Ancient Greece

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

1. Minoan and Mycenaean civilization. The Minoan (Crete) and Mycenaean civilizations preceded classical Greece and collapsed around 1200-1100 BCE.
2. The Greek polis: concept and political organization. The polis was the sovereign Greek political unit, politically fragmented but united by a common language and religion.
3. Athens and the birth of democracy. The reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes laid the foundations of Athenian democracy, consolidated in the fifth century BCE.
4. Sparta: military society and social organization. Sparta combined a diarchy, the Gerousia, the ephors, and the Apella with a society divided into Spartiates, perioikoi, and helots.
5. The Persian Wars. The Persian Wars pitted the Greek poleis against Persia, with Greek victories at Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea.
6. The Peloponnesian War. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) pitted Athens against Sparta and ended with the defeat and surrender of Athens.
7. Classical Greek philosophy and culture. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle shaped classical Greek philosophy, alongside a flourishing of theater and art.
8. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and spread Greek culture, giving rise to the Hellenistic period.