01:506:201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Phoenician Alphabet, Persian Language, Classical Architecture
17 May 2018
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Chapter 4
Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
1. Introduction
1. Mediterranean culture
1. Greece slowed Persian empire, set up a few colonies, but…
2. Rome known for empire
3. New institutions/values that would remain in western culture
4. “our own” Classical past
1. U.S. Constitution
2. buildings in the U.S.
3. founders of the philosophical tradition
4. Socratic method
2. Greco-Roman history
1. more dynamic, but less successful
* We can clearly recognize the connections and our own
debt without adhering to the notion that the Mediterranean
world somehow dominated the classical period.
2. Complicated – passed through two centers
1. Rome preserved many of Greek achievements
3. Rome vs. Greece
1. Mighty empire vs. inept/Greek city-states
2. Mastered engineering vs. scientific thought
3. western Europe – Greco Roman vs. Eastern Europe –
Greek influence
4. Shared
1. political ideas
2. common religion
3. artistic styles
4. economic structures
2. The Persian Tradition
1. 550 BCE Cyrus the Great – massive Persian Empire across
Middle East
1. Tolerant of local customs
2. Advanced iron technology
3. Zoroastrianism
4. artistic lifestyle
5. Conquered by Alexander the Great
6. Persian language and culture survived into the 20th century
3. Patters of Greek and Roman History
1. Greece
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1. Crete – showed Egyptian influence by 2000
1. Monumental architecture
2. 1400 Mycenae – kingdom Trojan War
1. Indo-Europeans destroyed until 800 – Dark Ages
3. Rise from 800-600 strong city-states
1. tyrant or aristocratic council
2. divided by mountains
1. unified government difficult
2. trade developed
3. written language came from Phoenician alphabet
4. regular celebrations
1. athletic competitions – Olympic games
5. Sparta/Athens rose to the top
1. Sparta – military tradition dominated slves
2. Athens – commercial state, slaves,
artistic/intellectual leadership
4. 5th century – Democracy in Athens
1. Pericles - most famous political figure
1. No official position, but influence/negotiation
2. each citizen participated
3. eventually Spartan/Athenian war weakens both sides
1. Peloponnesian Wars – weakened Greece
1. Philip II of Macedon came down and took
over
2. Alexander the Great then kept going to
Persia
1. 13 years of conquests – 33
2. Successor kingdoms ruled for
centuries
3. Hellenistic period – Greek
art/culture merges
4. Trade flourished
5. Scientific centers – Alexandria
6. Greece decline, but legacy carries
on
2. Rome
1. Started under control of monarchy in 800 – defeated in 509
2. Roman republic expanded
1. Always fear of invaders, keep extending boundaries
2. Across Sicily, conflict with Carthage
1. Leads to Punic Wars – 3 of them
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