Rome #2

• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/index.htm
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/
• http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/

The following three sources are very hepful when doing research about Rome.  All of these sites possess both pictures and explanations that describe what was going on during this time period.  Also inside of each website there are other links that may lead you to other informational sources as well.  Each of the individual sources is from a reliable site in which you can receive accurate facts instead of things people just posted on the interenet on their own.  In conclusion i would advise anyone doing studies on Rome to begin with these sources to set you off on the right foot.

Rome #1

1. Forum was the center of all government business
2. Farmers and workers who made up the majority of the population were called plebeians.
3. Landowners who controlled the government through inherited positions were called patricians.
4. Dictator had absolute power.
5. The Chief executives who governed with the advice of the Senate were he consuls.
6. Carthage a powerful city on the north African coast, was a great commerical power that Rome feared would control the Mediterranean.
7. Historians call the conflicts between Carthage and Rome the Punic Wars.
8. Rome and Carthage fought three Punic Wars between 264 B.C and 146 B.C.
9. One of the greatest generals of all time Hannibal  a Carthaginian, assembled a huge army and harried the Roman countryside for years.
10.  In the Second Punic War, the Roman general Scipio defeated the Hannibal and his army and forced Carthage to give up its colonies in Spain.
11. Marc Anthony helped Octavian gain control of the west, but he betrayed me and defeated me at Actium.
12. Triumverate means ruler of three.
13. Pax Romana was a period of peace that lasted for more than 200 years.
14. Julius Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon and declared war on the Republic.
15. The gracchi were brothers who attempted to save the Roman Republic through reforms.
16. As a result of this extended peace, the Romans made great cultural advances.
17. The government passed new laws as needed and judges reinterpreted old laws to fit new circumstances.
18. Growing trade, good transportation, a strong government, revised laws, and a strong army all helped to unify and strengthen the Roman Empire.
19. Over time, Roman religious beliefs were increasingly influenced by Greek thought.
20. Gladiators were trained fighters and their fights most often ended in death.
21. Rabbis were Jewish scholars who interpreted scriptures and were learned in Jewish laws, and became the leaders of Jewish congregations.
22. The Romans sacked the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem and destroyed all but the western wall of the Second Temple.
23. Many people turned to Christianity in the times of trouble that followed the reign of the Five Good Emperors, and soon the sect became too large for the government to punish all its members.
24. The emperor Hadrian banned all Jews from Jerusalem, which resulted in Jewish communities outside of Jerusalem.
25. Soon after his trial, Jesus was crucified.
26. Inflation was  a rise in prices caused by a decrease in the value of money, became so severe that people stopped using money.
27. The emperor Diocletian thought the empire had grown too large for one emperor and appointed a co-emperor to rule the West.
28. In A.D. 324, Constantine became the sole emperor again and built a beautiful capital city in the East.
29. Although Diocletian and Constantine held the empire's borders, invaders from Germany were a constant threat as they fled from the Huns.
30. The Vandals a Germanic tribe, proved to be a serious threat and sacked Rome around A.D. 455.

Greek #5

Greek Contributions:

1. Democracy
2. Olympic Games
3. Philosophy
4. Architecture
5. Myths

Athens is said to be the birthplace of democracy and this is an important historical contribution because it lead to a more balanced form a government rather than just having one ruler.  The Olympic Games were another major contribituion because now we hold this major sporting event every four years where the best athletes across the world compete to become victorious.  Great minds lik Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle were the first to really philosophize and question life and its virtues.  Greeks were great architects and were able to create grand buildings such as The Colliseum.  Myths were told as they used stories to explain nature and how their gods held control on earth.

Greek #4

I chose this picture as the cover for the Greek chapter because it emphasizes their beliefs in how important the Gods were to them.  Greek life is based on the stories of various Gods who were said to control some portion of the world and how it works.  People during this time period acted accordingly to prevent from angering the gods by doing wrong.  This picture portrays this theme by depicting the Gods as strong and mighty individuals.

Greek #2

     Sparta and Athens were two major cities in Ancient Greece.  Sparta was ruled by two kings who held office until death or until they were forced out.  Athens was ruled by archons who were voted into office annually hence why they claim to be the birthplace of democracy.  Sparta was a very millitaristic culture in which boys were raised to be soldiers and girls were taught to be wives who maintained the home.  War was a big focal point for the Spartans.  On the other hand Athens allowed their people more freedom by allowing them the chance to be in the millitary but it was not forced upon boys or men.  Athenian boys were allowed the oppurtunity to pursue getting an education.  Spartans served as a major protector of Greek lands.  They eventually went to war because they had difffering opinions on how to interact with other cultures.
     If i was alive during this time period i would have chosen to live under the Spartan rule.  Although I believe education is important during this era war was a reoccuring theme so it was important to be well trained.  Growing up in Sparta would have taught me to be a good warrior and how to protect myself in the face of danger.  Also i do not think it is neccesary to be in control of all other cultures around me so i would be fine with the Spartan philosophy of keeping to myself and helping when needed.


http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/athenssparta.htm

Greek #3

 Family Tree

                     Uranus = Gaea
                             |
           ---------------------------------------
           |      |          |      |        |
         Cronus = Rhea       Coeus = Phoebe   Oceanus = Tethys
               |                  |                  |
   ----------------------        Leto = Zeus       Iapetus
   |   |    |     |   |              |               |
 Hestia | Poseidon | Demeter=Zeus     |         ----------------
     Hades   Zeus = Hera   |       |        |      |       |
               |   |   Persephone     |         | Prometheus|
           Athena |             ---------      |             |
                   |             |      |    Atlas   Epimetheus           ---------------     Apollo Artemis |          |
           |     |       |                       |         |
         Aris Hebe Hephaestus             Zeus=Maia  Zeus=Dione
                                                 |         |
                                               Hermes   Aphrodite

Greek #1

1. People first lived in Greece about 55,000 years ago.
2. Some of the frescoes show the Minoans worshipping a bull and an Earth goddess.
3. In Knossos, the Minoans built a great civilization.
4. In about 1628 B.C., a volcano erupted on an island near Crete and tidal waves caused by the eruption destroyed settlements on Crete.
5. The Mycenaeans controlled mainland Greece from about 1600 B.C. to about 1200 B.C.
6. Greeks would often travel to oracles to ask questions about the future.
7. Athens developed a form of democracy when the idea of popular government, or the idea that people can and should rule themselves, began to take root.
8. We do not really know who the author or authors of the two epic poems attributed to Homer were; however, the period described is often called the Homeric Age.
9. The Greeks created myths to explain their world.
10. The Olympics were probably held for the first time in 776 B.C. to honor the god Zeus.
11.  Helots made up the third and lowest group in Spartan society.
12. Ephors were elected from the Spartan assembly, which included all male citizens over 30 years old.
13. Sparta's goal was to make every adult male citizen part of the military machine.
14. Draco's laws were so harsh and severe that today we call a harsh law a Draconian law.
15. Solon also made changes in Athenian government; for example, he set up citizen juries to preside over some court cases.
16. Trade was the mainstay of Athen's economy.
17. Terracing means carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides
18. Parents arranged marriages and often girls were married at 13 or 14 to men twice their age or older.
19. Generally, most Athenians believed that money should be spent on buildings to benefit the whole community, and not on private homes.
20. Men called Sophists opened schools for older boys in the 400s B.C.
21. Persian War series of conflicts between Greece and Persia lasted from about 500 B.C. to 479 B.C.
22. Pericles was a great general, orator, and statesman in Athens, and was responsible for building the Parthenon and the Acropolis.
23. Sparta won Pelopponesian War after 27 years.
24. Thucydides authored a book titled the History of the Peloponnesian Wars.
25. Athens was the leader of the Delian League.