Roman Republic BBC

Listening to the broadcast about the Roman Republic shows how Rome came to be. It all started with the Monarchy that had a tight hold on the freedom of all Romans, even aristocrats. I feel that the aristocrats in Rome really did not like having a monarchy anyway because they kicked out all leading family for the crime of one son. The people did not want one ruler, they wanted freedom and the rule to be distributed evenly, hence the Roman Republic. Under the Roman Republic came the great Roman Empire. Romans are very patriotic so with the power distributed evenly the people felt safe knowing that the officials in charge were watching out for them. They liked telling stories of great Roman heroes and conquests; the noblest way to die was for Rome in battle.

The Roman constitution was very helpful in so many times when it should have fallen. The Roman army or military was very well developed which is what helped them make their empire so large. The constitution is what helped make the military so strong. The military’s strong point was that the fighters were very patriotic and wanted to fight so badly for Rome. The rules of the republic gave the people the choice to go to war or not. All male citizens can be sent to war, but they were mostly motivated to go. The bigger the empire of Rome got, the bigger its military power.

Although the Republic did not equal complete freedom, it was the most freedom they had in that period of history.

Although all of the foreign countries that joined the Republic were taken over by Rome, becoming a Roman citizen seemed like a good thing to do. In the BBC interview, the woman even said that some countries wanted to gain Roman citizenship but did not want to just ask for it but would go to war so it would seem like it was forced on them.

As Rome spread and when things go through changes it is the norm for an adaption to be made, or reasons for the changes to be given. The high officials in Rome would always give an example in history where change has happened.

I liked that although Rome gained a lot of power from its military there was almost no weaponry allowed in the city of Rome. It reminds me of the phrase, “you don’t poop were you eat”.

Things started change between Pompey and Julius Caesar. Things changed because of people having too much power. The early Romans who created the republic were wise and knew that’s what would bring the fall of Rome. Since Rome was getting so big and taking on more people the armies were big and would be gone for a long time. The big armies needed big people in charge. The big armies would not have time to get back to Rome to vote so they generals got into politics also.

Alexander notes continued......

• Alexander went to Persepolis
• he met the the Persians at issus

• Alexander beat the Persians in this battle because they had put all their strength on one side and all their weak on one side. Darius gets away and is left for dead by his own people. Alexander went after the person who left Darius for dead. Why does he do this? He is now in charge of Persia and wants to get the people of Persia to like him by defeating the man who killed their king. He went east and as he went East took over everything. When he reached the sea he went West. While going west they are hit and attacked over and over again. He hears talk of other civilizations and wants to keep going but his men want to go home. He lets them. All of his men that originally came with him are dead all over Persia, his men have married Persian women. On their way back his friend dies and he becomes depressed. He drinks a lot and dies of sickness. He was around 32 years old when he died. When he dies his empire is split between his generals. The two basic areas that were split up were the Seleucid Empire, Eastern Part.

Persophone, goddess queen of the Underworld and of Spring Growth

Persephone goddess queen of the Underworld on Prezi

Struggle of Orders

In Rome there were social classes. There were Patricians and Plebeians. Patricians were Romans who owned land. Plebieans worked for the Patricians. Patricians had a lot of influence when it came to political power. The plebes on the other hand had absolutely no political power and could not hold any office or priesthood. They did not like it and thus the Struggle of Orders. When the Republic becomes more of a democracy the Plebes have freedom in politics.

citation: "Crown of Italy". Commons Wikimedia. Feb 24, 2010.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Crown_of_Italy.svg

Does Power Corrupt

Power is a very important thing in modern society and in history. It seems that even today gaining power is what we work for everyday. Students go to school to get an education and have a good job when they get older, that is a power. If you have a job one of the things you want to do is get a promotion. A promotion equals more power. Sometimes power can be good and sometimes it can be very bad. Gaining power can make or break a person; how you use power defines you. You can use power to help those below you or you can use it to keep yourself at your position by crushing those below you. According to Encarta Dictionaries power is three things. Power is the capacity to do something, strength, and control and influence. What makes power corrupt or not, is the control and influence it has. Everyone has their own views on whether or not power corrupts. The truth is power does not corrupt people, people and their personalities and thought processes corrupt people.
In history we see that our ancestors always strived for power. In fact according to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, stronger smarter animals or plants are the ones that live and reproduce, even the more powerful organisms live on. It seems that behind most of the horrible events in history we see someone striving for more power, once again.
One of the most powerful people in history it seems was Julius Caesar; he was killed by his closest peers because they thought he had too much power. Julius Caesar is considered a dictator, but not the bad kind because the Roman people loved him. The whole reason Julius Caesar even became “Caesar” was that Pompey, the consul in charge, was jealous of Caesar’s “power”. Pompey tried to get rid of Julius Caesar’s command in Gaul because without it he would be weak. This a common sense move because when one is without their strength or back up they are in fact powerless, which is what Pompey wanted. Caesar did not meet Pompey without his troops and Pompey ended up fleeing. Power is a very commanding thing. Pompey was corrupted by power because he let it go to his head that he would somehow lose that power. One could not say that he was paranoid because that how it was then and now, people seem to constantly want to take power.
“Julius Caesar appointed dictator for life in the winter of 45 B.C.”(Cheilik). According to Encarta Dictionaries a dictator is a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force. There it goes again, power. Caesar’s peers seemed to think appointing him as dictator was a mistake because Rome was supposed to be a republic because if one person had all the power, things would go wrong. Caesar was so powerful he changed the name of a month to Julius, now July, this is where power seems to corrupt people. Although it is good to have self-confidence power seems to heighten a person’s ego. Julius Caesar himself seemed to like abusing the power he already had. He could manipulate people to do what he wanted. In the play Julius Caesar written by Shakespeare, Shakespeare wrote of how Julius Caesar would blame any wrong he did on his falling sickness but wanted to be proclaimed as a god. Julius Caesar was not a bad man though, it is not possible that he would have gotten where he was if that was the case. Good things can be done with power. He fixed dishonest tax schemes, gave money to retired soldiers, and gave many people citizenship.
Power seems to be what people are constantly seeking. Power is controlling and can change people for the better or worse. Once again we look back at Julius Caesar. The reason he was killed before his time is because those that were close to him in position feared he would be name king. Well you might think, he’s already a dictator what’s so bad about being king? A king is the supreme ruler of a monarchy which is in charge of a country or state. If Julius Caesar became king then his son would be king and so on and so forth. This is not how the Roman Republic worked because the Roman Republic did not like to put anyone in particular in charge. In a republic officials are elected and therefore can be taken from their position. In a Monarchy for a king to be overthrown a lot of trouble must be gone through.
Another example in history where absolute power was a goal was in the case of Alexander the great and his country, Macedonia. Alexander had taken Macedonia and moved east. He helped the Greeks against Persia and took over the Persian Empire. Alexander is an example of someone who did well with their power. Although he was constantly on the prowl to increase his empire as his father could not he did not abuse his power. He would let the civilizations that he conquered continue on with their practice their culture and structure. He did not let power corrupt him because he did not have a corruptible personality. Sometimes with the power the problem is not being venal, but having a personality that does corrupt those around you. An example in history of a person who corrupts what is around them is Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was, here it goes again, a very powerful dictator. He is a great example of a person that is not corrupted by power. Power does not change people. Adolf was the way he was before he became the Fuhrer. The character Cassius from the Tragedy of Julius Caesar notes that even if you are good, you can still be influenced by things or people. If you are easily influenced you should stay in good company. “Noble minds keep ever with their likes.”(Shakespeare).
Power does not corrupt people, people and their personality corrupt people. The reason power does not corrupt is the sole fact that power does not make decisions for you. Although trying to get power or having it already may influence your decisions over anything it does not make the decision. There are many examples in history who did not let power debase them of their moral integrity. Even though power is a formidable thing, only you can make decisions for yourself.
Citation
Valentine, James W. "Natural Selection." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Shakespeare, William. No Fear Shakespeare; Julius Caesar. New York: Sparks Publishing, 2003.
Cheilik, Michael S. "Julius Caesar." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Encarta Dictionary.
"Alexander the Great." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Weinberg, Gerhard L. "Adolf Hitler." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
"Arm_flex." commons wikimedia. Web. 24 Feb 2010. .

Athens vs. THIS IS SPARTA!!

-480 B.C. Athens and Sparta defeated the Persians
-Athens came out on top, they had arts, religion, money
-hostilities erupted between Athens and Sparta
-battles on plains of Attica= neither side defeating the other
-the Athenians were stuck in the walls that were around their port
-plague breaks out in many of the Athenians who can't leave die, they cannot get any supplies
-Sparta leaves and Athens must bring itself back up
-Sparta had allies in Sicily
-Athens used their navy to go around Sparta and attack Sicily. Alcibiades was the person who came up with the idea Sicilian expedition
-right before they were going to leave someone committed mass Vandalism and Alcibiades's political enemies convinced everyone he did it
-Alcibiades and his ships left for Sicily before anything could happen
-while he is gone they have a trial against him without him there and he is found guilty and they send another boat to get him
-he refuses to do it and goes to SPARTA (uh-oh)
-when the Athenian fleet gets to Sicily, Sparta and Sicily are there and ready. The Athenian fleet is greatly defeated

Alexander!

-Alexander the Great was taught by Aristotle

-his father was King Philip the the King of Macedonia

-Philip gets assassinated when Alexander is 19, making him King

-Alexander goes to Greece and gets revenge on those who killed his father

-After this he does not really know what to do and decides to take over the world

-He tries to take Persia and succeeds, by around 25 he rules most of the world

-He goes to Troy, throws a spear and when it lands he says "With this Spear i conquer Persia"

-goes to Persian coast and defeats the Persians there

-Gordian Knot

-Alexander goes to Gordian. A huge knot is on a cart and it has so many ends you don't know where to start. Legend goes that whoever can undo the knot will become the conquerer of the world. Alexander hears the story decides to do it. Alexander chops the knot with his sword and says "it does not matter how you undo the knot"

-He goes to Egypt and is hailed as a king because they hate Persia

-he and his friends go to the Oasis of Siwa

Roman Republic=Today's Democracy?

In modern democracies there is no particular person in charge just like in Rome. A great example of a modern day democracies that resembles Rome's republic is the U.S. democracy. In Rome's republic there was a Senate that was made up of people representing different parts in Rome, in America we have a Senate that represents different states. Another thing that is similar is that citizens in Rome could elect officials just as citizens can today. In Roman politics they had a system of checks and balances just as the U.S. government has today. They would have many people having the same jobs and different jobs would keep an eye on each other. In Rome they did not just declare a man or woman guilty, there would be trials. In the U.S. a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Citation
Mellor, Ronald J. "Ancient Rome." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
"Balance_Justice." commons wikimedia. Web. 23 Feb 2010. .

biography on.....Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Socrates
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BC to 399 BC, he was born in Athens. He built a statue of the three Graces that stood in front of the Acropolis until 2 ad. The Three graces ate the three goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty(Graces). He fought against Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. He liked arguing better writing and would stand in market places for a lot of his time arguing with random people. He had a large influence on Plato. he was put to death in 399 B.C. because of being accused of corrupting the minds of the Athenian youth.
Plato
Plato is a Greek philosopher who lived from around 428 B.C. to 347 B.C. he like Socrates was born in Athens except his family was an aristocratic one. He at first wanted to get into politics but started to follow what Socrates did and became interested in seeking truth through questions and their answers. When Socrates was killed because of Athenian democracy in 399 B.C. Plato feared for his life and left Athens for a while. In the year 387 B.C. he established what is known as the first European University called the Academy.
Aristotle
Aristotle lived from 384 B.C. to 322 B.C. he was also a Greek Philosopher but he also studied science, since he was a scientist. Aristotle was born in Macedonia and when he was 17 came to study at the Academy, Plato's, in Athens. When he graduated he worked there as a teacher. After Plato's death he moved to Asia Minor where his friend, Hermias, was ruler. When the Persians killed Hermias, Aristotle moved back to Macedonia and taught Alexander the Great as a child. When Alexander became The Great, Aristotle moved to Athens and opened the Lyceum. When Alexander died and everyone in Athens did not like Macedonians anymore he left Athens and lived at a family estate until he died.
citation:"Graces (Greek goddesses)." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
"Socrates." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.Baird, Robert M. "Plato." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Brumbaugh, Robert S. "Aristotle." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008
"Anderson, Domenico." commons wikimedia. Web. 22 Feb 2010. .

"Herma ." commons wikimedia. Web. 22 Feb 2010. .

"aristotle ." commons wikimedia. Web. 22 Feb 2010. .

Notes from class GREEK

• the battle of Thermopalae and Salamis were the two very important battles in Greek vs Persian wars, if the battles turned out differently history would be completely different
• 1/4 of all Greeks lived in Athens.
• Acropolis of Greek
• at the base of the Acropolis is the sacred grove of Dionysus
• every year at the grove play writers would write three plays and they would all be performed and the winner would be announced
• the theater was called the theater of Dionysus
• After Thermopalae when the Persians burned down the acropolis the Greeks built Parthenon
• although the Greeks defeated Persia, they only made the Persian fleets head back to Persia and did not invade Persia
• Democracy
• if you were male in Greece you had to fight in war

A script for a skit about Persian wars from Persian p.o.v.

Two old Persian soldiers talking about their time in service to their country.

First: I find it a large shame that after fighting for so long, the Greeks have taken away our control over all the countries we worked so hard to control.

Second: yes it very true. I was looking forward to being able to relax on the Aegean sea without seeing it war torn, but now I cannot for fear that they will know I'm Persian.

First: That is one thing they can all unite with over there, hatred of us Persians. My father was alive when Cyrus the great brought Persia to its peak.

Second: As did mine. During the Civil war we fought side by side for Darius I and proved well.

First: Ah, I remember that war clearly. After Persia fixed herself and we took Khios, Samos, and Lesvos I believed we would have all of Greece. I did not think anything could stop us.

Second: Darius was truly great, he knew exactly how he wanted to take over Greece and the Agean, by taking over what surrounded it. I was there when we tried to capture Naxos, yet failed the Ionian Greeks were clearly outraged. For five years were fought!

First: Oh, comrade but clearly it was worth it since great Persia defeated them. I do not believe, though, that they would have won without the help of Athens by sea. Darius understood that taking over Greece would make Persia the empire it should be.

Second: If it were not for that horrible storm and a number our ships lost, Athens would have been ours, as would have been Greece.

First: True, true. But we defeated Eretria which gave us an easier way to Athens,

Second: Yes, I remember Marathon. The Athenians seemed to be alone at that time. I lost many of my comrades then. The general was a clever one I believe his name was Miltiades.

First: I did not know you fought there. I heard there were about10,000 of the Greek infantry against our great Persian Army, yet we were still defeated.

Second: A terrible defeat indeed. They would have been taught a lesson for Darius had a plan to overthrow them. I did not know the plan for I was a mere infantryman but I know it was great. If Egypt did not steal away Persia's eye from Greece we would still be the Persian Empire.

First: Darius was great but his son Xerxes, not so great. He was too war happy and power hungry.

Second: This is true, but at the same time he brought down Greece better. There were over 200,000 of us infantrymen ready to fight and 700 warships at least to fight Athens by sea.

First: But we did not fight Athens by sea.

Second: Not yet at least, remember the ships helped get us on foot to Greece faster.

First: Oh, Thermopylae. That was a great battle. I actually do wonder why the Greeks would attempt to fight us when there were so many of us and so little of them.

Second: They maybe thought since they did it before that their fancy plans could do it again. Under Xerxes our army was stronger. After defeating them, I cannot begin to describe my anger when we reached Athens. They cowardly Athenians had fled. In our anger we destroyed the city.

First: We should have been smarter than we were when going to Salamis, probably taking more small ships. As I watched the Persian ships get rammed over and over again, my heart sunk.

Second: As did mine after that it was all downhill.

citation: Sage, Michael. "Persian Wars." Microsoft Student 2009 (DVD). Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008

Athenian Theater influenced by Religion and Theatre

Religion in Athens was a part of every day life. The Greeks had statues and monuments toe the gods that they believed in. Religion even affected politics. Theater,was a form of entertainment and for the Athenians and because the Athenians had stories, or myths, to explain natural events and the like. As myths were their own type of entertainment theater grew from that as people could act out myths. Theater is actually dated back to the time of the religious festival. Greek tragedies alays seemed to do with the concept of morality problems between mortals and gods. The politics in Athens are very close with religion which is how theater is close to politics.
citation: "culture." commons wikimedia. Web. 19 Feb 2010. .

Is history created by 'the People' or the individuals? This seems like a fairly easy question to answer at first glance but you really have to think about it. An individual is a person by themselves, distinct from whatever group they are in connection with. An individual has their own opinions, deas, and actions. Every individual is in a group. Groups are formed because people with similar opinions and ideas tend to be drawn to each other. This means individuals are in groups because everyone in the group has similar thought processes. This can lead you to the belief that because of similar thought processes and ideas that history was really created by 'the People'. Now look at the question again; is history created by 'the People' or is history created by the individuals?
Well, what exactly would you call 'the people'? 'The people' is kind of like the term that was so famous in the late sixties and early seventies, 'the man'. They similarity between the two has to do with the fact that their definitions are quite broad. 'The man' pertains to those whose positions have to do with leadership. 'The People' refers to actual groups of people and civilizations. An example of 'the people' for groups could be something like Girl Scouts of America or the Nazi Political party. An example of 'the people' as the civilization would be the Egyptians or Persians. Certain groups and civilizations work within themselves to spread their beliefs and ideas to others who don't particularly have the same beliefs or ideas. This is how history can be changed by 'the people'.
Mankind would not be where it is today without more than one person. Groups of people have won wars, signed treaties, and come up with ideas. The Declaration of Independence is a major thing in history where you can pick out the individual from the group. John Hancock wrote the Declaration for the soon-to-be Americans, a group, and to make the independence happen, yet another group of people signed it.
An example in history where major changes were made by a group is World War II and the Nazi political group. The Nazi political party is also called the German Workers' Party. Individuals who were in the Nazi party or support it have united thought processes. In this case 'the people' are the Nazis, and the individuals are the persons who support the poltical party's ideas. History was changed greatly by the individual Hitler. The like ideas that they had are known today. They believed they were treated unfairly which many still believe today. Their ideas were that they were an Aryan society. Nazi ideal: in Nazi idealogy, a white person of non-Semetic descent regarded as racially superior(Encarta Dictionary), and that meant they were above all those who did not fit into that or agree with that idea. That was how the Nazis were as 'the People'. The 'individual' who strove to annihilate those who did not fit under the criteria was Hitler. Now of course one person cannot overthrow a government and single handedly kill thousands of people, but Hitler is the bigger 'individual'. This leads to the question of "what exactly is an individual?". This leads to the question of "what exactly is an individual?"
What is an 'individual'? An individual is a person, by themselves a way from a group. An individual is an entity by themselves; they have their own thoughts, ideas, and onions. Individuals can make their own decisions and do not have to coive their actions before commiting them. Behind every individual you will find a group. Since no one has the same exact views and convictions, separate individuals may have similar idealisms but they will not be the same because everyone has different life experiences. Taking another look back at the Nazi idealism we see that obstacles in life affect the individual, Hitler. It is believed that Hitler hated Jews so much because his father was one and his father was very cruel to him. Also he hated anyone that was not "Aryan" because of his experiences during the first World War. Although 'people' as groups can share experiences together individuals react to them by themselves.
Democracy is one of the best forms of government today and the idea to create and enforce democracy was aformed by an individual who created democracy was named Solon. He did not find it fair that people had to pay their debts by giving up things such as freedom. He was an indvidual whose life experiences and belifes led to him to create the history of democracy. He changed the way of government as an individual. Of course he did not enforce democracy by himself, but Solon came up with the idea and by relating his ideas to his fellow peers, he changed history.
The individuals that change history are not mild beings with big ideas. The individuals that change history are courageous people with great ideas and they are not scared to voice these notions or concepts. Most groups or civilizations have an individual leader, this leader may not always have complete power but they are what the groups look to in need. Pharaohs, Caesars, Emperors, and Presidents are the sole beings that rule such large groups of people that create history.
In history class you learn about the major groups in history, 'the people', but you pay more attention to 'the individuals' who influenced these groups. In the end it seems that history has been created by the individuals. Although civilizations such as Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Romans have basically created history such groups as these can be cut down to the single individuals that are a part of them. There is no such thing as a group without the individuals that make them up. A group is filled with people that all have the same ideas and beliefs, this definitely means that without the individuals and their beliefs there is no group. The 'individuals' are those that make up the 'people', and the 'people' are what they have created history over the centuries.

citation: "The Rise of Adolf Hitler." The History Place. 1996. The History Place, Web. 19 Feb 2010. .
"Propaganda ." USHMM. 2009. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Web. 19 Feb 2010. .
Microsoft Student
"Jubilee_crowd." commons wikimedia. Web. 19 Feb 2010. .

Was Athens really a 'democracy'?

Athens is said to be the birthplace of democracy, but as all things do, democracy has clearly come a long way. Democracy has changed so much to the point where one may wonder, "Was Athens really a 'democracy'?"
The officials in Athens created a governmental system far more top-quality than those of its peers, and because of this politics in Athens were easier. A democracy is a government of the people, where the people have the right to make changes in their government and there is no group or person who has more power, ever. When Athen's democracy first started the four tribes were split up into thirds and spread out, and the thirds split into over a hundred metropolises or towns. This way everyone was spread out evenly and could interact more with other towns.
The main problem with Athen's "democracy" is that the only people who had a voice in the government were the men. This is understandable as this democracy was formed around the fourth and fifth centuries and women did not get their suffrage rights till the 20th century. Another major difference is that just because you had an opinion did not mean that you would voice it, mostly the more courageous speakers would voice their opinions. Today if you voice your opinion and people do not like it a lot of people will dislike you, but back then if a lot of people disliked you they could vote to have you ostracized for a decade.
One thing that is similar to today if you want something to be discussed you can choose it and have a "representative". In America we have a Senate comprised of 2 senators from each state and a House of Representatives that are based on the population of a particular state. In Greece they had 500 men called the Boule which was comprised of 50 men from each tribe. They decided what to discuss.
One more large difference between Athens's democracy is that they actually approached religion in their government. In America's democracy we have subjects that are affected by our religious values and we have such things like "In God we Trust" but it was not as big as it was then.
So, I think that Athens had a democracy that was their time of history but as democracy is of the people, it is currently more of a DEMOCRACY.

"A Brief Outline of Athenian Democracy." History of Greece n. pag. Web. 18 Feb 2010. .
"in God we trust." commons wikimedia. Web. 18 Feb 2010. .

King Minos and his Minotaur.... notes

King Minos was said to have a Minotaur which he kept in a labrynth. King Minos was the king of Crete a and some Islands in the Agean sea. Pottery from the Minoan culture has a lot of pottery that has a lot of bull heads that relate to the Minotaur. After a while there is no trace of the Minoan culture. Theories that point to what happened to the Minoans is war, disease, or an earthquake. After they disappeared there was confusion as to who owned the Agean sea, the Myceneans took over. This started the Bronze Age.

The City of Mycean was more like a castle on the top of a hill. Below at the bottom of the hill was the burial grounds. The emblem of the Myceans was the Lion gate, the gate into Mycean has two lions on oppisite sides of a pillar. Around 1100 B.c. we lose track of Mycenae. This is called the dark period.

Around 900 B.c we enter the Geometric period. It is called this because of the type of pottery they had. The Greeks used great pieces of pottery that would tell stories, this pottery was used as grave markers. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/04/eusb/ho_14.130.14.htm. The geometric period lasted 200 years.

After this was the Archaic period meaning the Old period. 700-480 bc. Here the Greeks stopped using pottery as grave markers and started using statues of people. If you were a hero and you died in war, your grave marker would be like that. Dying in war was the greatest way to die to the Greeks and those who were great warriors and died in war have monuments built to them. The first Tyrant was Spartan called Lycurgus, he set up laws and made sure they were kept.

Persians ! :O

The Persians wanted to take over Greece, who is normally at war but they reunite against Persia. The Persians had defeated several of the Greek city states already and were coming to Athens, which if taken would be the end all for Greece. The battle of Thermopalae which is kind of like a valley. There were 7000 troops of Greeks blocking a path blocking the entire Persian Army. The fought there for three days, and every single Greek who fought there died. Athens was able to be evacuated by the time the Persians got to Athens. When the Persians got there they were angry and burned the Acropolis and destroy Athens. The Athenians who were in Salamis baited the Persians to Salamis. They took the bait and went to Salamis and were defeated by the Athenians and their allies. Battle at Salamis.

Olympics, then and now

The Ancient Greek Olympics differ greatly from Olympics today. Today there is more than one Olympic, winter and summer. The Olympics were started to unite all the different city-states, as it does today. Back then though, not all women could watch the Olympics as they do today. For a woman to watch the Olympics back then, they would have to be virgins, unmarried and without children. Although it is under dispute, the athletes who participated in the Ancient Olympics are thought to have competed in the nude. Like the Olympics today, in Ancient Greek Olympics, if a city state broke a rule such as cheating or bribery they would be banned from the Olympics. Also back then like today they would practice for a long time to compete in the Olympics. Another difference is that for the athletes back then one of the main reasons for competing was to prepare for war.

citation:

"Olympic rings." commons wikimedia. Web. 17 Feb 2010. . Instone, Dr. Stephen. "The Olympics: Ancient History vs Modern." BBC (2009): n. pag. Web. 17 Feb 2010. .

War is a form of technology

Is war a form of Technology? Some would argue that it is and some may argue that it is not. According to Encarta Dictionary the definition of technology is application of tools and methods: the study, development, and application of devices, machines, and techniques for manufacturing and productive processes. (Encarta Dictionaries) Just the definition of technology should prove that war is a form of technology. Don't see it? Well, in war officials on either side have to form plans so that they can win the war. They use their knowledge of war and of their oppisition as tools to produce their success. There are many different methods of battle also. If warfare is applying techniques, knowledge, and machines to manufacture something, success, than is it not basically technology?
citation: "Compter n screen." commons wikiemedia. Web. 5 Feb 2010. .

Aliens, lost people, and sacrifices. Oh My!

The Pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge are two of the seven wonders of the world. Their purpose of these two phenomenons are unknown which is what entices everyone the most. Another thing that grabs our attention is the fact that these monuments were built in a way that is so far ahead of their time it is just amazing. There are many speculations as to the the purpose of Stonehenge and The Great Pyramids.
The Pyramids at Giza are huge and breathtaking. The reason for them was originally thought as a burial place just like the others except when archaeologists took a peek inside there were absolutely no bodies found. Other things that made archaeologists think was the fact that there were no hieroglyphics that told which architect built the pyramid, as was the norm, and there was no cartouche, an oblong figure enclosing characters that represent the sovereign(dictionary.com), commemorating the pharaoh the pyramid was built for(Colavito, Jason). Some believe that the great pyramids were not even built by the Egyptians because it is not like any of the standard Egyptian pyramids. One conspiracy on this is that the Pyramids were built by a civilization before the time of the Egyptians. The conspiracy continues on that the Egyptians had figured this out and had opened the pyramids to learn a little about this civilization. Some believe that archaeologists forged some of the hieroglyphics so that it would look like the Egyptians built it, but historians noticed that the hieroglyphics are written incorrectly. This theory came from the archaeologists who went inside the Pyramids at Giza.
The Stonehenge is another puzzling marvel. The reason that it was built is also unknown. It was built over 5000 years ago. There is a stone archaeologists call the "slaughter stone" because it has pits that when filled with water always turn red. This is also the possibility of a chemical reaction. One of the weirdest things about The Stonehenge is the fact that it is made up of megaliths,A very large stone used in various prehistoric architectures or monumental styles(dictionary.com), which each way near 45 tons(Stonehenge Theories..). The megaliths had to have been carried there using man power and basic mechanisms. As if carrying them would be hard enough, the unknown people who built Stonehenge stood them up in a way were the giant stones still stand today. Some theories surrounding this are pretty weird. One is that Stonehenge was built by exra terrestrials as a marker when visiting earth. This one was thought up because of the difficulty of hauling the megaliths to their positions.


citation: Colavito, Jason. "Who Built the Great Pyramids?." Lost Civilizations Uncovered (2004): n. pag. Web. 5 Feb 2010. .
"Stonehenge Theories, Myths, Construction and Images." Mendak (2008): n. pag. Web. 5 Feb 2010. .
"Stonehenge_cloudy_sunset." commons wikiemedia. Web. 5 Feb 2010.
"Pyramide+Kheops." commons wikiemedia. Web. 5 Feb 2010.
"alien smily." commons wikiemedia. Web. 5 Feb 2010. .

Important or Unimportant?

What is important? The importance of something relies on a series of different things. These things include a person's knowledge, the circumstances, value, and the significance of that thing. Well first you have to think, what does important mean? The definition of important according Encarta Dictionary is having value or significance: worthy of note or consideration, especially for its interest, value, or relevance. There are many things that come to mind when you think of importance. The bare necessities of life are important. Water, food, and oxygen are important. The thing is you have to look beyond that. You have to look at how something and figure out how it will affect you, those around and you, and those connected to it. So the question is what exactly is important?
One of the main things that influence whether or not something is important is the way you view something. Your opinion affects what you do every day. Opinions in general are important, everyone has one. In certain trades or business, top spokespersons, or executives only care about opinions. The whole reason for ad campaigns is to swerve people's opinion to like a certain thing. An opinion is a personal view or take on an issue. Many obstacles that you come across in life will require an opinion. Different experiences in your everyday life shape your opinion. This is why people have different priorities, because they think different things are important.
Out of all the elements that decide if something is important or not is the knowledge a person holds. You make the best decisions when you know all the facts. Deciding that is important needs knowledge. For instance, in Egypt something that was very important to the Egyptians was magic and the afterlife. To the best of the Egyptians' knowledge they believed that after death their heart would be weighed and if it was heavy they would not go to the afterlife (Ancient Egyptian Religion). Their knowledge of the afterlife led them to deciding that living a rich life and not having a heavy heart at death is important.
Most of the time when you view someone's life for just a couple of minutes you can tell what is important to them. The circumstances surrounding our world influence just about everything. Archaeologists and historians could tell that the afterlife was important to ancient Egyptians by studying the Egyptians and their practices. The pyramids are something that comes to mind for anyone when thinking about Egypt. For instance, The Pyramids at Giza is called the mortuary city. The afterlife is clearly important because they built monuments surrounding it. The Egyptians felt that although their life on earth was important their afterlife had a higher significance. Another thing that they found important was magic. For ancient Egyptians, when anything went wrong they would visit magicians, or priests, charmers, or protection-makers were visited. For instance, if an Egyptian was having a lot of things go wrong in their life, they would blame it on a ghost or deity thus causing them to go to a wise woman. (Pinch, Geraldine) The circumstances surrounding anything prove its importance. The Egyptians felt the afterlife and magic was important so they would make their every day decisions from that.
There are about 6.6 billion people in the world. So many people die and so many people are born every day. Every single one of those people need things that will keep them alive for as long as possible. These things are what one would call, important. Water, food or nutrients, and air are all necessities of life. Without these mankind would be dead. In regions of the world, such as Africa, men, women, and children die avoidable deaths because they lack the necessities to life. In other cases things that are lacking are basic health care. In Haiti, an already poor country, there was an earthquake. The health care system in Haiti is not all that great and when the number of injured and dyingpeople grew, hospitals were bombarded with victims. If this was the case in a country like America the number of deaths would not be as high because we have a greater amount of hospitals. The fatalities in Haiti would not be higher if the total if they had a better health care system with things such as vaccines, badnages, wraps, and creams. If they had more personnel such as doctors and nurses, the doctors and nurses there would not be as stressed and do their work better. Also the ration of patients to doctor or nurse would not be as high. In this case the important thing for Haiti would be supplies. The gathering of more supplise has already been cosidered, the value of the supplies is very prominent, abd bears a great importance to the victims of the Haitian earthquake. This is they way you should look at things when trying to presume whether or not something has importance.
In history class there are thing s that you learn about several times from year to year. Sometimes you cannot help but wonder why you are getting taught something over and over again. Instances of these are The Revolution, World War 2, the Egyptians, and slavery. These events and events like these are what those who come up with curriculum for students find important. Have you ever just wondered why in elementary school you did not learn about the war of 1812, or the hostilities between Asian and Japan, or even the French and Indian war? These different subjects are more important to the countries they are based in because they affect their culture more. The Revoultion, Ancient Egypt, and slavery are occurences in history that have impacted the world as we know it today, the most. Mankind has learned from it smistakes that it has made in the pst. We have grown from what we have seen, done, and learned. There are important moments in history that have shaped mankind to be the way are today. The Revolutionary War is can be described as exactly it is called, revoultionary. This is an important subject because of its large significance and relevance. When something is revoltionary it is so new and different it causes a maj0r change. The major change was America breaking free from England. America is now one of the richest countries in the world, has a high immigration rate, and it helps many other countries.
To figure out if something is important there is a simple test you can use. Ask if it is relevant, valuable, or worthwhile. We all posses the power of deciding anything's importance. Ancienct man figured out the importance of things pterry easily and we use "the importance of something" every day when making decisions.

citation: "Ancient Egyptian Religion." Wikipedia. 4 February 2010. Wikipedia, Web. 4 Feb 2010. .
Pinch, Geraldine. "Ancient Egyptian Magic." BBC 5 November 2009: n. pag. Web. 4 Feb 2010. .
"Emblem-Important." commons wikiemedia. Web. 5 Feb 2010. .

Europe

In Mesopotamia the main monuments there were Ziggurats. In Egypt the main monuments were Pyramids. In Europe you have megaliths. There are two main types of megaliths, which means big rock, they are called dolmens and menhirs. Menhirs can stand along and dolmens are grouped together to make buildings. The people buried their dead in dolmens.

Egypt

• In Egypt is known officially as the Arabic Republic of Egypt
• The Pharaoh was in charging in flooding the Nile river so that it could fertilize the crops
• Pyramids
• pyramid of Djoser -Mastaba- a stepped pyramid, it has layers and each layer looks like a step. earliest pyramids are mastabas
• Dynastic
• middle period/intermediate period- 2150-2030 b.c. a political upheaval was occurring and the structure of older Egypt was changed.
• Middle Kingdom- 2030- 1640 b.c. After the upheaval Egypt went back to the way it was before, the only difference is they did not build monuments like the mortuary city of Giza
• second intermediate/ New kingdom- Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. Akhenaten introduced monotheism. He introduced one god called Aten a sun god.
• his son Tutankhamun died as a boy and when he died so did the new kingdom, and the influence of the Greek and Roman world changed Egypt
• Persian Invasion- the Persians invaded Egypt and conquered the dynasties. After Egypt kicked them out the Greeks came in. Alexander, who was Greek and hated Persians, came to Egypt and the Egyptians loved him there.

What is the oldest human-created artifact that has mattered to you? Why/how does it matter?

The oldest human-created artifact that I find important is the spear. Without the spear mankind would not be were it is today, but still developing. Stone Age man new that they without food they would die. The invention of the spear helped them to hunt and opened the way to more inventions like stone tools and such. With the invention of the spear, hunting became easier, food came faster, and there was more time for other things like advancing in culture. The first spear is dated back to 250,000 years ago. Humans not only used the spears for hunting but for war.
Stone Age men figured out that for war and hunting, the sharper the spear head and the stronger the arm, the more damage would occur. Thus archaeologists have found things such as dead bears that date back to about 250,000 years ago and forward, with sharper spear heads. (http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa89) From the spear came the bow and arrow, metal, and suits of Armour.
The invention of the bow and arrow has contributed to war and hunting today.
citation: "Stone Age Harpoon." Wikimedia commons. Web. 4 Feb 2010. .
Gascoigne, Bamber. “History of Arms and Armour” HistoryWorld. From 2001, ongoing.

Upper and Lower Egypt

• Lower Egypt is where the mouth of the Nile start, upper is where it thins out.
• Pyramids were covered in limestone because it reflected the suns and the Pharaohs buried inside them where the sun god reincarnated
• in an Egyptian culture from the old kingdom there is never a space between the legs
• there was a man, unsure if he was real or unreal, that brought upper Egypt and lower Egypt together by force.
• who built the pyramids?
• not the slaves! paid workers built the pyramids
• pyramids where called mortuary cities
• slaves maintained the mortuary cities by working in Egypt.
• the Egyptians believed that when you were buried your KA, or energy of the person, would hang around the pyramid until called to judgement
• judgement would be when the dead person meets with the god, the person's heart is measured against a feather. if they are equal then they can go to the after life.

Pyramids