Taking the Test

Hello,

So today we took the final test of the year in West Civ. I thought that it was a bit hard and I didn't know some of the things. I thought that I didn't do that well on it but I actually got an A! I was really excited now I have an 89 so I hope that this week's blogs and class participation bring me up to a 90! Exam is Wednesday I believe so I hope I do well!

Things to Know for Test

Hello,

Today in class we went over the notes for the Test we will be taking tomorrow. Here are some things we NEED to know for the Test (Possible Test Questions):

Middle Ages = Medieval Period

The New Society has roots in:
- Classical Heritage of Rome
- Beliefs of the Roman Catholic
- Customs of Various Germanic Tribes

Overrun the Western Half of the Roman Empire
Causing:
- Disruption of Trade
- Downfall of Cities
- Population Shifts to Rural Areas

Decline of Learning
-Tribes had Oral Tradition, Songs, but Couldn't Read Greek of Latin
- Romance Language Evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
- Few Besides Priests Were Literate

Germanic Warriors' Loyalty is to the Lord of the Manor he Provides the w/ Food, Weapons, Treasure
Result:
- Nor Orderly Government for Large Areas
- Small Communities Rule

Clovis Rules the Germanic People of Gaul, known as the Franks (Which is Where "France" Comes From)
In 496 He Has a Battlefield Conversion - He and 3,000 of his warriors become Christians
By 511 the Franks are United into One Kingdom, with Clovis and the Church Working as Partners

Church + Frankish = Rise in Christianity

Benedict Wrote for Monks
His Sister Scholastica Writes Rules for Nuns
Bede Wrote a History of England

Church Revenues are Used to Help the Poor, Build Roads, and Raise Amies
This is a theocracy  - When Government is in State of Worshipping ONE God

Clovis Rules the Franks in Gaul until his Death in 511

Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)

Hammer Defeats a Muslim Raiding Party from Spain at the BATTLE OF TOURS in 732

Charles the Hammer's Son Known as Pepin the Short who Died 762, leaving 2 Sons

1 Son Died and Other was Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great (6 Foot 4 of Ruling Power!)
- Built Greatest Empire Since Rome
- Fought the Muslims in Spain
- BECAME MOST POWERFUL KING IN EUROPE (KNOW!)
- Charlemagne Kept Close Watch of his Huge Estates
- His Son, Louis the Pious was ineffective, His Sons, Lothair, Charles the Bald, Louis the German- Split up the Kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun- 843 AD

Notes.

Hello,

Today in class we took notes, such naturally this class was boring, which isn't a surprise. I wish that we would do more than just take notes like play games on the subject or make power points like we used to in the beginning of the year, instead we have to take notes, no lie, EVERY CLASS. So boring. 

Here are the notes that I took in today's class:

-Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire
-Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of uscame from
-Middle Ages - medieval period
-500-1500 AD
-Medieval Europe is fragmented
A-Invasions trigger changes in Western Europe
     1-Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
           a-Disruption of trade 
                  1-Europe cities are no longer economic centers
                  2-Money is scarce
           b-Downfall of cities
                  1-Cities are no longer centers of administration
           c-Population shifts
                  1-Nobles retreat to the rural areas
                  2-Cities don't have strong leadership
     2-Decline of learning
                  1- Germanic invaders are illiterate but they communicate through oral tradition
                  2-Only priests and church officials could read and write
                  3-Knowledge of Greek (literature, science, philosophy) is lost
     3-Loss of a common language
                  1-Dialects develop in different languages
                  2-By the 1800s French, Spanish, other Roman based languages are evolving from Latin
B- Germanic kingdoms emerge
     1- The concept of government changes
            a-Roman society: loyal to public government
            b-Germanic society: loyal to family
                  1-Germanic chief led warriors
                  2-During peace he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
                  3-During wartime warriors fought for the lord
            c-"The King? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"
            d-Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis
     2-The Franks under Clovis
            a-Another battlefield conversion
            b-Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
            c-The Church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
            d-Clovis and the Church begin to work together
-Clovis' military expertise + the Church's support and money = A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN TWO POWERFUL FORCES
C-Germanic peoples adopt Christianity
      1-511 AD- Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
      2-600 AD- Church + Franks rulers convert many 
      3-Fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians
      4-Monasteries and convents
            a-520 AD-Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
                    1-Poverty, chastity, obedience, study
            b-His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
            c-731 AD-The Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England
            d-Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (Bibles, Greek texts)
      5-Pope Gregory expands papal power
            a-Papacy = popes power
            b-Secular power = worldly power
            c-So...under Gregory the Great...
PaPal Power(Power of the Pope) is Political Power Presented from the Pope's Palace
            d-The church can use church money to:
                     raise armies
                     repair roads
                     help the poor
            e-Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome and as head of an earthly kingdom(Christendom)

If We Take Notes One More Time...

Hello,

Today, guess what! We took notes, I know so shocking. So here they are:

Feudalism - a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances

Rich Dude (Lord) - "I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it"
Tough Dudes (Vassals) - "There are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on to their land"

Feudal Pyramid:
-King
-The Most Powerful Vassals (Nobles and Bishops)
-Knights: Mounted Warriors who Received Fiefs for Defending Their Lord's Land
-Peasants (Mostly Serfs): Landless, Powerless, Moneyless, Right-less, Just Working the Land for "the Man" (Their Lord)

Manor: the Lord's Estate
-The lord's manor house
-A church
-Some workshops
-15-30 families
-All on a few square miles

Good News: It's self-sufficient community
Bad News: It's harsh if you're a peasant

Peasant are poor AND pay high taxes
-Tax on grain
-Tax on marriage
-Church Tax (tithe=10% of their income)
They live in crowded colleges
Live with animals and insects

Test Day

Hello,

Today in class we took the test. I got a 90 on it which was pretty good, but here are the notes we had to take for tonights blog with the extra credit Chrono

• The first two early medieval centuries set the patterns for how this renewal would later take place in western and eastern Europe. 
• The Germanic kingdoms had taken over the western half of the Roman Empire.
• Roman institutions gradually stopped working.
• Cities ceased to be centers of trade and social life.
• Warfare became more important than education and culture. 
• Missionary-monks brought Christianity and Roman traditions to peoples beyond the empires's old frontiers.
• Both the missionaries and the Frankish rulers created precedents for spectacular later renewal in western Europe.
• The Roman Empire's surviving eastern half contributed to westerns Europe's chaos by efforts at reconquest.

Chronology:

Fifth century:

• Angles and Saxons invade Britain.
• 486
• Clovis leads Frankish confederacy against Romans and rival Germanic invaders in Gaul
• 527-565
• Reign of Emperor Justinian in the Eastern empire
• 542
• Plague hits Egypt, then spreads throughout the Mediterranean area and much of western Europe.
• 568
• Lombard's conquer most of northern Italy
• 570-632
• Life of Muhammad
• 595
• Missionaries sent by the pope begin to convert the pagans of England
• 711
• Muslim invasion of Spain
• 800
• Slavs occupy almost all of eastern Europe

Free Mod!

Hello,

Today in class Mr. Schick let us have a free mod! We couldn't leave the room, but we could work on anything that we wanted so I took the time to work on English and Spanish homework. Anyway we will be taking the test tomorrow so I hope I do well!

Taking More Notes in Class.. Shocker.

Hello,

I don't think we have had a day for 2 weeks where we haven't had to take notes. Here are the notes for today:

Diocletian:
- Ruled from 284 - 303
- It's cool to persecute Christians
- Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
- Rome needs a big government (20,000 officials)

Constantine:
- Ruled from 306 - 337
- It's cool to BE a Christian
- Conversion into Christianity via a cross in the sky
- 313: his Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
- Built a new capital in the East
     - Byzantine, soon to be known as Constantinople

The significance of the Edict of Milan is that it gave Christians the freedom to not be persecuted by people. It was a proclamation that gave religious toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire.

Life in the Fourth Century:
- Country dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collections
- New farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
- Peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords
- Paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work
- Landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire
- Foreshadowing feudalism
- Rome's power is decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power
- Western Empire is too poor, begins to be neglected
- Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe
- Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410
- Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean
- Other barbarian tribes:
     - Ostrogoths in Italy
     - Franks in Gaul
     - Angles and Saxons in Britain

End of an Era:
500 BC - the monarchy is abolished
450 BC - the Twelve Tables are established

... Through the glory days...
44 BC - end of the line for Julius Caesar
27 BC - 180 AD - the Roman Peace (Pax Romana)

...To the bitter end...

- Constant fifth century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling
- The last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father
- Barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him

Taking Notes.. Again.

Hello,

Today, like we have for about 5 straight days, we are taking notes... yay. Here they are:

- Jesus' followers believe he is the Messiah and Savior who has risen from the dead
- Christianity evolved from cult status to established, official structure
- Christians and Jews were monotheistic
- Conflicted with Roman beliefs
- Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew
- As it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity
- By Constantine, not only no persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
- AD 180: Rome has problems
- Economically and Military

More Notes for Test

Hello,

We took notes on the test today in class.

Tarquin the Proud
- Last of the Roman Kings, ran out of town because his son raped a woman and Tarquin did nothing

Describe how Rome moved from a monarchy to a republic
- Ruled by Etruscan kings (monarchy) who were advised by rich patricians (the Senate- and aristocracy)
- After Tarquin, the gov't became res public  or republic (like the Greek democracy)

Describe the difference between a patrician and a plebeian
Patrician: upper-calls, landowning, established, connected, powerful
Plebeian: Common people, Workers, Small-time farmers, some wealthy non-patrician

Senate: Gov't assembly of 200 (unpaid) patricians, appointed for life, first by kings, the consuls
Consuls: In-power for 1 year, two senators who led the gov't and military, could veto echo other
Tribunes: Leaders of the plebeian assembly, first rather powerless, gaining ground over the years

What are the 12 tables?
12 Laws that were posted in the forum and were made on bronze or wood, Set up to protect plebeians who were getting pushed around by patricians, first laws written down in Rome

The Roman Republic servers as a model for what modern document, and what modern government?
The Constitution of the U.S.

Senate/Assemblies - US Senate/House of Reps
Consuls/Dictator - President of the US
Senate could act like judges - like our Supreme Court

Why only the rich could server in the Senate
Members were not paid, but worked their way up from low-ranking magistrates to higher ones. They needed to spend a lot to look good, popular, and powerful, making them electable. Plebs couldn't afford to do that.

The kings who rules between 600 and 500 BC ordered the building of the Forum, Rome's political center

Paterfamilias - The man is in charge of the family

Pax Romana - a period of peace and property in Rome

Notes for Test

Hello,

Today we just took a bunch of notes on the test that we will be having soon. 


First emperor - Caesar Augustus
Began the Pax Romana
Paul tells about Jesus' life, death, resurrection and message
Travels to Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain.
Caligula:
In addition to being Germanicus' son, he was Tiberius adopted grandson and great nephew
-putting him next in line for emperor
He started off well; granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trails a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record
All in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful" according to Philo
Begins to fight with the Senate
He claimed to be a god, and has statues displayed in many places - including the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (sacrilege)
Other ex: Cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex and even tried to make a horse a consul and a priest (at least that's what his critics said)
Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (age 28)

Next in line: Claudius
Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment - thought to be cerebral palsy or polio) he was the last adult male in his when Caligula was killed.

He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain's; he built roads, canals and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus

Has an awful to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, plotted to kill him with Silius, he orders for them to be killed .

Religious Troubles:
Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic
Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god
AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but the Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (expect for one wall)
The Western Wall is the holiest of all Jewish Shrines
Half million Jews died

Persecutions of Christians:
Romans were harsh  to those who would not worship the emperor
Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion(cult)
despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly - by AD 200 around 10 percent of the ppl in the Roman Empire were Christians.



Timeline:
Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula

Ton of Notes

Hello,

Today in class, Mr. Schick wasn't here so we took notes from the book, here they are:

- In 44 B.C. Caesar secured the votes to become dictator for life
- On the ides of March (March 15) Caesar was lured into the Senate house unarmed and was killed
- This death only made things worse for the Senate
- New emperors would be on their way to become leaders of Rome
- Mark Antony a commander under Caesar and Caesars grandnephew Octavian fought each other
- They joined forces in order to fight Caesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius
- They would defeat Cassius and Brutus in Greece
- They forced Senate to say that Julius Caesar was a "Divine Being"
- Marcus Lepidus was also part of the group working with Mark and Octavian
- Lepidus would rule North Africa, Antony in Alexandria, and Octavian in Rome
- Antony's affair with Queen Cleopatra made him unpopular in Rome
- He would try to make conquests on the eastern frontier but failed
- Octavian would push Lepidus out of power in order to gain that territory and push Rome toward the Danube
- Octavian would defeat Antony and Cleopatra's forces in a naval battle off of Greece
- Rome's art, law, philosophy, literature, architecture were based off of the Greeks
- Latin became dominant language
- Augustus/ Octavian refused  the offer or a long-term dictatorship
- He was made commander and chief of the military so he allowed the Senate to supervise Italy and Rome
- He killed many opponents in the Senate and replaced them with friends and allies
- People's assemblies lost their last bit of power
- Greek cities started to worship Augustus
- Shrines of Augustus and Rome began to jump up in the empire
- When he died the Senate declared him a divine human being like Julius Caesar
- It became customary for emperors to be worshipped
- Augustus got the title Father of the Fatherland
- He was one of many Roman wealthy men making their way up the ranks
- Augustus had a combined army of 600,000 men
- By end of his rule all of his soldiers were volunteers
- He created the worlds first professional standing army
- Augustus added Egypt, lands from Italy to Greece to the River Danube, a wide swath of Germany to the east of the Rhine
- He chose a successor so rule could continue
- Augustus settled on Tiberius, Livia's son
- Augustus adopted Tiberius as well
- Augustus died in 14 A.D.
- Nero was the last descendent of Caesar was overthrown
- After a brief civil war, Vespasian was made emperor
- In the second century Marcus Aurelius son was killed and another civil war
- Septimus Severus was made emperor 
- Augustus' government lasted until the trouble times in the third century

Movie on Nero

Hello,

Today in West Civ we watched a movie about the Emperor Nero. Mr. Schick seemed to really like him probably because they are both insane. Anyway the video was interesting. We continue to watch the same videos from BBC. Apparently there was a huge season or something on the civilization of Rome. Anyway I think that we are going to be watching more on Nero tomorrow and probably mosre videos about the same series that are about Rome.

Powerpoint Presentation By Schick

Hello,

Today we mostly took notes again on a presentation that Mr. Schick made. Here are my notes:

Octavian - AKA Caesar Augustus
Pax Romana - a period of peace and prosperity > built roads, aqueduct (brought water to the cities)
Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, even a postal service
Augustus dies = 76 in A.D. 17 and passes power to.............

From Jesus to Christianity:
Jesus was a Roman citizen and a practicing Jew
At 30, began his ministry preaching to the poor in the empire and reaching out to outsiders
Statements like "My kingdom......" make the Romans and the Jews nervous and they began to plan his execution
Governor of the Roman province of Judea = Pontius Pilate sentence's Jesus' death 

Taking Notes on Julius Caesar

Hello,

Today in West Civ we just took notes, here they are:

Western Civ Notes

Proletarians - In ancient Rome, a propertyless but voting citizens 

Rome’s citizen-soilders were now “semi-professionals” who fought largely in the hope of bettering themselves through pay, loot, promotion, and above all grants of land or money to provide them with a living when they were discharged 

Most Roman generals just watched their men battle it out, Julius however would get into the battle, get bloody and do the work of his men along with him. This is why his men would do anything for him

In 60 B.C. he began to collaborate with Pompey, and Carassus, an officer promoted by Sulla who had conquered many eastern Mediterranean lands. Together the 2 allies formed a triumvirate, Crassus was an army general, with Pompey being the richest man alive at the time

With the help of his new friends, Caesar won an appointment as proconsul of a province that included the southern regions of Gaul, a territory stretching all of the way from northern Italy and the Mediterranean coast to the Rhine River and the Atlantic. 

The Gaulish tribes outside the Roman-ruled areas were called, were a branch of the Celtic peoples, the predominant barbarian ethnic group across most of western Europe and the British Isles. 

On the northern part of Italy there was a river that bordered them from places like Gaul. This river was called the Rubicon. 

Final Day of Presentations

Hello,

Today I finally went in the class presentations for the Western Civ projects. I did have store-bought stuff. I actually tasted really awesome even though I actually had to re-freeze it because it melted the day before. I think overall my project went pretty well. I hope that I at least get an A on it because I worked really hard on the presentation and the poster board so I hope my hard work pays off. I'm glad that I got to go today. I'm pretty positive that all of the presentations are done, so I hope that Mr. Schick puts the grades in very soon. I hope that I did great!

2nd Day of Presentation

Hello,

Today we did even more presentations. I think that after a couple of presentations today I will almost definitely go Friday, because we don't have class tomorrow. Arri's group finally got to go today, after taking a ton of class time yesterday trying to get their video to work on about EVERYONE'S computer in the classroom. Delany had the best presentation in the class so far. She looked like she spent a TON of time making it over the spring break. She made Roman notes and a bunch of stuff that actually looked real! I was really surprised how much work she put into it. I hope I get to go tomorrow so I don't have to worry anymore about it.

First Day of Presentations

Hello,

Today was the first day of presentations. Also it was the first day back from spring break. I kinda needed to go first today in presentations, but oh well. Anyway the presentations today so far were pretty good. Arri's group tried to go today, but that kinda failed. All of them tried their computers while trying to play the video and it never worked on any of theirs computers. From how everything went today, the rest of the week will be spent presenting projects. By that I mean that the projects took a very long time and I think that this will take a long time. I will see if I need to present tomorrow!

Notes Before The Test

Hello,

Here are a compile of notes that I took, that have to do with the test we will be having on Friday,

- Roman Legion: Consisted of 500 Roman Soldiers, if they needed to they would split up into Centuries made up of 80 soldiers
- 1st Punic War was fought in Sicily
- 2nd Punic War was fought over taking over Rome
- 3rd Punic War was fought over Rome destroying Carthage

The other things that we talked about were all about the project. I have already found multiple websites on Roman cuisine, I'm not sure what food I am going to bring in, but we will see. I plan on making a large poster board or tri-fold that will have a bunch of facts and what they ate and when they ate,

Watching Some Video

Hello, 

Today in class, we watched some weird videos on the Punic War. I didn't really watch them that closely because I was emailing my dad back in forth. I have 3 tests tomorrow and 2 on Friday. Those are at least the ones that I know about and what I can think about right off the top of my head at this moment, so I may even have more than that. I was trying to get out of practice so I can go study tonight and not fail all of them tomorrow. I also have a ton of homework to do tonight and a project that is due Thursday that I haven't finished yet. These are the problems that I am dealing with right now and I hope that I figure them out soon. 

Taking Notes... Yay...

Hello,

Today in class we took notes. Really fun, I know. I was starving in class and Mr. Schick wouldn't let me get my lunch, but oh well. Here are the notes that I took in class.

• Myth of Rome is that the settled on a land that was ruled by Reins and Romulus which were raised by a she-wolf (check Wikipedia)

• Woman was a virgin and conceived by the god

• Twins left to die in the Tiber and were rescued and raised by a she-wolf

• Twins went on to find Rome and rule

• Big conflict that went on for centuries was between the rich and the poor - not necessarily actual fighting

• The Gracchus brother were elected to the assembly and they always tried to make thing better for the poor in Rome

• Time of war everyone fought rich and poor- unless you have a physical ailment

• You may be fighting for 5-10 years

• Families carried on to work the farm (wives and children)

• Rich older people unable to fight would try to swoop in and buy the farm, this happened a lot

• Rich people were able to have massive acres of land were the sellers would still work on the farm

• Gracchus brothers didn't think that this was right and made a concept that stated the rich were already exceedingly rich and made farms called latifundia. You have more land than you need so give some of the land back to the poor

• Latifundia was huge acres of land that the rich owned

• In the end the Gracchus brothers appealed and the law was vetoed at first then the Gracchus brothers won and on of the members of the senate beat one of the brothers to death with a chair and threw him in the Tiber river then the law was overturned

• People believe that America is going done the same road as Rome

• Big cooperation's buy out small farmers who can't make it

Here are some of the other notes that we had to take on the Punic War

-Fought on land and sea in three vicious rounds between 264 and 146 BC

-In the first phase, Rome was able to force Carthage out of Sicily.

-Second, the Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy and brought Rome to a brink defeat.

-Third, Carthage was captured after bitter fighting.

-The Senate ordered the city to be leveled, people to be sold into slavery, and the ground on which it had stood to be solemnly cursed.

-This was only an epilogue to the main struggle.

-Rome had won control of the western Mediterranean.

Notes On The Rome Test

Hello,

Here are the notes that I took today in class while Schick was talking:

- The Latin people were the first to settle in Rome

- They settled on the shores of Tiber

- Mediterranean means Middle of the Earth

- The most educated people thought that the Mediterranean was the middle, best focus of the Earth

- They thought that the gods gave Italy the location that they had because they were destined to rule

- The Latin people thought they were the best people, because they were so geographically lucky

- They drained rivers so that they could build towers and buildings in the locations where the swamps were

- Res publica, meaning the people's affairs/business of the people

- President of the United States, like a king, controls Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Army

- Representatives for United States, have at least 2 and the amount you have per state depends on the population

- The government of Rome was a monarchy and an oligarchy combined when it first formed but eventually turned into a democracy, aristocracy monarchy combined

What I'm Going To Do For My Project

Hello,

I think that for the project that we talked about today I am going to do food and such. I think I will just do a huge board on cuisine in Roman times. I'm not completely sure what we are supposed to do for the project but I will read more on it and really plan out and find out what I will do for it later.

LO-1 The Roman Empire

Hello,

Here is my paragraph on the Roman Empire that we learned today.


Today I will be talking about the Roman Public: The Senate and the People. At first, their city-state was rules on the Etruscan model by powerful kings. The king was advised by a council of elders called the Senate, whose members he appointed. Usually he chose among the patricians or-that is, with fathers who already belonged to this hereditary group of leading families. When a king died, his successor was chosen by the Senate from among its own members, subject to approval by an assembly of all male citizens. Besides the king, it was the Senate and the patricians who dominated the city-state. Around 500 B.C., Rome overthrew its Etruscan rulers, and the monarchy was also abolished. The government of Rome became officially the "people's business"-in Latin, res publica, from which the word republic is derived. Rome, like Greece went underwent a long and turbulent development under the influence of social struggles between aristocrat and commoners. The result was a Greek democracy and an oligarchy combined.

There were two major sides of the Republic which were the plebeians and the patricians. The plebeians were people like workers, small farmers, and sometimes quite wealthy citizens. The plebeians at first deferred to patrician rule, but as Rome grew and plebeians became wealthier, they were tired of being treated like second-class citizens. This led to the constant battle of the plebeians vs. the Roman Government.

Test Tomorrow

Hello,

Today we reviewed in class for our test tomorrow. We really just watched part of the Ancient Civilization about Greece.

Notes:

1.     She was a trusted associate of Pericles, and may have even written some of his speeches.

Aspasia

2.     He was a war hero who had many adventures while trying to return home after the Trojan Wars.

Odysseus

3.     In 508 BC, he and his Spartan allies were driven from power by the very first “people’s revolution”

Isagoras

4.     This goddess is the patron of Greece’s capital city.

Athena

5.     An open “place of assembly” where Greek citizens would gather to discuss matters of importance.

Agora

6.     A sporting competition where the common man could actually compete against aristocrats.

Olympics

7.     A notion of excellence and virtue; the act of living up to one’s full potential.

Arête

8.     He composed the amazing stories The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Homer

9.     When these less-advanced people dominated Greece, writing disappeared for 400 years and the economy collapsed.

Dorians

10.  He watched from a golden throne as his forces were defeated at the Straits of Salamis.

Xerxes

11.  This city-state was home of democracy and the head of the Delian League.

Athens

12.  He was recalled from exile and asked to build the world’s first government of the people – a system of government we now know as democracy.

Cleisthenes

13.  The most beautiful and magnificent building of its time, it was dedicated to a goddess whose 40-foot stature was found within it.

Parthenon

14.  In a Greek tragedy, he was the main character who fulfilled a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother.

Oedipus

15.  This general rose from the ranks of the common people, and took steps to increase the naval power of Athens.

Themistocles

16.  An association of Greek city-states whose purpose was to remain strong and united against their enemies.

Delian League

17.  A fast, agile ship that was a feared weapon in the Greek navy.

Trieme

18.  This hero of ancient Greece is the central figure in a story which was the inspiration for a modern sporting even – the marathon.

Pheidippides

19.  He commanded the first Persian invasion of Greece, which ended with his defeat at Marathon.

Darrius

20.  Their kings dominated Greece from 1600 BC to 1200 BC.

Myceneans

21.  These legends describe Greek gods and goddesses and the nature of the world.

Myths

22.  The Greeks used trickery and clever naval strategy and to win this battle against the Persians.

Salamis

23.  He was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city’s Golden Age, who was determined to glorify his city through the arts, literature, and culture.

Pericles

24.  These are long narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds.

Epics

25.  These people ruled an empire that stretched all the way from Egypt and Asia Minor to India and the Himalaya Mountains.

Persians

26.  Apollo was said to speak prophesies through this person; an ominous prophesy caused the Greeks much worry before the Persians’ second invasion.

Oracle of Delphi

27.  This prominent city-state had a fearsome infantry and was located in southeastern Peloponnese.

Sparta

28.  He was the leader of the gods, and the father of the goddess of wisdom.

Zeus

29.  Mr. Schick wants to go back in time to hang out with this philosopher.

Socrates

Test Day = Wednesday

Hello,

Today in West Civ we went over the 58 point Greek quiz. Today we listened to lots of different stories while we reviewed.  I think the material was covered very well and i understand it better. The Opdepius story was really weird and Mr. Schick actually found it quite funny and cool, probably because he is really weird. Other than that we really didn't do much. The main thing that I have been focused on today is that fact that we are apparently going to get snow tonight. The only 2 problems with that are that whenever there is snow I always hear that we are getting an inch and then I hear something else about how we are supposed to get 1/2 a foot. It seems like the snow total keeps going up and up throughout the day. The other bad thing is that there could be a cyber day. Having a cyber would suck so I hope that doesn't happen. 

Grading Others Projects

Hello,

Today in Western Civ we graded each others projects! We found out that Annie is on crack.  Besides that, Erica, Leah and I got a 90 for our project. I am happy with that grade because we came a long way from what we were going to show on that first Monday class. Quarter 3 ends today and grades have to be in by Tuesday morning. Mr. Schick said that he will grade all our blogs over the weekend. We are supposed to get snow again for about the 100^th time this year, so maybe a cyber-day? If we have a cyber-day I will shoot myself in the leg.. That is how much I like cyber-days. I literally hate them SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! If we have to have one on Tuesday or whatever day the snow is I will not be a happy person.. 

Sick.... Again

Today I was sick again and wasn't in class. I'm pretty sure I'll be there tomorrow though.

Sick

Today I was sick and wasn't in school.

Off on St. Patrick's Day

Hello,

Here are the answers to the questions:

1. Mostly fertile land is not a characteristic of Greece.

2. About 2/3 of Greece is covered by mountains.

3. The term barbarian as it was originally used in the ancient world. The word came from the Greek “barbarous."

4. A megalithic structure are massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs.

5. The term tribe refers to a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship. 

6. Tribes were governed by warrior kings or queens, chieftains, and tribal leaders.

7. The first European barbarians to make contact with civilization were the Greeks.

8. The United States would not be considered a member of “Western civilization”

9. The name of the sea located west of the Greek mainland is the Ionian Sea.

10. The name of the sea located east of the Greek mainland is the Aegean Sea.

11. The major crops of the Aegean people were onions, wheat and beer.

12. The Minoan civilization arose on the island of Crete.

13. The Mycenaean civilization established settlements along the Greek mainland’s southern shore and on islands.

14. The Mycenaean civilization built massive walls to protect themselves from attacks.

15. The Dark Ages is a period of Greek history in which the population dropped, ships no longer sailed, and writing fell out of use.

16. Following this time period, the Greeks joined the Phoenicians as the leading commercial and seafaring nation of the Mediterranean?

17. In historical writing, the letter “c” might appear before a date, as in “c. 1500 BC.”  That means around, about and or circa.

18. By 600 BC, Greek city-states dotted the coastlines around the Mediterranean Sea.  These were called colonies.

19. Although they varied in size, ancient Greek city-states most closely resembled counties as a modern-day geographical feature.

20. Oligarchy, which in a small group of citizens dominated, and the power of the majority was limited in various ways.

21. In a democracy is where decisions were made by the majority of adult male citizens.

22. A self-proclaimed dictator held power.

23. Power is held by a single ruler, and is often passed along from father to son.

24. Spartans used this oligarchy for their government system.

25. At what age seven Spartan males begin their military training.

26. The wealthiest city-state in the ancient Greek world was Athens.

27. The high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town was known as the Parthenon.

28. The southern peninsula where Sparta was located is called Peloponnesus.

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

30. Hoplite was a heavily armed and armored citizen-soldier of ancient Greece.

  

Short answers.    

1.      The years the Dark Ages began and ended at about 1100 – 800 BC.

2.      The titles of Homer’s stories during the Dark Ages were “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad”

3.      The word “Mediterranean” originally meant middle earth.

4.      Aristocrats were prominent and long-established Athenian land owners.