geography of greece:
 greece used to be underwater, but it suddenly arose from the sea
o this is why the country has a lot of cliffs
 since it was formerly under the sea, it's made of coraline substances which are porous
o one substance present in greece is calcium carbonate, which, under pressure,
turns into marble
 calcium carbonate is soluble in water, which is why a lot of sinkhole and
manholes appear in greece after several centuries
 fun fact: in the philippines, ours is clay which is very conducive to the
formation of water tables which, in turn, benefits plant life
 because of greece's lack of natural resources, only grass and a few trees grow there -
specifically, the olive tree which doesn't need much water
o thus, they're not super into agriculture
 in greece, flood plains collected along the coasts. as a result, villages and cultures
developed among the coastlines
o since there weren't any roads to connect them, the greeks all had their own
distinct cultures and beliefs and are thus almost always in conflict with each other
 as a result, their societies were martial societies
 for example, in sparta, kids are sent to a school for soldiers and
they retire at 30
 
economic history of greece
 background: persian civilizations (assyrian, babylonian, etc developed near tigris and
euphrates river)
 background: carthaginian civilization in north africa
o they were good boatmakers, but because of this, their forests were depleted
o they were a pretty advanced civilization and were considered a threat to rome
 the minoan civilization was a civilization based in crete, greece
o it was a very sophisticated civilization, and the place where they lived had no
fortifications and natural resources; the place was merely made of rocks
o the capital city in crete was called knossos (modern day santorini)
o their name was derived from king minos
 around 1300 bc, the minoan civilization dominated greek civilization because it thrived
o it was a trading center
o similar to hong kong and singapore today that are trading centers but have no
natural resources
o additionally, it also thrived because people would go to knossos during
inclement weather
 knossos had a supply of fresh water and had rocks which served as
protectors
 in 900 bc, a volcano island called thierra exploded
o the explosion was so big that the british isles didn’t have sunlight for weeks
 o in china, the blue sky turned yellow
o the entire city of knossos was gone
 since the city of knossos disappeared, the center of religion and culture also
disappeared, thus leading to the existence of a civil religion
o civil religion = where citizens decide what’s important or not in their religion
o Religion in greece was liberalized
 Same stories and myths but different interpretations depending on city
 this disappearance was a problem, however, since the basis of political authority is both
economy and religion
o greece’s economy and religion were both weak due to the disappearance
o however, there were still traders despite knossos’s disappearance
o thus, they looked for an alternative trading center – athens, which was located
on a bay
o there was a problem with this, however – if you’re into trading that time, you
should have a private army because there were a lot of pirates back then. athens
didn’t.
 
 
political history of greece:
 solon was this guy who came from a patrician family and decided to settle in Greece,
eventually thinking of himself as a Greek
o he did a lot for the country but spent a lot in doing so, so he sought help from
other patrician families
o in doing so, an aristocracy developed, which made the public mad!
 Cleisthenes, a Greek, observed that trade dependent on demos (communities)
o Each demos had their own specializations
 Cleisthenes then urged people to boycott and not to sell products
o This led them to win and patrician families were forced to let go of their power
o Thus, the first and only democracy in that time was established.
 Democracy happened, and in a democracy, debate is highlighted because no one’s
killing each other
o Debate, in turn, highlights reasoning
o In debate, you also discover that generals, kings, and priests can be wrong.
Everyone can be wrong.
 Technology and culture are improved because of the synergy and debate that happens
with a democracy
 Persian & Greek War
o In Persia, there was a boy – future King Darius – who was a carpenter and
developed lots of military tools
o This strengthened Persia and their military power led them to conquering many
countries
o King Darius liked being out in the battlefield to witness his inventions in battle
 o King Darius fought his father and utilized the Greeks for battle in the Civil War
(900 BC -700 BC) because they were good seafarers and soldiers
o The father had a problem. He was threatened by Greeks because his son almost
defeated him using the Greeks. Thus, Persian civilization invaded Greece with
500,000 men.
o Thus, Greeks now all had a common enemy, which led to the different Greek
cultures becoming friends
 This forging of friendships was something that democracy played a role in
o The Greeks put the treasury in Athens because it was better compared to leaving
it in Sparta
o This Greek-Persian War lasted 2 generations (~70 years)
 Because of this, former enemies became friends and technology
improved greatly
o In the Battle of Salamis, Persians lost.
 When the Greeks won, everyone started saying that democracy is good
o Athens became an empire but did not conquer; they were more interested in
trade
 Fun fact: Most dynamic use of Greek was in the Ionan parts
o Fun fact: the most dynamic use of English from England shifted to the US – first
Chicago, Boston, etc. but then it moved to San Francisco, Seattle, etc.
 
 
 Miletia = a place in the most dynamic use of English
o There were several figures from this place that were associated with the culture
of democracy
 Part of the democracy strip
o Thales & company (lived around 600bc) invented the term "philosophy"
o These figures learned math and the calendar making of the Persians
 Thales
 Knew all about democracy and its effects and wanted to shared it
 Studied mathematics and wanted to share it
 Mathematics: a tool to understand reason
 Used to predict independent of the gods and
deities
 Essential to Philosophy
 Through asking whether there are other tools that can
result to predicting the future

 Anaximenes
 Anaximander
 Pythagora
o Because of these people, everyone started thinking more critically and logically
instead of relying on the gods
  They learned to reason and to question
o They discovered the different science and fields of study due to democracy and
reasoning.
 Thus, arose the invention of 600 BC/AD philosophy.
 Hellenic Empire
o Responsible for democracy and philosophy
o Eventually challenged by Sparta (an old star) as motivated by Persians
 RESULTS: inner turmoil and war that weakened Athens
 BUT: still had Macedonia (Greece) led by King Phillip that eventually led
to the surrender of Phillip and let his son succeed him
 Hellenistic Empire
o Alexander the great – song of Phillip won many wars
o RULES:
 Democracy everywhere
 Conquered but with purpose of business = made allies
 Built roads that allowed transfer of goods and sickness that killed him too
o Ended quickly with the death of Alexander
 The generals of Persia, Greek, and Egypt fought with each other and
caused an overall weakening
 600 A.D.
o Rise of Julius Caesar from Rome, Italy where democracy continued to flourish too
o Roman Empire democracy flourished