Humanities Assignment Make-up for Nov.19th, 2008

(5 questions on Ancient Greece& Rome)

Note: These five questions can be seen in my mind map as well.

What happened in the Persian War? Like the Trojan War, the Persian Wars were a defining moment in Greek history. It began inauspiciously, around the middle of the sixth century BC, the Greek city-states along the coast of Asia Minor came under the control of the Lydians and their king, Croesus (560-546BC). However, when the Persians conquered the Lydians in 546BC, all the states subject to the Lydians became subject to the Persians. But there was a tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, began a democratic rebellion in 499BC. In498BC, the Athenians conquered and burned the capital of Lydia, Sardis. By 485BC, the Persians, under King Darius (521-486BC), had restored control over the rebellious Greek cities.  The battle of Marathon (490BC) is perhaps the single and the most important battle in Greek history; moreover, it’s the greatest achievement of the Athenians’.(http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PERSIAN.HTM)

What does arts of Greece tell me about Greek culture? I think that Greece tell us about its culture through many aspects; like religion, art, education system, social system, architecture, diet, clothing, music etc.,Hereunder are the few briefs of above mentioned;  Religion- the ancient Greeks were a deeply religious people. They worshipped many gods whom they believed appeared in human form, as we can see from Greek literature and mythology, recorded men’s interactions with various gods and goddesses. Art-We can see see Greek art through its funerary art, however the epitaphios or funeral oration was regarded as of great importance, and animal sacrifices were made. Education-Military training- Sparta-RThe goal of education in Sparta, an authoritarian, military city-state, was to produce soldier-citizens who were well-drilled, well-disciplined marching army.Diet-Food in Ancient Greece consisted of grains, figs, wheat to make bread, barley, fruit, vegetables, breads, cake, seafood, and drank milk and wine. (http://www.crystalinks.com/greekculture.html)

How does Greece geography affect their culture? Much of Greece is mountainous and rocky terrain, with the occasional plain. About 20% of Greece is make up of islands. Therefore, firstly, most of Greek live along the coast or along rivers and harbors, so they were suitable for city-building and the associated city-supporting agriculture, then Greek civilization in the classical period grew up as independent “polis” city-states. Secondly, it was limited agricultural land for the growing of crops. so the ancient Greek leaders encouraged colonies in more suitable areas and took place in large scale trade. The consequent was that they conducted lots of trade-getting rich in the process and became good enough at maritime pursuits to be able to use the navy to fend of a major attempt by the Persians to invade them.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece)

What are some good inventions that ancient Greek has? There are many good inventions that ancient Greek has, like water screw, a device for raising water using an encased screw open at both ends. Now we call it “ Archimedes screw” and it is still in use today. Levers are one of the basic tools, scissor, pliers, hammer claws, nutcrackers, and tongs. The other good inventions like “Cataplult”, “Heron”, “Steam Engine”, “Umbrella”. (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/greece.shtml)                                                 5. What are the festivals or sports that ancient Greek has? The Greeks had a lunar calendar that does not correspond to ours so their holiday dates have little meaning to us. Their holidays corresponded to festivals for the various deities, like Panhellenic Festivals-it took place Olympic games, pythian games, Isthmian Games and Nemean Games. Moreover, Athenian and Attic Festivals are spreadably in different month, the other festivals like Asclepieia, Gymnopaidiai, Carnea, Heraea, Daidala, Eleutheria, Lyycaea and Hyancinthia.( http://www.fjkluth.com/festival.html)