Letter to my future self

Dear Future Self,

    After this year there is a good chance that you can handle almost anything academically.  This year presented a whole new set of challenges that most of us never thought that we would ever face.  We are living through one of the biggest world events in recent history.  This is my generation's Vietnam.   For a long period, I understood that I would never face a major world event.  I was sadly mistaken.  I can now tell my grandkids, "Back in my day...".  After this year I should be ready for almost anything.  I have worked hard to teach myself and makeup where the lack of being able to ask questions of the teachers, and where I would be able to talk with my friends I had to resort to my cell phone.  I think I have begun to go a little crazy due to lack of human interaction, although I have been working still since my job is still considered essential and that has helped but I still do miss going to school and seeing all of my friends. 

    This Year has proved challenges like no other year I have ever faced in school.  I believe that this is the most that my grades have ever hurt in school, but I have still been able to keep them all up abovea  90% to keep straight A's, but not being able to hear all of the teacher's instructions and lesson.  It has helped to occasionally receive video lessons or a live class.  This learning to work on my own will definitely help me in the future though, at times I know some college classes may function similarly.  Even in nonacademic situations, it is always beneficial to be able to work on your own and get things done because you will not always be able to have helped form other people.  Also, I have become more familiar with what works for me in the order of learning.  

    Continue to work hard and have fun doing it,

            Past Self

rise of the emporers

• After Ceaser's death, his great-nephew/ adopted son takes control at 18
• forms his own triumvirate 
• Mark Antony, powerful general
• Lepidus, powerful politician 
• second triumvirate 
• Octavian forces weak Lepidus to step down
• He and Antony become rivals 
• Antony partners with Cleopatra of Egypt - Militarily, personally, politically, and economically 
• Octavian beats them at the battle of Actium 
• Octavian now the unchallenged ruler of Rome  
• Given title Agustus meaning chosen one 
• also given title Imperator or Supreme Military Commander
• this is where the word Emporer comes from 
• Rome is now an Empire, not a republic
• Octavian ruled as Emporer for 40 years
• began the period of peace and prosperity called pax Romana 
• 207 years long from 27bc-180 ad 
• he expanded Rome further into Africa 
• set up civil services to help the gov 
• built roads
• collected taxes
• established a postal service 
• administered grain supply 
• building public facilities such as aqueducts and other buildings
• police department 
• fire fighting organization 
• Died of natural causes
• Tiberius 
• AD14-AD37
• excellent general, but reluctant Emporer
• after the death of his son, he exiled himself and left prefects in charge
• died at 77
• Caligula
• AD 37 - AD 41
• won a power struggle after Tiberius' death 
•   known for extravagance, cruelty, and perversity  
• killed by praetorian guards and members of the court and senate looking to reform Rome
• Claudius 
• AD 41 - AD 54
• suffered from limp, studdering, slobbering, and shaking, possibly from cerebral palsy 
• ruled well, performed public works 
• started conquest to Brittain 
• poisoned by his last wife so her son Nero could rise to power
• Nero
• 54-68
• emphasized arts 
• huge fire in 64 wanted to rebuild Rome
• hugely overspent raided temples for money

Julius Ceaser's fall

I will be taking my test on ancient Rome on June 2 from 1:25-2:15

Plebs have a history of revolting

• How to keep the plebs from revolting 
• the Juvenal  poet said that all Rome desires are bread and circuses 
• give them bread, free grain from the state, and entertainment to keep them distracted and peaceful 
• Tiberius Gracchus noticed the benefits in helping the plebs 
• Military generals also used this ideal when the gave the soldiers some of the lands that they conquered
•  made soldiers loyal to their leaders, not necessarily to the republic 
• Julius Ceaser (100-44BC)
• Very powerful and successful general 
• COnquered large amounts of territory including Gual 
• made the common folks happy 
• He also had many friends in high places 
• include Pompey 
• Crassus
• these three men formed the triumvirate  
• Ceaser crossed the rubicon, the point of no return into Gual 
• Frist Ceaser served as a consul for one year
• he then appoints himself as the governor of Gual 
• Ceaser's army clashed with Pompey in Greece Asia, Spain, and Egypt 
•  In 44 bc he is named dictator for 6 mo then life 
• Ceaser made many reforms
• made people in provinces citizens 
• expanded senate 
• c\made jobs for the poor, mostly through public works
• increased pay for soldiers 
• started colonies where those who didn't own land could own property 
• Ceaser was assassinated on March 15 44 BC 
• assassinated because people saw Ceaser's rise in power as a huge threat to political viability 
• they lured him into the senate and stabbed him 23 times 
• even by his friend brutus 
• Octavian named Ceasers sole heir 
• ends republic

Essay Planning

Opening 

• US and roman governments very similar
• US gov based off of the roman government  
• both republics 
• both have three branches
• Judicial 
• Executive 
• Legislative 
• Both even ha legal code
• THESIS: While the US government was based on the Roman government, they are both very similar to each other, but with there similarities there are several differences due to their differences in time when they were created, and the people that the governed.

1st paragraph 

• One of the branches that they both shared was the executive branch 
• in both govs, this was a person or small group of people that helped to make the laws and controll military
• even though this branch exists in both goverenments there were several differences
• for the roman s there are two people in this branch, and serve 1 year term
• in US made of 1 person with their VP 4-year term 
• Both groups can veto proposed laws, and they are both in charge of the military.
• This branch is on of the most similar between the two governments

2nd Paragraph 

• Both governments also shared a legislative branch made up of many people who helped to make laws
• each made up of two houses, but these houses were both different 
• in Rome, there was the 300 strong senate and the assembly made up of 193 people from each tribe
• in the US there is the senate which has 100 members
• house has 435 members
• both similar, but several small differences

3rd paragraph

• the third and most different branch is the judicial branch 
• in rome there were praetors chosen by assembly served one year
• in US Supreme justices nominated by pres, serve lifetime 

Closing

• although the US gov was based off of roman it is sim, but still has many differences
• similar in many ways, but different because they were founded by different times and people, similar because they were both made when the people escaped an oppressive gov and leader

essay question

For my essay, I will compare the similarities and differences between the Ancient Roman Republic and Our current republic.  I think that this will be one of the easiest options on the list because we received so much inf4romation on this topic.  Furthermore, I believe that it will be easier to format than the other options because there are three branches that I can format the essay into, comparing each branch from the two governments on each side.  I believe this will be a fairly easy essay to write and format. 

The Empire

• Newfound wealth and expanding boundaries are bringing issues to Rome
• Discontent in lower classes
• military disorder 
• Economic Turmoil
• As Rome grew the gap between rich and poor grew
• The wealthy owned huge estates and many enslaved people
• Many POWs from past wars
• Smaller farmers, Ex-soldiers, found it hard to compete with the huge expansive farms
• sold their farms, becoming homeless
• Became regional farm workers or went to cities to try to find work 
• became part of the Urban Poor, 1/4 of Rome's population 
• Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus tried to help Rome's Poor
• As tribunes, they tried to limit the size of estates and  give land to the poor 
• Because of their ideas, they both met gruesome ends as they made enemies of many senators 
• A civil war ensued after their deaths
• Military Upheaval 
• Once loyal military began to break down 
• Generals began seizing power for themselves
• offered the poor land and the poor owed all allegiance to their commanders 
• It became possible for a military leader who was backed up by his forces to seize power by force
• Julius Ceasar's Take Over
• Ceaser joined forces with Pompey and Crassus to creat a triumvirate and rule Rome 
• Ceaser Was a genius military leader
• served one year as consul and named himself governor of Gaul during 58-50 bc Ceaser led his tromps on a trip to conquer all of Gaul
• Successes in Gual made him very popular 
• Pompey began to fear Ceaser's Ambitions
• Ceaser defied the senate's order making his armies march on Rome, Popey fled leaving Ceaser to take control 
• Ceaser's Reforms
• Ruled as an absolute ruler who held all power
• Made some reforms 
• Granted citizenship to people in Roman provinces 
• expanded the senate
• He helped the poor by creating jobs
• Many nobles began to grow weary of Ceaser and on March 15, 44bc he was stabbed to death 
• Beginning Of The Empire 
• After Ceasar's death, civil war broke out again in Rome 
• destroyed what was left of the republic 
• Ceasars 18 yo Grand Nephew, Mark Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus joined forces to take the Assasins out of power 
• Ruled for 10 years as the second triumvirate
• Ended in Jealousy and violence
• Octavious forced Lepidus to retire and he and Antony became enemies
•  While leading troops in Anatolia Antony met Cleopatra and fell in love with her
• he followed her to Egypt 
• Octavian said that Antony would lead from Egypt and another civil war broke out
• Octavian defeated forces of Cleopatra and Antony  
• Cleopatra and Antony committed suicide
• Octavian restored some ideals of the republic but became the absolute ruler of Rome
• eventually accepted the title of Agustus  
• Vast and powerful Empire 
• Rome was at its peak from 27 bc to 180 ad a period of peace called pax Romana occurred
• Controlled 3 million square miles of land 
• Sound Gov
• Held their empire in part from their efficient govRulers helped
• Agustus was Rome's most able leader 
• Stabilized the frontier, Glorified Rome with the huge buildings
• created a system of government that existed for centuries
• After Agustus died in 14 Ad his system of gov maintained the empire
• Agriculture and Trade 
• Ag was the biggest roman  industry 
• Almost 90% of people in Rome were involver in ag 
• Luxury items were shipped in through trade 
• The Roman World
• Slaves and captivity 
• widespread in essential to the economy 
• most slaves were conquered people 
• worked in city and on farm
• Gods and Goddesses 
• at first worshipped powerful spirits or forces
• gov and religion closely involved
• Society and culture 
• many lived extravagantly 
• but many more barely had necessities 
• many games such as gladiators and races to entertain people

Punic wars

• The Roman legion consisted of 5000 soldiers of highly trained elite infantrymen selected from Roman citizens
•  within the legion, there were centuries of 80
• the mounted part of the army was the calvary 
• the soldiers carried a dagger shield and armor and wore a tunic 
• Punic wars were wars between Rome and Carthage 264-146 BC
• three total wars 
• first punic war (261-241)
• Naval battles for the strategic point of Sicily
• Won by Rome
•  Second punic war (218-201 BCE
• 29 yo general Hannibal almost takes Rome 
• Attacks Rome from the north, Spain, crossed the alps 
• Lies siege to the peninsula for close to 15 years, but never gets all of the way to Rome 
• Third and final punic war (149-146)
• Rome wanted to wipe Carthage off of the face of the earth 
• Roman generals Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attacked the city 
• Carthage burned for 17 days 
• When the war ended 50,000 of the last people were sold into slavery 
• Carthage's territories were annexed making the Roman province of Africa
• Slaves poured into Italy 50k Carthage slaves, 150K Greek Pow 
• By the end of the 2nd century, there were more than 1000000 slaves in Rome 
• Small farmers lost their land to aristocrats if couldn't pay debts because of fighting a war
• massive farms became expansive estates called latifundia
•  

Tarquin and government

• Tarquin seized power in the old definition of the word
• Tarquin's Grandfather dies leaving his grandmother to put Servius Tullius into  power because she liked him more than her sons
• ST's daughters marry two brothers, one is Tarquin
• The one daughter killed her sister and her husband leaving Tarquin in line for the throne 
• Tullia persuades Tarquin to seize power from her father
• Tarquin sits on the throne, proclaiming himself king
• he then throws Tullius down the steps of the capital and has him assassinated
• Tullia sees her father's corpse on her way home and then takes the reins on the chariot and runs over his body  
• Tarquin refuses to bury him and assassinates senators who oppose him 
• Tarquin's son Sextus tries to force himself on a matron while out drinking with some friends  
• she refuses which causes him to threaten to kill her
• she gives in to the blackmail
• admits this to her family 
• then kills herself 
• Tarquin tried to hide this, but the people rebel against him and his son and kick the whole family out of Rome
• This families terrible made the people of Rome never want another king 
• The rule of one king is then replaced by the rule of two consuls 
• they were elected and stayed in power for one year 
• all of the patricians could trace their lineage back to one pater 
• they dealt with justice, made the laws, and commanded the army 
• then in the 5th century, the patrician's absolute power in the gov was challenged by the Plebs
• Plebs were 98% of the population 
• plebs forced to serve in the military could not hold office, faced debt slavery no legal rights
• victims of discriminatory decisions in justice 
• Rome had no actual "set in stone laws" (soon to come literally true) just customs
•  Patricians like to use these laws and manipulate them to help them 
• plebs refused military service until the twelve tables, or actual law was used
• Tribunes or tribal leaders were elected 
• SPQR - designates any decree made by the Roman people made by the senate and the people 
• Bran new republic part of the monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy.
• Originally  the US government was based on the roman government 
• but not exactly the same 
• both have three branches and legal code
• rome executive 
• two consuls
• one year term
• each veto power
• controlls military 
• could install dictator if necessary for 6 mo period
• US executive 
• President and VP 
• four-year terms
• can veto proposed laws
• commander in chief of the military 
• Roman Legislative 
• 300 strong senate 
• aristocratic members for life 
• assemblies, centurate or tribal
• 193 members later 373 members for life 
• US legislative 
• senate, 100 two from each state six-year terms 
• house of representatives 435 memebers Md had 8 reps 
• Rome Judicial 
• preators 
• chosen by the centuriate assembly 
• US Judicial 
• supreme court 
• nine members 
• lifetime terms 
• appointed by pres, confirmed by senate
• Rome Legal code 
• twelve tables
• publicaly displayed in the forum 
• gave plebs rights
• only protected free roman born men 
• US leagal code
• bill of rights
• first ten amendments to the constitution 

• 1 - free speech/press/religion

• 2 - bear arms 

• 3 - no quartering 

• 4 - no search and seizure 

• 5 - no self-incrimination 

• 6 - right to fair trial 

• 7 - jury trials 

• 8 - no cruel or unusual punishment 

• 9 - right to privacy, +rights are assumed 

• 10 - states have power where fed doesn’t

Ancient Rome first 8 slides

• The first settlers in Rome were the Etruscans 
• they came from the middle of the peninsula
• They were skilled craftsmen 
• Two foundation myths
• Romulus and Remus
• Virgil's Aeneid 
• The greeks also had several colonies around Rome
• the Romans borrowed many things from the greeks such as religion, art, weapons and military, and the alphabet
• but the first settlers in tome were the Latins
• they were descendants of the  Indo-Europeans who settled on the banks of the Tiber river  
• great position for trading, but well defended
• Built on seven hills
• Many streams flowed into the Tiber making the areas between the Capitoline and palatine hills very marshy
• Tarquin the proud's grandfather built the Calaca Maxima which was the greatest ancient drain 
• it channeled all of this swamp water into the Tiber
• Seventh and last king of Rome was Lucius Tarquin Superbus
• Aka Tarquin the proud
• true tyrant in the ancient and modern sense
• 
  

Chi Cago

Overall I found this song entertaining.  It was worth listening to twice!  It was impressive how all of the Latin names were able to work together in therapy.  When it comes time to take the test or quiz I will make sure to get this song stuck in my head.  It is chock full of useful information.  Overall I really enjoyed listening to it.  I am glad that even though we were not in school to hear the rap we were still able to hear it.  I'm glad that the song covered all of the ancient Roman times, and had lots of information is potentially useful information for the upcoming quizzes.  I think this song was on par with Mr. Nickey, Actually, I think that in some aspects it worked better than Mr. Nickey.  It had all of the information needed for this class, and it seemed smoother, to the point that it seems like the song was written to fit those words.

twelve tables

the twelve tables arose out of necessity.  It became necessary for the laws of ancient Rome to be written down due to the fact that the wealthy upper class could change the laws to better suit them at the drop of a hat.  This greatly angered the lower class people because they could not hold office, vote, or have any say in the law of the republic.  After this, they staged a revolt and left the city.  The plebians had no choice, but to share the power with the plebians.  This gave to the rise of the pleb tribunes or common citizens that could sit on the assembly. With this new power, they could intervene legally, and veto other magistrates They then demanded that all laws be written down, or literally set in stone.  This gave rise to the twelve tables of ancient Rome.  They were laws that were posted in the center of the city that covered every aspect of life. They were not a constitution per se, but rather all of the laws of the republic compiled into one spot. Throughout the history of the republic, these laws were changed or added on to.

Architecture

This is a good example of Roman architecture.  The Romans were greatly influenced by Greek architecture because they did a large amount of trading with the greeks.  This is visible in this example through the columns and the impressive engravings spread throughout the work.  Another thing that the Romans were known for.  Also, on top of the columns are statues of what appear to be soldiers.  Overall this is a very impressive piece of architecture, that exemplifies Roman classical architecture.  The main thing that the Romans are known for is the arch, which is perfectly shown here, each of them containing a clear keystone holding them up.

Plebians and Patricians

     There were two main groups of people in ancient Rome.  These two groups were the patricians and the plebians.  The patricians were like the aristocracy of ancient Greece.  They were all very wealthy and could participate in politics because they were not neglecting a job that needed to be done in order to keep the money that they needed for their job.  They were also the landowners of ancient Rome.  Because they were wealthy and had the time and education to devote to politics.  This group of people made up a small portion of the population, but they held all of the power and therefore they could change the laws however they felt would best suit them. 
      On the other side of the spectrum were the plebians.   These were the poor farmers of ancient Rome.  They were similar to the working class of ancient Greece.  They were the working class.  They were the farmers, artisans, and merchants.  They were often angered by the rich aristocracy that ruled over them because the laws would change to oppose them, but eventually, they got some representation in the government by their tribunes.
     Their greek counterparts were the aristocracy and the common working class who could not attned governemnt meetings in the beggining.

Rome Definitions

Republic - a form of government in which the power rests in the hands of the people who can vote for their leaders
Patrician - wealthy landowners who held most of the power
Plebeian - the common farmers, merchants and artisans who made up the majority of the population
Tribune - Elected officials for the plebians who could speak at the assembly 
Consul - the two main roman officials
Senate - the aristocratic branch of Rome's government 
Dictator - a ruler who had absolute power and could make laws and control armies 
Legion - large military units of soldiers
Punic Wars - a long period of war and struggle between Rome and Carthage 
Hannibal - brilliant military strategist who wanted to avenge Carthage's earlier defeat 

essay question and outline

My question for the essay will be: Which of the three philosophers that we discussed this year was the most influential.  For the first paragraph of my essay, I will go over who the three philosophers, along with mentioning who they are I will go over how they all are connected, and how they are all influential in different ways.  for the second paragraph, I will go over Socrates' life.  I will mention who and where he taught, and what his main ideas and achievements were.  then for my next paragraph, I will mention Plato's main ideas, achievements, who he taught, and where he taught. Then for my fourth paragraph, I will go over Aristotle's crowning achievements and ideas. THen to close out the essay I will show how socrates was the most influential Philosopher due to the fact that we still use many of his ideas in teaching and the sciences.

virtual assignment #13

1. Which Philosopher was sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock?
        a. Aristotle
        b. Socrates 
        c. Plato
        d. Clisthenes
2. Which greek politician was considered one of the greatest leaders of all time, he led the greeks through their plague and held popular support for 32 years. 
      a. Pericles
      b. Alexander the Great
      c. Cleisthenes
      d. Draco
3. Who was the king of Macedonia from  359bc-336bc, during his time he made great additions to Macedonian military, including the Macedonian phalan.
      a. Darius III
      b. Alexander the Great
      c. Philip II
      d. Philip III
4. During the Peloponnesian war the greeks experienced a great plague, what portion of the greek population were killed by this plague.
      a. 1/3
      b. 1/4
      c. 11/16
      d. 2/6
5. What were categories of Greek plays, select all that apply.
       a. comedies
      b. action
      c. romances
      d. tragedies 

1. Plato defined the forms as the ideal version of things that exist in our world.
2. The three groups that Plato designated to be in his ideal society were the military, the producers, and the rulers.
3. In some of his writings, Plato believed that women were just as capable of ruling as men were, but in other works of his, he compared them to women.  He also believed that the woman's womb was a live animal that could move around the woman's body and cause illness.
4. Plato's noble lie is that we are all born with a certain amount of gold, silver, brass, and iron in our souls.  Based on this percentage of metals in one's soul, their place in this three rank society would be able to find their place.

virtual assignemnt #12

The philosophers all believe they are
the one who knows the most of life and love
with man, they intellectually spar
why is death shown by black, or peace the dove
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
they will challenge you to think for yourself
use your own thoughts and observe, don't dawdle
at the Lyceum are books on the shelf
Socrates taught the youth, have your ideas
do not let how you have been raised interfere 
to all of the people he gave speeches
he taught people, spread ideas, mouth to ear
they are gone though their methods still exist
we all must see the light so we can assist

virtual assignment #11

This is a photo of the ancient Greek Agora.  It is a fine example of classic architecture.  It exhibits the large white columns that extend all of the ways up to the top of the triangular roof.  Inside of the triangle at the front of the roof, there is a carving depicting a scene.  At the top of the columns, there is another carving typically showing foliage and holding up the roof.



Another example of Classical architecture is the US capital.  It shows any of the same characteristics as the Agora.  One of these is the columns that go all of the ways from the ground to the roof to hold it up.  Then at the top of these columns, there are scrolls, and carvings.  there is also a long triangular. roof holding an inscription.  Another characteristic of this type of architecture is the long flights of stairs that lead up to the building that is raised up.

virtual assignment #10

1. In ancient Greece, there were two types of dramas.  These were tragedies and comedies.  The Tragedies were serious dramas, typically about the themes of love, hate, war, or betrayal.   They often featured one main person with extraordinary abilities.  Although they had these abilities, they often experienced a tragic flaw or something that made them come to a possible downfall.  The comedies were dramas filled with slapstick situations and crude humor.  These plays often made fun of politics, influential people, and ideas of the time. 

2.  One film that I have seen recently that is similar to the characteristics of a greek tragedy is the news Star Wars movie.  In this movie the Protagonist, Rey is one of the most powerful Jedi that there is, but like many characters in the Greek tragedies, she has a tragic flaw which is the fact that she is tempted by the dark side.   Although this is a simple comparison of the two share similarities in the plot, like so many other films because the greeks are a premise that many people base many things off of. 

3. Greek Theater
 

This is an image of a Greek amphitheater.  This shows how important the plays were to the Greek people.  This massive theater could obviously seat an insane amount of people.  This is because the plays were often a huge public event that everyone would go to.  also, this image shows the huge stage and backdrop which could have pieces and colors added to it to make it more expressive and exciting. 

Virtual Assignemnt #9

Over these last two weeks, there has been a massive change in the way that we accomplish school. We have been doing all of our school over this period on the computer through assignments that our teachers send us from school.  Over this time it has become more difficult for many students to resist the temptation of completing their work dishonorably, or they have become downright sloppy with the work that they turn in.  I have attempted to stray away from habits like this.  I have done all of my work without using materials that I have at home, like my notes or textbooks, unless it has been specified by my teachers.  Also, I have been trying to keep my life similar to where it was when I was in school.  I have attempted to keep my sleep schedule similar, and I still do the necessary work on the farm.  I am thankful for this blessing because it has helped me to continue working hard.  Also, it has helped me to stay in shape over the time that we are out of school.  On top of that, I have been using the Gym equipment that we have in my basement so that I do not lose much from my last wrestling season.  I believe that all of these ideas also apply to school.  You have to keep working hard, and doing your best work will keep you from the temptation of becoming sloppy or lazy. 

Virtual Assignment #8

During the time of the Peloponnesian war, the Greeks experienced a massive devastating plague.  At this point in history, this could be the big event in my life that I tell my grandchildren about, we are experiencing a  pandemic of the covid 19 virus.  While these diseases had several similarities in their effect devastation.  There was one main difference between these two diseases.  THe greek plague was far deadlier.  The greek population killed up to 1/3 of the Athenian population, while this new virus is deadly it is not nearly as deadly as the greek Plague.  They did share similarities as well.  Both of these plagues were brought to our homes from foreign places.  Also, the leaders of both our nation and Athens had to remain strong during the plagues.  Also, people in both cases would attempt to keep from getting the disease and shut themselves away.  Both of these diseases also cause devastation to the social and economical prospects of each place.

Virtual Assignment #7

Philip II- Philip II was the king of Macedonia from, 359 BC until he was assassinated in 336 bc.  He was also the father of Alexander the Great And Philip III.  During his time in Power, Philip the second raised Macedonia to one of the highest fighting powers by reviving the ancient Macedonian Army, and installing the Macedonian Phalanx which proved to be a successful tactic on the Battlefield, and allowed them to be victorious over many other powerful forces. With this newfound military strength, Philip took the Greek city-states of Athens and Thebes.  When he took over these states he pushed to make a greek league of city-states, called the League of Corinth. While he was in command of this league he was unfortunately assassinated by a royal bodyguard.  This left the invasion of the Persians to his successor, Alexander.

Alexander The Great - Alexander was born in 365 bc and succeeded his father at age 20.  He spent most of his years in an unprecedented military campaign across Asia and Africa. By the age of 30, he created one of the largest empires in the ancient world. During his youth, he was tutored by the great philosopher Aristotle.  After the assassination of his father, Alexander was given generalship of ancient Grece.  in 334 Bc he invaded the first Persian empire.  he then started a military campaign that lasted 10 years and he eventually overthrew the king of the empire, Darius III and took the empire.  He later died in Babalon in 323 Bc, the city that he planned to make his capital.  Alexander's legacy also includes many instances of cultural diffusion, rather than imposing his own culture. He also founded several cities that bore his name, most notably, Alexandria in Egypt.   He was responsible for the majority of greek cultural spreading.

Darius III - Darius was the last king of the Achaemenid empire.  He ruled from 336 BC to 330 BC. during his rule, his empire was very unstable and it was ruled mostly by jealous governors.  then in 334, Alexander took the empire's capital as well as the rest of the empire.  Then Alexander decided to pursue Darius, but he was killed by his cousin. 

Virtual Assignment # 5

The horse was originally presented to Philip II, Alexander's father.  It was a massive black horse, nearly twice the size of the average Macedonian horse, and it nearly cost 13 times as much as a normal horse. Although the was a very impressive horse, it was sent away for unruliness. While this occurred, Alexander watched this happen.  He stood up in the audience, calling the people spineless for sending away such a fine beast. Alexander then approached the horse from the crowd.  He then realized something that the others had not, the horse was afraid of its own shadow.    Once he realized this he turned the horse to the sun so its shadow could not be seen, and he road the horse without difficulty. 
 
     From that point on the horse and Alexander were inseparable. Only alexander could ride this horse.  Alexander rode this horse on all of his conquests and in all of his battles from the Grecian city-states to India. Then later, while Alexander was out on a conquest, the horse was stolen.  Due to their bond Alexander threatened to fell every tree, lay waste to the countryside, and kill every inhabitant until his horse was found.  The horse was then returned soon after with a plea for mercy.  Historians are unsure of the real cause of this horse's death, but some believe that it was due to battle wounds, while others believe it was from old age after the battle of Hydapses River. In mourning for his beloved horse, Alexander founded a city and named it after his horse. 

Virtural Assignment #4

As this week comes to an end I have begun to become more accustomed to the virtual work that we have been assigned throughout this week.  Overall I believe that the work has not been too terribly difficult.  Overall some teachers just need to get into the swing of the virtual work, but many teachers have.  Overall I believe that the reading and videos, then writing a blog about them has worked well for this class, but other teachers take other approaches to this online school such as having us work on week-long assignments or other work that they post on veracross.  I do not like this virtual school as much as regular school because it involves more self-teaching than having a teacher teach it to you and help you to understand it, but this is a good method to make sure that we do not miss too much school over the period that we are out for the coronavirus.

Virtual Assignment #3

At this point in history people, all became immoral and became subject to mob rule.  this is where people all started to listen solely to the politicians, and the politicians could control the masses.  This eventually led to the generals of the war being imprisoned, unfairly tried, and condemned to death for not retrieving their soldiers who fell overboard in the stormy weather.  In this trial, Socrates knew the truth of the matter, but the people still agreed with the politicians in that the generals should be imprisoned instead of regarded as heroes.  Socrates knew that they should not be tried because all of these people were caught up in the mob mentality.  Socrates, however, did not get caught up in this mentality because he was an independent thinker.  He could control his fate, and he knew the truth.  He began to question the world because as the people got more and more caught up in this mob mentality, they became more immoral, and Socrates believed that there were standards for justice and he often challenged the greeks to go further and examine their moral characteristics.

Virtual assignment number 2

In the time that the Athenians were fighting the Spartan, the Spartans surrounded the city and burned all of the crops in the surrounding fields.  These crops were the lifeline for Athens, but they still had one other method of survival, their navy.  Pericles thought that they could use their naval strength to ship in all of the good and grain that they needed in order to ensure the survival of their civilization.  Although this plan would work in theory there was one unforeseen consequence to this plan.  This unforeseen consequence was a disease.  This was one of the worst plagues in history. With all of the people of Athens walled up in the city, it spread like wildfire.  This plague would eventually kill 1/3 of the Athenian people and leave the great state in shambles. People had no desire to do good if the good and the bad were going to die the same.  Then the disease struck Pericles, killing him after 6 months of disease.   This truly broke Athens.  After this with no central leader, the Athenian democracy showed that it was susceptible to mob rule and many people, doing whatever the masses wanted attempted to take power leading to a long line of chaos. overall one small unforeseen consequence led to the downfall of Athens. 

Virtural school Assignment 1

In the time of the golden age of Athens, a time where art and science excelled wise able statesmen led Athens.  His name was Pericles. He held popular support for 32 years and was very intelligent and capable leader.  over his time in power, he set three main goals.  The first of these was to strengthen Athenian democracy.  In order to achieve this, he increased the number of paid public officials.  this helped to allow even the poorest citizens to serve if they were elected so that way they did not lose money by neglecting their job while working with the government. The next of his goals was to hold and strengthen the empire.  He accomplished this through Alowinbg Athens to take control of the Delian league.  He then used the money from the league's treasury to strengthen the Athenian navy.  His third goal was to glorify Athens. He also did this with money from the league which he used to beautify Athens.  Large sums of money went to purchasing gold, ivory, and marble, and more of it went to pay artists.
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote directly on an idea, not through representatives.  Athen's found great pride in their democracy.
When the greeks won the Peloponnesian war they decided to unify slightly more than they had before in order to form the Delian League.  This league was formed to allow the city-states to be able to work together to become stronger.  Although they were all supposed to work together Athens eventually began to assume control of the league.  Eventually, Athens's strong military made some members of the league more like part of the Athenian empire.  Even though the league was supposed to work together, Athens dominated all other states. 

Preparing for virtual school

Today in western civ we talked about what we would do when school closes.  In mr Schicks class we will not have any Quizes or tests.  This is due to the fact that it is difficult to grade them, as well as the endless list of possible ways to cheat on a test or quiz, wether it be text your friend or simply google the answer, it is easy to cheat on these tests. Also on this class we will not have any conference calls to do in this class.  This is difficult because if it hard to tell who is not part of the class wether it be for laziness or the fact that they have very important plans.  For mr  schicks class  we will be given pages of the textbook to read, we took pictures of these pages, then we will answer questions on these pages based on wat is in the pages.  We will post the answers to our blogs and that will count for our blog that day

THE CORONA VIRUS!!!!!!

Today in western civ we talked about the coronavirus.  Mr. Schick is well prepared and attempts to prepare us for the coronavirus as well.  He taught us how to wash out hands for one thing.  He told us that first, you should let the water begin to run, then you should get your hands.  After you wet your hands you should lather your hands with soap for 20-40 seconds.  After this time period, you can then rinse the soap off of your hands.  when you are done rinsing the soap off of your hands you can dry them with a paper towel, then grab another paper towel to grab the door handle and then you can get rid of the towel that you used to open the door ith as to not reinfect yourself.  Mr. Schick also told us to make good use of the hand sanitizer dispensers at the doors to all of the classrooms.  he told us to take some and put some on our phones to disinfect them.

Greece the crucible of civilization episode 1 part two

After Pisistratus began to help people pay off their farms, the people of Athens began to increase the wealth of their state through agrarian society.  They began to grow olives.  these olives were the lifeline of the Athenian economy.  people all around the Mediterranian sea.  the Athenians, therefore, gained a large amount of wealth through these products. The Athenians could, therefore, trade the olive-based goods for many of the other necessary items that they needed to become great due to their location in proximity to the sea.  They also began to use a new style of painting on their pottery that they use to transport these goods.  they developed a new style of more natural painting.  these potters were one of the lowest classes in all of ancient Greece.  Unfortunately, Pisistratus died in 527 thereby ending his rule of Athens.  then came his son  Hippias.  Hippias originally followed his fathers example of the fair ruling, but after the murder fo his brother he became vengeful and  twisted and aimed to keep all of the power to himself.

Greece, the crucible of civilization

Today in western civ we watched a video about early Greece before the first revolt in human history when the people, tired of being oppressed for centuries revolted in order to gain their freedom.  We know most of this information because of Herodotus, he was one of the first historians in the world that recorded the events that happened.  

Clisthenes was born in Athens into a remarkably rich family that helped to bring him to hate to the common people.  His family was part of the aristocracy meaning that they lived in a palace of the time.  At the time Athens was not the empire ruling city-state that it was at the point when it ruled an empire.  It was a poor agricultural city-state in which there was not much power, on the other hand, Sparta and Corinth were powerhouses.  These city-states could have ruled empires, but anthens could not but because of the eventual change to democracy brought them wealth and power.

Aristotle

Aristotle was the student of Plato in the study of philosophy and many other things, he attended the academy.  After his time as one of Plato's students, he helped to make Athens an intellectual location for anyone who was looking to gain knowledge.  Eventually, he created his own school, the lyceum, where he focused on cooperative research and being able to gather knowledge from all of the world.  With his school, he dreamt of having all of man kinds knowledge accessible at one place, the internet 2500 years later, At his school, he wrote extensively on logic, physics, biology, ethics, politics, rhetoric, motion, poetry, theatre, metaphysics, psychology, and the analysis of dreams.  This was the end of the first PowerPoint for Greece.  we also had a pop quiz today in which I scored a 100.  I hope that I can do that well on the second test from this powerpoint as soon as we know when it is

Philosophers

Today we went over the three main philosophers of the ancient Grecian world.   these three men were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  Socrates came first.  He had an open mind in the ideas of mythology and believed the world could be figured through science and logic. he also came up with the Socratic method which fostered critical thinking in all of his students by asking leading questions to figure out what each person truly believes. He said the unexamined life is not worth living.  He was eventually tried for the corruption of the youth of Athens and impiety.  he was found guilty as he admitted that he indeed did all of the teachings that he said he did, and rather he said that he should be rewarded for his service.  he was eventually put to death even after being given the chance to escape he drank the poison hemlock.  After Socrates' death Plato, his student carried on his teachings through writings such as the Apology.  he then later wrote the republinc which was what he thought would be the perfect life and society.  it included the allegory of the cave.

the military of ancient greece

today in  honors western civ we went over the military part of ancient Greece.  The Greeks were a very war like people.  No other people exemplified this more  the Spartans.  they were known for their rough and ruthless infantry, or soldiers that fight on the ground.  these soldiers were trained from the time that they were 7.  The Athenians had a fairly powerful infantry, but their true military power came with their navy.  they had a new type of ship called the triumvirate.  this type of ship had three level of oars they were the fastest ship that had ever been made.  they were the peak of naval engineering for the time. they also developed a ground fighting style called the phalanx,  this s where 15x15 soldiers stood with interlocking shields and long spears and punch slowly through the enemy ranks.

gods and goddesses

today in honors western civ we went over the greek goddesses.  All of these gods and goddesses are related in one way of another.  they were made most interesting because of their interactions with humans.  one of these gods was Poseidon god of the sea.  he messed with Odysseus return home attempting to reveal his flaws.  another was aphrodite, she was the goddess of love and had lovers and relationships with humans.  Dionysus was the god of wine and merriment.  Zeus was the king of all of the gods.  He was the god of the sky, thunder, weather, law, order, and justice.  he also had a bad temper.  Athena was his daughter and she was the goddess of war and peace as well as battle strategy and handicraft.  She was born from Zeus's head and became his favorite child. Apollo was the god of sun and light, music, arts, and knowledge.  he was the son of  Zeus.  and his sister was Artemis.

taking the test

Today in western civ we took the test for the first part of our unit on ancient Greece.  I feel like I did fairly well on this test even though I missed three classes over the time that we were learning this material.  The only question that I was unsure of was the one about dactylic hexameter because I was not here for that one, but I still think, based on the information that I found after the quiz, that I got that question right.  I was able to use the PowerPoint and quilts mad by my classmates to help me study.  I felt well prepared after using these materials and hope that I can keep up my trends with the grades that I have been receiving in this class.  I look forward to what is to come for the rest of the ancient Greece unit.  I will continue to go over the powerpoints and prepare for future tests.

the government of ancient greece

Today in honors western civ we went over the newly founded democracy of Greece.  this democracy was founded when Clithenese came into power because the common people ostracized Isagoris.  then Clithenes was installed as the ruler of Greece.  All of this occurred in 508 bc.  Then Clithenes realized that there was a lot of potential contained in the middle class.  he then began a direct democracy, but it was only open to Athenian born males.  in order to cast a vote in ancient Greece, there would be a person that would present their case in the agora.  then there would be an ern and each person would be distributed a black or a white stone, black for n and white for yes. with the added input of the people of Greece, the government could grow in order to compensate for any problems that the people faced.  Also, the government was ruled by the people, hopefully appeasing more people.  I will go over the PowerPoint and be ready for tomorrow.

the rulers of ancient greece

Today I was back in western civ.  Today we went over some of the early leaders of ancient Greece.  the first of these leaders that we went over was Draco.  He was one of the most violent out of all of the rulers that we went over.  He was aggressive and a massive fan of capital punishment for even the simplest of crimes.  Under his rule debt, slavery was also allowed.  after he came Solon, Solon was far less aggressive than  Draco.  He was against debt slavery and allowed citizens to speak at the assembly.  there were also many more changes to the government around 500 bc.  one of these was the council of 500 where many people could speak at the assembly and get input.  Although this allowed more people to take part in the government it only helped to land-owning, Athenian males.  then came Hippias who was another tyrant.  he began his rule as a fine person, but after the assassination of his brother he became paranoid and a very twisted person springing the death penalty on anyone who was against him or his family.  he was so paranoid and evil that eventually he was ostracized.  then he went to help the Persian king to eventually attack marathon.

Not in class again

Unfortunately I was not in class otday but I will be back on Monday.

Still in Florida

Unfortunately I was not in class again today

I was not in class today

I was absent from school today because my family and I are out of town.  I will check veracross and be ready to make up what I need to when I return.

Allegory of the cave video

Today in western cove we watched a video about the allegory of the cave by Plato. In this video they went over the summary of the story.  Of the writing where there were people imprisoned in a cave forced to look at a dongle wall.  Then behind them was a fire and a wall where people would walk behind it holding up things to cast shadows in the light on the wall. These people would then have to learn all that they could about these things and guess which is to come in order to get a reward.  This sounds like a horrible life, but I is all the people had so they had no idea of a better life.  Then eventually one man escaped from the cave and saw the outside world.  Eventually after his eyes but
Tend from the sun they adjusted and he saw the real true version of what he thought he saw in the cave, and he was enlightened of the truth. Then when he attempted to return to the cave to let his comrades know what he found he realized the the cave was far too dark for him to see in and he tripped and stumbled all of the way in.  And once he reached the others they prosecuted and plotted to kill him for his ideas.  This is an allegory of the philosophers life in the time of philosophers.

Ancient Greece Geography

Today we started learning about the geography of ancient Greece.  Greece was a land that was very mountainous and was surrounded on all sides by seas.  To the south of the main peninsula was the island of Crete.  Then all around the peninsula were nearly 2000 islands.  Because of their proximity to the sea, the greeks became very capable shipbuilders and sailors.  this helped theri people because it was far more difficult to travel across the land and the mountains than the sea.  Their lack of natural resources on their peninsula also drove them to become better sailors for they had to travel to other lands in order to get what they needed in order to build their civilization.  due to their geography, the greeks had a difficult time forming a central government because everyone was so isolated. Only about 20% of the land is arable, and because of this, their diet consisted of grain, olives, grapes, and fish.  they also had a great climate for outdoor work and lifestyles.  in the winter it got to the mid-forties and in the summer low eighties.

Plato's allegory of the cave

          Today in western civ we read Plato's allegory of the cave.  An allegory is a story based off of something else.  In this story, a group of people was held in a cave with their heads permanently facing a wall where shadows were projected from fire and puppets behind them.  This is all that these people knew for their entire life, so it became normal to them and they eventually began competing with each other to guess what would come next and so forth.  then one day one person was dragged out of the cave, where the sun burned his eyes as did the light of anything outside of the cave.  then after a time, his eyes would adjust in order to see the light.  Once he saw the light he might return to the cave to enlighten his friends about the true world, but when he does so they might attempt to kill him.
         This entire story is an allegory of Socrates.  He was the man dragged out to face the light of the world, and experience education and enlightenment.  This entire story places pain all-around change and new things which for most people is true.  People in the greater sense are unwilling to change, and in the rare case that someone does change there are estranged, or "put to death".  This story follows Socrates's almost exactly.  He was the most enlightened person in all of Athens.  His eyes had adjusted to see the light of other cultures, but the greek population was held back and forced to look at whatever they were told, and they cam to accept it.  then when someone else speeds in an attempt to open there eyes to the sun, Socrates, he was literally put to death.
         

Ancient grece

1. Mycenean - People from Eurasia who settled on the ancient Greek mainland
    trojan war - a 10-year war between the Mycenaeans and troy, an independent city in Anatolia, the story of which is told in homers Iliad
    Dorians - a group of sea fearing raiders that moved into and attacked and burned and attacked many Mycenean cities.  the spoke a Greek dialect
    Homer - A blind man, known as the best storyteller in ancient Greece, though little was know about his personal life
epic - a long poem, typically from the oral tradition
myth - a portion of the greek religion revolving around the stories of the greek gods

What impact did the nearness to the sea have on the development of Greece?
     The nearness to the sea allowed the greeks to have many different trade routes opened to them, allowing them to collect and trade for the necessary natural resources that they needed.  It also helped to make them experienced seamen and sailors which could help them in battle if they faced a naval force. 
What aspects of culture did the Myceneans adopt from the Minoans?
The Myceneans adopted shipbuilding, trade, metalwork, art, and many other aspects of life from the Minoans.
Why were the epics of importance to the greeks of the Dorian period?
  The epics were important for the greeks of this period because they did not have written language yet, and because of this, they had to spread the stories orally. 

Absent

Today I was not in class because I had to leave at 11:30 for a wrestling match.  I plan to meet with Mr. Schick to see when I can make up the quiz from today.  I will continue to study for it and be prepared.  I hope to do well on this quiz and keep my grade up.  I plan on making it up as soon as possible.

Preparing for the Egypt test

Today we started preparing for the Egypt test that we will take on Friday.  we looked through the book and defined the main terms and names that are at the beginning of the chapter.  I fell like I am prepared for this test, but I will continue to go over the PowerPoint that Mr. Schick provided on his blog.  Most of the test is on the Nile because the Nile is the lifeblood of the Egyptian civilization.  Also, another important part of the Egyptian civilization was the mummification.  The Egyptians also built tombs for their dead which were the peak of their empire.  They also had developed many math and science techniques such as surgery and intensive knowledge of the human body. they also made a very accurate 365-day calendar.  I hope that I can do as well on this quiz as I did on the last quiz on this one so that I can keep my grade up.

Egyptian science and math

We continued onward with Egypt today, moving away from their theology and on to their sciences and math.  the Egyptian astronomers made a 12 month, a 365-day calendar that was only about 6 hours off of our modern-day calendar.  this calendar helped them to better track the seasonal changes that occurred around them.  the Egyptians also had a rich knowledge of the human body which allowed them to produce cures for common diseases or medical problems.  Due to their location water travel was the easiest mode of travel.  The Egyptians created wooden sailboats to make this travel easier.  The Egyptians also used their math and theology combined to create the massive stone tombs that they are known for called pyramids. They could also construct massive temples to honor their gods.  The temple of Amon at Karnak is the largest building used for religion in the world.  it was also constructed from massive stone blocks.

Even more egypt

the Egyptians were a strongly religious people that were polytheists that worshipped many half-animal half-human gods.  Like the Mesopotamians, they worshiped a god for almost every force of nature that they experienced, but unlike the Mesopotamians, they believed in a peaceful and wonderful afterlife where the spirit was rewarded for their time on earth.  Although similar to our idea of final judgment they had a god that would weigh their "heart"(similar to our idea of a soul) on a scale.  if their heart weighed more than a feather then they would not be able to enter the afterlife.  The Egyptians also believed that in this afterlife there were things that you needed.  These things include jewelry and treasure of those that were wealthy such as pharaohs, even the preserved internal organs that were stored in canopic jars that were in the tomb with the mummy.  the Egyptians were some of the first people to mummify their dead.  they would first remove various parts of the mummy such as internal organs and the brain.  then they would let the body soak in salts which drew all of the moisture from the body, perfectly preserving it. 

Continuing with egypt

Today in western cove we continued to learn about ancient egypt.  We started by discussing their geography because that may have been the most important part of their civilization.. they were based around the Nile River and the fertile silt that it brought down.  In ancient  Egypt the people loved at most 1 mile from the river.  This is because that is where the fertility of the soil abruptly ended, and it was desolate desert.  Egypt was split into  Two parts, the southern portion was called up peer Egypt because it was at a higher elevation than the northern part called lower Egypt.  Upper Egypt only included the land directly around the Nile, but lower Egypt included the fertile delta at the outlet of the north flowing river.  These two kingdoms were unified under one all powerful god king in 3150 bc

The Test and egypt.

Today we took the quiz that we spent the last two days preparing for.  I knew the information well and because of that, I got 100% on the quiz.  We also started to read about the Egyptians who lived on the banks of the Nile, using the rich silt that was brought down every July by the regular flooding to farm their wheat and barley.  Although this flooding of the Nile was far more regular than the flooding of the tigeris and Euphrates there were still struggles with the river regarding the amount that it flooded.  If it didn't flood enough there would not be enough silt brought down then there would not be enough to farm with, and thousands of people would starve.  If the river flooded too much then it would destroy houses and the granaries that stored the grain to be planted in October of that year.

Reviewing for tomorrows quiz

Today in western civ we continued to prepare for the quiz tomorrow by watching the Mr. Nickey video, the EUphrates river.  I have seen this video before when we studied ancient civilizations in middle school.  though this video is a little goofy, it is useful to study and get stuck in your head so that you can remember it for the test.  I will continue to go over the PowerPoint and study tonight so that I can be ready for the quiz tomorrow.  I think that I should do fairly well on this test so that I can start the semester off with an A.  I hope that my grades in western civ will end up being as good as the a that I kept in human geo.  I will continue to study and do well in my social studies class in order to keep my grade up.

Preparing for the test

We spent class today preparing for the quiz that we will take on Wednesday.  We went over questions that will be part of the quiz.  two new questions were added in the time that we were in class.  these questions were, How did people learn about Hammurabi's codes?, It was posted on stone tablets all around the kingdom, and What is the soil that was left behind after a flood? Silt.  Another question that We had that I was unsure of was what was the name of the new era set aside by the beginning of farming, the answer was the neolithic era or the new stone age.  then the era before this where farming was not used to have a surplus of food was the period called the paleolithic era.  This evening I will continue to study for the test by going over the notes I took from the book and PowerPoint, and the PowerPoint itself.  Overall except for a few questions I feel like I will do well on this test.

Ziggurats and Hammurabi's code

Today in western civ we continued to study Mesopotamia.  We first took a look at the Ziggurats which qualified as the advanced technology.  These massive structures offered a place of worship as well as a massive place to offer sacrifices.  then we began to look at Hammurabi's code and some of the wild laws that were part of the code.  This code was made by King Hammurabi of Babylon who was not only a king but an accomplished military leader. these codes covered all aspects of life, including marriage and divorce, and all of the punishments for rich and poor, and men and women.   Also, Sumer was taken over by the Akkadians in 2350bc. Overall the laws that were made by Hammurabi were very interesting to go over with how specific some of them are, and it makes a person wonder how many times did all of these things that are written as if... then happened.

Hammurabi's code

The code was made up of 282 specific laws and codes that came together to cover all aspects of life in Sumeria.  these aspects include family relations, crime, and business conduct.  These laws were also applicable to men, women, rich, and poor.  Also, the Sumerians learned to do the math that helped them in architecture, and time with the   60 min hour, ect.  the Sumerians were also polytheistic and constructed large ziggurats to be used as places of worship.

Western Civ intro and the land of the two rivers

Fertile Cresent - The crescent-shaped fertile land that is facing the Mediterranian sea where the fist main civilization began, often called the cradle of civilization.
Mesopotamia- from Greek, meaning "the land between two rivers" refers to the fertile crescent and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which flood and bring the fertile mud to the crescent.
City-state- The city and all of the land surrounding it which came together to make the city-state allowing it to make large surplusses of grain and allow the state to grow.
Cultural Diffusion- The movent of ideas from one area to another that allowed places to gain new technologies and Ideas.
Polytheism - the belief in many gods, typically had one assigned to each force of nature.
empire - instead of all the small city-states, they are all united into one central empire together under one ruler
Hammurabi - A lawmaker from ancient Sumeriathat came up with Hammurabi's code where an eye for an eye originated.

3 environmental threats that the Sumerians face were the fact of unexpected floods that could come at any time, and then periods of little to no rain.  there was also the fact that their villages had little to no protection from outside forces.  Also, they have very little natural resources and few building supplies.

Watching Jeopardy

Today in honors human geo we watched jeopardy and saw our test scores.  When we watched Jeopardy the first episode that we watched was one of the teen tournaments with three contestants, one of which being Nick and he lost everything because he got all of the daily doubles.  All of the question involving the US history, and US wars because I like to study US history.  Then the part of the second that we watched was a bit more interesting because of the contestants that were a bit strange, the one got yelled qat for speaking Spanish, and another was far too over-expressive.  overall today's class was very interesting. I am looking forward to western civ in the second semester because I find history courses more interesting than geography courses.  I am hoping that I can keep my grades up in western civ as I did in human geo.

Test on guns germs and steel

Today we had a test on the video guns germs and steel.  overall I feel like I did fairly well on this test.  Thew video was easy to understand and I studied for the test, therefore I believe that I did well on it.  The test was only 26 questions of multiple-choice scantron, therefore it did not take the entire class.  The video of guns germs and steel was very interesting to me therefore, all of the information was easy to remember.  Also, I feel that the test was very easy because of how I prepared for it.  I hope I did as well as I feel like I did so then that way my grade will stay where I want it for the end of the semester, boosting my GPA. I'm looking forward to beginning western civ in this next week as we move into the second semester.  I hope that I do as well in Western civ as I am doing in human geo.

20 min of class

Today I was in class for 20 minutes because I had to leave at 2:00 for a wrestling match.  In the little bit of time that I was there we arched a small amount of guns germs and still.  In this portion of the video it was shown how the Middle East dried up and was no longer useful for agriculture.  This was because of the excessive farming the area experienced during thousands of years.  After this the people began to move East and west of where they started out in the Middle East.  The people that moved east and west were still largely successful because the climate on the same latitude is similar allowing the people to have the same animals and crops. The people that moved north and south were not as successful because of their location.  Along the same latitude sprang up some of the greatest civilizations such as Rome and Greece and Egypt.  This is because they had the tools necessary from the Middle East.  Then these things were brought to the US that helped to expand its economy.  The US has nearly 100,000,000 cattle now.

Geographic luck, Animals included

Today we continued to watch Guns Germs and Steel.  In this portion of the video, another part of the geographic luck that places experienced is the animals that are present in their area.   More specifically the main animals that can help to grow the civilization of a place that is herbivores that are mammals over 100 lbs.  Over 10,000 years of civilization only 14 different types of animals were domesticated.  These species include several bovine species, camelids, horses, and pigs, among other species.  These species are extremely useful in order to prepare the land for planting.  Examples of this are plowing using horses, and oxen.   This also played into Geographic luck because the people in places like New Guinea do not have these animals to offer all of their resources, and free up time to do other things that are necessary for civilization. These animals also helped to make a place successful like the crops that were grown.

Geographic luck

Today in honors human geo we continued to watch guns germs and steel.  In this portion of the video, Diamond went into further detail of the places in the world that could farm other than the middle east.  These places include north, central, and South America, where they grew corn, beans, and squash, China, where they grew rice, and Africa where they grew Sorghum, Millet, and yams.  Another place that has been farming almost as long as the middle east is the highlanders of Papua new guinea although their civilization has not taken off like the civilization in other parts of the world has.  This is because the crops that they grow here are not nearly as productive as things like wheat, corn or any other crops.  Their crops spoil easily and are not very nutritious, this meant that they could not build up a food surplus in order to advance their civilization.  This meansthat most of the reason that Civilization took off in some places is because of geographic luck.

Guns Germs and Steel Continued

Today in honors human geo we continued to watch the video Guns Germs and Steel.  In this portion of the video, the writer went into further detail about the people that are still hunter-gatherers in Papua New Guinea.  This lifestyle is very difficult because there is no time to do anything other than hunt and search for food.  this means instead of having time to advance in civilization the people must spend all of their time looking for food to be able to survive another day.  Not only that, but the people must consume as much of the food that they harvest as they can because there is no way for them to store it. Then after this point in the video, it went into detail about an 11,500-year-old village that began to meet the requirements for civilization. It had a larger population, and they began to farm, and store grain.  They also began to domesticate plants by picking the biggest and best plants.

Exam Grade and Guns,Germs, and Steel

Today in honors human geo Mr. Schick showed us how we got our grades on the exam with the curve and extra credit.  I was the only person in the class to get 99.5% which then rounded up to 100%.  This exam grade should help to bring my exam average up. Then once we finished going over the exams we began to talk about and watch the video by Gared Diamond.  In this video, Jared diamond Traveled to new guinea for bird watching, but in his time that he has spent in new guinea he has become friends with the local people.  While he was in New Guinea he became friends with the people of New Guinea and one of the people that are friends with him asked him why the white man has som much cargo, or material goods, and why the indigenous people have none.  This then led Diamond to explore to find the answer to this question.