Last Day

                Today was our very last western civilization class! It's pretty sad! I really enjoyed this class. I learned so much had a lot of fun this semester. Mr. Schick was a very funny and cool teacher. For our last class, got our test back and reviewed for the exam. I got a 93 on the test to that was good. For the exam, so far I've learned that there will be fifteen guns, germs, & steel questions, ten Ancient civilizations questions, fifteen Egypt, and forty-five on Greece. Trying to remember everything from the beginning of the semester was surprisingly easy. Hopefully I will do well on the exam, and enjoy western civilization next year as much as I did this year.

 

Feudalism Test

                   Today our west civ class was shortened due to the senior awards. Mr. Schick had missed moist of the class, but showed up in time for us to vote on whether we should take it not. We voted to take it now. It wasn't too hard, I was only unsure about one, but i think I got it right.

Feudalism vocab

               Today in class Mr.Schick announced that our very last west civ test would be next Wednesday. He gave us a study guide for all of the vocab words on the test.

 So far I have:

Feudalism - governmental system and the relationship and social between landowners and warriors

feudal compact- the official deal/contract between the vassal and the lord

fief- piece of land given to a knight

vassal- a knight that becomes a servantish worker person for a lord, but is still highly respected

knight – warrior at the time

homage - kneeling down and taking the lord's hand in his while speaking an oath of loyalty. Promising his loyalty

serf –Lowest on the social hierarchy. The quality of their life was not much better than a slave. They were the lowest of the peasants.

baron- lords of large territories who usually paid homage to the king. Barons army could outnumber that of a king. higher than a lord. 

peasantry- common people

estates- there were three different estates: the clergy-they were the ones who prayed; the nobility-fight and the common people- worked

manor- large plantations known the peasantry farmed on. They which were owned by a lord or lady, the nobility, or a member of the clergy

three-field-system- three sets of crops but only grew two at a time 

internal colonization

suburb

guild – groups of people who did different things

master- person in charge of you                                               

journeyman

apprentice – someone learning the ropes

masterpiece

water mill

and yes, iron plow – a tool they used in the middle ages for plowing the land

Feudalism

Today in class we took notes on feudalism:

• Feudalism- governmental system and the relationships between landowners and warriors

• Warriors, or knights, would pledge his allegiance o the lord, who would in turn give that knight land

• The lord would grant a fief (property) to the knight who would then become the lords vassal /servant 

• Fief is a part old the land given to a knight

• Then you became a lords vassal (servantish)

• A vassal must fight for the lord when he needs a it and attend his curt once a month

• Homage and knighthood\a vassal had to pay homage to his lord which meant kneeling down and taking the lord's hand in his while speaking an oath of loyalty

• When a knight died his fief would be given to his son

• Some clergy priests were known to fight as knights

• Barons were lords of large territories who usually paid homage to the king

• A barons army could outnumber that of a king

• Peasants and lords

• The manorial estate

• Medieval society was divided into three "estates": the clergy the nobility and the common people

• Usually the peasantry farmed on large plantations known as "manors" which were owned by a lord or lady the nobility or a member of the clergy

• They didn't really know how bad they had it because they didn't really interact with other classes of people

• People of the manor

• The lord oversaw major agricultural issues buy delegated everyday overseeing to this stewards or bailiffs

• MOST peasants were serfs

• They were bound to their lords for labor services behind the plow

• Growth o trade

• The agricultural boom after 1000 years allowed for the establishment of many town across Europe

• Farm produce and animal were sold in towns and people with the wealth bought their luxury items there

• The location and appearance of towns

• Most medieval towns were surrounded by fortified walls

• Residences also sprang up outside the walls in the suburbs

• Towns  were dominated by a main church and a central marketplace buildings for the craft guilds and the  center of the town

• Buildings for the craft builds and the wealthiest families would also be center of town

• Life of the townspeople

• Thought the townspeople were free unlike serfs they still had a hierarchy merchants at the top then skilled crafts man and artisan then unskilled laborers apprentices

•  the guilds were their unions

• merchants, crafts man and artisans formed their own groups called guilds which regulated their trade protected its members

•  craftsmen were classified as masters, journeyman and apprentices

• One became a master after spending years learning as an apprentice working as a paid journeyman for a number of years, and completing his "masterpiece"

• Guilds participated in religious feasts and festivals social organizations and usually provided well for charities

We also looked at some..not particularly good artwork... but the most breathtaking thing we looked at was:

  

Going over the Test

              Today in class we went over the pop quiz and the test. I didn't badly on the pop quiz, but I got a 92 on the test, so that's good. On the pop Quiz, I had gotten the Hun's question and the Vandal's question wrong. On the test, not too many people knew the Byzantine answer, so everyone got 4 extra points. I still have a 90 in the class, so hopefully I maintain an A.

After Rome 500-700

Today we took some more notes on the downward spiral in Rome

After Rome 500-700

The Germanic barbarians

• Barbarian warlords and the families who assimilated to Rome culture became nobles and aristocrats

•  Germanic tribes who ruled former roman lands sought to conquer and assimilate

•  other barbarian peoples who lived beyond frontiers

• The Anglosaxons invaded Britain
• Most of them converted to Christianity
• The most powerful Germanic tribe were the franks
• Eastern Europe
• The ere continued on while the west was now divided up by the barbarian tribes
• When the emperor Justinian came into power in 527, he decided to reunite the entire Roman Empire by reconquering the western territories
• Justinian succeeded for a time but the land he re took was son conquered by a new barbarian tribe and massive plague came

• Byzantine emperors aw themselves as the head of the Christian church

• Preserved Greco-Roman art architecture philosopher and writing deserter much of it being non Christian

• Justinian built a massive domed Hagia Sophia in Constantinople considered the most glorious church on earth

Rome's Downward Spiral

               Today in class, I first went to go get my shadow from St. Joan of Ark. I actually brought in the wrong shadow at first...so I had to go back and get the right one. Afterwards we took some notes on the downward spiral of Rome. We took notes on things like:

•        Country dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collection. New farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms

•        Peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords

•        Paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back breaking work when you can never get ahead

•        Landowner had local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire

•        Foreshadowing feudalism

•        Rome's power is decreasing while nomadic barbarians gain power

•        Western empire is too poor, beings to be neglected

•        Huns migrate from china to eastern Europe

•        Visigoths take over, Spain and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410

•        Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean 

•        Other barbarian tribes:

•        Ostrogoth in Italy

•        Franks in Gaul

•        Anglo Saxons in Britain

•        End of an era

•        From the beginning

•        500 B.C. - the monarchy is abolished

•        450 B.C. - twelve tables are established

•        Through the glory days

•        44 BC - end of Julius C

•        27 BC- 180 AD Pax Romana

•        To bitter end

•        Constant 5th century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling

•        The last emperor was a tonnages boy installed in 475 BC by his father

•        Barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus bothering to kill him

After we took notes we got with a partner and researched the Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals (etc)

Rome Test

               Today we took the test on the end of the Pax Romana, Diocletian, Constantine, and Christianity. There were a few questions I couldn't remember ....such as the population....but other than that it was okay. However, I am used to having a choice between three essay topics on Mr. Schick's test, but this time we had to write three different essays. Me, being the attentive and awake student I was at the time, didn't realize this. On my free mod I found Mr. Schick and asked if I could write down the other two answers I had accidentally missed. Not one of my finest moments...

Test Questions

               Today in class Mr. Schick announced a test on Wednesday. He let us begin writing our own questions. Here are some questions i came up with:

      1.       Approximately how long did an emperor stay in power for before getting overthrown?

2 ½ years

2.       When Diocletian divided the Roman territories into smaller provinces, about how many officials were there?

 20,000 officials

3.       What did Constantine see in the sky during the battle of Milvian?

He saw a cross with the words “Conquer by this”

4.       Where do we get most of our information about Jesus from?

The Gospels

5.       What does Gospel mean?

Good news  

6.       How did Paul of Tarsus contribute to Christianity?

He traveled to places like Corinth, Thessalonia, Rome, Ephesus preaching the word of God. Without him we might not even have Christianity today.

7.       Who was Eusebius?

Eusebius was a historian who spoke to Constantine just after his dream about Christ.  He got the story straight from him.

8.       What did the Edict of Milan say?

Nobody could be persecuted based on their religion.

Legalizing Christianity

                   During yesterday's class, Mr. Schick let some of us go up and teach the class about Diocletian and Constantine. First Parker went up and talked a little bit about Diocletian, then I went up and read my notes. I talked about the four edicts and what they entailed. Also, Mr. Schick gave us an example of Diocletian's cruelty. A fire happened in the palace, and the were convinced it was the Christians. One christian was accused w/o a trial was found guilty. He was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Basically skinning him, the salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds and he was slowly boiled over an open flame. We went on to talk about Constantine. Constantine signed an edict allowing his people to practice whatever religion they like. During battle of Milvian Bridge, he saw cross in the sky and the words "Conquer by thus" Christ appeared to him in a dream and told him it would protect him. After that experience he practiced Christianity and gave rights to all of the Christians.

Diocletian & Constantine

1. How did Diocletian persecute Christians?

Diocletian's had created the "Edict against the Christians.” It basically said to destruct all of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Empire. Also, Christians weren’t allowed to attend any sort of worship gathering. Diocletian later created two more edicts. The first one ordered that any Christians in Nicomedia will be tortured and would be killed as punishment for arson. The second one said that the bishops and teachers of the churches throughout the empire should be taken prisoner and forced by torture to sacrifice to the Roman gods. In 304, a fourth edict made. It stated that all Christians had to offer sacrifices to the gods or else they’d be tortured. About 3,000-3,500 Christians were killed during this period of time. 

An example of his cruelty: A fire happened in the palace, and the were convinced it was the Christians. One christian was accused w/o a trial was found guilty. He was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Basically skinning him, the salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds and he was slowly boiled over an open flame. 

2. What happened with Constantine and Christians?

Constantine signed an edict allowing his people to practice whatever religion they like. He also donated money to the construction of churches. Constantine grew up in a Christian family.He gave the Christians rights. During battle of Milvian Bridge, he saw cross in the sky and the words "Conquer by thus" Christ appeared to him in a dream and told him it would protect him. Eusebius- historian who spoke to Constantine after this happened and got the story straight from him. He even admitted to his country that the Roman gods weren't the "real deal" and that the Christian God is the only god they should worship. 

3. What is the other thing that Constantine did that has to do with reconstructing the Roman Empire?

He issued the edict of Milan which said you can't persecute anyone anymore based on their religion. It also said that people couldn't seize Christians property anymore and if it was taken already, they would get it back.

Going Over the Pax Romana Test

                   Today in class we got back our tests. I got an 80, which brought down my grade, but my Pax Romana paper hadn't been graded yet so that could always bring my grade up. We also began learning about Christianity. We also took notes on the history of Jesus's life and preaching. We talked about how he was mentioned at age twelve, and then he wasn't talked about until age thirty. Afterwards we had a pop quiz on the information. 

Give honor a chance

                 The first thing we did in class today was hand in our essays.  I worked hard on it, so hopefully I can get a good grade. Mr. Schick likes the title so far so that's a good start. Afterwards, we took the quiz. I thought it was actually kind of hard even after looking over the power point  I couldn't remember what Crassus and Pompey were known for in Rome, so I'm pretty sure I got that question wrong. When we were finished our quiz, we had to read pages 126-129 to introduce the new chapter we will be learning about. 

Pax Romana essay

           During yesterday's class we began writing our essays. It is partner work, but I decided to work by myself. We have to write about the "Pax Romana" era in history which was a time of peace among the Romans. This was a very vital time in Roman history since they never wanted one person in charge because they liked their governmental idea. The essay has to be a minimum of five hundred words, but we can go over that limit. I have enjoyed learning about Rome, so  I think it will be very interesting to read and write about their peaceful era.

I can hear them brothers Gracchus saying "Rich, please don't attack us"

            Today we finished watching the video on Tiberius Gracchus. After him announcing that he wanted to run for a second term, many Romans freaked out because of how against kings and tyrants they are. While I do think that he liked the power, I don't think he wanted to be king. Many Romans however, listened to Octavius and what he was saying about Tiberius wanting to have power. Eventually the Romans murdered him then threw him in the Tiber River without a proper burial. His brother, Gauis on the other hand, was beheaded.
             After the video, we took notes on what we learned. We also talked about the rise of Julius Ceasar. He was actually the first king since Tarquin; except he was good, smart, and well liked. However, the senate was brutally against having a king. They liked the idea of having a republic. On March 15, 44 B.C., Brutus and the Senate had murdered Julius Ceasar. It seemed childish in a sense to kill someone just because they weren't getting their way. They even passed around the knife so that each person could stab him. The ones who didn't stab him would put their hands in his blood, all of them relishing in what they had done.
                                         
                                      

Continuing the Video

            Today in class we continued watching the movie. We watched the fight between Octavius and Tiberius. They continually vetoed each other; the people were looking at Tiberius as a hero to them. Also, his mother basically admitted that she wanted to be remembered as "Tiberius Gracchus's mother"; he told her that now she could be known as that now that he is liked by the people. Also, he acquired a guard for him. While the vetoing fight was going on, he had shut down all governmental areas.

Just grab some land!

                    Today in class, we began watching a movie on Tiberius Gracchus. We saw how different he was compared to the other patricians. Instead of taking land from the plebeians and  pushing them out of his way, he actually seemed to care about them. Octavian on the other hand, didn't. He was more of your friend when you needed a drink or really nice food. He could easily take a plebeian's land free of guilt. Ever since Tiberius was young, he was told that he would be rule just as well as his father did, possibly even better. He had to walk through a poor area of town one time with his mom. Maybe that's why he has more sympathy for plebeians than most of the other patricians.

Handing back the Rome tests

                   Today Mr. Schick handed back our quests. I didn't do that well, I got an 80. I know that its not too bad because its a B, but usually I do better on the tests. I was confused on the part where it talked about who represented each type of government. Mr. Schick talked to us about working paying better attention in class and to study harder. Handing out detentions to people who talk in class was suggested and I think it could be a good idea. Or maybe we could throw their books down the hall...that would be a very entertaining punishment...

I aint no cheater

               Today we took the tizz..quest...whatever it was..It was only 25 questions, and it wasn't too bad. I did get confused on the part where it asked who represented which form of government. I also got confused on the question of who would represent them today. For the rest of the quest, I just went over the song in my mind to help me figure out some of the answers.

Quiz Review

             Today in class we continued talking about the rap and explaining its lyrics. Tomorrow we have a test on the first two stanzas of the rap. We talked about the latifundias, the Punic wars, and the rich people buy land of the poor. When the poor people wanted the portion of their land back, the rich quickly disagreed. The poor were supplied with free food and entertainment, so the Richer people didn't feel like they needed to give any of their land up. We aren't allowed to use our blogs for the quiz, but I don't even think I'll need it because of the song being stuck in my head!

Rome Video Presentation

            In class today we presented some extra credit videos.After each video Mr. Schick would ask the class how many points they deserved. Victoria and I got to present ours and we got a ten out of ten! Nicolette and Katie's video was really good so they also got a ten. Everybody else's videos were really good too. The song is stuck in my head now, though. Between making my own video and listening to everybody else's, I'm pretty sure I know all the lyrics. After we finished watching all of the videos, we talked more about the rap's lyrics. We went over the Punic Wars, and how Rome dominated Carthage every time.

Nevermind by Chi Cago

            Today in class Chi Cago himself announced that our lyric video wouldn't count as a project grade due to all the technical difficulties that some people were experiencing. Instead it would count for extra credit. So far Victoria and I haven't had any problems, luckily and our video is pretty awesome. Mr. Schick also explained all the lyrics in the video to us. We learned about people like Tarquin. I had known a little bit about him, but he explained the whole story to us.We also learned about things like the different types of government and how they had improved the ways of the Greeks. We also learned that their military was the most feared army in the world.

Working on the lyric video

              Today in class we continued working on our lyric videos. It was Victoria's birthday so she got to wear the birthday hat so I wore the clear one. We just got through the first paragraph in the song. The project is actually pretty fun to do, and the rap is really catchy and helpful. Victoria even got a photo of Chi Cago himself that we can put in the video. 

Lyric Video

           Today in class we had a fire drill right in the beginning. We had to walk out into the parking lot and we waited there for about 10 minutes. When we went inside we worked on a lyric/picture video to Rome by Chi Cago with partners. I'm working with Victoria. We had to download the music off of  Mr. Schick's west civ blog and we used it for movie maker. We didn't have too much time because of the fire drill, but I as able to download the song. 

LO-2: The Roman Expansion

     Mr. Schick wasn't in class today so Mrs. Stall, the German teacher, subbed for us. We all worked quietly on outlining LO-2. 

 The Romans Expansion

• the Romans were above all military people
• Their first wars were against the Etruscan, Italian, and Barbarian people
• One of Rome's main assets was its superior army 

Allies and colonies  

• The Roman were shrewdly generous in their treatment of defeated enemies
• The Romans tightened control over the Italian peninsula by creating a network of colonies which were their allies
• The Roman colonies enjoyed their rights of citizenship
• Rome became political entity 

The Punic Wars 

• Rome battled against Carthage 
• the Punic wars were waged on the land and the sea in three rounds which Rome won
• Rome gained all control of the western Mediterranean 

Conquering an Empire

• with former possession of Carthage in Sicily, Spain, and Africa became the first Roman providences
• these administrative units did not enjoy the status of Rome's allies in Italy, instead they were ruled as conquered lands 
• some local rulers survived by becoming client kings bound to Rome by ties of allegiance and support like those between Roman patrons
• in the course of endless maneuvering an fighting, the Romans carved one province after another out of the eastern Mediterranean and made many a local ruler into a client king, until by the early first century B.C., they were supreme in the region. From Gibralter to Jerusalem fell the shadow of mighty Rome.

Comics on Romulus and Remes

         Today's class was pretty entertaining...Mr. Schick wasn't there (maybe he is going on tour with M. Schick Lamar)...so Mrs. Magner subbed for us. We had to pick a partner and work on a Pixon cartoon to explain the myth of Romulus and Remes. Romulus and Remus is a story about twin brothers who were abandoned by their parents as babies. Their parents sent them down the Tiber River and a she wolf found the basket when it washed up on land. The wolf raised them for a little while before they were found by a shepherd and his wife.The shepherd raised them until they were adults. As adults, Romulus and Remus found a city where the wolf had found them. They argued over who should rule the unexplored land. Romulus eventually ended up killing Remus so he could obtain the noble position. Romulus then ruled the new city named it Rome after himself. This however is just a myth. The beginning of Rome was much less exciting and it took much more time to put together.Victoria and I worked together and our comic is pretty amazing so far. It was pretty fun to make the comics too. Hopefully we will be able to use this website more often. 

Rome: Chi Cago feat. M. Schick Lamar

        Today's concert ... class started off very...interestingly...  When we had gotten in the class we were surprised to Mr. Sch- i mean... "Chi Cago" wearing a baseball cap turned backwards and his daughter better known as M. Schick Lamar dressed up in a hoodie and sunglasses. They had a rap made up to teach us about Rome and I must say it was very original. All of us and found the song helpful, hilarious, and creative. Many people had caught the astounding moment on tape..but this song will hopefully appear on iTunes very soon. Maybe they will even be able to go on tour..After the little jam session we had gone over our homework from Monday where we had to outline LO-1. We went over a lot of what was in his rap such how the Latins arrived in Rome before any other cultures did. We went over many other topics on ancient Rome such as the plebeians and patricians and the senate. We had also gotten our tests back. I scored a 99 which was great except I had accidentally misspelled a word. For one of the questions a few people were saying that they had never learned their continents and that it was an unfair advantage to those who did know all of them. Maybe Chi Cago and M. Schick Lamar can write a song about all of the continents...

Chapter 6: The Roman Republic

Chapter 6 

•  The rise of Rome began as continuation of Greece's westward expansion through the Mediterranean Sea, which brought the Greek model of civilization to the peoples of Italy during the eighth century 
• about 500 B.C. Rome became a Greek-style city-state that was no longer ruled by kings, but the Roman government system-- the republic, as they called it -- was for several centuries more stable and more effective than any in Greece
• in five centuries Rome became the center of an empire that stretched from the borders of Mesopotamia to the Atlantic Ocean 
• The Romans not only imitated Greek civilization, they improved it especially in warfare and government.

                                       Italy

• The Greeks arrived in a Mediterranean land with farming resources that were similar to those of the Greeks 
• Etruscans and Greeks came into Italy but the Latin people came first  
• Our letters are formed based on how the Latins and the Greeks did it 
• Italy was situated astride the Mediterranean commanding in every direction 
• the Indo-Europeans settlers formed various tribes among the Latin people of central Italy 
• They adopted features for their tribes from other cultures 

                                     Roman Republic

• at first their city state was ruled on the Etruscan model by powerful kings, including actual Etruscan conquerors 
• the king was advised by a council of elders called the Senate whose members were appointed 
• Senate meant "old men"
• senate men came rom the Patricians 
• the government of the Roman city state became officially the "people's business" in Latin
• Roman Republic underwent a turbulent under the influence of social struggles 
• the result however, was a system of government that a neither 

                                    Patricians and Plebeians

• the plebeians at first deferred to patrician rule, but as Rome grew and the plebeians became more numerous and often wealthier
• the Patricians are the upper class Romans coming form the noble families meaning they have political power and own land and stuff
• Plebeians were the common people
• plebeians owned a lot of farms to grow food and sell it 
• patricians had people work on their farms for them
• senate men were patricians 
• among the chief complaints of the plebeians was that they lack legal protection
• before the fifth century B.C. there had been no written code of law 
• 450 B.C. in response to the plebeians demand Roman laws were set in writing

                                     Mixed Government 

• The republic still rested in the hands of the senate and though plebeians could now join the senate only the wealthy could afford to do 

                                    Republican Values 

• the communities survival and prosperity depended on god or goddesses who was thought to tale a particular interest in its destiny 
• by the time of he republic Rome had a special relationships with three deities

                    Citizens and the community 

• people believed men should fight and women should take care of their families
• Rome had no right or duty to share in politics and government 

Community of the Family 

Test on Alexander the Great

           Today in class we took a test on Alexander the Great. We were able to use our blogs but it wasn't too complicated. I was only really stuck on one question. There were 35 questions in all and it was all filling in the blank. However, there was a word bank which was pretty useful since i didn't know how to spell some of the words. Tonight for homework we have to read some of the next chapter and write a few paragraphs on it. We are moving into our next chapter on the Roman Empire.

More Presentations

             In Wednesday’s class we watched more presentations. I learned new things such as how Alexander invaded India.  I learned that some people, who he was fighting against, would just surrender before battle because of his reputation to defeat anyone he battles with. In 326 B.C. Alexander battled with King Porus, and won. However, Bucephilis died in battle so he named the city Buckephalia after the horse. We also learned about his death.  He died around the age of 32. There were many possibilities and explanations to why he could have died, but the main hypothesis were:

•        Alcoholic liver disease

•        Poisoning

•        Fever  

•        Malaria

•        Some type of FLU

It was absolute chaos after he died since he didn't leave nay one in charge He just said "it goes to the strongest." After 20 years of war finally 3 kingdoms were formed to rule their own portions of Greece. These were called the Hellenistic kingdoms. After his death they had body mummified with honey. It is still unknown what happened to body. 

watching presentations

                   We started the first of the presentations today.  I haven't gotten to present yet, but i took notes down on the other presentations and got to learn many new things about Alexander the Great. For example, i didn't know that he had a better relationship with Olympia (his mother) than his with his dad (King Philip II). Philip was saying things like Alexander wouldn't succeed him, which Olympia thought was crazy considering the fact that he was taught by Aristotle and he had learned many military tactics. After constant argument  with her husband, Olympia had told Alexander that his real father was actually Zeus  This does seem a little bit crazy, but i guess its kind of like the Nativity for us, in a way. This gave Alexander a new found confidence and he thought that he was destined to rule. He also began to think that he was both man and god. He became arrogant, but it was kind of a good thing since a good leader needs a good sense of confidence. However, many historians agree his father wasn't a god, but of course they couldn't tell Alexander that. There were also many other crazy myths. Some people,including herself, actually thought Olympia was impregnated by a serpent. That isn't exactly your typical everyday type of occurrence so I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that myth is definitely false. It seemed like Alexander had a very interesting childhood.

Working on our project

          Today we spent the while class working on our PowerPoint assignment. I got to research a lot more about Alexander the Great. I learned many new things about him like how he conquered the entire known Greek world, and how he had extended the Greek land 2,000 miles! He also was one who hated any competition and would take out any enemies or basically anyone who posed as a threat. I also learned that after he had died, the empire fell apart completely. After twenty years of constant warfare, Greece decided to split up into three dynasties that would rule the country as one. These were known as the "Hellenistic kingdoms."

Alexander the Great

             Today, we started class by going over our homework. We discussed the Hellenistic era, King Phillip, Alexander the great. We talked about why Athens was defeated in the Peloponnesian war. We started to talk about Alexander the Great, and he seemed like a pretty successful guy, hence the name Alexander the Great. Grabbing the reigns of Athens at the young age of twenty he took over about 90% of the known Greek world in only twelve years! He was able to use his power wisely, unlike some of the other rulers who took over Athens after Pericles. We also got a little 50 point assignment today that's due on Friday. We have to make a Powerpoint on a part of Alexander the Great's life. It's good that it will count for third quarter, because I only need one more point for my grade to be and A.

Chapter 5 - "Greater Greece: The Hellenistic Era 400-30 B.C"

               We are just beginning chapter five "Greater Greece: The Hellenistic Era 400-30 B.C" The "Hellenistic era" refers to the "international" period of Greek history; when most of the Mediterranean and Southwestern Asia were under Greek rule. Many important events took place during the Hellenistic era, beginning with King Phillip II of Macedonia coming into power and ending with the Roman conquest in Egypt. It was the time after Alexander the great when Greece was influenced by foreign elements. 

  

^^^^Map of Macedonia

        Peloponnesian war
         Although there were many reasons that Athens had been defeated in the Peloponnesian war, there were three key factors that instigated Athens's loss; natural disaster, poor leadership, and damaging losses. In 430 B.C. a deadly plague spread all over Athens, devouring much of its population. It even got around to their ruler of the time, Pericles. Pericles had died a short six months after he had caught the lethal epidemic. Though Athens did recover, after Pericles had passed away, Athens wasn't what it used to be. Many disorganized and careless politicians had grabbed a hold of Athens attempting to refurbish the disheveled city-state, but failing.
         In 413 B.C. Athens had lost two thirds of its navy in an expedition against Syracuse, Sparta's ally. The Spartans wanted some assistance from the Persians, and old Athenian rival that had considered Athens their biggest threat at that time. The Persians agreed, knowing they'd love to get revenge on an ancient blast from their past. Sparta had constructed a navy that would now be able to go against the smaller fleet of the Athenians. Never the less, their plan had worked. In 405 B.C, the Spartans had defeated Athens at the strait between the Aegean and the Black Sea. The Spartan fleet had destroyed grain supplies starving the Athenians, and eventually forcing them to surrender in 404 B.C.

359 B.C.
            In 359 B.C. King Philip II began ruling Macedonia. He was very determined to lead most of the Greek city states so he could combine the Greek and Macedonian army to defeat the enfeebled Persian empire. For the first time in ages, a ruler was able to use his power wisely. He let most of the Greek city-states to rule themselves as an oligarchy, and Greece acted as a loyal ally. His twenty year old son ,Alexander III, later succeeded him and lived out his father's legacy.

Test

           Today in class we took our test on Greece. We were aloud to use our blogs, plus i had studied, so it wasn't too bad. There were 35 questions, all multiple choice. For the first part we had a word bank, mostly consisting of important people. We had to match the words with this statements underneath. The second part was all dates. It was matching again too. I think this test went a lot better than the other one. Hopefully there will be more As on this one.

Reviewing for the test

       We spent Friday's class going over the outline that Mr. Schick had given us not too long ago to prepare for Monday's test.We went over important dates like:

1600 – 1100 BC- Greeks fortified settlements along the Aegean development Mycenaean civilaztion

1150 – 750 BC- dark ages

776 BC-first Olympic games

750 – 700 BC-  homer composed Iliad and Odessey

621 BC - Draco's code of law was enforced

508 BC – 1st time in human history where anybody had a revolution against their government. Rose up against Isagoris 

490 - The Greeks go to war with the invading Persians under King Darius at the battle of Marathon.

480 BC- Xerses wants to get revenge, invades with huge army. but ended up losing. Battle of Thermopylae, Persians burn the Acropolis down, Athens defeat Persians

461 – 429 BC- golden age/age of Pericles  

447 – 438 BC- built Parthenon

431 – 404 BC- Peloponnese war (Spartans and Athenians) tried to get Spartans to surrender because they couldn't get supplies but they did and defeated Athens. end of golden age/age of Pericles

399 BC - trial/execution of Socrates- (needed someone to blame for loss of war) charged with impiety, corrupting the youth

We also talked abut importnant people and how they made an impact on Greek civilization

Homer- blind poet who wrote Iliad and Odyssey and he went around singing ti people

Odysseus- the hero of Homer’s story “The Odyssey”- trying to find his way home and kept having to face weird obstacles by Posidean and others

Zeus- ruler of the sky and all of the gods

Athena- patron god of Athens, goddess of wisdom

Pisistratus- came to Athens with "Athena" he claimed to be a god, should have taken over Athens, gave common people rights to succeed 

Cleisthenes- created democratic republic, people put him in charge after Isagoris aristocrat

Darius (the Great) - king of Persia during the Persian wars- tried to conquer Greece lost the battle of marathon

Xerxes- Darius’s son who sent two Greek expeditions to the mainland - tried to get revenge because of his father in the straits of salamis 
pedipotdies- runner in Athens in charge of telling Spartans  myth that he ran from marathon to Athens to declare that he won the battle. Ran from Athens to Sparta 

Themistocles- ruled Athens, defeats Persians. not an aristocrat- was ostrisized

Pericles- aristocrat who was leader of Athens after victory over Persia- built Parthenon Delian league, Espeja- "high class prostitute" but she was a refined, intelligent, beautiful women "high class escort"

Aristophanes- Greek play write that specialized in comedies tragedy-Edopis 

Socrates-well known Greek philosopher

Picture of Socrates death

       Today in class we began by looking at a picture of Socrates death.The picture portrayed Socrates about to drink the hemlock while everyone around him seemed to have a different expression. We saw how everyone was upset that was the last time they'd see him. Many people were looking away, while others were waving goodbye or leaning up against walls. Although some people found Socrates annoying for asking so many questions about everything and anything, many people though he was a very interesting man and a great philosopher.They most definitely didn't want to see him die. I found the picture very interesting, and I was curious to see what else we would be learning today. Unfortunately the class doesn't know when to be quiet, so we never got past the picture. For the rest of the class we all just worked on our own.

Socrates

           We continued watching the video today in class. We learned that Pericles had made a huge and terrible mistake by going to war with Sparta. If he hadn't, Athens would have prospered even more. Maybe even to such a point where humanity would be different today. Pericles ended up catching the plague and dying only six months later. After he died, there really wasn't any good and powerful ruler in Athens ever again. We also learned a lot more about Socrates. He questioned basically anything and everything, which got him into some trouble. When he was tried, he refused to apologize for being curious. In fact, he even told them that they should be rewarding him with free meals in return for all of the wonderful work he's tributed to the country. He may have been able to get out of trouble, but his stubbornness wouldn't allow it. At the end of the trial, it was a close race, but he was voted guilty and sentenced to death. He was going to suffer the usual Athenian punishment: drinking hemlock. Drinking hemlock is an excruciatingly painful way to die. Socrates however was treating it like it was nothing. “The unexamined life is not worth living” 
― Socrates

Reviewing the Test

     Today we went over the test we took a few weeks back. I scored an 83 on the test, which was okayish. Surprisingly, nobody in the class got an A. I now understand what I had gotten wrong. I had forgotten things such as was Mediterranen means. I had though it meant "joining" when in fact it means "Middle of the world." I had missed a few other questions such as "which country would not be considered part of western civilization" which I now know is China. I also forgot that the Greeks ate, and I didn't know what modern day area Greek city - states resembled (which are counties). After seeing this test, now know what to expect on future tests and on the final exam.

Pericles

          Today in class we continued watching the video. The video focused a lot on Pericles today. It talked about how he and his groups were some of the most important to ancient western civilization. Pericles was the one who had proposed the idea of constructing the Parthenon. It took 5,000 workers in just the first year. Fifteen years later, it was finally finished. It was a glorious symbol of the Athenian empire. In 431 B.C Pericles took a daring chance and decided that he wanted to go to war with Sparta, since they seemed like competition to them because they were equally powerful. However,  that only ended with the Spartan victory leaving Athens defeated and hungry. Pericles had died in 429 B.C.  from the Plague that had devastated Athens, killing many. The video also mentioned Socrates, and ancient philosopher who didn’t care much about appearance. Socrates used a lot of reason and logic to examine the world anew. In 416 Sicily needed help and asked Athens for assistance. Athens gripped this opportunity since Sicily was allies with Sparta, and Athens wanted to humiliate Sparta and conquer Sicily. However, after about a year, the people who went over to Sicily were never heard from again. Athens had been a victim to one of the greatest defeats.

Themistocles

        Today in class we continued watching the video on Greece. We learned a lot about Themistocles today. We learned that he wasn’t brought up as an aristocrat. No music, art, or proper education. He was just a regular, random guy. However, since Athens had adopted a democratic government, any random male could be elected. Themistocles had learned many leadership skills and was very good at figuring out war strategies. The Persians were threatening to attack again and they were determined to make a comeback. Panic began to erupt, and soon havoc reigned over the Greece. Should they flee the country? Should they fight back? Should they attack the Persians before they even got to them? Nobody knew what to do. People turned to the all-knowing oracle, Delphi, to try to get answers. After a negative reading, even more people were panicking. However, Themistocles remained calm. He had devised a plan to trick the Persians into battling at Sea. He had a navy formed and had hundreds of triremes built. His master plan ended up working, and once again, Greece was the reigning champion. However, the Athenians felt that he was getting “too big for his boots” and ended up voting him off the island, or ostracizing him. Themistocles had died in 462 in Persia, the very country that had given him power.

Video

       Since I wasn't in class last Thursday, i was slightly behind with the video, but I took a lot of notes today on the video. I learned many new things. I learned that Cleisthenes was ostricized, which means he was run out of town. Back then to the Greeks, being ostricized was even worse than being killed. Cleithenes died in 527 B.C. I also learned about the ancestors of the Olympics. Every 4 years in Greece mean would compete in athletic skill in things such as chariot racing, running races, wrestling, and boxing. 508 B.C. was a date that stood out a lot for the Greeks. It was the first time in human history where middle class people fought for for their lifestyle. It was the first time that Greece had a revolution.

I missed most of the class due to the play

worksheet

Today we worked on a study guide for Chapter four. I didn't find all the answers but i got a lot of them.

IMPORTANT DATES:  In a sentence or two, describe what important or historical event took place on the following dates:

1600 – 1100 BC- Greeks fortified settlements along the Aegean development Mycenaean civilaztion

1150 – 750 BC- dark ages

776 BC-first Olympic games

750 – 700 BC-  homer composed iliad and odessey

621 BC - Dracos code of law was enforced

508 BC – 1st time in human history where anybody had a revolution against their government. Rose up against Isagoris 

490 - The Greeks go to war with the invading Persians under King Darius at the battle of Marathon.

480 BC- Xerses wants to get revenge, invades with huge army. but ended up losing. Battle of Thermopylae, Persians burn the Acropolis down, Athens defeat Persians

461 – 429 BC- golden age/age of Pericles  

447 – 438 BC- built Parthenon

431 – 404 BC- Peloponnese war (Spartans and Athenians) tried to get Spartans to surrender because they couldn't get supplies but they did and defeated Athens. end of golden age/age of pericles

399 BC - trial/execution of Socrates- (needed someone to blame for loss of war) charged with impiety, corrupting the youth

MEN, WOMEN, GODS AND GODDESSES YOU SHOULD KNOW:  In one or two sentences, describe what is significant about the following people (or immortals):

Homer- blind poet who wrote iliad and odessey and he went around singing ti people

Odysseus- the hero of Homer’s story “The Odyssey”- tyring to find his way home and kept having to face weird obstackles by posidean and others

Zeus- ruler of the sky and all of the gods

Athena- patron god of Athens, goddess of wisdom

Pisistratus- came to athens with "athena" he claimed to be a god, should have taken over Athens, gave common people rights to succeed 

Cleisthenes- created democratic republic, people put him in charge after Isagoris aristocrat

Darius (the Great) - king of Persia during the Persian wars- tried to conquer greece lost the battle of marathon

Xerxes- Darius’s son who sent two Greek expeditions to the mainland - tried to get revenge because of his father in the straits of salamis 
pedipotdies- runner in athens in charge of telling spartans, myth that he ran from marathon to athens to declare that he won the battle. Ran from athens to sparta 

Themistocles- ruled athens, defeats persians. not an aristocrat- was ostrisized

Pericles- aristocrat who was leader of Athens after victory over Persia- built parthenon delian league, Espeja- "high class prositute" but she was a refined, intellegent, beautiful women "high class escort"

Aristophanes- greek playwrite that specialized in comodies tradgedy-edopiss 

Socrates-well known Greek philosopher

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:  Be able to locate the following on a map:

Athens                         Sparta                                      Peloponnesus                          Ionia

Ionian Sea                               Aegean Sea                             Persian Empire

GREEK POLITICAL STRUCTURES: Describe these political institutions:

Monarchy- a hereditary line of rulers             

Democracy- where all the males in the city state rule it together

Oligarchy- where four or five people rule the city state together 

Aristocracy- where the city state is ruled by a few elite males (somewhat lie an oligarchy)

PERICLES’ THREE GOALS FOR ATHENS: Name ‘em; describe ‘em.

Fix the government and to try and make all the aristocrats in charge
built parthenon

GREEK ART: Identify and describe examples in these fields:

Sculpture – result of Greeks growing wealthier and their society growing more complex, they built extravagant statues

Architecture- buildings such as the Parthenon          

Drama (tragedy and comedy) – they presented plays in their theater