Chapter 12 Objectives

Lesson 1: The Golden Age of Athens (pp. 362-368)

I. The Age of Pericles

• A. Pericles was Athens' most outstanding leader during its Golden Age.
• B. Pericles worked to protect Athens, to make it beautiful, and to strengthen democracy.
• C. During the Golden Age, Athens was a center for art, literature, and ideas.

II. Life in a Citizen Family

• A. Men spent time debating issues, selling wares, serving as jurors in the Assembly, and exercising in outdoor gymnasiums.
• B. Women spent time weaving clothes, preparing food, and caring for children.
• C. In the evenings, men either socialized with each other, or attended plays or religious festivals with their wives.

III. Life for Noncitizens

• A. Metics were foreigners who were allowed to attend theater and religious festivals, and use the law courts.
• B. Slaves had no legal rights in Athens, but some were paid for their work and a few bought their freedom.
• C. In contrast to other slaves in Athens, those who worked in the silver mines labored under terrible conditions.

Web Resources:

Pericles
Plutarch
Daily Life in Ancient Greece
Odyssey - Daily Life
Daily Life in Ancient Greece for Kids
 

Lesson 2: The Peloponnesian War (pp. 369-373)

I. Athens and Sparta

• A. Concerned about an increasingly powerful Athens, Sparta declared war in 431 B.C.
• B. A plague which killed many in Athens, including Pericles, and Sparta's yearly destruction of food supplies, greatly weakened Athens.
• C. Still, it took 27 years of yearly battles, before Athens surrendered to Sparta in 404 B.C.

II. End of the Golden Age

• A. After their defeat by Sparta, Athenian democracy was weakened.
• B. Socrates was an important teacher and philosopher challenged his students to examine their own beliefs by asking questions.
• C. Athenian leaders believed Socrates was encouraging students to challenge government authority, so they tried him and sentenced him to die.

Web Resources:
Peloponnesian War (Wikipedia)
History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides)
Ancient Greece: The Peloponnesian War
Socrates
 

Lesson 3: Alexander the Great and His Influence (pp. 374-381)

I. The Rise of Macedonia

• A. King Philip turned Macedonia into a military power by creating a full-time professional army and developing new weapons and battle plans.
• B. Philip defeated the Greek armies and became ruler of Greece in 338 B.C.
• C. Philip reorganized the Greek army, combined it with his Macedonian troops, and set out to conquer Persia.

II. Alexander's Conquests

• A. Though only 20, Alexander took firm control of his father's kingdom.
• B. With his troops, Alexander began a 20,000-mile journey of conquest.

III. The Spread of Greek Culture

• A. As Alexander conquered lands, he established colonies and cities modeled after Greek cities, and left Greeks to rule the conquered lands.
• B. During the Hellenistic Age, the center of Greek culture shifted from Athens to Alexandria.
• C. Alexandria's library became the largest in the western world, lasting seven centuries.

IV. After Alexander

• A. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., Greek culture still united the empire, but politically it broke apart.
• B. Alexander's generals divided the empire and fought each other for control.
• C. Eventually three generals and regions emerged as the strongest.

Hellenistic Greece
Alexander the Great (Wikipedia)
Alexander the Great on the Web
Social Studies for Kids - Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great on the Web for Kids
Profile of Alexander the Great
Ptolemy I of Egypt
Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII - TourEgypt
 

Lesson 4: Contributions of the Greeks (pp. 383-387)

I. Greek Arts

• A. The Greeks are known for their lyric poetry, epic poetry, and plays -- both tragedies and comedies.
• B. Painters and sculptors throughout history have learned from Greek art and sculpture.
• C. The Greeks examined and wrote about the past critically and our word "history" comes from a Greek word.

II. Greek Ideas

• A. Greek philosophers developed ways of seeking knowledge and asking questions that are still used today.
• B. Greek scientists believed they could understand the workings of the world, and made important discoveries in astronomy, medicine, and mathematics.
• C. In addition to achievements in the arts and sciences, the Greeks' ideas about democracy and government have also influenced Western civilization.

Web Resources:
History for Kids - Ancient Greek Architecture
Greek Architecture Boston College
Greek Architecture - Architecture Through the Ages

Greek Literature - History for Kids
Greek Children’s Literature

Greek Art - History for Kids
Greek Pottery
Ancient Greek Art

Greek Philosophy for Kids
Ancient Greece for Kids
Ancient Greek Philosophy

Greek Astronomy
Ancient Greek Science
Hippocrates
Pythagoras
Aristarchus