HIS 101
Unit 4: Classical Greece
A
slightly
different view of the Parthenon, showing the ongoing reconstruction
efforts. The Parthenon was the Greek temple built to honor the
goddess Athena, patron of the city of Athens, on the Acropolis
overlooking the city.
As you can see from this photo, there is really not that much that
survives from the once fabulous
temple. The roof and most of the interior were lost in 1687
when a Turkish ammunition dump inside the building exploded during an attack
by Venetian forces. Then in the late nineteenth century, Lord
Elgin removed most of the remaining sculptural friezes and took them
back to England where they were (and still are) displayed in the British Museum, a
surviving remnant of British imperialism.
Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BCE on the
initiative of Pericles, the great leader of classical Athens, who wanted to remake Athens into a glorious
city. Over the centuries, the Parthenon has also served as a
Christian church and an Islamic
mosque.
What you
must do in this unit
What you can do in this unit
- Two online videos by Professor Sheda Vasseghi, NVCC, on Cyrus and the Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE)
- Jonathan Hagos, a student in HIS 111, created this story map illustrating the military campaigns of Alexander the Great.
- Listen to some further information about this unit
as a mp3 file. You can also read the information as
a txt file. There is also information about the Ancient Hebrews, mp3 file or txt.
- Read the remarks by Professor Blois about the fires that swept through Greece and threatened Athens in the summer of 2009.
Some videos that you can watch for this unit
Extra Credit Options
- For up to 25 points of extra credit, read Plato's Allegory of the Cave and write a one-page paper in which you explain, in your own words, the
allegory and indicate why it is important. Here are two videos, one animated, and one not animated, dealing with the allegory.
- For up to 25 points of extra credit, read the documents
associated with the Trial of Socrates,
including Plato's Apology and, in a one-page
paper (maybe two pages), note and explain the main points of Socrates' defense.
- For up to 10 points of extra credit,you may choose to do an extra credit assignment
on the Melian Dialogue (also here). In the "Dialogue," the Ancient Greek historian
Thucydides reconstructed the negotiations that took place between the
Athenians, who wanted to annex the island city-state of Melos, and the
Melians, who wished to remain neutral and not get involved in the
war between Athens and Sparta. In 416 BCE, after discussions failed to
reach an agreement, the Athenians
invaded Melos and enslaved the inhabitants of the island. The representatives of
Melos argued for neutrality; Athens asserted that neutrality was just not good enough and
that Athens had a right, and duty, to assert its power. Sound familiar? The
"Melian Dialogue" remains a stunning example of how stronger
nations/countries/societies manipulate ideas of
justice and natural rights to achieve their own political ends. In
a one-page paper, assess the relevance of some of the issues touched on in
the "Dialogue" to recent (last 25 years) international politics.
- For up to 10 points of extra credit, you may also choose to do an extra credit assignment
on Thucydides.
- For up to 10 points of extra credit, read some of Aristotle's comments on democracy (from his Politics), and
summarize his views on democracy and the polis in a long paragraph.
- For extra credit, please suggest a
relevant website for this unit of the course. Send your instructor the title of the site, the URL and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied this unit.
Unit Learning Objectives
- Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to (1) explain the development of Athenian democracy, (2) summarize the key features of democratic practice in Ancient Athens and (3) analyze a historical primary source.
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