What do you think are the more important contributions the Ancient Greeks made to the world today?11/16/2017 Learning Targets:
The Ancient Greeks contributed many things to our world today. Without their heavy influence on culture development and creation of new technology, our world would be generations behind on the things we consider necessary to everyday life. Their hard work and trial and error has led us to become a successful society ourselves, because we had the inventions and ideas from ancient Greece. Though we have improved and tweaked some of these inventions, they are all originally from Ancient Greece. They created a wide span of technology, buildings and more. Their range stretches from mythology to the olympics.
The Ancient Greeks were an innovative people. They provided our world with many inventions. The first is democracy. The first ever form of democracy was used in Athens, but it has evolved and we use it in the U.S. "But instead of a direct democracy, we have a representative democracy in which the citizens democratically vote on who should make the decisions in the country. This is different than Greece's direct democracy wherein the citizens voted on the decision rather than choosing people to make the decision." The next contribution is the alphabet. Without the alphabet, we wouldn't have a language, which means we wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. "Greece was the first civilization to use an alphabet. It was developed after the Dark Ages and consisted of 24 letters." The Greeks also invented what is possibly the most watched sports competition in the world: The Olympics. The Olympics are a contribution of the Greeks, and a very popular one. "Today we still celebrate the Olympic Games and still continue some of the old traditions, such as the olive leaf crowns and the opening and closing celebrations." The next invention regards architecture. The Greeks incorporated pillars into almost all of their buildings. This style is seen in thousands of places throughout the U.S, and the world. The final invention/influence is mythology. Back in its prime, mythology was used to explain things science couldn't, but as science advances, mythology becomes more of a source of entertainment than factual evidence. Greek inventions and influences are seen in thousands of places in our world today. Because of their hard work and sacrifice thousands of years ago, our world today can thrive. Their influence are everywhere, there are pillars on the white house! Without Greek inventions, our society would be almost nowhere; without them we wouldn't even have an alphabet. The Greeks were an amazingly powerful civilization, and their heavy influences on our world today show that. They were a civilization full of intelligence, strength, and pride, and the care and dignity they put into their work proves that.
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Alexander The Great lived a very successful life. He conquered the Persian Empire, served as king of Macedonia, and became a pharaoh at the end of his life. Alexander died at 32 in Iraq, and after his death his empire collapsed. There are many theories regarding how he died, but it is most likely from malaria, typhoid fever, or some sort of poisoning.
The first of many theories is malaria. Typical symptoms of malaria include abdominal and muscle pain, high fever, profuse sweating, chills, and coma. "His initial systems were agitation, tremors, stiffness in the neck, and sharp pain in the area of the stomach." Alexander barely lived through many days of suffering, and eventually fell into a coma and died. Because of the match up of symptoms, most people believe that malaria was the king's cause of death. This has been proven too be incorrect. Alexander died in Iraq, which is a desert. Malaria is carried by mosquitoes that live in jungle climates. "Malaria is carried by mosquitoes that live in jungle and tropical locations, but not in desert regions such as central Iraq where Alexander died." Because of this reason, malaria is probably not why Alexander died. The next reason is typhoid. Typical symptoms are fever, becoming delirious, swollen abdomen, and abdominal pain. "He experienced an intense thirst, fever and delirium, and throughout the night he experienced convulsions and hallucinations, followed by periods of calm." Typhoid is spread by bacteria in contaminated food and water, and can be caught from others. Alexander's symptoms and state before he died give people the idea that he died because of typhoid. Recent research has proved this assumption to be false. "Typhoid is transmitted by food or water contaminated by bacteria which causes epidemics and not just single, individual cases. There is nothing in any of the historical accounts to suggest such outbreak in Babylon at the time Alexander died." Alexander's cause of death may be typhoid, but because it only affected him, and wasn't in Babylon at the time, it is probably not why he died. The final assumption is poisoning. The most relevant would be alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning needs to be treated immediately. It can affect your breathing, heart rate, and lead you to coma and death. Symptoms are confusion, vomiting, slow and irregular breathing, and passing out. " In the final stages of the condition he could not talk, although he could still move his head and arms. Ultimately, his breathing became difficult and he died." Breathing is a common symptom between Alexander's death and alcohol poisoning. A fact that may prove this wrong though is the main side effect of alcohol poisoning is vomiting, and there are no historical accounts that say the king was throwing up. " The main effect of alcohol poisoning is continual vomiting, but not once do any of the historical sources mention vomiting or even nausea as one of Alexander’s symptoms." This means that alcohol poisoning was probably not his cause of death. Alexander The Great's death is quite the mystery, Scientists are still gathering details and making guesses today. Although the theories presented may not totally match up, they are the best guesses that research has allowed. Alexander's death has sparked an interest in many historians, and the information regarding the cause of his death will continue to develop. Learning Targets:
Athens and Sparta were one of the biggest rivalries of their time, and they're still talked about constantly today. Their daily lives and beliefs are extremely different, although they share some similarities. Though they're close on the map, Athens and Sparta couldn't be more different. They both contributed many things to our world today, and fought with each other multiple times over the years. This is Spartaaa!!
Rivalries are made because of differences, Athens and Sparta have many. The first is how they treated women. In Sparta, girls were taught to wrestle and box, whereas girls in Athens were taught how to cook, spin, thread, and clean. Women in Athens had no rights, and weren't considered citizens, but in Sparta there were equal rights, and women would look after land in war. Another difference is found in government; Athens used democracy, because they only had one leader. The Spartans had an Oligarchy, meaning they had several rulers. In Athens, everyone voted, and in Sparta they had a council that made laws. There are also many differences regarding daily life. In Sparta, the main focus was obedience and war, whereas Athens was considered a creative wonderland. There are many differences that set Athens and Sparta apart, but it's what makes their rivalry so great. Although they are rivals, Athens and Sparta share many similarities. The first is government. Even though their style of government isn't the same, the way they elect their leaders is. They let citizens vote at assemblies, and had councils who elected rulers. "Both forms of government ensured that every person was within the law, none could escape. Also, neither employed the fundamental idea of autocracy – a sole, omnipotent ruler. Athens, being a democracy, used the masses as well as nobles, aristocrats and generals as a part of their government. Sparta countered the idea of a autocrat by putting two kings in place, and an overseeing body of five Ephors. Each kept the other under check, enabling no one to gain absolute power." Another similarity is women. "Sparta and Athenian women could compete in exercise and sports such as discus, gym and wrestling. They could not exercise in a palaestra(wrestling school or gym)." Athens and Sparta also had strong defense. Sparta had a strong army, and Athens had a strong navy. Because they both had such strong defense, wars between the two were near impossible to win, but extremely interesting to learn about. Athens and Sparta are one of the greatest rivalries of all time. They were 2 extremely powerful and influential places. Their fighting proves that they both wanted power, and that they would go through anybody to get it. Their competitive nature and contributions to the world are a big help to understand what life in Ancient Greece was like. |