3-25-11

  Today in class we didn't really do anything. Mr. Schick gave us back all of our past tests and briefly discussed our projects. Then he just gave us donuts and everybody talked about really random things, but it was probably the best Western Civ class we have ever had. We definitely have interesting people in our class. The grades for the 3rd quarter do end today though and now we are off for spring break. This week's blog post is the last grade for the 3rd quarter, and the 4th quarter starts the day we come back from break.

3-24-11

  Today in class Mr. Schick went over yesterday's quiz with us. Brynly and Kevin got A's just like me, and our class average was a 75. We all were allowed to keep the quiz papers, so we wrote down the answers on them to help us later for finals. Then Mr. Schick gave us a project to do over spring break. It's due the day we come back, April 3rd. We picked our topics today in class, and mine was the Golden Age/Age of Pericles. I'm planning to just be original with my project by doing a PowerPoint Presentation although we are allowed to do a variety of different presentations.

3-23-11

  Today in class we took a quiz on ancient Greece. Tomorrow we will continue watching the movie and taking notes. It was fairly easy, but it took me awhile because I have so many notes on my blog (I'm going to try and cut my posts down some from now on). I was pretty worried about not finishing, but it was ok because Mr. Schick let me come right after school to finish it. It was definitely worth it though, because I got an A! Now the last grade for the 3rd quarter will be for our weekly blog posts. Hopefully, good grades on these two final things will push me out of a B+ to a 90, an A.

3-22-11

It's a Tuesday, so there is no Western Civ class. Tomorrow we might have a quiz before the 3rd quarter grades end.

3-21-11

  Pericles was the leader of Athens at the height of it's power. He was born in one of Athens's most elite families. He knew that the people wanted a city built to fit an empire. He created a Parthenon, a enormous building with a statue of Athena in the center. It cost more $1 billion and used than 20,000 tons of marble. The statue of Athena was very tall and made of gold, silver, and ivory with jewels. Friezes were narrow pieces of marble about 2/3 inches thick. This statue is no longer in existence. There was a wall of carved marble on the outside.

  Aspasia was the 2nd wife of Pericles. She was smart, well spoken, and beautiful, but she was pretty much a prostitute. She wasn't from Athens, but was allowed to participate in actual conversations. This sparked a lot of drama in Athens.

  The home of popular entertainment was the theater. Athenians invented drama and theater. There were two types of plays: drama and comedy. The drama plays were typically called tragedies. Theaters were built in every great city.

  Pericles wanted to make Athens the leader of the Mediterranean. Sparta was the only other Greek state that could still match Athens in power. Victory over Sparta would make them the undisputed leader. Huberis is a Greek word that means an excessive pride and arrogance to be the best and do it all. The Athenians were not one to turn down a fight, so they went to fight Sparta.

3-18-11

 Today in class we still took notes on this same movie. 

  Before democracy, nobody would even think about a common person who did not grow up an aristocrat. Themistocles was one of Athens's greatest leader. He formed a strategy involving the trireme-a state of the art ancient ship It was very narrow and sort of used like a missile. 170 men were on this boat at one time, and there was over 200 of these in their navy. This ship had a unique structure that was very useful for fighting. One shot to the enemy's boat with this could take out another ship. However, they were very expensive. Athens would have never gotten them, but in 331 B.C. Athens found 100 talents of gold. The people wanted to use these riches to divide among themselves, but Themistocles wanted to buy ships with it. 

  Darius died in 486 B.C., and his son Xerxes took over. He was a Persian king. He wanted to get revenge on Athens once and for all. He got troops from every corner of his empire. Word got to Greece that this would be occurring. In 480 B.C., the Persian Army set out for Greece. Xerxes was confident of victory. Panic gripped the city of Athens. An oracle is somebody who can communicate with the gods and foresee the future, so they went to Delphi to easy their tension. People came from all over the world to see Delphi. The Athenians asked what they could do to protect themselves, but the oracle told them that their future was doomed; it couldn't have been more negative. The people were upset by this because they thought that even the gods had dissented them. Themistocles did not panic. 

  Themistocles order for the people to meet at Slamamis and evacuate Athens. When the Persians got to the abandoned Greece, the went to the Acropolis and burnt it down along with their temples. Themistocles had a plan to fight the Persians on sea rather than land. He knew that Athens wouldn't win if they fought on land. He sent somebody into the Persian camp to put Xerxes into his trap, and it worked. The Persian navy was 4X the amount of the Athenians. Once the Persians got to Salamis, they knew that they had been tricked, seeing the Athenians lined up ready to fight. The Persians were too far in to turn around once they got here, so the Athenians took it to them, and showed no mercy. The Persians lost 200 ships in this battle. Athens was victorious. 

  The Delian league had become Athen's empire. It was a city for a vast trading network. It was like the New York city of our time. The Athenians had access to a privileged life. 

3-17-11

Today we started off class with watching a video about the tsunami in Japan, and then continued taking notes on the second half of the movie again.

  In the year 527 B.C. the tyrant Pisistratus died and his son Hippias took over. Pisistratus made friends with the commoners and cut back taxes. In 514 B.C. Hippias' brother was murdered. Hippias ordered new executions and became a even more brutal tyrant because of the way his brother died. Cliesthenes tried to overthrow Hippias for himself and his family. He thought this would be a great achievement. He was successful and Hippias was banned from Greece. By 510 B.C. Cleisthenes was one of the greatest heroes.

  In 776 B.C. the Olympic games were created. It was a change for any Greek to show his heroic ability. Chariot racing, running, and wrestling were the common games. About 40,000 Greeks would gather to watch. At first, only the rich people could particiate, but soon after every male was allowed to play.

  Isagoris was another Athenin aristocrat. He knew he couldn't gain power on his own so he turned outside of Athens for support, to Sparta. He was an old friend of theirs. It was clear he was going to turn Athens into a Spartan state. He ruled from a high point in the city. The first targets were the other aristocrats, Cliesthenes most of all. Athens was rocked by a revolt from the people against Isagoris. He and the Spartans had to blockade themselves on the top of the Acropolis, but even then they couldn't escape the Athenians. It took him three days to finally surrender. This is the first time the common people overthrew their ruler. 508 B.C. was Athens first step to power and glory.

  When Cliesthenes returned to Athens, he had to create a government system that would be beneficial for the future of the Athenians. In the shadow of the Acropolis, the people of Athens could gather to discuss their government. Every 9 days the people would gather and discuss the changes to Athens. This varied from the price of figs and the building of roads. This was the first time democracy was done. When everybody voted, different colored rock would be put into a jar. A white rock is yes and a black rock is no.Every common person could now voice their opinion and make a difference.  

  Pheideppedes quest was not for glory, but survival. In the early 5th century, the Persians were the greatest Empire. Now Athens were gaining power and the Persians wanted to destroy them. For Pheideppedes and the Athens it would mean destruction of their entire way of life. News of the invasion of Greece by the Persians spread like wildfire. Greece didn't really have an army. The hop lites were the closest thing they had to an army. The rest of the warriors for Greece were common Athenian men. However, they were outnumbered 2 to 1.

  Pheideppedes ran 140 miles in just 2 days and the help he was seeking was denied from Sparta. This meant the Athenians would have to go into this alone. He never imagined that the Greeks would win against the Persians, but they did. The Athenins killed over 6,000 Persians in one day.

3-16-11

Today in class we watched the same movie about Ancient Greece to take more notes on.

 The people turned on their leader Cleisthenes in 508 B.C. in Greece and made a government for themselves. He was not a man of the people. An aristocrat is a member of the ruling class, and from an early age that's what he was said to be. Acropolis is the name of the big outcropping where Greece is. This was a really good place for a village because they could see their enemies coming for them from a distance. Life expectancy at birth was about 15 years at this time. The cirizens were slaves, but they might as well have been because they didn't have a lot of money. They were considered to be the "middle class".

  Egypt and Persia were the thriving civilizations. Greece was divided into city states because of all of the mountains, each with it's own culture. They didn't always get along. They would fight over trade dollars and mess with each other.The Corinthians dominated Greek trade. The state that had military power and were a threat to Greece was Sparta. Their lives centered around war and they had few possessions. Their cloaks were read to conceal their enemy's blood. Arate is the theory of doing the absolute best you can and taking pride in it. The Iliad (a story of the Trojan War) and the Odyssey were the most inspiring stories back then composed by Homer. Heroes were terrific achieves, determined to achieve success at all times. A tyrant was a person who overthrew the government.

  Pisistratus was Cleisthenes' brother-in-law. He was very intelligent and wanted to have power over Greece. He turned to the common Athenians and then rose to power. The eastern Mediterrean was the greatest markplace of the world. Everybody we willing to trade for Athenian oil. People traded gold, silver, fish, and other items for all around. The Athenian potters took great pride in their work, even though they weren't high in society.

3-15-11

Since today is a Tuesday, there is no Western Civ class for my section.

3-14-11

  Today in class we reviewed the notes we took we learned on Friday and took some new ones. "Crucible of Civilization" was the name of the movie we watched. A crucible is a vessel made of material that doesn't melt easily, it was used for touching items of high temperatures. The Greeks were a "crucible" of civilization because powerful, social, political, and intellectual powers came together. Nobody did what the Greeks did before they came along.

  Cleisthenes was born an aristocrat. If your an aristocrat, your money gets passed down from one generation to the next. He let other people help him make decisions, and to helped spread the wealth for all of the people. He was always inspired by ancient Greek stories. Any of the stories that needed to be told back around 700 B.C. were told by word of mouth. The most famous poems the Iliad and Odyssey were written by Homer.

  Greece was a mountainous peninsula. It was hard to get around from one place to another. The mountains were about 6/7,000 feet and really rocky. They covered 3/4 of Greece. There are approximately 1,400 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas. It's location shaped it's culture. A lot of people who lived here were very skilled sailors.

  However, they had poor natural resources. It was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain; they developed small, independent communities. Only about 20% of the land was suitable for farming. Fertile valleys cover 1/4 of the peninsula. Due to their geography, the Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, and olives. Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization. Temperatures range from 48 degrees in the winter to 80 degrees in the summer. This made them year-round active people.

  Mycenaeans began around 2,000 B.C. Mycenae is located in a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 ft. thick wall. Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1,600-1,200 B.C. and they controlled trade in the region. In 1,400 B.C. Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language. Around 1,200 B.C., sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt down palace after palace. The Dorians moved into the war-torn region. It was far less advanced, their economy collapsed, and writing disappeared for 400 years when the Dorians were in charge.

  Homer lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Ages". He recored stories of the Trojn War in the Iliad and Odyssey (at about 750-700 B.C.) . The Trojan War was probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans. Arete means virtue and excellence. Epics are narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds. Myths were created to explain creation. Zeus is the leader of the gods, Hera is Zeus' wife, and Athena is the goddess of wisdom.

3-11-11

Today in class we watched and took notes on a video about Ancient Greece while Mr. Schick was away on the Senior Retreat.

  Clystinese was the ruler of Greece. Born around 570 B.C. From his earliest days he was taught that he was an aristocrat and a ruler. Athens was built around bare rock, and was home to farmers and tradesmen. There was no science or modern medicine and reading and writing were very rare. The life expectancy was under 15 years old. The common Athenians were unfairly controlled by the aristocrats.  At this time, it didn't seem like they would be a great imperial empire. The Corinthians dominated Greek trade. 

  The state with military power that looked like they would dominate over all was Sparta. All Spartans had red capes to show off their enemy's blood. The Spartans were always a threat to the Greeks. The Iliad and Odyssey written by Homer were the two most important stories back then. Clystinese wasn't the only one to take those stories to heart. Greece is bounded by the Persian Empire, Egypt, and the Romans. You were considered more of a hero the more you killed men and deflowered women. 

  The eastern Mediterranean  was the greatest market in the world to trade. Good flew in and out of the Athenian harbor. Potters were considered the lowest of the low; no respect. They made incredible designs and patterns but potters still received no popularity. Clystinese died around 524 B.C. so his son Hippyas took over. Once his brother was killed, the tyrants became much worse in attitude knowing that he wasn't at all happy. 

  The first Oylmpics games were made in 776 B.C. They were created to prove who was a true hero. The sports included running and chariot racing. People from all over came to see these games. The old rule for battle was to get what you can and fight to show that you can win. The Athenin people decided to take their future into their own hands and started a revolution in 508 B.C. This was Athens first step to power and glory. The people had turned on their rulers and made power for themselves. 

3-10-11

  Today in class we went through our slideshow with our created slides. We spent the entire class referring from Mr. Schick's book to our slides, learning more about the Persian wars. Mr. Schick told us that he would not be in class tomorrow, due to him going on the Senior Retreat. He will leave us with a sub who will put in a movie for us to watch about ancient Greece. We are to take notes during the movie and then post them to our blog later for homework. Mr. Schick will probably be back on Monday so we will go over more about it then.

3-9-11

  Today in class Mr. Schick started out by reading a little piece of a book about the Persians and Spartans to us. Then we all got a number and then used it to receive our assignment topics. Everybody then started one their one to two slides about their topic, which was put on Google Docs so they are all together. If we didn't finish, we were to finish it for homework since it's due tomorrow. My topic was on Leonidas, a 5th century military Spartan king.

3-8-11

Today is a Tuesday, so no class again. We will we starting a brand new unit tomorrow.

3-7-11

  Today in class we took our test on ancient Egypt. The test was composed of 20 multiple choice questions, three short answers, and we had to pick one essay to do. Our test took up the entire class, so there are no notes to post. There is no Western Civ class tomorrow. On Wednesday, we will probably start a new unit.

3-4-11

The test for our class is on Monday, March 7, 2011. So today in class we finished up reviewing everything we need to know for our test. 


  We mainly talked about what drives Egypt's economy. This includes tourism, oil, natural gas and manufacturing. With agriculture, the Egyptians were making the most of their arable land (3%) by producing cotton, rice, wheat, and fava beans. The dam controlled the flooding of the Nile and increased the amount of reclaimed land. The old pattern of dealing with the Nile (inundation), peret (land emerges from the flood), and shomu (water is short) has changed since the 1970 building of the Aswan High Dam.  


 Egypt has 79 million people; biggest population of Middle Eastern nations. It's also the 3rd biggest African country behind Nigeria and Ethiopia. Their official language is Arabic and 90% of the people are Muslim but most of the rest are Christian. Egypt is ranked 12th in religious violence; 5th worst for religious freedom.   

3-3-11

  Today in class we did some more review for our test. Soldiers used wooden weapons (bow & arrows) with bronze tips and might have rode chariots. The upper class were known as the "white kilt class" and they were priests, doctors, and engineers. Pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding many titles such as "Lord of the Two Lands". The pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. He owned all land, made up taxes, etc. Hatshepsut was a woman who served as pharaoh, and Cleopatra VII also served as pharaoh, but much later (51-30 BC). 

3-2-11

  Today in class we reviewed notes about Ancient Egypt. Mr. Schick told us that we are having a test on Monday, March 7, 2011.

 Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River. It is located near the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. They used it for multiple things such as drinking water, transportation, irrigating, and for bathing. The Egyptians were probably the first people in the world to invent a boat and a sail. The Nile flows North (only in the river in the world that does) and every July it floods, then every October it leaves behind rich soil. Managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation. The Egyptians probably the first people in the world to have a calendar (or a good track of time)in order to be able to know when the floods where coming. 

  Slaves/Servants helped the wealthy with household and child raising duties. Farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions and benefited from irrigation from the Nile. Artisans/Craftsmen carved statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes in the afterlife. The money/barter system was used; merchants might accept bags of grain for payment, but later coinage came about. Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry describing anatomy and medical treatments; they wrote in hieroglyphic and in hieratic.  

  The Great Sphinx of Giza was built 2555/2532 B.C. The structure is a recumbent lion with a human's head. 

The oldest monumental statue in the world still in existence and good shape.  

3/1/11

Today is a Tuesday and there is no Western Civ class on Tuesdays.