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.