Surprise Surprise!

Yesterday, we all got an e-mail saying that we are having a quiz on Greece today. Seemed easy enough. When the test was being handed out, it looked easy. Then I attempted at the quiz and realized I should have reviewed my Greek people a little better. In other words, I 'winged' the test. We also got SMARTIES because they make you smarter. (But not really). Should be interesting to hear how well we all did on it.  

Pericles and his Stupid Mistake

A man named Pericles brought democracy to its height in Greece. He was part of an elite family and knew what the people wanted. A city that was able to rule an empire. Ten years had passed since the war against Persia. The people decided that it was time to re-build their faithful city. The first project, a Parthenon in the center of the city. It was a temple for Athena, the city goddess.  It took 20,000 tons of marble and 15 years to complete the building. Not only were the Greeks skilled enough to build that. They also are proud owners of the world's first theatre. It sits atop the acropolis and was most likely one of the loudest because it could seat thousands of people. They Invented Drama and theatre. Pericles had to ruin all of this perfectness by coming up with the 'brilliant' idea of going to war with the most fearsome city-state, Sparta in 431 B.C.   

Isle of Salamis

Cleisthenes created the battleship of the time called a trireme. In 483 B.C. Athenians found silver and the price of silver helped build the boats. Meanwhile, Xerxes pledged to destroy Athens as 'revenge' for his father's defeat on account of Athens. In 480 B.C. the Persian army set out for Greece. There were over two million Persians. The people of Athens went to the Oracle. Which is someone that can see the future, Delphi is the most famous of these. Cleisthenes met with the other rulers of Greek city states to come up with a plan. They decided that with their new boats the safest and most effective way was to fight the Persians at sea. Evacuations were happening in Athens. (It was the first in history.) The people escaped to Salamis an island off the coast. This is also where the Greeks would fight the Persians; in the Isle of Salamis.

Thursday= Getting there

Thursday I was still sick, I caught up on homework and relaxed.

Wednesday= Boring

I wasn't in class on Wednesday because I was sick. In other words, I had a "minor case" of the stomach flu. Ew!

Wasn't in School

I attended a funeral.

The Change

The year was 508 B.C. when the common people turned on their leaders/ nobles. Before, freedom of speech was widespread in Hellis which is now called Greece. Athens was a small town then and not an ideal place to live because it was to hilly. Places like Egypt and Persia were 'blessed' by rivers and fertile lands. Greece was divided into city-states the three major city-states were Argos, Corinth, and Sparta. Spartans were brought up to be soldiers. with lives structured by war. The Spartans were a threat to the rest of Greece. The Spartans helped Isagaris take over power of Athens. But when the people rebelled in 508 B.C. they were powerless. 

What Greeks!

Today in class we went through a slideshow that we all made about Greece during the Peloponnesian war. We learned about the kings, great politicians, and wars. Back then, people put a lot of thought into their plans of attack. The Persians were masters of the land but Greeks had one of the best naval fleets in the world.    

Persia & Greece

Today in class we read a book about the war between Persia and Greece. This occurred before Christ. Persia was led by Xerxes a weird and cruel man. He had people build a bridge over a strait that was a mile wide. This was made by stringing boats together with rope. Greece on the other hand was assisted by Sparta the greatest power when it comes to warfare. The Spartans held them off until a traitor showed the Persians a way around the narrow pass.   

Important Times in Egypt

In 1922 was Egypt's end of protectorate with the United Kingdom. Followed by 1953 when Egypt declared a Republic. Then in 1954-1970 they were ruled by Gamal Nasser. Who nationalizes the Suez Canal, forms an allegiance with the Soviet Union (Russia) and is followed by Anwar Sadat. Sadat switches their allegiance to the United States and attacked Israel over Sinai Peninsula, but later made peace. Sadat was assassinated in 1981 when Mubarak came to office. He kept the alliance with the United States (helped in the Iraq war), was accused of corruption, political persecution, and human rights violations. He was driven from office after 30 years of serving and two weeks of violent protests against him.  

Stay out of it Greeks

The Greeks would tell people stories about the great pyramids and the treasures they held. People would go looking for these treasures; there was supposedly, glass that bent but didn’t break and things like that. (Even though this wasn't true.) The problem people ran into while looking for these none existent things was the door into the pyramid. It was set high up on the wall and matched everything so well it was almost impossible to find. Thus people created their own ways into the tomb. Egyptians also learned a lot about anatomy. Scribes kept records about everything that they learned about organs and the body. Their pharaoh was known to the people as a political and religious leader. His body was thought of as a god on earth.    

Geography/ Daily life/ Pharaohs/ Goddesses & gods/ Pyramids

Did you know that the Nile is the only river in the world to flow north? It was also used for farming, bathing, and drinking water.  During our month of July, it floods and in October it recedes leaving all this great soil and nutrient. The people that lived around the river were and are mainly Egyptians. They were the first people to have a calendar as far as we know. The sphinxes were one of their many creations. They have lion’s bodies and the heads of people. It is the oldest monumental statue in the world. They also had two types of pyramids. One was what they would use as tombs for pharaohs. And the other was the pyramid that showed the hierarchy of Egypt. It went like this: Pharaohs, Government officials, nobles/ priests, Soldiers, Scribes, Merchants, Artisans, Farmers, Slaves & servants. Slaves back then were not treated as badly as we treated slaves in America. Egyptians were also the first people to think that something happened to you after you die. (As in an afterlife.)