Progress on Essay

Today we realized we needed to get working on the essay.  We made huge progress in one class that was only 1 hour and 14 minutes.  We went from 143 words to 764, which is really great.  I'm really proud of the essay.  I finished it after school, and I'm happy how it turned out.  I'm pretty sure Mr. Schick is going to love it. 

Tomorrow we have a test, so I'm freaking out a little.  I watched the video and I have some notes from the PowerPoints that we saw plus Mr. Schick's PowerPoint, but I'm still nervous.  I'm sure I'll do fine.  I've learned a little about Greece in the past, and I can study today and tomorrow.

Also tomorrow is April Fools Day, so I have a feeling I'm going to get fooled a lot, especially by the teachers.  AND TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY UNTIL SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!  That's obviously exciting, since this has been somewhat of a stressful week.

Class 3-27

Today, there was a little bit of progress with the essay.  I still haven't written anything, but at least it's made.  I'll try to work on it over the weekend.  I'll make sure it's finished by Wednesday.

I watched the rest of the video today.  It had a lot of useful information that I can use to study for the test.  After I finished the video, I looked at the Google Slides Mr. Schick made us and studied a little more.  It was only a few minutes of class left, so I only went over a few slides.  I'm really preparing myself for the test so I can get a good starting grade for the quarter so I don't have to try and catch up towards the end of the year. 

Class 3-26

Today in class, we got a choice to watch the video "Greeks - Crucible of Civilization," study for the test that will be on April 1, or work on the 1000 word essay.  I decided to watch a little bit of the video to see if there was anything on my topic about gods and goddesses (and I didn't know where to start).  Since our topic is so broad, it might be a little hard to write it.  Maybe someone in my group will have an idea of how to write it.  1000 words seems like a lot.  I hope it's easier that it sounds.

The video was very interesting, and it definitely helped me for the test.  I feel like I will do well with the test.  I have to study a lot more. The video, unfortunately, did not help me with the essay as much.  I'm sure I'll find something on the topic to help me get started.

Last Presentations

The last presentations went today, my group being one of them.  Megan wasn't at school today, so Adam and I did it alone.  We went first because I had to leave early from class to escort people to the Spanish Placement Test.  Since I went first, I only took notes on the second group.  Here are the notes I took about aristocracy, tyranny, and democracy.

• form of government in which power is in the hands of a small, privileged class
• hereditary
• seized property of small landowners and made harsh laws for underclass
• Solon broke out against the law
• aristocrat rulers abused their power for themselves
• tyranny government arose in Greece during the mid 600s B.C.
• tyrants changed law: aided poor, canceled debts, gave citizens a say in government
• Hippias born 510 B.C.
• harsh ruler
• democracy born 508 B.C.
• ekklesia=executive
• first democratic institution
• boule: chosen by lots, not by elections
• end of democracy: 460 B.C.

Mr. Schick showed us a PowerPoint after that, but I didn't write any notes down.

More Presentations

I still haven't done my presentation yet.  I'll probably do it tomorrow.  I took some notes from the five presentations today.

The first presentation was on Pericles and the Golden Age:

• Pericles started his career in law courts
• born in 495 B.C.
• general, supporter, and speaker of the arts
• brought democracy to Athens
• passed laws that allowed the poor to attend plays
• had a costly strategy of seaborne attack
• plague hit Athens
• died in 429 B.C. from plague
• Golden Age started from 449-431 B.C.
• mainly grew around Athens
• Pericles uplifted people
• architecture and arts were built
• architecture built on acropolis
• sculptures started as stiff poses, but gradually became more lifelike
• tragedies and comedies
• plays written about 430 B.C.
• philosophers: Socrates, Plato
•  Peloponnesian War ended Golden Age

The next was about Hoplites and Triremes.  I went to the bathroom for the first half of their presentation, so I hope I didn't miss anything important.

• helmets protected head, neck, and face
• weapons: doru, xiphos
• hoplon: round shield; used to bash into other people
• breast plates
• greaves: shin guards; protect lower legs
• lokhor groups
• fought in ranks: phalanx formation
• up to the age of 60 -  called to war
• hoplites were organized into regiments
• triremes - had 3 banks of oars; fast and graceful
• large in size, but light enough for the crew to get on shore
• built by pine, fir, and other softwoods
• mostly used in Persian Ward\

After was a presentation about the Philosophers.

• Socrates lived in 470-399 B.C.
• Socratic method influenced scientific method
• disrespected the gods and corrupted the youth of Athens
• Aristotle disagreed with Plato's philosophical practices
• tutored Alexander the Great
• contributed to physics, biology, etc.
• Plato born 420 B.C.
• Socrates became mentor to Plato
• Republic - most influential work

The last presentation was about Art and Architecture.

• orders: doric, ionic, corinthian order
• doric: simplest
• ionic: recognized by it's capital
• looks more slender; usually taller
• corinthian: most decorative
• most modern
• makes the columns straight
• sculpture - huge part of Greek art
• major material: marble and bronze
• skill level went up during classical period
• hellenistic: peak of Greek sculpture

Presentations

In class, we started presenting.  Caitlyn, Trish and Rosemary went first.  Their presentation was about Athens, Sparta, and the Peloponnesian War.  I wrote a few notes from their presentation:

Athens

• capital of Greece
• Athenian diet: 2 meals a day
• light lunch
• Boys education: taught reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports, and gymnastics
• women's job mostly focused inside of the house
• weapons:
• Doru - spear
• Saurator - spearheads
•  Xiphos

Sparta

• women in class - unusual for Greece
• boys start learning to fight at age 7
•  men forced to be a soldier
• full-time soldiers until they were 60
• women had most freedom
• they were shared with other men - had babies with them
• wives were in charge
• had deadliest weapons
• mainly used spears, swords, and sheilds

Peloponnesian War

• started April 4, 431 B.C.
• ended April 25 , 404 B.C.
• Sparta won

Then, David, Steven, and Evan went.  Their project was about Homer.  Here are the notes I wrote:

• born in 800 B.C. in Smyrna, Turkey
• told stories about Trojan war
• brought Greeks out of "Dark Age"
• shaped Greek culture
• many think he didn't exist
• some think he is a single person; others think he was a group
• thought to be blind
• died around 701 B.C. - unknown how he died
• most famous poems: Illiad and Odyssey
• both over 1200 lines

Odyssey

• Odysseus spent 10 years getting home after he won the war
• Poseidon tried to get back at him for blinding his son
• he put different obstacles in Odysseus's way, like storms and cyclops

We didn't have any time to do any others.

More Greece Notes

In the beginning of class, someone hid Jayla's cup of soda, so we spent the first five minutes playing the hot and cold game.  After Jayla found her cup, she grabbed a Styrofoam sword and pointed it at Adam.  It was so funny!  We also went over the projects that are due tomorrow and the 1000 word essay due.

Anyway, here are the notes from today:

Next in line...

• with Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both were aristocrats) engaged in a power struggle
• Isagoras had support from some fellow aristocrats, plus from Sparta
• Cleisthenes had support of the majority of Athens

Isagoras wins! (but not for long)

• Isagoras becomes archon eponymous (tyrant)
• He ostracized Cleisthenes
• Cleisthenes's supporters - and the ordinary Athenian citizen - revolt against Isagoras's tyranny
• they trap Isagoras on the acropolis for two day - on the third day he fled and was banished in 508 B.C.**

Cleisthenes and Democracy

• Cleisthenes -  definitely a member of the elite
• very rich
• insulated from "hoi polloi" (common people)
• a crafty politician
• gave regular people a voice