Today in class we took our Rome test; this is our last test we will take in western civ. Well except for the exam. The test was very fair, and was easier then expected. I didn't do as well as planned on the test. Now I have to review the questions for the essay part of the exam tomorrow. I plan to do a great job on the essay as well as the Scantron portion of the exam.

Today, Friday 5/22 I was not in class because my sister had surgery. The surgery went as planned, and she is home resting now. Here are the notes I got from Chris.

Crossing the Rubicon
-Julius defied the Senate and did what he want - he took his soldiers over the Rubicon
-Brutus and the Senate murdered Julius on March 15 (Ides of March) 44BC
-Brutus was Julius' friend but he thought he had too much power

-Octavian, 18 at the time, took Julius' power
-Lepidus and Mark Antony worked with Octavian
-Octavian changed his name to Caesar Augustus

-Caesar Augustus
-period that came after Caesar Augustus - Pax Romana - Roman time of peace 

In class we finished up the projects. After we just sat around and talked about the upcoming weeks. Our test got changed to Wednesday, which I'm happy about because we have more time to study.

Today in Western Civ Nikki, Chris and I presented our project on the Roman Colosseum. We had to go first because the originally scheduled group wasn't ready. I think we did okay on our project, just have to wait to see what we got.

Today in Western Civ we watch three people present their projects. All of the projects were appealing, but some weren't as great as others. Tomorrow is the day we present our project, I am a little nervous; but i think we will do okay.

Today in West Civ we took notes and continued watching the video.
Below are my notes ....

Poor plebs (literally)

• The poet Juvenal said the people "anxiously hopes for two things: bread and circuses"
• bread (free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet

A change in rule 

• Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful) 
• Military generals worked that angle - lead an army that conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
• soldiers' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic

Nobody did that better then Caesar 

• Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE) 
• a highly successful general 
• he conquered the huge territory of Gaul 

He could play the game (of politics) 

• made common folks happy 
• made friends in high places 
• Pompey (a general who conquered Syria and Palestine) 
• Crassus (the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history)
• these three men formed the First Triumvirate ("rule of three men")

Today in West Civ we had a pop quiz. I did okay, on the quiz. Whatever I feel that these pop quizzes are crap.

Today in class we watched the video that we were suppose to watch last Friday

Today in West civ we had a sub because Mr. Schick wasn't here. We went to the ceramic room, and worked on our project. We started to write the one page paper to go along with the project. Hopefully, we will finish the paper before this mod is over. We also got to see Maggie, the cutest dog ever.

Today in western civ we went tried to watch the video that is on Mr. Schick's blog. His computer didn't work so we had to watch it individually.

Today in class we took more notes, they are listed below. 


Roman Legion-5,000 soldiers, not in it for pay (not yet)            -The Roman army’s elite heavy infantry            -Recruited exclusively from Roman citizens            -Group of eighty – century            -On horseback – cavalry            -Shield, sword, dagger and tunic

Punic Wars in Carthage-The Punic Wars (264 – 146 BCE)-Rome vs. Carthage-Three wars

Two Empires fighting for control

First Punic War – (264 – 241 BCE)-Naval battle for control of the strategically located of Sicily-Rome wins this oneThe (Carthaginian) Empire Strikes Back

Second Punic War (218 – 201 BCE)-29 year old Carthage general Hannibal almost does the impossible taking Rome-Attacks Rome from the North after crossing Iberia and the Alps-Lays siege too much of the peninsula for 15 years, but could never get back to Rome

Third and Final Punic War (149 – 146 BCE)-Rome wanted to finally remove the threat of Carthage-Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attached the city-Carthage was burned for 17 days, the city’s walls and buildings were utterly destroyed-When the war ended, the last 50,000 people in the city was sold into slavery-The rest of Carthage’s territories were annexed, and made into the Roman province of Africa

Total Destruction; end of an empire-Marcus Portius Cato the Elder was a politician who ended every speech by saying, “Delenda Carthage est.” which means Carthage must be destroyed-He got his wish

Economic Change; Social Upheavels-Slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)-By the end of the Second Century BCE there was over a million slaves in Italy-Small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles-Slaves did the work on the farms for the rich-The big farms became massive estates called latifundia

Below are the notes we took in class 

Patricians
Rule of Kings is replaced by rule of two consuls
-Consuls are elected officials
-Term of office: one year
-Always aristocrats (patricians)
-Patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor or “pater” (father)
-Duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army
-One consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)
Plebeians
-Fifth century BCE – Patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs (“people”)
-Plebs were 98% of the population
-How did the Patricians dominate?
            -Plebs had to serve in the army
            -But could not hold office
            -Plebs were threatened with debt slavery
            -Plebs had no legal rights
-Plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials
-Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs
-Patricians cold interpret these to their own advantage
So, plebs refused to serve in the military until…
-Laws were written out – The Law of the Twelve Tables
-These laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)
-Tribunes “tribal leaders” were elected
SPQR – Senatus Populusque Romanum
-Designates any decree or decision made by “the Roman Senate and People”
Res publica – the people’s affairs
Brand new republic, ready to run
-Democracy (the people’s assembly and the tribunes)
-Aristocracy (the Senate – approx. 300 members)
-Plus monarchy (the Consuls)
-Not a tyranny
Gov’t. : ancient Roman/ USA
-Originally, the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans
-Not exactly the same

-But both have 3 branches of government
            -Executive
            -Legislative
            -Judicial
-And both have a legal code
3 branches (1) – Rome/USA

Rome
-Executive
            -Two consuls
            -One-year terms
            -Each has veto power
            -Controls the military
            -Could appoint a dictator in a crisis for a six-month term

USA
-Executive
            -President (and VP)
            -Four-year terms
            -Can veto proposed laws
            -Commander in Chief
3 branches (2) – Rome/USA

Rome
-Legislative
            -Senate – 300 people – aristocrats – members for life
            -Assemblies

USA
-Legislative
            -Senate – 100 senates (two from each state) six-year terms
            -House of Representatives – 435 members
3 branches (3) – Rome/USA

Rome
-Judicial
            -Praetors
            -Chosen by the Centuriate Assembly
            -One-year terms

USA
-Judicial
            -Supreme Court
            -Nine members
            -Appointment by the president, confirmed by the Senate
-Lifetime terms

Legal Code – Rome/USA

Rome
-Twelve Tables
-Publically displayed
-Gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats
-Only protected free – born male citizens (not women)

USA
-Bill of Rights
-First ten amendments to Constitution

Today in class we had the opportunity to go talk to the junior AP honor US history class. They called it the 1920s "speakeasy". I thought that it was boring in the beginning, but when I started talking to the people, I liked it more. My favorite was Clara Bow. She did a great job acting as her, and she was very enthusiastic about it. This is also was my favorite time period which makes it better!

Who settled in Rome?

Etruscans

• came from the north - central part of the peninsula 
• metalworkers, artists, architects 
• two foundation myths - Virgil's plus the story of Remus and romulus 

Greeks 

• They had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea 
• Romans borrowed ideas from them, such as: 
• religious beliefs 
• alphabet 
• much of their art 
• military techniques and weaponry

But who first settled there? 

the Latins! 

• descendants of Indo-europeans 
• settled on the banks of the Tiber 
• situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further 
• a commercial port, but not susceptible to attack 
• and .. built on seven hills 

Remus wanted Aventine 

Romulus chose Palatine

They drained a swamp 

• many streams flowed into the Tiber 
• there was a marshy area called the Forum, between Palatine and Capitoline Hills 
• Tarquin the Proud's grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the tiber

Now Tarquin's kinda proud, but he got a little loud 

• Lucius Tarquinas Superbus 
• The seventh and final king of Rome
• known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to Tarquin the Arrogant) 
• a true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word 

No kings no more

• The people's shock at this horrible behavior and this horrible family made them NEVER want to be subject to the rule of kings EVER again - this was an attitude that lasted for centuries 

Today in class I was starving, but we worked on organizing our project. We made a list of what we need to get and who will get the supplies. Im very excited to complete this project. Tonight I will be going to get the supplies so we can start this project on Sunday.

Class on Friday was all about our projects. Since Nikki wasn't there Chris and I brainstormed over ideas and what we could do. I think that our project will get an A, and I'm excited to start it.

Today in class we took notes, they are listed down below ....

1. They drained a swamp for Rome.
2. Tarquin the proud was a bad tyrant.
3. Tarquin's son was guilty of raping an older women (Lucricia).
4. Tarquin didn't care. he didn't punish him.
5. She committed suicide after the rape.
6. The Roman people were outraged; They ran Tarquin and his family out of Rome. 
7. After that, they took 3 different governments and combined them all to make their republic.
8. A Roman legion had 5,000 people. The legion was divided into century's consisting of 80 soldiers.
9. Carthage is in Africa.
10. Conflict started about how people wanted to control the passages of trade and the coast.
11.  Romans took Sicily from Carthage. 
12. Hannibal wanted to take over Rome.
13. Hannibal attacked from the "back door" of Rome.
14. They never took Rome.
15. Romans came down to Carthage and absolutely annihilated them. 

Today in class it was normal as usual. We started taking notes until the phone ran and said Mr. Schick has a visitor. Mr. Schick went to go get him, and it ended up being Mr. Schick with a sweatshirt and sunglasses. Mr. Schick performed Low by Flo Rida. The performance was pretty funny because he changed the lyrics into things about Rome. After, we took notes, they are listed below...

City - State: The Roman Republic (4 of 4)

• Romans had strong values & a particular connection to the God Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera), and Minerva (Athena) 
• Romans believed that it was every citizen's duty to participate in government and war, excluding women 
• The Roman family and clan (group of related families) was paternalistic and the "family father" had complete control 
• Named women were also revered in Rome as "Matrons"
• Pater familias - in charge of family

Roman Expansion (1 of 3)

Allies & Colonies 

• Rome was a military culture & made a number of improvements to the older Greek tactics which made their armies nimble and effective 
• When Rome conquered a neighboring territory, they often extended Roman rights & privileges to the conquered people, absorbing them into Rome itself 
• Non-Romans in Italy, anxious to become Roman citizens, were incentivized to become allies of Rome 
• Tarquin the Proud - leader - monarch 
• New form of government - republic 

Today in class we went over our new chapter on Rome.

Because I forgot my book, here are the notes Chris allowed me to use...

Rome

Etruscans, Greeks, and Latin – first settlers on the peninsula

Ninth Century – Etruscans move into Italy

-Greeks have colonies all around the Mediterranean in Tiber River

City State and Empire: The Roman Republic (1 of 4)

·      Italy and Its People

-       Indo-European tribes moved into the Italian peninsula and some settled along the Tiber River creating the city-state known as Rome

-       The Etruscan people, originally from the east, had settled in the north of Italy and were also influenced by the Greek’s settlements to their south and learned the alphabet and city-state organization from them

Remus and Romulus – brothers

-       Mother: Ria Sylvia and Mars, a god, had an affair and had the boys

-       The twins were abandoned to die in the river

-       The River carried them to safety

-       She-wolf took care of them

-       A Shepard and his wife eventually “adopted” them

-       Both grew up to be leaders

-       They had an argument over where their land would be

-       Romulus killed Remus because of the argument

City State and Empire: The Roman Republic (2 of 4)

·      The Roman Republic: The Senate and the People

-       Originally, Rome was a monarchy on the Etruscan model with a council of elders called the “Senate”

-       C. 500 B.C., the Romans overthrew their monarchy and established a “Republic”

-       Since the Senate was populated only by patricians (aristocratic men), the plebeians (ordinary citizens) fought for a vote in Rome’s government

-       Each year the Senate elected two rules, “consuls,” who each served a term of one year

-       As in the Greek City-States, the Romans would appoint a single dictator in times on war or conflict

City State and Empire: The Roman Republic (3 of 4)

·      The Roman Republic: The Senate and the People

-       Eventually the plebeians gained power in the Senate by electing their own magistrates called “tribunes”

-       In 450 B.C.,  the laws of Rome were codified and written into the “Twelve Tablets”

-       The “mixed” government of patricians and plebeians had many of the checks and balances that modern democracies have today

Today in Western Civ class we learned about our new project! We are now moving on to Ancient Rome. My partners are Chris and Nikki, I'm very happy with my group. We have a great topic, it will take a lot of time and effort but our grade will reflect it.

Today in class we watched the video that we were suppose to watch yesterday. The video is called "Plato's Allegory of the Cave". The video was very strange in the beginning, but after you watched and thought about it, it made more sense. The video is about prisoners that were locked up in a cave. The only thing that gave them an idea of what life is like outside of the cave would be the shadows they saw, passing by. One of the prisoners had the chance to go into the real world. He didn't expect it to be like the shadows he saw, he went back into the cave to tell others. When he went back into the cave to tell them, the prisoners made fun of him. As a class, we were close to the meaning of the video but not exactly there. Mr. Schick then told us that people and news casters want us to believe everything we hear from them. The message is we need to form our, own personal ideas and opinions on things in life. That we shouldn't follow everything everyone else does and believes. 

Today in class we went over mistakes that were on our essays.  Some of the topics we talked about were what words to capitalize and what words we shouldn't. We then started to talk about how we will write many essays in our high school years. I think that writing this essay for Western Civ will help me become a better writer. Since we were not able to watch the video in class today, we will start it tomorrow.

Today in class we went over our test on Ancient Greece. I should've studied more then I did, so I would've had a better grade. I can just now hope to do well on my next test and my blogs so I can bring my grade up. Also, we got our papers back, personally I think that we should've gotten a better grade. There were little errors that took off points. Im gonna take this as a learning experience, which only can help me write better papers.

Today in class we had a test on Ancient Greece. I did not do well on the test at all. But oh well, better luck next time

Today in class we went over our paper and finalized it. The only thing we have to do is print it out.  Hope you're having fun Mr. Schick!!

Class on Friday was great, because we were able to finish the paper. No one was talking and everyone could concentrate. I am now working on finalizing the paper. Hopefully on Monday we will finish the paper and then can start studying for our test. Hope Mr. Schick is having fun visiting his daughter!!

Today in class we had time to work on our 1,000 word paper, watch the video, or study for our test thats on April 1st. I chose to work on the paper. Today in class I made an outline, wrote the introduction and first body paragraph. I think that my group needs to work a little harder so we aren't rushed to write this paper early next week. Hopefully tomorrow we will complete more of the paper!!

Today in class we went over the powerpoint once again
below are my notes ...

Gods & Goddesses

• What is unique about the Greeks' relationship with their gods is the interactions with humans 
• Poseidon (god of sea) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home
• Aphrodite (god of love) had lovers of both Gods & men 
• Dionysus (god of wine) son of Zeus (a god) & of semele (a human princess) 

Who's who in the Pantheon

• Zeus - ruler of heaven and earth; father of Athena; god of sky, weather, thunder, lighting, law, order, justice 
• Had a temper, was known to hurl thunderbolts 

Athena

• Athena - goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare (and peace), intelligence, battle, strategy, and handicrafts 
• She was born from Zeus' head fully formed & armed 
• Special patron of heroes - such as odysseus 
• She was patron of Athens 
• city named after her

Apollo 

• god of music, arts, knowledge, healing
• Zeus was his father, Artemis was his twin sister 
• he associated the sun, his sister with the moon

Poseidon

• god of sea, rivers, flood, earthquakes 
• brother os Zeus, king of seas & water 

Aphrodite

• god of love, beauty, desire, sexuality 
• had many lovers - Ares (god of war), Adonis (demi - god of desire), and Arichises (mortal - fathered a baby) 

Demeter

• god of grain, harvest, agriculture 
• Zeus's sister 

The fighting Sparta

• Greeks were certainly warlike people - especially the Spartans 
• Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on land 
• Spartan boys trained from the time thy were seven 
• Real Spartans were much more fearsome than those oily gym rats in the movie 300 (MHO) 

A Naval power 

• Athens had a great infantry too, but nothing could compare with their navy 
• their most effective weapon was the trirme: 
• a technological marvel 
• fastest ship in the world at the time 
• rowed by up too 170 men on three levels 
• could be used as a battering ram 
• agile, fast 

The Phalanx

• close - rank, dense grouping of warriors
• armed with long spears and interlocking shields 
• soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy, until they broke through their ranks 

Philosopherlapalooza - Socrates 

• looked to science and logic (not the mythological gods) for explanations of how the world worked 
• the Socratic Method fostered critical thinking 
• "the unexamined life is not worth living" 
• Socrates was charged with crimes 
• impiety (disrespecting gods)
• corrupting the youth
• At his trial, he described himself as a stinging gadfly, Athens as a lazy old horse 
• didn't deny what he did, he asked for free dinners 
•  found guilty by jury, sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock 
• could've gotten out of jail - but he followed the rules and stayed

Today in class we went over Mr. Schick's example essay for us.  The essay went over the directions for our Ancient Greece essay.  I think this essay will be easy because I don't mind writing papers and if everyone works together it will be done in no time. Our essay is based on Art and Architecture which will be easy, because we did a great job on our powerpoint which will be used as an outline.

Class on Friday was very informational. We all had about 5 minutes to go over our Power points that were on different topics. I feel like my group did a good job presenting, but we don't know exactly until Mr. Schick puts our grades in. Im hoping we did a great job, so it will improve my grade !!

Today we took more notes on the powerpoint.
Below are my notes ...

Next in line

• with hippias gone, Isagoras & Cleisthenes (both are aristocrats) 
• Isagoras had support from fellow aristocrats, plus from sparta 
• Cleisthenes had support of the majority of Athenians

Isagros Wins

• he ostracize Cleisthenes 
• Cleisthenes' supporters & the ordinary Athenian Citizens - revolt against Isagros tyranny 
• They trap Isagoras on the acropolis for two days - on the third day - he fled & was banished 
• 508 BCE 

Cleisthenes & Democracy 

• Cleisthenes - definitely a member of the elite 
• very rich 
• insulated from the "hoi polloi" 
• a crafty politician 

Today in class we continued talking notes on Ancient Greece
Below are notes that Chris let me take off of his blog; because I forgot my book at school.

Transformation Of Government

-During the seventh and sixth centuries BCE aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece
-Really? Rich people held much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle class or the poor.

Aristocracy

-Aristocracy is ruled by aristocrats
-They attended symposiums
-Symposiums were meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats and the coming of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussing politics

An Exclusive Club

-No women allowed (except the "entertainment")
-No middle class
-Certainly, no slaves
-Sometimes, even aristocrats who didn't have the right connections or who fell out of favor, were excluded
-What to do if you're "on the outside"?

Tyrants Seize Control

-Sometimes, aristocrats would form alliances with hoplites (well-armed soldiers) and set up an alternative form of government called a tyranny
-Tyrant: someone who rules outside the framework of the polis
-Modern meaning of tyrant: an abusive or oppressive ruler
-The Greek meaning of tyrant: someone who simply seized power on their own (usually with hoplite)

Clash of the Tyrants
-Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE
-His brother was murdered and his rule became harsh
-Eventually he was expelled from Athens (this is called being ostracized)
-In revenge, he began working with Persian King Darius I, helping them invade Marathon

Today in class, we had the whole mod to work on our projects. Our powerpoint follows the rubric, so we will get a good grade. I think that we should add about 5 more slides and we will have a great grade. Katie, Sophia, and I have been putting in a lot of information and we have shared the work evenly. I hope that we will have this project done by Wednesday, so we can go over it on Thursday, and then on Friday we can present.

Today in class we talked about our Project and Test coming up. I'm in a group with Katie and Sophia. The topic we chose was Art and Architecture in Ancient Greece. I think that this will be pretty easy.

Today in class we learned about Homer the Storyteller. And we also had a terrible pop quiz, which was absurd. Below I listed my notes ....

Homer the Storyteller

• Greek oral tradition - stories passed on by word of mouth 
• Homer lived at the end of the "Greek Dark Ages"
• He composed stories of the Trojan War c. 750 - 700 BCE 
• The lliad: probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaens (the Trojan War) 
• The Odyssey: Odysseus attempt to return home, being thwarted by angry god of the sea, Poseidon 
• The Odyssey was 12,110 lines of clactylic hexameter 

Did Homer actually exist ?

• "Homeric question" Homer may have been a mythical creation himself 
• A blind wandering minstrel; a heroic figure 
• lliad and the odyssey may be the culmination of many generations of storytelling 
• Or Homer actually existed and was just that awesome 

Today in class we went over the powerpoint on Ancient Greece
Below are my notes ....

• Greece is a mountainous peninsula 
• mountains cover 3/4 of Greece 
• Approximately 1,400 islands in the Adriatic 
• Ionian and Aegean Seas 
• This combination shaped Greece's culture 
• They had skilled sailors and ship builders 
• They had limited natural resources so they needed to trade
• It was difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain 
• developed small independent (communities) city-states 
• although fertile valleys cover on quarter of the peninsula
• only about 20% is suitable for farming 
• Greek diet consists of 
• grapes
• grains
• olives 
• lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization 
• back then the temperatures ranged from the mid 40s in the winter and in the summer it was in the low 80s. 
• had pretty nice weather - year round

Early People 

• Mycenaens 
• their influence began around 2000 BCE 
• Mycenaensis located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20- foot thick wall 
• Mycenaen kings dominated Greece from 1600 - 1200 BCE 
• controlled the trade region 
• 1400 BCE invaded Crete and absorbed minoan culture and language 
• "Sea people' & Dorians 
• around 1200 BCE the mysterious "sea people" invaded Myceanae & burnt palace after palace 
• so, the dorians moved into this war - torn region 
• far less advanced 
• trade based economy collapsed 
• writing disappeared for 400 years 
• talk about culture in decline except  

Cyber Day 3/6/15

Plato - Greek Philosopher 

Plato - Greek Philosopher

Plato was born in Athens around the year 428 BCE. Plato's father died when he was a child, when his mother remarried, he lived with Pyrijampes. Plato's birth name is Aristocles. Plato studied music and poetry when he was younger. Plato met Socrates and knew he would be a perfect teacher for him. Plato took after Socrates and "adopted his philosophy and style of debate". From 409 BC to 404 BC Plato joined the military. After 399 BC Plato began to write greatly. We still don't know if he was writing before Socrates' death. Plato died in 347, leaving the Academy to his sister's child, Speusippus. Plate was a model for "institutions of higher learning".


Citation:
"Plato - Biography." 
Plato. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Cyber Day 3/5/15

Below is my cyber day assignment ...

Three ancient Greece buildings 

1. Temple of Hera, Selinus 
2. The Theatre 
3. The Stadium 

Temple of Hera, Salinus

Temple of Hera

The Temple of Hera is one of the oldest temples in Greece. The temple has a "characteristic squat appearance", is very long, and is facing east-west. The temple has 3 chambers, pronaos, cella, and opisthodomos. The columns were made out of "shallow cavities", the lower part of the temple was made of shell-limestone, and the upper part of the temple was made out of mud brick. The temple was decorated in art work and with pictures of the winners from the Heraia games.

The website I used is:
http://www.olympia-greece.org/hera.html

The Theatre - Argos

The Theatre - Argos

Greek theaters were open, large, and always on hills for seating. As you can see in the picture you can see the seating goes down the hill. They built these theaters to honor their gods in the beginning, then moved on to being entertainment for the city of Athens. The theaters could hold up to about 20,000 people. The theatre was the gathering place for the whole city.



The websites I used are: 
http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/tragedy_theater.html
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Theatre/

The Stadium - Nemea

Nemea Stadium 

The Nemea games were held at this stadium, the games were held every 2 years. The games went on for 573 BCE to 271 BCE. People would sit on the "grassy banks or the rows of stone seats." The surface is sorta like clay and is 178 miles long. Today in Greece every for years there is games that are held and are open to all. The stadium was constructed around 330 BCE. This stadium is just like others around Ancient Greece. During the roman time period this stadium became a place for farming and herding.

The websites I used are: 

http://www.ancient.eu/image/612/
http://nemeacenter.berkeley.edu/projects/stadium

Today in western civ class we talked about cyber days, for about 30 minutes. After Mr. Schick was done telling us about his idea of cyber days and how we have to have at least 45 minutes of work, he handed out the tests on Egypt. Hopefully next class we will go over the test & start talking about Greece.

Cyber Day 3/2/15

(Ancient) Greece if the Word
- an introduction to a great civilization

• The world's greatest civilizations are all located on rivers 

Great Civilization - Key River

• Mesopotamia - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers 
• Egypt - Nile River 
• India - Indus River 
• China - Huang He River 

Q1. Greece is surrounded by water which helps them and there culture. Greece seems to be very mountainous.

Q2. The bodies of water that surround Greece are the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea.

Q3. The large island that is south/southeast of Greece is Crete.

Q4. Athens and Sparta are both very close to the seas, but it looks like they are located far apart. They both seem to be on other sides of each other.

Today in class we had a test on Egypt. To be honest, I don't think I did as well as I thought. I ended up getting a 77% which was terrible. I should've studied more, and that is my fault. Hopefully this test doesn't lower my grade too much. I just have to study more next time!!

Cyber Day once again, yes I'm crying.

1. Egyptian life is centered around the __________________.  The _______________ flows _______________ to ______________.  It is used for drinking, irrigation, bathing, and transportation. 
2. Every ____________ the Nile River floods and every ____________ it leaves behind rich soil. 
3. The ________________________ was built in 2555 - 2532 B.C. 
4. Who is the lowest and the highest on the pyramid. 
5. What was the jobs of the slaves/servants? 

Key

1. Egyptian life is centered around the Nile River.  The Nile flows south to north.  It is used for drinking, irrigation, bathing, and transportation. 
2. Every July the Nile River floods and every October it leaves behind rich soil. 
3. The Great Sphinx of Giza was built in 2555 - 2532 B.C. 
4. Who is the lowest and the highest on the pyramid. The highest on the pyramid is the pharaoh and the lowest on the pyramid is the slaves / servants. 
5. What was the jobs of the slaves/servants? There job was to help the wealthy with household and child raising duties. 

Today in class we had a sub, due to Mr. Schick being in DC with the seniors.

Pyramid Quest

• Harun al-Rashid's youngest son Al-Ma'mun set up camp looking for the Pharaohs treasure and to find the secret of the weapon that does not rust and bends but does not break (1802 AD)
• Al-Ma'mun came with hundreds of stone mason engineers and architects, not an army of soldiers
• Scribes said that everything he was looking for was behind the stone plates of the great pyramid (guarded by the sphinx)
• The pyramid could only be entered by a stone lifted on the side, this was very hard because all the stones looked alike
• When they finally got in (by breaking in), they found no treasures
• Even the pharaohs sarcophagus was empty
• people are still studying this pyramid

Mummification

• Mummy of a young man named Herakleides
• died in Egypt in the 1st century A.D. at about 20 years old
• Mummification was developed by the Ancient Egyptians to preserve the body for the afterlife
• Typically all internal organs removed before mummification, except the heart
• In Herakleides case, the heart was removed but not his lungs 
• The body is left for 40 days covered in salt until all moisture was gone

John Green's Crash Course

• Ancient Egypt is the most influential river valley civilizations
• Ancient Egyptian Civilization lasted from 3000 B.C.E. to 332 B.C.E
• The Nile River was one of the safest and richest agricultural areas in the world
• Planting was easy for the Egyptians
• Egyptian communities existed only along the Nile
• Timber and gold - the divine medal
• The Nile is easily tamed

Today, Friday the 20th we had a cyber day. Here is my cyber day assignment ..

5 technological developments of ancient Egyptians

1. sun clocks 
2. water clocks 
3. black ink 
4. modern 365 day calendar 
5. sails

Sun Clocks: Obelisks ( 4 sided monuments) moving shadows formed a kind of sundial, providing Egyptians to split the days into two parts by "indicating noon" They also showed the longest and shortest days of the years. After, when markers were added it helped divide the time. The sun clock were important because they allowed to have a schedule and were able to teach others about the 

Water Clocks were the earliest time keepers that didn't depend on the "observation of celestial bodies". One of the oldest was found in the tomb of clepsydras ("water thief"). A water clock were stone vessels with sloping sides that enabled water to drip into the hole at the bottom. 

Black ink was one of the types of ink and dyes that the ancient Egyptians invented. The depth of the colors were utilized a lot in Egypt. The same colors and inks can and are seen today. The ink helped them  write in hieroglyphs and in hieratic. 

Modern 365 day calendar was invented by the Egyptians. They didn't use the lunar calendar system. They established the calendar with the help of the solar system, the 12 months, 30 days in each month, with 5 extra days. They also founded leap year in the year 238 B.C

Sails helped the Egyptians travel and have efficient ways of getting water to the land.  

The list of importance

1. water clocks 
2. sun clocks 
3. calendar 
4. sails
5. ink 

Today in class we went over and finished up the powerpoint on Egypt. Since Mr. Schick wasn't here last Friday, i have already posted the notes we went over today. Overall today was a good class.

Today in class we went over the Gun, Germ, Steel test. I did really well on that test, I got a 96 !! After Mr. Schick gave us all the test back, we went over the test. We went around the room, read the question then gave the answer.  The one question that I got wrong was a mistake that I made, and I now know the correct answer.

Daily Life

• Slaves/servants helped the wealthy with household & child raising duties 
• farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions - benefitted from irrigation of the Nile
• Artisans would carve statues & reliefs showing military battles & scenes in the after life. 
• Money/ barter system was used - merchants might accept bags of grain for payment - later coinage came about. 
• Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry described anatomy & medical treatments 
• They wrote in hieroglyphs & in hieratic 
• Soldiers used wooden weapons (bows, arrows, and spears) with bronze tips & might ride chariots
• Upper class known as the "white kilt class" - priests, physicians engineers. 

Pharaohs 

• the political & religious  leader of the Egyptian people, holding the titles "Lord of the Two Lands" and "High priest of Every Temple" 
• As the "Lord of the Two Lands" the pharaoh was the ruler of Upper & Lower Egypt 
• He owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, defended Egypt against foreigners 
• Hatshepsut was a women who served as pharaoh
• Cleopatra VII also served as pharaoh, but much later (51 - 30 B.C) more on her when we study Greece 

Goddesses & Gods

• over 2,000 Gods & Goddesses
• they "controlled" the lives of humans 

Notes from class 2/11/15 ...

geography 

• Egyptian life is centered around the nile River
• it flows south to north 
• everyone lives near the nile 
• Water for drinking, irrigating, bathing, transportation (sails)
• every july it floods 
• every october it leaves behind rich soil
• delta is a broad triangular area of fertile soil
• longest river in the world 

Pyramids 

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

Daily Life

• Slaves/servants helped the wealthy with household & child raising duties 
• farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions - benefitted from irrigation of the Nile
• Artisans would carve statues & reliefs showing military battles & scenes in the after life. 
• Money/ barter system was used - merchants might accept bags of grain for payment - later coinage came about. 

Today in class we had our first quiz on the video Guns, Germs, Steel. I thought that the test was easy, but I think I should've studied more, so I would of had a better grade. I think that I will get an 80 or above. After class we went over the test on Mesopotamia, and fixed anything that was wrong. Im glad we went over the test so we could use our test as an exam review.

Today in Western Civ, we started off by moving our seats. Then we got our tests back, there was 3 rings of the bell I think, and I was one of them.  We also got informed that we would have a test on Guns, Germs, and Steel on Monday. We went over people questions and then Mr. Schick gave us an idea of what types of questions would be on the test like what lands were lucky enough to have growth, why Jarred Diamond was in Papuanew Guiea.

Today I wasn't in class because i don't feel good. So here are the notes that Chris gave me ....

• These people invented plaster
• Plaster made the house smooth inside
• Created a new job for the people 
• Stone had to be heated for days at over 1,000 degrees
• New Guinea never technologically developed
• Spent too much time feeding themselves
• Fertile Crescent is no longer the power house
• Most villages were abandoned
• Too dry for farming
• Entire communities were forced to move on
• Animals moved from the Fertile Crescent
• Once they reached Egypt, they caused an explosion of civilization
• Suddenly - enough food for everyone
• Same is true for European civilizations
• 16th century - crops and animals taken to America from Europe
• Diamond was criticized
• Divisions of the world are not set in stone
• Some New Guineans try to catch up to the rest of the world but they still have a long way to go
• Geography is the answer to the New Guinean's question
• All of their time was spent making sure there was enough food for their people
• Used to farm as much as possible and then moved on to a new location