Class Today- 2/2814

Today in class, Phil and Matt taught. They were very lively and funny. We talked about the following:

-         A Greek city state was known as polis.

-         Not many Greek City States were highly populated, except for Athens which had 250,000

-         The towns were built around a hill which stood on top of it was an Acropolis.

-         Acropolis- the high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town

-         The City States were really competitive and often fought one another.

-         The Greeks were the first known to have a name for the people who live in their community “polites” or “citizen.”

Mr. Schick went over the following terms:

Aegean Sea- east side of Greece
Ionian Sea- south and west side of Greece

Adriatic Sea-

Crete- Greek Island, very important, military, and ship trade

Athens:

Sparta:

Peloponnese

Mediterranean Sea- Mediterranean mean middle of the earth 

Yesterday's Blog- 2/27/14

Today in class, we had a sub. Mr. Schick wasn’t here so we did a project with partners. My partners were Jesseca, Sarah, and Maddie. We had to do a power point that was based on Athens vs. Sparta. We compared different things about each of the Greek Cities. We chose our theme for the power point and got some information. We answered the questions Mr. Schick put next to each topic and added it to the slides. We added some effects to the power point. We didn’t finish, but we are close to finishing. We talked about the location and population of each city-state. We also talked about the lifestyle and values of each city-state. We compared the government and military of each city. We showed the location on the map of each and put that in a slide. We did learn some information about the cities of Athens and Sparta.

LO3- Greece

Greek city- states consisted of usually one town and some square miles of countryside. Athens and Sparta were considered the giant city-states. Sometimes the town was built around a hill and around the top was an acropolis. An acropolis is a high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town. Each community was competitive with each other because of the activity of worshipping the Gods. Who worshipped who and so on. The Greek’s language was the language that created the word “citizen” referring to a member of such a community. Some types of government that are important to know are oligarchy, monarchy, democracy, and tyranny. Oligarchy is a state in which supreme power is held by a small group. Monarchy is a state in which supreme power is held by a single, usually hereditary ruler. Tyranny is a rule by self-proclaimed dictator. Democracy was in ancient Greece, a form of government in which all adult male citizens were entitled to take part in decision making. The Spartans were descendants of Greeks who conquered the territory of Laconia. Soon the Spartans pushed westward into the plains of Messenia because the land of Laconia was infertile. When they moved to the plains of Messenia they turned the Greek inhabitants into helots. Helots were non-citizens forced to work for landholders in the ancient city-state of Sparta. 

Ancient Greece- February 25,2014

Today in West Civ class we took notes. We also reviewed some stuff we already learned about in the last class. We discussed about Ancient Greece and the Geography of it. These people were the people that lived in Mycenae. This began during 2000 B.C. This land is located on a rocky ridge and is protected by a wall. In class, we also discussed that around 1200 B.C. sea people began to invade Mycenae. These people invaded by burning palace after palace after palace. After the region was demolished, Dorians moved into the area. During the time when Dorians moved into the region writing disappeared for nearly 400 years and the economy collapsed. We also discussed a man by the name of Homer. He was a blind, old, poet that lived during the “Greek Dark Ages.” During his whole lifetime he composed two epics known as “The Lliad,” and “The Odyssey.” 

LO2- The Aegean Encounter

The farming wealth of the Aegean region, came from grain fields, vineyards, and olive groves. Southeastern Europe had lots of metals and timber for shipbuilding. So these Aegean people lived in metalworking, lumberjacking, trade, and piracy. Around 2200 B.C. the Minoan Civilization appeared on the island of Crete. Minoan Civilization gained its wealth due to surrounding seas. They gained wealth this way because trade with thriving with many different Mediterranean lands. The biggest trade partner was Egypt. Short after this time, the Greeks arrived. They came of as European Barbarian people and made their way into homeland. The people they settled with were the people that found the new homeland, developed life that included their traditions, and came under the influence of Crete. Around 1600 B.C. Greek chieftains established settlements along the mainland’s southern shore and on some of the islands. These settlements became the centers of a new civilization. 

The First European Civilization: The Greeks

* Barbarians are people that had a distinctive way of life, based on farming and warfare.
* Withing classical Greek civilization there appeared ideas, art forms, and types of government whose influence on western civilization has lasted down to the present day.
* Megaliths: massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs.
* Tribe: a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship
* Over 3 thousand years up to the time of the Persian empire, civilization had spread from its Sumerian and Egyptian homelands right across southwestern Asia and Northeastern Africa.

Why the Greeks rocked:
* New ideas
* Incredible art forms
* Democratic government with citizen participation
* Innovators in warfare

LO1:

4000 BC- farming and village life spreads from Sumerian and Egyptian lands across SW Asia and NE Africa, and the European continent

3500 BC- some are organized enough to construct megaliths, massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs, such as Stonehenge (finished in England in 2000 BC), consisting of 160 massive boulders weighing up to 50 tons (100,000 pounds) each, stacked and circles and aligned to the movements of sun and moon.

From 2500 BC on- Indo-European nomads migrated from the steppes in eastern Europe
- Their language would evolve into Greek and Latin
- Their lives centered around strength and courage, comradeship and loyalty, contests and battle
- Thinner populations than Egypt or Mesopotamia- they formed tribes, social and political unit consisting of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship

Tribes were headed by powerful hereditary chieftains, thought of as kings (or, rarely, queens)
This is how Europe came to be populated by speakers of Indo-European languages who were skilled in farming, metalworking, trade, and warfare
-No cities, no written records, no fixed structures of government
-They were barbarians (from Greek barbaros- "non-Greek")
-They adopted the way of life of those they encountered, and as they traveled (from 2000 BC to AD 1000), this is how civilization eventually spread throughout Europe
-The distinctive civilization the Greeks developed is the first that counts as definitely "Western"

GEOGRAPHY OF GREECE:
* mountainous peninsula
 - mountains cover 3/4
* approximately 1,400 islands in the Aegean and Lonian Seas
* location shaped its culture
*skilled sailors
*poor natural resources
*difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain; developed small, independent communities
* approximately 20% suitable for farming
*fertile valleys cover 1/4 of peninsula
* because of geography the Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, olives
*lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization
*temperatures range from 48 in the winter to 80 in the summer

West Civ Class- February 20, 2014

Today in West Civ we reviewed over our test. We basically just went over the questions. We went further in depth with the answers to the questions and Mr. Schick explained them. We went around the room and everyone in the class took turns and read the questions and gave the answers. Some of us got some wrong answers but we eventually got the right answers, and as I said, Mr. Schick explained the answers. We always have fun in class with answering questions and explaining things to each other. Today was especially fun because we were all learning and having fun at the same time. Mr. Schick really makes the class fun and exciting with his sense of humor. That makes the class livelier and honestly today was a really good class. I felt pretty good when I took the test and I ended up getting an 88, so I was happy with my grade!

The First European Civilization: The Greeks

The Greeks, also known as part of the European barbarian peoples, kind of created their own way of life. Their life consisted of farming and warfare. Around 2000 B.C. they moved into the southeastern region of Europe. They were near the area of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. When faced with different types of people they shared in their lifestyles and adapted to advanced ways. Barbarian was just used as a term describing people whose life consisted of farming, warfare, and tribal organization. These type of people started to spread all over Europe around 2500 B.C. Around 3500 B.C. in Western Europe people started to build ceremonial monuments. These monuments had circles and rows of boulders. These structures were referred to as “megalithic.”  They were referred to as “megalithic” because the huge stones that were used to create these monuments the peoples in Western Europe built, were referred to as “megaliths.” 

Technological Inventions and the Egyptian Pyramids

Name and describe three technological innovations or inventions of the ancient Egyptians:

One of the technological inventions for the ancient Egyptians was hieroglyphics, which were small pictures drawn on Papyrus (their paper.) this is a piece of history.Another invention was the 365 day calendar which was created to make better sense of the seasonal cycles. Along with these two inventions, the Egyptians created an irrigation system for the Nile because it flooded every July. 

Describe three important features of the Egyptian pyramids:

An important feature of the Egyptian pyramids had to be the marble which made the pyramid kind of sacred. Another feature of the pyramids was that they were often portrayed with a animal body and a human head which made it special. Along with these two features, the age of these ancient Egyptian pyramids is magnificent, because The Great Sphinx of Giza is still standing today even though it is 4,500 years old!

Cyber Day Assignment- Essays

            The social hierarchy in Ancient Egypt was very interesting. It consisted of eight groups of people. A hierarchy is a person or group of people that out rank people below them that don’t have as much power as they do. We use a pyramid that shows who out ranked who in Ancient Egypt. The specific person who out ranked everybody and had total power was the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh has all power and respect because he was thought of as a religious and political leader. He owned all of Egypt, including upper and lower, made all laws, collected taxes, and was greatly respected. A Pharaoh was so respected by the ancient Egyptians because they thought the Pharaoh had contact with all the gods they worshipped. They believed that the Pharaoh had power given to him by the gods and that he was honored with that power. They thought that the gods chose this specific woman or man to rule over Egypt so they praised him or her.

            Below the Pharaoh on the Hierarchy Pyramid, we have Government Officials which are the Priests, Nobles, Physicians, and Engineers. These people come below the Pharaoh because they had power but not nearly as much as the Pharaoh did. They were known as “The White Kilt.” Below the upper class, we have the soldiers. The soldiers used wooden weapons and rode chariots to protect Egypt. Below the soldiers, we have the scribes. The scribes were the people responsible for keeping records, telling stories, writing poetry, describing anatomy, and medical treatments. Next, under the scribes we have the merchants. The merchants used the money and barter system. They accepted bags of grain for payment and later accepted coinage. Underneath of the merchants we have the artisans. The artisans were the ones who carved statues showing military battle, the afterlife, and other scenes. Underneath of the artisans we have the farmers. The Farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions, and they benefited from the irrigation of the Nile. At the end and bottom of the pyramid we have slaves and servants. The slaves and servants helped the wealthy with the household and child raising duties. They didn’t live a horrible life, but weren’t exactly free to do what they wanted to.

            The importance of the Nile River in Egypt is a whole other topic. The Nile was a river that provided the biggest source of life for the ancient Egyptians. Without the Nile, the Egyptians might have been very troubled. The Nile provided the Egyptians with the ability of drinking, irrigating, bathing, and transportation. The Nile gave off water for the Egyptians to drink from and bath from. It also helped farmers with irrigating. It helped anyone with transportation because wooden sailboats were invented and could travel up and down the river. Every July though, the river floods. To prevent houses and such from being washed away, Ancient Egyptians had a breakthrough of technological advances to make sure the land wasn’t damaged. This process pushed water away from land and to deserted areas where things wouldn’t be damaged. Along with every July flood, every October the river brought in rich soil which was fantastic for farmers. 

West Civ Class- Before the Snow Storm: February 12,2014

Today in West Civ we talked about the snow storm that is supposed to occur tomorrow into Friday. We talked about what we would have to do work wise and whether or not we would have a cyber-day tomorrow. We talked about the assignment we might have. If we do have a cyber-day, we’re probably going to have review questions on what we’ve been doing in class for the past few days. We also watched two videos that was based on review and exploring the pyramids. The one on review was pretty funny and really summed up what we have learned so far. The one on the pyramids was actually really interesting. I think its cool how the pyramids are set up and everything in them. I overall think it’s just amazing that bodies from such a long time ago are still in those pyramids and people can go see them. Today’s class was fun and interesting. 

West Civ- February 11, 2014

Today in West Civ we took more notes on Egypt. We kind of summarized our notes we took last class on Egypt but delved further into the material. We discussed the five elements of life in Egypt back then in ancient times. The five elements were geography, daily life, Pharaohs, Goddesses and Gods, and Pyramids. The geography of Egypt talks about the Nile River and how it was a major source of life for the Egyptians. It was used for drinking, irrigating, bathing, and transportation. It also flooded every single July and brought rich soil every October. Though, during every flood they had plans to push the water aside that way the flood didn’t destroy anything. We also discussed the element: Pyramids. We took notes on “The Great Sphinx of Piza” which is the oldest monumental statue in the world with a whopping 4,500 years old. It is a lion with a humans head. We also went over hierarchies and discussed the Hierarchy Pyramid and the people’s positions. 

February 7, 2014- Western Civ Class

Today in Western Civ we took notes. Our notes today were based on Egypt, though. We took notes on what parts of Egypt are important and the major source of life for the ancient Egyptians. Upper Egypt was fertile land while Lower Egypt was covered by the Nile Delta that flowed into the Mediterranean Sea. We also learned what a Pharaoh was. A Pharaoh was referred to as an all-powerful God-King, and worshipped as a god and was connected to other Egyptian Gods or Goddesses. Pharaoh’s also had multiple wives and sometimes the wives would divorce and inherit money or land. We also learned the word Egyptians used to show the concept of harmony and balance and symbolize that everything is good, which was “Maat.” We also learned that Egyptians believed in after life for certain people. Though, to preserve the people’s bodies for the afterlife they would mummify them. We also learned about the earliest form of writing for the Egyptians which were Hieroglyphics. Along with Hieroglyphics we learned about Temples, Pyramids, and the creation of the calendar. 

Egypt

Due to the spread of civilization, civilization in Egypt occurred. Egypt’s civilization however was more stable and successful than Mesopotamia’s. Foreign invasions didn’t occur as much as Mesopotamia’s. As well as political and sectional conflicts didn’t occur as much as well. Egypt’s civilization welcomed cultural differences and due to this their culture grew stronger and stronger throughout the thousands and thousands of years. Egypt is divided into two lands and stretches along the Nile River. Upper Egypt is fertile land, while Lower Egypt is made up of waterways formed by the Nile. Soon the two lands were unified and ruled by a “pharaoh” which is considered a king. A Pharaoh was looked at as a man that should be obeyed because the Gods themselves of everything these people believed, gave him power. They believed that the Pharaohs at that time had all authority and had all power. So people in Egypt obeyed the Pharaohs thinking they had supreme power.