Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Early Greece could be a dangerous place. Waves of invaders swept through the land, and violence was common. Eventually, people began to band together in groups for protection. Over time, these groups developed into city-states, or political units made up of a city and all the surrounding lands.

​The city-state became the foundation of Greek civilization. In addition to providing its people with security and a marketplace, the city-state gave people a new sense of identity. People thought of themselves as residents of a particular city-state, not as Greeks.

Multiple Choice

What is a city-state?

• a city that with its emperor who subjects foreign people to harsh labor unwillingly
• a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.
• A type of city controlled by the state of California
• a Count that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.

The Growth of Greek Power​

​Early in Greece’s history, city-states remained fiercely independent. Each city-state focused on its own concerns and did not interfere in the others’ affairs.

Around 500 BC, however, an invading army caused the Greeks to band together against a common enemy. That invasion came from Persia, a powerful empire in central Asia. The Persian army was huge, well trained, and experienced. Greece, on the other hand, had no single army.

​Nevertheless, the Greeks took up arms against the Persians. Led by Athens, a city-state in eastern Greece, the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians and keep Greece from being conquered. When the Persians invaded again ten years later, the Athenians once again helped defeat them.

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​The victory over the Persians increased the confidence of people all over Greece. They realized that they were capable of great achievements. In the period after the Persian invasion, the people of Greece made amazing advances in art, writing, and thinking. Many of these advances were made by the people of Athens.

​The Empire of Alexander

​In fact, a conqueror did take over all of Greece in the 330s BC. For the first time in its history, all of Greece was unified under a single ruler. He was from an area called Macedonia just north of Greece, an area that many Greeks considered uncivilized. He was known as Alexander the Great.

Multiple Choice

Where was Alexander the Great from?

• Macedonia

• Greece

• North Africa

• Spain

​During his life, Alexander wanted Greek culture to spread throughout his empire. To help the culture spread, he built cities in the lands he conquered and urged Greek people to move there. He named many of the cities Alexandria after himself.

​As Greek people moved to these cities, however, they mingled with the people and cultures in the area. As a result, Greek culture blended with other cultures. The result was a new type of culture that mixed elements from many people and places.

Because the Greek word for Greek is “Hellenic,” historians often refer to these blended cultures as Hellenistic, or Greek-like. Hellenistic culture helped shape life in Egypt, central Asia, and other parts of the world for many years.

Multiple Choice

This term means: the form of Greek culture spread throughout the ancient world by Alexander the Great

• Hellenistic

• Futuristic

• Greektastic

• Alexanderistic

Multiple Choice

What was the first civilization to develop in Europe?

• Rome
• Greece
• Egypt
• France

Multiple Choice

Alexander the Great is famous because 

• he was a student of Aristotle 
• he was King Philip's son
• he conquered a lot of land
• he died

Multiple Choice

Since Alexander the Great was able to conquer a large amount of land, what else was he able to achieve? 

• Spread Greek culture
• Free all of the slaves
• Prove the earth was round
• Became a great mathematician