Mr. Schick is giving us this weird commercial thing. i'm pretty excited about it and i can't wait to see how mine and everyone else's turns out.

Mr. Darrington

Today we had Devin teach the class and i really enjoyed having him as a teacher. Don't get me wrong i love Mr. Schick, but Devin is a good teacher. He's also a very good friend. Like this one time, i borrowed his calculator for like a month and i kept meaning to give it back to him but i kept forgetting. Finally, one day i gave it back to him and i thought he was gonna kill me but he actually wasn't as mad as i thought he was gonna be. He was mad. But not a lot. And i think he is a very good friend for not killing me. Thanks Dev...

The Odyssey and movies

Today we took some more notes on the power point and we talked about The Odyssey. A lot of the stories Mr. Schick told us reminded me of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters and one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  In Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, Percy, Grover and Anna-Beth have to go to a casino to get this pearl thingy and the waitresses keeping giving them these flower cookies that put them in a trance and it makes them want more and more just like those leaves Mr. Schick was talking about. In the beginning of Sea of Monsters, when Mr.Schick was talking about the cyclopes, it made me think of how Percy's friend is killed by a cyclopes and then in the movie, Percy realizes he has a half brother from Poseidon who is a cyclopes. And when Mr. Schick talked about the women singing trying to make the passing ships come onto the island it made me think of in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean, when there were the mermaids in the water who sang and Jack Sparrow and all his crew went onto the island and it turns out that when people get to close to them they turn into monsters who try to attack you.

LO3 Greece

Citizens and communities: the Greek City-State

Athens 

• the tribal communities of the dark ages began developing into city-states
• Athens made a joke out of Spartans way of life; they thought it wasn't worth living
• Athens had a direct way to the city
• Athens had a free way of life
• more focused on reading and writing
• women couldn't vote or hold office
• free, land-owning white males could vote 
• democracy 

Greek City-states were small places, usually consisting of no more than a town and a few square miles around the country side

• population of town and country were growing
• when they could, they built the towns around a hill that had an acropolis on top

An acropolis is the high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town

• from the Athenian acropolis, Athena's temple, the Parthenon, or "place of the maiden," overlooked the whole city
• for the Greeks, the city state was a community where all of the members shared

City States and Citizens

• they first developed at exactly the time that the Assyrians were reaching for power westward from Mesopotamia
• Greece was protected by many miles of land and sea
• there was no universal empire to keep them in order so the city-states struggled among themselves

An Athenian Owl was the slang name for the tetradrachma, because the owl(the sacred bird of Athena) on the other side the goddess wears a worriers helmet

a hoplite was a heavily armed and armored citizen solider of Greece

A phalanx is a unit of several hundred hoplites, who closed ranks by joining shields when approaching the enemy

A monarchy is a state in which supreme power is held by a single (usually hereditary) ruler

An oligarchy is a state in which supreme power is held bu a small group

Triremes were massive fighting vessels with three banks of oars used to ram or board enemy ships

Tyranny was rule by a self-proclaiming dictator 

Democracy in ancient Greece, was a from of government in which all adult male citizens were entitled to take part in decision making
Aliens were any people not from Greece; couldn't vote
Ostracism was when you were banished for 10 years

"Alongside Mesopotamia and Egypt there now appeared a third civilization: that of classical Greece"

In 600 B.C. a poet named Alcaeus wrote "Not stone and timber, nor skill of carpenter, but brave men who will handle sword- and spear-- with these you have city and walls"

Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, Democracy

• in the earliest times of classical Greek civilization, the communities would become city-states which were ruled by kings
• with this development of government came more types of government
• one was oligarchy meaning "rule by few"
• many city-states in Greece were oligarchy, above all, Sparta
• in city-states with many citizens, it was too hard to have an oligarchy government
• this lead to tyranny
• tyranny didn't last to long before it formed into democracy
• the most successful democratic city-state was Athens

Sparta: The Military Ideal

• the Spartans were descendants of Greeks who had conquered part of the southern mainland
• by the 8th century, they were a minority of landholders
• the Spartan citizens were outnumbered by the non citizens

Helots were non-citizens forced to work for landowners in ancient city-states of Sparta

A Winner in the Heraean Games was a bronze statue of a female runner looking backward

Spartan way of life

• farms were workers by helots
• boys were taking at the age of 7; they were thought manly behavior and reading and writing 
• girls were required to participate in drills and exercises to make them healthy
• state controlled men more than women
• more controlled and organized 
• women couldn't vote or hold office
• monarchy

Aristocrats were members of prominent and long-established Athenian families; rich, powerful landowners 

Differences

• Spartans were based on war
• Spartans were open to ideas Athens didn't like change
• Athens thought Spartans way of life was a joke
• Athens had were a navy base - Triremes were large ramming ships
• Spartans were more on land
• Spartans were independent; made trade harder

"Instead of softening their feet with shoes, his rule was to make them hardy through going barefoot... Instead of pampering them with a variety of cloths, his rule was to habituate them to a single garment the whole year through, thinking that so they would be better prepared to withstand the variations of heat and cold"

Persian Wars

• by the 6th century B.C., the Persians conquered a realm that stretched from the border of India to the Nile and the Aegean
• Nile was for trade, transportation, bathing, irrigation
• by 445 B.C. when peace was made with Persia, Athens was the controlling power of the Aegean Sea
• success was followed by the golden ages 460-430 B.C.

"Where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness, at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger."

Map

• Adriatic is above
• to the left is the Ionian sea
• to the right is the Aegean sea
• the peninsula is called Peloponnese

Wednesdayy

Today was pretty good. I normally hate Wednesdays because i only have 1 free mod that day along with the rest of the school. But this morning i had art first and my friend Angela Miceli brought be Dunkin' Donuts. I love her. Then western civ was pretty great. I think western civ is my favorite class and Mr. Schick is my favorite teacher. P.s. I honestly don’t care if you call me Mia or Maria. My family calls me Mia. Most of my friends do to. But it doesn't matter to me. Whichever you prefer.

Building A Pyramid

LO1 - The Greeks

The First civilization: The Greeks, 2200-400 B.C.

"Within classical Greek civilization there are appeared ideas, art forms, and types of government whose influence in western civilization has lasted down to present day"

Barbarians - a term used to describe the distinctive way of life based on farming, warfare, and tribal organization; non-Greek
new ideas going for them; new ways at looking at things
they had many art forms
invented democracy
introverts in warfare
fay links; shields and spears; marched
prehistoric village life of agricultural revolution
spread throughout Europe
About 2000 B.C., people began migrating into Southeastern Europe
Citadel and Shrine - the Athenian acropolis was already ancient when its temples were rebuilt after Persian invaders destroyed them in the 5th century
The Parthenon was the place of the maiden. The "home" of the goddess, Athena
The Erechtheum - middle ages named after Erechtheus
Megaliths - giant rough cut stones used to make monuments and tombs; 50 tons each
people formed into ethnic groups
Tribe - a social group of communities with common interests; metal, slaves and other objects

3500 B.C. - Megalithic structures in Europe; people were well educated
2500 B.C. - Indo-European nomads(wander around)(centers around each other; strength, courage) from the  steppes migrate into Europe; barbarian way of life evolves
2200 B.C. - Minoan Civilization takes root in Crete; Greeks arrive in southeast Europe
1600 B.C. - Greeks fortified settlements along the Aegean develop Mycenaean civilization
1400 B.C. - Destruction of Minoan towns
1200 B.C. - Mycenaean civilization falls; beginning of "Dark Ages" of Greek history
800 B.C. - Recovery in the Aegean; Greek city-states form
494-445 B.C. - Persian wars
460-430 B.C. - Golden Age of Athens

"When a leading warrior died, his horse and chariot, his metal swords and daggers, and his gold and silver drinking cups would all go to the grave with him -- presumably so that he could go on riding, fighting and drinking and a comrade of the gods in the afterlife"

Stonehenge- the most famous megalithic structures was built by a farming and trading people in the west of England about 2000 B.C.

The Greek homeland - the Greeks settled in mainland Greece form about 2000 B.C. onward
between 1200 and 800 B.C. they spread to the islands and eastern coast lands of the Aegean sea.

Short answers

Short Answer 1
Through the years Egypt was advancing. They went from plain woods weapons to metal as they grew more knowledge. They invented the plow which was used for farming. and they also inventing the sail boat to help them travel through the Nile River.

Short Answer 2
The Egyptian pyrimads were used for a few things. First, they used them to hid valuables. They also store the mummies of the pharaohs and they were used for protection.

Essay Questions

The Social Pyramid of Ancient Egypt

The highest up on the social pyramid was the Pharaohs. They were very powerful. The people called them the religious and political leaders. Meaning that there was no separation between church and state. Underneath the Pharaohs were the Nobles, or government officials, and the priests. They were considered the "white kilt class." Underneath them was the soldiers. They had wooden weapons with bronze tips and chariots. it must have been pretty fun riding around in a chariot. 

Now we get into sort of, the lower-er class, now the lower class just lower than the the soldiers. There, they had the scribes. They did a lot. They kept track of everything. They kept the written records. They also wrote poetry and stories. Then they had the artisans and merchants. The artisans pictured what the after-life was like. (that must have been a weird job, picturing yourself after you die?) Anyway, with the merchants, they had to work with the trade system. Before they invented coins, they traded something like grain for another thing like sandals. Then they had the farmers. Personally, i think the framers should be a little higher on the pyramid. I mean honestly, they are the ones keeping everyone alive with all their food and grain. Just my opinion. Then at the bottom of the slaves and servants. These people worked for the wealthy and did the things no one else wanted to do. 

I think that back then, the Egyptians had pretty much everything under control. Way more under control than we do now. Again, this is just my opinion. But they had a process of how to do everything the right way. 

The Importance of the Nile River

 The Nile River was very important to the Egyptian people for many reasons. The Egyptians needed it to survive. Their life revolved around it. One reason they needed it was for transportation. The river flows south to north. Somehow, they had to get their stuff on the opposite side of the river. so they invented a boat. But eventually they realized they couldn't get back to where they came from because the water was pushing them the wrong way. So they invented the sail. They tied that to their boat and made their way back home.

Another way they used the Nile River was for farming. Every July the river would flood and every October, it would leave behind rich soil which was really really good for farming. This made a great deal of help with farming.

And a third reason they used they Nile River was for bathing and drinking. I'm pretty sure they didn't have faucets like we do. And i don't think they had wells either. So the Nile was their only source of water. I think that it's nasty, drinking the same water you bathe in. 

Books and Music

(sorry i didn't post one yesterday, i hit save instead of publish.) Anyway, today we didn't really do much but we did watch a video of John Green talking about Egypt. I really like his books. Especially the fault in "The Fault in Our Stars." It's really sad and i cried a little and it has a very shocking plot twist. Also, "Looking for Alaska." That is a book that i can read over and over again. I really want to read "Paper Plans" by him also. A quote that i live by says "a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies but a person who never reads only lives one." That and music is basically how I spend all my free time. I love music so much its basically all i really do. Thank you for listening to my whole life summed up in 1 paragraph.

Egypt

Geography

• Nile gives water for drinking, farming, bathing and transportation
• every July it floods
• every October it leaves behind rich soil
• the delta is a broad triangular area of rich soil
• managing the river had to do with irrigation 

Pyramids

• the great Sphinx of Giza
• built in 2555-2532
• a recumbent lion with a human head
• oldest monumental statue in the world

Daily Life

pharaohs(religious and political leader)

government officials and pretests(white kilts)

soldiers(wooden weapons w/ bronze tips) 

scribes(wrote stories, kept records)

artisans(pictured afterlife) and merchants(trade system)

slaves and servants (worked for wealthy)

Pharaohs

• lord of the 2 lands
• high priest of the temple
• owned all land
• made laws
• collected taxes
• Hatshepsar was a woman pharaoh
• .Cleopatra 7th last of the pharaohs

gods and goddesses

• over 2,000
• sun god - Ra
• controlled lives of humans

Egyptians

• everything people did involved the Nile river
• the Nile river is the Egyptians source of life
• delta is a triangle
• 1 ruler - pharaoh 
• they thought the pharaoh was both man and god
• maat - the sense of "everything is great"
• when the Egyptians portrayed their pharaohs, they usually had either an animal body and human head or a human body and an animal head
• egyptians believed in the afterlife

Land of the Pharaohs: Egypt LO3

• Egyptian civilization was more stable than Mesopotamia 
• egyptian civilization grew along the nile river with plenty of fertile land
• The Narmer Platte-used for making the paint for the images in the egyptian temple in 3100 B.C.

The Nile and the "two lands"

• egypt was divited into two sections called the "Two Lands"
• Upper Egypt - was a huge strip of fertile land along a river that flows through the north african desert
• Lower egypt - was a fan like pattern of water ways - delta
• "gift of the Nile" - gave wealth to the earliest egyptian civilization

Pharaohs - rulers of ancient Egypt

Government by a God-King 

• pharaohs were both god and man 
• teh pharaohs had great responsibilty and power
• different aspects of the same thing - maat

"hail to thee, O Nile, that issues from the earth and comes to keep Egypt alive! Hidden in his form of appearance, a darkness by day, to whom minstrels have sung. He that waters the medows which he re created, in order to keep evert kid alive. he that makes to drink the desert and the pkace distant from water: that is his dew coming down (from) heaven."

Men and wemon under the pharahos

• the women who were closest to the pharahos alos had divinity 
• the kings prinicipals wife was often his sister of half-sister
• Hatshepsut - the most successful ruler; 1500 B.C. 

Gods humans and everlasting

• many egyptian dieties were concived in the form of animal so the image of the gods usually had animal heads or bodies
• the great sphinx has a human head and a lions body

The great sphinx - craved out of solid rock, expresses the Egyptian belief of the god-king

The soul declares its innocence

• by 2000 b.c., the judgement of the souls after death and eternal life was accepted beliefs the newly dead were said to travel at night to the underworld and rise in the morning with the sun god
• the soul declares its innocence of their worngs in many ways infornt to the god of the dead, Osiris

Hieroglyphics - earliest Egyptian writing, pictures stood for whole words or separate sounds of words

Calendars and sailboats

• a calendar with 12 equal months of 30 days and 5 "free" days for make up for the 365 days of the year