Rafay's Western Civilization 2018

Today in Western Civilization we did a lot in an hour. We took a pop quiz which I believe I got a 90 on. We also had a 15 minute discussion about why we weren't allowed to take our notes on the computer. Finally, we did notes about the Revolt against Democracy. This involves Isagoras and Cleisthenes and the new form of government. Today in the U.S.A, we use similar government ideas that the Greeks used 3000 years ago. We didn't get through a lot in class today, but these are the notes I took today: Cleisthenes and Democracy Cleisthenes: member of the elite very rich insulated from the "hoi polloi" > not regular people but... a crafty politician Saw the value of tapping into the talents, intelligence, and energies of the non- aristocrats (the middle class citizens)  Too bad he didn't realize the value of women A New Form of Government citizens could participate but only 1/5 were citizens citizen in Athens- free adult male property o...

Today we talked about who controlled Greece and the amount of competition there was against each other to run for office. These are the notes I took today in class: Rules, Codes, and Laws Draco (621 BCE)  All Athenian (rich or poor) are equal under the law.   but death is the punishment for many crimes debt slavery is OK (work as a slave to repay debts)  Solon's reforms (594 BCE) outlaws debt slavery  all Athenian citizen can speak at the assembly any citizen can press charges against wrongdoers *Rich men could have a worse punishment, as for a poor person that commits the same crime.* Aretè- everything you do is amazing Agora- meeting place; came to sell and tell Eventually leading to... Cleisthenes more reforms (around 500 BCE) allowed all citizens to submit laws for debate at the assembly  created the Council of Five Hundred (members chosen at random, to counsel the assembly) slowly leading to democracy... but... only free...

Today during class, we talked about the different forms of Greek Government. It is really interesting how there government worked back then and the different people type of governments in the world today, and who uses that kind of government. Greece was all about the wine and the money, so the rich people would be the leaders. The following is the notes I took today. Some Essential Government Terms Polis: fundamental political unit, made up of a city, and the surrounding countryside.  politics (affairs of the cities), policy, political, etc. Monarchy: rule by a single person (a king, in Greece) Aristocracy: rule by a small group noble, very rich, landowning families Oligarchy: wealthy groups, dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help) Tyrant: powerful individuals who seized control by appealing to the common people for support Transformation of Government During the 6th and 7th centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in G...

Today we talked about Greece and Homer. Homer was a blind man who wrote the Illiad and the Odyssey. We heard 20 mins of the Odyssey and the story sounded very pleasant. Greek writing and there sense of story telling is very interesting. Ancient Greece is the Word Mesopotamia- T igris and Euphrates Rivers Egypt- Nile India- Indus China- Huang He Culture of the Mountain and the Sea Medi-   Middle Terranean- Land Middle of the Earth What bodies of water surround Greece? Aegean, Ionian, Adriatic Sea What large island is to south/southeast? Crete Peloponnesus- the land that barely connects Greece Greece Geography/ Significance Mountainous peninsula- 3/4 of Greece 2,000 islands > Ionian and Aegean Sea this combination shaped Greece's culture they had many skilled sailors and shipbuilders also farmers, metal workers, weavers, potters They had poor/limited natural resources, so they needed to trade It was difficult to unite Greek...

I could not make a valid blog today because I was sick.

Today in class, we continued on taking notes on Classical Greece. These are the following notes that continue on from last week's notes. THE TROJAN WAR 1200 BC: Mycenaeans fought a 10 year war with Troy  in Anatolia- independent trading city Greek army besieged and destroyed Try because a Trojan horse had kidnapped Helen (Greece's Queen) Trojan Horse: 1870- German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, suggested that stories about the Trojan Horse were true DORIANS- Greek Culture Declines Mycenaean civilization collapsed after the Trojan War 1200 BC: Sea raiders attacked and burned many Mycenaean cities Dorians  moved into the war-torn countryside spoke a dialect of Greek, may have been distant relatives of Bronze Age Greeks Less advanced than the Mycenaeans. Economy and trade collapsed after the arrival Greeks appeared to have lost the act of writing during the Dorian age No written record from 1100-700 BC-----Little is known EPICS OF HOMER ...

Yesterday in class we took notes on Classical Greece and learned about Greece's landscape and spent time on a brief amount of ancient civilizations. The following are my notes, but summarized: The Minoans lived on a large Greek island of Greece called Crete. Ancient Greece- made up of mountains and 2,000 islands. THE SEA Physical Geography shaped Greece Lived "around the sea" Seaways are important for transportation and trade routes. THE LAND Rugged Mountains covered about 3/4 of the land. 1/4 of fertile valleys Uneven terrain made transportation difficult Lack of farmland Few million people lived in a given time THE CLIMATE 3rd environmental influence Varied climate Men spent life outdoors > discussed public issues, news, and took part of civic life. MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATIONS DEVELOP Mycenaeans- people who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 BC Came from Mycenae Located in Southern Greece on a steep, rocky ridge, and...

Today was my first day of Western Civilization. So in the beginning of class, Mr. Schick said that the class contains of half new kids and half old kids, and I'm sure that I'm the one of the new kids. I've heard in earlier in the semester that we had to write blogs. I would always make fun of them they had extra homework and now I am the one writing it. While I'm typing this blog, it is getting easier for me and it can hopefully be my second nature. I don't know how many words is 150, but I'm guessing I am no where near close. Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we will get started on our first topic and hopefully I can get some notes written on my blog. I don't know that much about Western Civilization, so in this year I can learn more about Western Civilization like how I did with Human Geography with Mr. Fendryk. Hopefully this class will be an easy class to understand.