Essay Day 3

Today in class we finished our essay about Homer. We only had a little bit to do but we added more paragraphs and cleaned up grammar. After that, we started watching the video and preparing for tomorrow's test. I don't think I need to study the big things but I need to study the powerpoint and the small details that we didn't spend that much time on. I think this project helped me prepare for the test tomorrow.

Essay Day 2

Today in class, Alayna, Kacey, and I continued working on our essay. We are almost done because we did about 2 pages last night and a page today. We each wrote about that we did our slides on but we needed to add more so we started to research some new topics and topics we already had. We should we finishing tomorrow and starting to study for our test.

Essay

Yesterday in class, we started working on our essays. Kacey, Alayna and I did about half of our essay on Homer. I thought it was difficult because we needed more information that what was in our powerpoint but I think we are doing good so far. We aren't done yet, but we will be done by Monday's class. Hopefully, next week will just be editing the essay and studying for our test.

More on Greek Powerpoint

Fighting Spartans

• Greeks were war-like - Especially Spartans 
• Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry 
• Spartan boys started training at the age of seven 

Naval Power

• Athens had a great infantry but nothing compared to their navy 
• Most effective weapon: Trireme 
• technological marvel
• fastest ship in the world at the time
• rowed by about 170 men on 3 levels
• could be used as a battering ram
• agile; fast

Phalanx: Close-ranked, dense grouping of warriors

• armed with long spears and interlocking shields 
• soldiers advanced slowly toward their enemy until they broke through their ranks

Philosopherlapalooza - Socrates

• looked at science and logic (not gods) for explanation about the world
• the socratic method fostered critical thinking
• socrates was charged with serious crimes: 
• impiety (disrespecting the gods)
• corrupting the youth
• he described himself as a stinging gadfly, and the Athens as a lazy horse
• did not deny what he did
• found guilty; sentenced to death by drinking hemlock

Plato

• student and follower of socrates 
• wrote socrates' teachings 
• republic was socrates' discussion

Aristotle 

• student of Plato 
• Helped foster Athens as an intellectual destination
• his school focused on cooperative research 
• didn't invent the internet but had a dream of the idea
• tutored Alexander the Great

More Greek Powerpoint

Today in class we took more notes on the Greek Powerpoint:

• With Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (aristocrats) got in a power struggle
• Isagorus had support from other aristocrats and Sparta
• Cleisthenes had support from most Athenians 
• Isagorus wins: He ostracizes Cleisthenes 
• They trap Isagorus on the acropolis for two days - on the third day he fled and was banished
• Cleisthenes - A member of the elite
• Very rich
• Insulated from the "hoi polloi" 
• A crafty politician 
• Saw the value of tapping into the talents of the non-aristocrats

Gods and Goddesses 

• Poseidon (god of the sea) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home
• Aphrodite (goddess of love) had lovers of both gods and men
• Dionysus (god of wine) was son of Zeus (Greek god) and Semele (Human princess) 
• Zeus - ruler of heaven and earth; Had a temper and tended to throw thunder bolts
• Athena - Goddess of war, battle, and wisdom; Born from Zeus; The patron of Athens; A special patron of heroes
• Apollo - god of music (moon); Twin sister Artemis (sun); Zeus was his father
• Poseidon - god of water; brother of Zeus
• Aphrodite - goddess of love, beauty, desire, and sexuality
• Demeter - god of grain, and harvest; Zeus's sister

Presentations

Today in class we finished the group presentations and talked about the essay we have to write. Kacey, Alayna and I presented our powerpoint on Homer's Life and Teachings. The other groups that presented today were "Three Great Philosophers", and "warfare land and sea". After the presentations, Mr. Schick explained that we would have 3 days in class to work on the project with our groups.

Tyranny

Transformation of Government

• During the 6th and 7th centuries BCE, the aristocrats were in charge of Greece
• Aristocracy is a rule by aristocrats
• Aristocrats attended meetings where men enjoyed wine, poetry, performances, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans/escorts) while talking about politics

An exclusive club

• In the club there were no:
•  women (except entertainment)
• middle class
• slaves
• certain people who had been kicked out or angered other aristocrats 

Tyrants seize control

• Some aristocrats formed alliances with hoplites (well-armed soldiers), and set up an alternative form of government called tyranny
• Tyrant: someone who rules outside the framework of the polis
• Modern meaning of tyrant: An abusive or oppressive leader
• Greek meaning of tyrant: Someone who seized power 

Clash of the tyrants

• Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE 
• His brother was murdered and his rule became harsh
• He was expelled from Athens (ostracized) 
• In revenge, he began with the Persian King Darius I, helping them invade Marathon 

Project

Today in class Mr. Schick wasn't there so we got to work on our Ancient Greece projects and take some more notes on the Ancient Greece powerpoint. I spent most of the time working on the project about the life and writings of Homer. I did three slides, Homer's writing style, Homer's teachings, and Epic poetry. I didn't finish so I had to finish it at home but I got most of it done.

Absent

Today I wasn't in class because I was coming home from Virginia Beach.

Pop quiz and Gumby

Today in class we reviewed the powerpoint on Greece quickly. After that, we took a pop quiz which I got a 905% on. When we finished the quiz, Mr. Schick told us stories about when he was in school like two incidents that happened with Gumby. The one landed in his teacher's coffee, and the other one he hit the nun with. After this, we talked about when our group project is and what we have to do for it. It was an entertaining class.

Group Project

Meredith Engelhaupt
Kacey Newman
Alayna Meekins
Topic: The Life and Writings of Homer

Today in class, we looked at the reviews that students gave Mr. Schick as a teacher. Some of them he thought were funny and he read them to us. After this, we looked at videos of babies crying because Mr. Schick always asks people if they're crying. To end class, we talked about the group project we have to do. I'm in a group with Kacey and Alayna and we have to do the topic "The Life and Writings of Homer". Everyone picked their topics out of a hat. After we picked our topics and groups, class was over.

Greece part 2

In class we continued taking these notes on Greece:

• Mountains covered 3/4 of Greece
• It was a peninsula surrounded on 3 sides by water
• 1,400 islands were located on the seas
• The Greeks were skilled sailers and shipbuilders
• They had poor/limited natural resources 
• Difficult to unite- independent communities
• Grew grapes, grains, and olives
• Only 20% of land is arable (suitable for farming)
• Lack of resources led to colonization
• Temperature ranged from the mid 40's in Winter to the low 80's in the Summer

Some early people- first, Mycenaeans 

• Influence began around 2000 BCE 
• Mycenae is located on a rocky-ridge and protected by a 20 foot wall
• Dominated Greece from 1600-1200 BCE 
• 1400 BCE- Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture/language
• 1200 BCE- The "sea people" began to invade Mycenae, and burnt palaces. So, the Dorians moved into this region
• The Dorians were less advanced 
• Trade-based economy collapsed 
• Writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer

• Greek Oral Tradition- Stories passed down by word of mouth
• Homer lived in the dark ages and told stories of the Trojan war
• The lliad- One of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans 
• The Odyssey- Odysseus attempted to return home, being thwarted by Poseidon 
• 12,110 lines of Dactylic Hexameter
• The "Homeric Question" - Homer may have been a mythical creation
• Blind wandering minstrel; Heroic figure

Socrates

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who was credited as one of the founders of western philosophy. He was born in 470 BC and died when he was 71 years old in 399 BC. He tried to establish an ethical system based on human reason rather than theological doctrine. He thought that human choice was motivated by desire for happiness. Socrates used something called the socratic method where he asked questions in order to stimulate thinking. He was accused of corrupting the youth and worshipping false gods so he was sentenced to death. He was put in prison and when given the chance to escape he refused. He was forced to drink Hemlock (poison) and died.

Cyber class

Today in class, we talked about cyber days and what Mr. Schick thinks will happen in the future. He thinks we will eventually have cyber days on video chat at a certain time. Mr. Schick also thinks that one day, they will just video chat for school all the time. We talked about many things that might happen in the future like having a chip implanted into your neck when you're a newborn. Another thing we talked about is if you think of a song or something you want someone to hear, you can look into their eyes and they can hear it too. We discussed more things like this until class was over.

Greece

Today we went over our test from the other day on Ancient Egypt. After that, we took these notes on Greece:

• The world's greatest civilizations are all located on rivers
• Mesopotamia is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
• Egypt is located on the Nile river
• India is located on the Indus river
• China is located on the Huang He river
• Greece is located between the Ionian and Aegean seas
• Rivers provided key essentials for a great civilization like bathing, irrigation, fishing, drinking, and transportation)
• Water is a dependable source
• Greece is between Italy and Turkey, South of Yugoslavia
• 1,400 islands surround Greece 
• Greece has many mountains which makes it easier to sail around than travel across
• The Greeks are very skilled sailers, navigators, and ship building
• Terra means "Earth" and Mediterranean means "Middle of the Earth"
• Greece goes into the Mediterranean sea

March 2nd Cyberday

1. Note the significance of Greece's location.

• Greece is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Aegean Sea which gives them access to a place for fishing, bathing, and transportation. 

2. Describe Greece's topography. 

• Greece has a mountain range called the Pindus which runs from North to South down the middle of Greece, dividing the peninsula into 4 geographic regions. 

3. Look at Greece's surroundings. 

• Greece is surrounded by water on three sides, and 80% is covered by mountain ranges. 

4. How would all this effect their culture?

• The location of Greece caused the people who settled there to be independent from other civilizations and people who used and took advantage of the water. They traded lots of goods and grew things like olives for olive oil and grapes for wine. 

5. What bodies of water surround Greece?

• Greece is surrounded by 3 bodies of water. The Mediterranean Sea, The Ionian Sea, and the Aegean Sea. 

6. What large island is to the South/Southeast?

• Crete is located at the Southern edge of the Aegean Sea, Southeast of Greece. 

7. Describe where Athens and Sparta are located relating to the sea, and to each other. 

• Athens and Sparta are both located in the South near the Mediterranean sea. Athens is located in the Southeast region of Greece, and Sparta is located in the Southwest region.