire, or mercenaries. In 490 BC, Persian fleet attacks Marathon, but they lost.

Western Civ Blog 23

Today in class we learned about the Gods and Goddesses from Ancient Greece. What is unique about the Greeks’ relationship with their gods is the interaction with humans. Poseidon was the god of the sea, he interfered with Odysseus trying to return home. Aphrodite was goddess of love. She had lovers of both gods and men. Dionysus was the god of wine, he was son of Zeus who was a god, and of Semele, a human princess. Zeus was the ruler of heaven and earth. He was the father of Athena, god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice. He had a temper and was known to hurl thunderbolts. Athena was Goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare, peace, intelligence, battle strategy, and handicrafts. She was born from Zeus' head fully formed and armored. She was the patron of Athens, the city was named after her. Apollo was the god of music, arts, knowledge, and healing. Zeus was his father. Artemis was his twin sister who was associated with the moon. Apollo is associated with the sun. Poseidon is god of the sea, rivers, floods, and earthquakes. He is the brother of Zeus, king of the sea and waters. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, desire, sexuality. Her lovers included Ares, god of war, Adonis, demi-god of desire, and Anchises, a mortal who fathered a baby. Demeter was the goddess of grain, harvest, agriculture, she was Zeus’s sister.

Western Civ Blog 22

Today in class we read about democracy and Greece's Golden Age. The main idea was that Democratic principles and classical culture flourished during Greece's golden age. It matters now because at its height, Greece set lasting standards in art, politics, literature, and philosophy that are still influential today. Some important terms in the text were direct democracy, classical art, tragedy, comedy, Peloponnesian war, philosophers, socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Direct democracy is a from of government inn which citizens rule directly and not through representatives. Classical art are values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion. Tragedy is a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, and betrayal. Comedy is contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. The Peloponnesian war was between 2 city states. the Athens had a stronger Navy, Sparta had a stronger Army. The location made it easy to be attacked from the sea. Philosophers means "lovers of wisdom." we also read about Socrates and Plato. Plato was a student of socrates. He wrote down conversations of socrates "as a means of philosophical investigation." Aristotle was a philosopher. The Athenians democracy is similar to the U.S. democracy in many ways. Some being that they both had 3 branches of government, the legislative branch passes the laws, the political power was exercised by citizens, and the judicial branch conducts trials with paid juniors.