Future Self Letter

Dear Future Charlotte Peverley,

The year is 2020. I’m sure you remember it, considering it was a year full of momentous, shocking, and unexpected events. Let's take a look back: Fires spreading rapidly across Australia that burned tens of millions of acres of land, killing wildlife and destroying homes everywhere. Next we have the killing of an Iranian general with a drone strike that almost sent the US into WWIII. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal life behind them. The impeachment trial of US president Donald Trump. Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi are killed alongside others in a freak helicopter crash. The US presidential election (unknown results) The murder hornets coming the US. And of course we can’t forget Coronavirus.

COVID-19 started in Wuhan, China by someone eating a bat JK It was most likely created in a lab. It spread around China and into other surrounding areas. At this time I had no concern and would even joke about it coming into the US and into Maryland. But I wasn’t long until cases popped up everywhere and began to be a real threat. Nothing to joke about now. It was all that was talked about in school the last week or so before we left for who knows how long. Teachers started to prepare for the what ifs and took precautionary safety measures. Until March, Friday the 13th, not to be superstitious but kinda, we left school for what was supposed to be 2 weeks. We took everything home, empty lockers were all that was left. Online school began. We didn’t know how long we would be home for. Hand sanitizer and toilet paper were not to be found anywhere. The news was constantly on; hearing about new cases in the US and predictions about the future. Waiting for Governor Hogan to come on and tell us when we could go back to normal, but it didn’t happen. The date to go back to school kept getting pushed back until the rest of the year was cancelled for good. Maryland went into lockdown, nothing but the essentials open and face masks for all. 

NO seeing friends or family. I went from seeing my grandparents every week for dinner to not at all. All I wanted was a hug but that was not allowed. I got outside more often, for hikes and adventures in the woods. I worked out more too which was a good thing. Everyone was at home and I began to get annoyed with everyone. Fighting with my sister and my mom always telling me what to do. The feeling of being cramped inside with the same people everyday for months is definitely not the best. I found creative ways to stay busy and entertained while being at home. The amount of school work also helped keep me distracted. Waking up early most days and signing into school and going class by class to see what work I had for the day. Had a couple class microsoft teams meetings which were always awkward and boring. Teachers definitely didn’t hold back on giving work. I maintained pretty good grades during this time. I learned how to communicate with teachers better and I got used to being online. But by the end of the year I was kinda tired of it and just wanted to be done. I’m currently just 2 days away from the end of the year. Finally! Life has been boring and strange. I felt like I was repeating the same day over and over again. Dejavoo but in a bad way. I didn’t go into public for like 2 months which was strange and the grocery stores were weird. You could only go one way down the aisles and there was someone at the door to make sure there weren’t too many people in the store at a time. Not being able to tell people’s expressions under the mask always made me uneasy for some reason. The world was disconnected for the first time in forever it seemed like. Everyone turned to social media to communicate and relied on it more than ever.

I think this summer will also be strange. Things have started to open back up now but not all the way and people are still going to be paranoid. There is also the threat of Corona coming back even worse in the fall. I hope summer will still be good, because I have been looking forward to it forever. They have also talked about not starting school on time next year which would really suck.

Currently protests are breaking out all over the country and world for the Black Lives Matter Movement. This started with murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Burning down buildings and looting stores, tear gas and rubber bullets, a fight for rights. Every state in the US has had a protest, not all were violent. The outcome of this situation is still unknown. 

Also I saw my first rocket launch ever. NASA and SpaceX sent people up to the International Space Station which was amazing. I watched footage of the space walk, too, and was intrigued by it all. 

Honestly nothing surprises me anymore and I am just waiting for more to come, I mean we are only half way through the year and all this has already happened. 

- K Bye

More Notes

•  Heir to throne is Caesar's adopted son Octavian
• Octavian takes over at 18 
• starts The Second Triumvirate with Mark Antony and Lepidus 
• Octavian makes Lepidus to retire
• Octavian and Mark Antony become rivals
• Mark Antony works together with Cleopatra (Egypt)
• Octavian defeats them at the Battle of Actium
• Octavian is the unchallenged ruler of Rome
• Given the name "Augustus" (Exalted One)
• Great military commander
• Rome is now an empire, not republic
• Octavian ruled from  27 BC to AD 14
• He began Pax Romana
• Pax Romana lasted 207 years (27 BC- AD 180)
•  Had many accomplishes 
• Expanded Roman Empire into Africa
• Set up civil service 
• Built roads
•  taxes
• postal service
• grain supply
• Built aqueducts + buildings
• Sett up police department
•  fire-fighters
•  Death lead to the age of Emperors
• Good and bad
• Tiberius 
• ruled from AD 14- AD 37
• Excellent general
• The death of his son caused him to exile himself from Rome
• Died at age 77
• Caligula 
• ruled  AD 37 to AD 41 
• Won a power struggle after Tiberius' death
• Cruel tyrant
• He was assassinated 
•  were trying to reestablish the Republic (It didn't work)
• Claudius 
• ruled from AD 41- AD 54
• Suffered from many disabilities (A limp, Stammering, Shaking, Slobbering)
• Took over bc he was the last adult male in the family
• Good ruler
• Built roads, aqueducts, and canals
• He tarted the conquest of Britain
• Died bc of poisoning 
• His wife wanted her son Nero to rise to power
• Nero 
• ruled from 54- 68
• Big fire happened in 64
•  wanted to rebuild Rome
• He overspent then raided temples for money

Stuff

I will be taking the test with section 202 on June 2, at 8:00-8:50 am.

NOTES:

• Tried to keep plebs from revoting
• free grain and circuses to keep them happy
• Tiberius Graccus saw advantages to courting plebs
• gave them land that military had conquered
• Julius Caesar 
• 100-44 BC
• Good general
• Conquered Gaul
• Made common people happy
• Also was liked by the upper class
• Pompey, Crassus, Julius formed triumvirate (3 leaders)
• Caesar served as consul for 1 year 
• Makes himself governor of Gaul 
• Pompey gets jealous, becomes rival
• Armies fight 
• Caesar wins
• Named dictator of Rome for life
• Granted citizenship
• Expanded the Senate
• Jobs for poor (public works projects)
• more money for soldiers
• started colonies with those without land could own property
• Assassination
• Senators saw Caesars rise in power as threat
• stabbed him 23 times
• Senators weren't punished
• Octavian became heir to the throne 
• END OF REPUBLIC

Essay Choice

​C. Describe how the creation of the Roman Empire transformed Roman government, society, economy and culture.

NOTES

• When Rome expanded the gap between rich and poor expanded and caused problems in society
• By 100 BC enslaved people made up 1/3 of Rome's population 
• Small farms couldn't compete so they were sold to large estates and the farmers lost their homes and were jobless
• Tiberius and Gaius were 2 brothers that tried to help poor Roman citizens
• They proposed laws that limited the amount of land that wealthy people could own and gave some land to the poor
• They made many wealthy people angry and had violent deaths
• Tiberius in 133 BC and Gaius in 121 BC
• A period of Civil War followed their deaths
• The republic grew unstable and military generals started taking power for themselves
• In 60 BC a military leader named Julius Caesar joined forces with Crassus and Pompey and he was elected consul in 59 BC
• He was a strong leader and good military strategist 
• Had power for a year and then became governor of Gaul
• Rome ordered that Caesar return home because he was too powerful but he defied them and marched towards Rome with his army
• He had the support of Rome when he returned and he became dictator for life
• He made many reforms
• Granted citizenship to many romans 
• expanded the senate and made allies
• created jobs for the poor
• created colonies fro people without homes and gave them land
• Some nobles feared his influence and power
• Marcus Brutus, and Gaius Cassius plotted his murder and Caesar was killed on March 15, 44 BC
• After his death civil war broke out and ruined the republic
• Caesar's nephew/adopted son, Octavian took power with Mark Antony and Lepidus
• They eventually got jealous of each other and split up
• Mark Antony fell in love with Cleopatra while in Egypt
• Octavian defeated their forces 
• He became ruler of Rome and took the name of Augustus
• From the beginning of his rule Rome flourished, Pax Romana (207 years)
• Rome was over 3 million square miles, 60-80 million people
• Stable gov, new buildings, food, postal system, taxes, civil service
• Died in AD 14
• Big agriculture industry 
• trading was important 
• diverse society
• Slavery was a large part of society
• 1/3 of pop was slaves
• worked in city and farms
• Triumvirate- three leaders working together

Punic Wars

The Punic Wars was fought between Rome and Carthage. There were three separate wars in this time. The wars lasted from 264 B.C. to 146 B.C.. The first war was from 264 B.C. to 241 B.C. and it was a naval battle where Rome and Carthage were fighting over Sicily. Rome won this war and the second one that went from 218 B.C. to 201 B.C. In the second war, Hannibal, Carthage's general tried to cross the Alps with and army and elephants to attach Rome from the North but much of his army died and they were defeated. The third war lasted from 149 B.C. to 146 B.C. Rome wanted to completely destroy Carthage and they burned down the whole territory. The people of Carthage were sold into slavery and the war was finally over.

Rome's tyrant leaders

In Ancient Rome there was a tyrant named Tarquin. When he took control of Rome he was extremely harsh and forced people to follow his beliefs of tyranny. When his grandfather died, his widow appointed Servius Tullias as the new king. One of the daughters killed her husband and sister so that she could marry Tarquin. She convinces Tarquin to kill her father and take the throne. Once in power he was a cenacle leader. His son, Sextus is involved in a scandal and blackmails a girl named, Lucretia and threatens to kill her. She goes along but later tells her family about it. The people of Rome found out and were upset and they kicked Tarquin and his family out of Rome. Rome decided to never become a tyranny ever again. They went over to a system with 2 consuls, kind of like a president. And there government had a legislative branch and a senate like the us. They also had something simian to the judicial branch.

Rome Notes

Who Settled Rome?

• Etruscans
• Came from the north-central part of the peninsula 
• Metalworkers, artists, architects
• Two foundation myths: 
• Virgil’s Aeneid (where Aeneas escapes from Troy - sound familiar?)
• the story of Remus and Romulus
• Greeks
• They had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea
• Romans borrowed many ideas from them such as:
• Religious beliefs
• alphabet
• Art
• Military techniques and weapons
• Latins (first)
• Descendants of Indo- Europeans
• Settled on the banks of the Tiber River
• Situated so that trading ships, not war fleets could navigate as far as Rome but no further
• a commercial port but not susceptible to attack
• Built on seven hills many streams flowed into the Tiber
• there was a marshy area called the Forum,  between Palatine and Capitoline Hills
• Tarquin the Proud’s grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber
• Lucius Tarquinias Superbus was the seventh ad final king of Rome
• Known as Traquin the Proud
• He was a tyrant

Rome By Chi Cago

I thought the rap was honestly a bop. I showed it to my sister and she also liked it. I knew some of the info in it and I knew the tune well. I liked how it had multiple aspects and events of Rome in it. 11/10 would listen again. Mr. Schick did a great job on the rap and I didn't know he could rap so well and actually make a song.

Law & Order video

The plebeians and patricians struggled for power for awhile. The patricians didn't respect the laws that plebeians had made and they would change them often. The plebeians were allowed to form and assembly and were recognized by the patricians. They had a little say in the law but not much. Overtime they got representation and made laws. Finally the laws were written down so that they could not be changed. This was called the Twelve Tables. All of Romes citizens could see the laws and study them so that there would be no confusion over them. They were carved onto wood tablets and then finalized and put onto bronze tablets. This made the Plebeians and patricians equal under law.

Roman Architecture

Here is the Basilica of Maxentius. It is located in Rome, Italy. It was built in 312 AD. It uses archways and columns which is common in Roman architecture.

Plebeians and patricians

What were the main differences between Roman patricians and plebeians?

The Roman patricians were the upper, wealthy class in society. They were landowners and they had the most political power and a higher social status. The plebeians were the common people of Rome. They were farmers, artisans, and merchants. The plebeians made up the majority the Roman society, but the patricians had the most power. Plebeians couldn't hold important government positions and didn't have a lot of power. The plebeians were allowed to form their own assembly and elect representatives. They weren't allowed to be apart of the senate until later.

What were the Greek versions of patricians and plebeians?

The patricians in Greek society were the aristocrats. The aristocrats, like patricians, were the noble, wealthy, and landowning people, who held the most power in society. They had government positions and had the most influence. The plebeians in Greece were the middle class and possibly the helots, which were peasants who were forced stay on the land that they worked on. The middle class made up the majority of the population, like the plebeians, but didn't have the most power. 

Terms

Republic- A form of government where the most power is held by citizens who can vote
Patrician- A wealthy land owner who held the most power
Plebeian- A common farmer, artisan, or merchant that made up the majority
Tribune-  Representative of the plebeians 
Consul- Romes elected officials who controlled the army and government
Senate-  Aristocratic branch of Rome's government
Dictator- Leader who has absolute power
Legion- Large military units of 5,00 soldiers
Punic Wars- Wars between Rome and Carthage
Hannibal- Carthaginian general, skillful, 29 years old

Essay question

My essay question would be this: Describe some of Plato's worst ideas.

Intro Paragraph: Introduce Plato and give some info about him. State some of his good ideas and accomplishments, but also say that even philosophers can have misleading ideas/ not everyone is perfect.

First Paragraph: Talk about what Plato though about the Forms. It would also mention that this idea may not be true but it can still be beneficial to think about it.

Second Paragraph: Talk about the Noble Lie he created and Plato's ideal society.

Third Paragraph: Talk about Plato's ideas about women in society and how they changed. And his idea about a woman's womb.

Conclusion: Bring his ideas together into a message for people today, that some ideas fail but ancient philosophers still influenced the world today.

Test Questions

1) The name of Alexander the Great's horse is:
A. Artemis
B. Bucephalus
C. Fearless
D. Socrates
(Correct answer: B)

2) The Greek god of the seas is named______.
(Correct answer: Posieden)

3) When a state is ruled directly by the citizens:
A. Tyranny
B. Oligarchy
C. Monarchy
D. Direct democracy
(Correct answer: D)

4) Pericles led Athens during its ______ Age.
(Correct answer: Golden)

5)Darius III was the leader of what empire:
A. Russian
B. European
C. Persian
D. Greek

Plato's Best and Worst Ideas

1) How did Plato define The Forms?

• Plato defined The Forms as a world beyond our imperfect world that had unchanging perfect forms of things of our world. They are ideal versions of things and ideas around us that serve as a guide to our world. Also that our reality is made up of imperfect copies of the ideal forms.

2) Who are the three groups in Plato’s ideal society?

• The three groups are producers, military, and rulers.

3) What were Plato’s thoughts on women?

• Platos had different thoughts on women at different times. He believed that women should be equally able to rule in a model society. At other times he said that women were equal to children. He also believed that a woman's womb was a live animal that could move around the body and cause illness.

4) What was the Noble Lie that Plato proposed?

• The Noble Lie that Plato proposed is that we are all born with gold, silver, or a mix of brass and iron in our souls which are used to determine our roles in life. 

Greece Poem

Socrates Haiku

Greek philosopher

Socrates "Corrupting youth"

Poison hemlock death

Greek Architecture

The Temple of Olympian Zeus is located in Athens. The construction of the temple started in the 6th century by Peisistratos, but stopped for unknown reasons. Roman Emperor, Hadrian completed it in 131 AD, 638 years after the project began. During Roman times the temple had 104 columns and was the largest temple in Greece, 
 

The Parthenon stands at the top of the acropolis. It is dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was built in celebration of the victory over the Persians Construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC. It replaced the older Temple of Athena. It  also served as the treasury of the Delian League.

Greek Theater

1)  Describe the kinds of dramas that were performed in the theaters of ancient Greece.

• There were two different kinds of dramas, comedy and tragedy. A comedy is humorous play with slapstick situations and crude humor. Playwrights made fun of politics and people and their ideas. A tragedy is a serious drama about love, hate, war, and betrayal. The plays had a tragic hero with a tragic flaw that eventually leads to their downfall.

2) Describe the similarities between an ancient Greek production and a film you have seen recently. The Greek production – and the film – can be either a comedy or a tragedy.

• I recently watched The Platform. It is a tragedy. The tragic hero/ main character, Goreng tries to make everyone in the prison get the same amount of food, instead of the people at the bottom getting less than the people at the top. His tragic flaw was his kindness, because in the end he ended up at the bottom where he most likely starved to death. The Platform had many of the same elements as a tragedy in Greek times.

3) Find an online image of a theater from ancient Greece, and describe it in a few sentences.

There is a lot of seating where many spectators would come to watch the plays. In the center is where the actors would be. The chorus and band would also be in the middle, but kind of hidden from the audience.

Personal Essay

Cyber school day #15

Today on Mr. Schick's blog he wrote about be accountable for our work in these difficult times and that we need to strive to be good, hard working people in the time of this crisis. I agree with everything that he wrote. This is a confusing time for everyone and we all have to hold ourselves to the same standards as before, so that we can get through it. 

I think that at this time everyone, teachers and students, have to understand that all of this is new. We all have to understand that it is a difficult transition from our "normal". I would hope that teachers realize that their students are adjusting to online school and the increased workload and may need time to get used to this. I was nervous that teachers would have the same standards as they do normally, because I didn't think that I could keep up with it all, but after a couple days I realized that if I stay focused and worked hard I can still do the same work that I would normally. Its hard to put the same effort in, but I know that I have to in order to maintain a good grade and not fall behind on assignments. Even though everyone should continue to work hard, teachers should be patient with students because completing all of the online assignments can be a difficult task. Students should also be patient with teachers, if they don't respond to emails quickly or make mistakes. We all are still getting used to this, but we also have to strive to keep doing honest work and trying our best.  If we continue doing these things it will keep us from falling into bad habits that we will have to correct later. The increased workload is hard for everyone so we all need to understand that and work to overcome it instead of letting it pile up and overwhelm us. Its a chaotic time but we will get through it together. It had been hard work keeping up with everything but I still managed to do it, so I think everyone else can too. We shouldn't fall into copying work and submitting assignments that aren't ours, because we wouldn't if we were in school so we should now. If we are patient and understanding with each other, and work hard we can be good people and stay strong in the crisis.

Athens Plague vs COVID-19

Cyber school day # 9

The Athens plague was a highly contagious epidemic that exhibited a pustular rash, high fever, and diarrhea.  COVID-19 is a respiratory virus with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing. One similarity is that both of these plagues have a fever and are extremely contagious. The Athens plague was a problem for 3 years and most of the population was infected. As many as 75,000 to 100,000 people, 25% of the city's population died. COVID-19  is a new epidemic and we don't know how long it will last. So far it has infected 491,276 people worldwide. 118, 060 people have covered but 22,165 people have died. The Athens epidemic broke out in early May 430 BC, and had another wave in the summer of 428 BC and in the winter of 427-426 BC. It is predicted that COVID-19 will peak now, slow down in the summer, then comeback harder the fall and winter. The Athens plague spread throughout the Mediterranean. COVID-19 has spread worldwide and affected everyone.

Biographies

Cyber school day 7:

Phillip II:

Philip II was the king of Macedon from 359 BC until he was murdered in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty. He was the son of King Amyntas III of Macedon, and father of Alexander the Great. He was an accomplished king and military commander. Philip inherited a weak country with an ineffective and undisciplined army and turned them into an efficient military force, that controlled the territories around Macedonia as well as Greece.

Alexander the Great:

Alexander the Great was a king of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He was a general and his leadership skills allowed him to win many battles. He was tutored by Aristotle. He was king during the wars with Persia and he fought against Darius III. He was successful against Persia and eventually defeated Darius III army.

Darius III:

 Darius III was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. In 336 BC, he took the throne at the age of 43 after the death of Artaxerxes III and Arses. He ruled from 336 BC to 330 BC. His real name was Artashata but he adopted Darius as a dynastic name. He led Persia in the wars against Greece, but lost. 

Bucephalus and Alexander the Great

Cyber School day 6

Bucephalus was Alexander the Great's horse and is considered to be the most famous horse in history. He was initially given to King Philip II, Alexander's father, in Macedonia. he was presented to him in 346 BC by Philoneicus of Thessaly. Bucephalus was also very expensive, three times the normal price. He was a tall, black horse and he was wild and could not be tamed by anyone. King Philip ordered them to take Bucephalus away because he was untamed. Alexander was watching in the stands with his mother and stood up and said, “What an excellent horse do they lose for want of address and boldness to manage him.” His father ignored him, but Alexander kept fighting for them to keep Bucephalus. Alexander approached the horse and calmed it down. He took the reins and got on Bucephalus. The horse didn't rear or try to buck him off. When Alexander did this it was a turning point in his life and he gained support from a lot of people. He was the only one who could ride Bucephalus. He rode him into every battle from the conquest of the Greek city-states and Thebes through Gaugamela and into India. After defeating Darius, Bucephalus was kidnapped, and Alexander threatened to kill everyone and destroy the land, and his horse was returned shortly after. Bucephalus died of old age in 326 BC.

Cyber School Review

Cyber day #5

So far cyber school has been okay. It has been a lot of work, especially English. Some teachers only give minimal work but others give alotttttt. I have had trouble staying focused in my own house, since there is no one here to make me do my work. There are also a lot of distractions in my house that I don't have at school, like my family and tv and my phone. I also procrastinate, so I have put some things off until night time and I have to rush in order to get them done. I have wanted to go outside more, but I don't always have the time. My grades are still fine, so that's good but I'm not sure how long I can keep them up and that worries me a little. When I'm in class its easier to ask questions and explain stuff but Its hard when your sending an email and to your point across. Some teachers have offered times to Skype and help with things but not often. I'm nervous about how long this will continue because I'm pretty sure its gonna be longer than just 2 weeks. One good thing is that I have more time to turn stuff in that I would in school. I also have liked my gym assignments because they give me a chance to do something other than school work.

Socrates

Cyber day #3

I think Socrates and others started to question traditional beliefs because of all the terrible things that were happening in Greece at that time. When Pericles died society started to fall apart and people started to fight for power. After the war when the ships came back without picking up the fallen sailors and the citizens and government were angry with them. While the government was trying to charge the captains of the ships with murder and execute them, Socrates used his morals and didn't follow the rest of society. He thought for himself and he realized that it wasn't right for them to execute them. Everyone else in society was going along with the mentality of the state, which was to be brute and fight with violence. Socrates didn't think this was right and he tried to make them believe  that what they were doing wasn't right. He questioned others beliefs because he knew it was wrong for them to kill the captains that had won the battle for them. He had his own beliefs which were different from others and that's why he was persecuted for it.

Paragraph

Assignment for cyber day #2

            When Pericles was in power and in charge of Athens he accomplished many great things, but then the Spartans invaded Athenian territory and began burning down fields of crops. The citizens escaped and hid inside the city walls for protection, because Pericles ordered them to. They became anxious but Pericles assured them to stick to his plan. He said that they could survive using the shipments they were getting from overseas. One year into the war the shipments they were getting brought a plague. Everyone was crowed and stuck inside the city so the plague spread very quickly and disease broke out. Dead bodies layed in the streets and people gave up and religion and they didn't listen to the authorities. The Athenian society broke down and people gave up on having good morals. The plague killed over 1/3 of Athens population. Then Pericles got sick. People tried using magic and potions to cure him but it didn't work. After 6 months of being ill he died in 429 BC. His strategy didn't work to save Athens and it only caused death. Pericles was holding Athens together and when he died it fell apart. People tired to fight for power. They tried to do anything the citizens wanted to gain power. They used prejudices to gain support. The democracy fell apart and made Athens unable to fight any wars.

Pericles

Assignment for cyber day #1:

        Pericles was the leader of Athens from 461 to 429 BC. He led Athens during much of its golden age and he had popular support for 32 years. He was a skillful politician, speaker and a respected general. He had 3 goals for Athens. They were to strengthen its democracy, to hold and strengthen the empire and to glorify Athens. Direct democracy is a state that is ruled by its citizens. The rule is based on citizenship and the majority rule decides the vote. In the agora, citizens argued and made speeches then voted using white stones, meaning yes, and black stones, meaning no. Citizens could implement new policies in order to improve the polis. The Delian League was an organization under the leadership of Athens that controlled all other city-states in Greece. Athens used the money from the league to make its navy the most powerful in the Mediterranean. The money from the Delian League was used to beautify Athens and make it stronger. The league's approval was sometimes overlooked by Pericles, but it helped make Athens the glorified city it was in this time.

Corona time

Hey Bloggggg!!!!!!!!!

Today in class we got new seats. Everyone is spread out sitting every other desk so that we are all in our own little bubbles. We also got new phone pockets so that we won't get anyone else's germs. All class we listen to Mr. Schick talk about the corona virus. He told us the information he has heard from podcasts and stuff. He also told us about how to stay safe and not get sick. We should wash and sanitize our hands frequently and not tough our faces. We should also wipe down surfaces that a lot of people touch. Mr. Schick let people ask questions an the told us not to be scared but I kinda am. Also we don't have school for 2 weeks. Tomorrow is a half day so the teachers can talk about how to do cyber school. We have to clean out our lockers and bring home everything so we can do work from home.

Another video

Hi blog :)

We watched another video today about Greece. Mr. Schick is probably sick :(. Feel better. The video talked about Athens and its accomplishments. The Persians thought Athens was a threat when it started to flourish. There was a big cultural difference between Greece and Persians. freedom vs. slavery. Persians invaded Marathon. There was no standing army in Marathon. Hoplites helped fight. Athenians had little chance to win. Phidipidees ran for help all the way to Sparta. Became a legend. Ran 140 miles in 2 days. Help was refused :( Athens had to fight alone. Greeks still ended up winning. Broke up Persian army. Democracy survived. Themisticles was an Athenian general. Didn't come from aristocracy. He was one of history's greatest leaders. Trireme was a fighting boat. 170 men on 3 levels. Fast! Used ti ram the enemies ship. Good but expensive. Greeks found silver. Themisticles wanted to use it to build more ships. Wanted to use them against Persian but told people they would use them against a rival city state. Xerxes took over after Persian king died (his father). Wanted to avenge is father. 2 million men army. Attacked Greece. Athenians were scared, Went to the oracle Delphi. Wanted to know what to do in order to save themselves. The oracle told them to run away. Themisticles didn't panic. Got second prophecy from the oracle. Themisticles evacuated Athens. Women and children went to another city state. men went to fight. Persians went into Athens and burned it. Persians has a fleet 4x of Athens. Themisticles wanted to defeat the Persians at sea. Sent a fake traitor to Xerxes. Told him the Athenians were going to flee. Persians thought they were going to win. They went into the Straights. Couldn't move. Athens trapped them and won. Persians retreated. Athens grew and democracy improved. Delian League: Alliance of Greek States. Voting with stones. Once a year ostracized someone that they voted on. Themisticles became harsh, and was voted to be ostracized. Became a wanderer, traveling around Greece. Athens needed a leader, Pericles was chosen. Greece flourished during this time. Strengthened democracy. He was born into an elite family. Pericles rebuilt the acropolis. A new parthenon for Athena. Very expensive! More than a billion dollars today. Built in in 15 years.

Ancient Greece Video

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Today Mr. Schick wasn't in class so we had Dr. Gallen as a sub. We watched a video called The Ancient Greeks: Crucible of Civilization. Here are the notes that I took:

• Cleisthenes was born around 570 BC
• born into one of the richest families in Greece
• his family was called the alchemy onits
• it was a political dynasty
• Herodotus said that Cleisthenes grandfather performed a favor for a king named Croesus
• In return he got gold
• he took as much gold as possible
• Aristocrats controlled Athens in 6th Century BC
• Athens was built around the acropolis 
• houses were made out of mud brick
• Most men worked in the fields
• women did household chores
• reading and writing was rare
• life expectancy was less than 15
• tough life
• not equal society
• Greece was divided into city sates
• not unified
• Corinthians dominated greek trade
• Sparta had military power
• conquered a lot of Greece
• Helots worked in the fields for the Spartans 
• Greeks told stories
• passed poetry over generations
• Achilles was a greek hero
• died early
• model for cleisthenes 
• Greece became tyranny when a man came into town and said he had Athena's support to rule over Athens
• he was welcomed by Athenians
• turned to ordinary citizens for support
• reduced taxes
• offered free loans
• farming excellerated 
• olives
• exported around the Mediterranean 
• wealth from trading
• Low class people were potters
• made vases/pots
• pottery was important 

POP Quiz

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Today we reviewed the slides on greek gods and goddesses and the slides on the greek philosophers. David stood up front and talked about the slides. After that we took a pop quiz. It had 10 questions and we had 10 seconds to answer each of them. It was pretty easy but I got one question wrong about the Persian Wars. Maybe this quiz will raise my grade a little. We also watched a clip of the show the Good Place about philosophy. I'm also very excited that today is Friday!

Philosophy

Socrates:

• looked into science and logic (not mythical gods)
• The socratic method fostered critical thinking 
• "the unexamined life is not worth living"
• Socrates was charged with serious crimes
• Impiety (disrespecting the gods)
• corrupting the youth of Athens
• found guilty by Athenian jury (didn't deny it)
• sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock

Plato:

• Student and follower of socrates 
• he wrote down his teachings
• Apology
• Republic
• Allegory of the cave

Aristotle:

• A student of Plato a the Academy
• Athens is an intellectual destination
• Focused on cooperative research 
• tutored Alexander the Great

More about Greece

hey blog!

Here are my notes from today:

• Athens had a great infantry but their navy was very powerful
• Most effective weapon was the trireme 
• technological marvel
• fastest ship in the world at that time
• powered by up to 170 men on 3 levels
• could be used as a bettering ram
• agile, fast
• The phalanx
• close rank defense grouping of warriors 
• armed with long spears and interlocking shields
• advance slowly toward enemy unit they broke through their enemy
• Persian Wars
• Persians have a huge army, near unlimited resources
• Greece is a lot smaller
• Greek Army:
• iron weapons
• foot soldiers (hoplites) trained from an early age
• armed with spears, swords, and shields
• Phalanx formation
• home field advantage
• motivated to preserve democracy
• Persian Army:
• first archers (damage from a distance)
• cavalry (disrupt communication between general and soldiers)
• lightly armored infantry (carried spear, sword, and bow)
• huge numbers
• long way from home
• professional army (soldiers for hire/mercenaries)

Getting the tests back

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Today we had free time during class in the beginning, because David had to take the test. I took notes during that time on the greek gods and goddesses, such as Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, and Athena. The gods had contact with humans regularly, which makes them different from other the other gods from other civilizations. I didn't get to the part in the power point that talks about Greeks fighting and stuff. I got a 93 on the test and it brought my grade up to an 87.77. I'm getting closer to an A so yayyyy! We also went over the test in class and I only got 3 questions wrong so that's pretty good. I got all the labeling right on the map, which I am surprised about because I thought I was going to get some of it wrong. I am excited to learn more about Greece.

Page 139 Questions

1)   Direct Democracy- A form of government used in Ancient Greece in which the citizens rule directly and not through representatives.
      Classical Art- Art with has values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion.
      Tragedy- A serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, and betrayal.
       Comedy- A play filled with slapstick situations and crude humor.
       Peloponnesian War- A war fought between Athens and Sparta.
       Philosopher- A "thinker" about logic and how the universe works.
       Socrates- A philosopher who was put to death for corrupting Athenian youth and going against the Athenian government. Socratic Method.
       Plato- One of Socrates' students.
       Aristotle- One of Plato's students.

2) I think Pericles' goal of strengthening the Athenian democracy had the most impact on the modern world, because if he hadn't continued with democracy and making it work, they would have moved to a different kind of government, and there would be no democracy anywhere in the world today. Many countries would not be the same if democracy had been forgotten about.

3) Pericles increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries, before the positions were unpaid. now everyone rich or poor could participate in the government. More people participated in the government when it was more available for everyone to join in.


5) I think they found Socrates' ideas disturbing because they were brand new ideas to them and when people don't know something that some else does they normally don't believe it. The people were told to believe what their government said so they did not believe the things that Socrates were saying and teaching them.

The Test

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The Greece test was easier that I thought I was going to be. I think I did pretty good, but I just checked and I know I got the question about the percentage of mountainous land on Greece. I put 1/4 and it was supposed to be 3/4. Other than that questions I feel pretty confident about the rest of the test. I hope that it brings my grade up because right now I have an 84 and I want to bring I up before the end of the 3rd quarter. I studied using a quizlet and the power point and my notes so I made sure I had all the necessary information. I also studied during lunch which was right before western civ class. OK bye.

Moving towards democracy

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Here are my notes on Greece from today:

• Draco (621 BCE): Draconian- Un-necessarily harsh
• All Athenians rich or poor are equal under the law
• Death is the punishment for many crimes
• Debt slavery is OK (work as slave to repay debts)
• Solon's reforms (594 BCE)
• Outlaws debt slavery
• All Athenian citizens can speak at the assembly
• Any citizens can press charges against wrongdoers
• More reforms before 500 BCE
• Allowed all citizens to submit laws for debate at the assembly
• Created the Council of Five Hundred
• Members chosen at random, to counsel the assembly
• Leading to democracy
• Only free adult male property owners born in Athens were considered citizens
• No women, slaves, or "Foreigners"
• Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE
• His brother was murdered and caused his rule to become harsh
• Eventually he was expelled from Athens (ostracized)
• In revenge he began working with the Person king Darius I, helping them invade marathon
• With Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both were aristocrats) 
• engage in a power struggle
• Isagoras had support from upperclass and Sparta
• Cleisthenes has middle class (majority)
• Isagoras wins, becomes archon eponymous
• Ostracizes Cleisthenes
• Supporters (ordinary citizens) revolt against Isagorus' tyranny
• Trap Isagoras on the acropolis for 2 days- on the 3rd day he fled and was banished
• 508 BCE
• Cleisthenes= member of the elite
• very rich
• insulated from the "hoi polloi"
• crafty politician
• tapped into talents of middle class citizens
• no women yet
• Huge step in getting regular people involved in the government
• first democracy had limits
• After several years, Athens practiced direct democracy
• The state is ruled by its citizens 
• Rule based on citizenship
• majority rule decides vote
• in agora, citizens argues, made speeches then voted with white stones (yes) or black stones (no)
• First practiced in Athens under Cleisthenes by around 500 BCE

Government in Greece

Today in class we took some notes o the types of government in Greece. Here are my notes:

• During 7th and 6th centuries BCE, aristocrats ran most of Greece
• Rich people wielded much more influence in society + help much more gov power than the middle class or the poor
• Aristocrats- members of the ruling class
• Attended symposiums, meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine, poetry, performances by dancers + acrobats and the company of hetaeras (escorts) while discussing politics
• exclusive club
• no women (except entertainment)
• no middle class
• no slaves
• sometimes aristocrats fall out of power -> set up shadow gov (tyranny)
• Aristocrats would form alliances with Hoplites (well- armed soldiers) set up alternative form of gov called a tyranny
• Tyrant: someone who rules outside the framework of the polis
• Modern: abuse of power

Pop quiz day

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Today we took a pop quiz :( I got 2 wrong. The one about Crete and about the Mycenaeans. My grade is a still an 84. I want to get it up to ad A but I don't know if I will get it up. We also took more notes on Greece. Here are the terms:

• Direct democracy- a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives
• Classical art- values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion
• Tragedy- a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
• Comedy- a play filled with slapstick situations and crude humor
• Peloponnesian War- A war between Athens and Sparta
• Philosophers- Thinkers about logic and the universe
• Socrates- a philosopher who was put to death for corrupting youth
• Plato- A student of Socrates
• Aristotle- One of Plato's students

Here are the notes:

• Pericles led Athens during much of its golden age
• he had popular support for 32 years
• Skillful politician, speakers and a respected general 
• he dominated the life of Athens from 461 to 429 BC
• He had 3 goals:
• Strengthen Athenian democracy
• to hold and strengthen the empire
• to glorify Athens
• he increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries
• most were unpaid before
• now poor people could serve
• Introduced direct democracy
• Athens defeated the Persians 

Ancient Greece

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Today we took more notes on Ancient Greece:

• Although fertile valleys cover 1/4 of the peninsula only 20% is arable (farmable)
• Greek diet consisted of grains, grapes, olives and fish
• lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization
• Temperatures ranged from mid 40s in winter to low 80s in the summer
• Mycenaeans:
• influence began around 2000 BCE
• located on a rocky ridge on Peloponnesus, protected by a 20 foot- thick wall
• kings dominated Greece from 1600-1100 BCE
• controlled trade
• 1400 BCE- Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan Culture
• *Cultural Diffusion*
• writing system, language, art, politics, literature, religion
• Around 1200 BCE the mysterious "sea people" began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace
• Dorians moved into war-torn region
• Dominated from 1150-750 BCE
• less advanced 
• trade based economy collapsed
• writing disappeared for 400 years
• Greek oral tradition- stories passed on by word of mouth 
• Homer lived at the end of these "greek dark ages"
• composed stories (epics) of the Trojan War c. 750-700 BCE
• The Iliad- possibly one of the last conquest of the Mycenaeans (The Trojan War)
• The Odyssey- Odysseus attempts to return home after Trojan War, being thwarted by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon 
• The Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter
• Homeric Question : homer may have been a mythical creation himself
• blind wandering minstrel; a heroic figure 
• Did he exist?

Philosophy

Whats up blog!!!

Today we talked more about philosophy and about if school is a good place for learning or not. We talked about what the allegory of the cave means in real life. We looked at a picture of a pipe that Sia this is not a pipe, because it was actually a picture of a drawing of a painting of a pipe. This was philosophy because it made us think about what it meant when it said it wasn't a pipe. We had to make a conclusion about what it actually was after taking time to think about it. We also started learning more about Ancient Greece. Here are my notes from today:

• The the worlds greatest civilizations were located on water.
• Mesopotamia- Tigris/Euphrates
• Egypt- Nile
• India- Indus
• China- Huang He
• Greece- Mediterranean Sea, Ionia sea, Aegean Sea, Adriatic Sea

Culture of the mountains and the sea

be able to identify:

• Aegean Sea
• Ionian Sea
• Adriatic Sea
• Peloponnesus
• Athens
• Sparta
• Crete
• Asian Minor
• Macedonia
• many skilled sailors, shipbuilders, farmers, metalworkers, weavers, and potters
• people were loyal to small, developed, independent communities
• difficult to unite all of Greece because of terrain
• 50,949 sq miles
• Small in size HUGE in influence

The Cave Video

Hey Bog :)


One Friday we watched a video handout Plato's Allegory of the Cave. It went into depth about what it all meant. One out front he video was, "The effect of education and the lack of it on our nature." This means that education effects how humans act towards each other. There was an obvious difference between the shadows of objects and the actual objects. The person that was brought out of the cave saw this differences and was enlightened. The video said he was a "hearer to the true nature of being". The video also said that cave dwellers are what humans were before philosophy and that the sun is the light of reason, because when the cave dwellers saw the sun he understood the real world. We all start in the cave, but through education we come out of the cave. And the way out of the cave is through philosophy.

Plato's Allegory of the cave

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Today Mr. Schick and Izzy read Plato's Allegory of the cave. The first part described what was happening inside the cave. There were some prisoners shackled so that they could not move their bodies or their heads. They had been in the cave their entire lives and had never seen the outside world or the sunlight. The prisoners were shackled so that they were forced to look at a wall. Behind them was a small wall and a walkway infant of a fire. From behind the wall the guards would hold up objects in front of the fire which would reflect shadows onto the wall that the prisoners were looking at. When the people would do that they would say what the objects were to the people. The objects were just shadows so they were unclear to the prisoners. The prisoners were forced to believe what they were seeing and being told, because that's all they knew, so they didn't think to question if what they were seeing was realer not. Part 2 was when one of the prisoners was dragged out of the underground cave. It talked about whether or not the prisoner would believe what they were seeing and if they would trust what they knew before or if they would trust the new things that they're seeing. Part 3 was when they took the prisoner out and walked he up a mountain his eyes were burned because of the sunlight that they had never seen before. He couldn't see that full world around him because he was shielding his eyes. This part talked about how he learned that the sun grants the seasons and time and changes around him and that the sun governs everything around it. later on he got used to the brightness and could see the world around him and even look directly at the sun. He considered himself lucky for seeing the outside world, but it also considered the fact that he could also envy the people still inside the cave. He went back to the cave and his eyes were once again filled with darkness. He told them what he saw and they didn't believe him and they ridiculed him for it. They aid it wasn't worth going outside and ruining his eyes. They eventually kill him for his new knowledge. The message of the story is that if you have a new outlook on something or a different opinion on something or you know something that others do not, people won't be openminded or believe what you are saying. Because the world is close minded to people who are different. It also shows that seeing the full truth can be difficult but once you do it is worth it.

Notes from pages 127-133

Terms:

• POLIS: the mane for a city-state
• ACROPOLIS: The fortified hilltop where citizens gathered to discuss city gov
• MONARCHY: A government ruled by a single person like a king or queen
• ARISTOCRACY: A government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families
• OLIGARCHY: A government ruled by a few powerful people
• TYRANT: Powerful individuals/nobles that seized control of the government by appealing to the common people for support.
• DEMOCRACY: Government ruled by the people
• HELOTS: Peasants forced to stay on the land they worked on
• PHALANX: A fighting formation that became the most powerful fighting for in the ancient world
• PERSIAN WARS: Wars between Greece and the Persian Empire

NOTES:

• A polis was made up of a city and the surrounding countryside
• had between 50-500 square miles of territory
• fewer than 10,000 residents
• City states had different forms of gov
• monarchy
• aristocracy 
• oligarchy
• Clashes between rulers and common people
• Tyrants sometimes took control 
• nor considered harsh/cruel
• provided jobs and housing for people
• Representative gov became more common
• Athens
• power struggles between rich and poor
• Moved towards democracy
• Draco took power in 621 BC
• Developed a legal code
• Rich and poor under law are equal
• punished criminals with death 
• debt slavery
• Solon came to power in 594 BC
• no citizen shall own another citizen (no slavery)
• Top 3 classes could hold government office
• All could participate in the Athenian Assembly
• Cleisthenes came to power around 500 BC
• Council of Five Hundred
• limited democracy
• Wealthy fans received formal education
• started at age 7
• grammar, reading, poetry, history, math, music
• Boy: logic and public speaking
• military school
• Girls stayed home
• some learned to read and write
• Sparta
• military state
• conquered Messenia
• they revolted
• did not succeed
• Gov had branches
• Council of elders
• Spartan men were expected to serve in army until age 60
• Girls ran, wrestled, played sports
• had freedom
• Persian Wars
• rich saved in armies
• later ordinary citizens could afford it
• Persians conquered coast of Anatolia which belonged to Greece
• Started war
• Greece revolted

*fighting back and forth*

• Greece eventually won
• Florished after war
• Golden Age

Ancient Greece Questions

Page 126 Questions #1, 3, 4, 5

1) Mycenaean: The people that settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 BC.
     Trojan War: A 10 year war against the Mycenaeans and Troy
     Dorians: A group of people that settled into the war-torn countryside after the Trojan War around 1200 BC.
     Homer: A blind man who was said to be the greatest star teller in Greece
     Epics: Narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds.
     Myths: Traditional Stories


3) Nearness to the sea, gave Greeks many transportation routes and it connected Greece with other societies around them. They traded with other lands to get the resources that they needed. The different cultures they were trying with impacted Greece because of cultural diffusion.

4) The Mycenaeans adopted the Minoan writing system and turned it into Greek and they decorated vases with Minoan designs. The Minoans influenced the religions practices, art, politics, and literature.

5) The epics were important to the Greeks in the Dorian period, because their economy collapsed and they stopped writing things down for about 400 years. So in order to learn their history they heard stories about the past in the form of epics.

Quiz

Hi Blog!

Today we took the Ancient Egypt quiz. I hope I did okay, because I wasn't sure about some of my answers. We also took notes on classical Greece. Here is the vocab from this unit.

Mycenaean: The people who settled on the greek mainland around 2000 BC
Trojan War: A 10 year war that the Mycenaeans fought against Troy
Dorains: A group of people that settled into the war torn countryside after the Trojan War
Homer:A great, blind story teller who wrote long narrative poems
Epics: Narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
Myths: Traditional stories

Here are my notes so far:

• Ancient Greece consisted of mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea
• Included about 2,000 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas
• The Aegean, Ionian, and Black seas were important transportation routes
• Connected Greece with other societies
• Greece lacked natural resources such as timber, precious metals, and usable farmland
• Mountains covered about 3/4 of ancient greece
• Caused different regions to form
• Independent communities within each valley and its surrounding mountains
• Fertile valleys covered about 1/4 of Greece 

Quiz Tomorrow

Hey Blog,

We have a 75- point quiz tomorrow on Ancient Egypt. I have payed attention in class, so I already know most of the material. I will study tonight and before the quiz. I will study off of my notes and off of the slide show on Mr.Schick's blog. Today we watched a video on mummification. It was pretty cool. The mummy was buried with a bird. And his lungs were left in his body. We also listened to some strange song in like French or something. It was interesting.

More on Egypt

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Today we learned more about ancient Egypt. Here are some notes:

• Earliest Egyptian writing formed c. 3100 BC and were small pictures known as hieroglyphics
• Egyptian script was usually written in ink on papyrus, which was made from mashed Nile reeds.
• Papyrus, the precursor topper was stored in scrolls and these scrolls were the books of Ancient Egypt
• Egyptian astronomers created a calendar with 12 months and 365 days to make better sense of seasonal cycles
• Due to their excellent knowledge of human anatomy, Egyptian doctors wrote extensively on health issues and created potions and cures for a number of common ailments,
• Wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transportation ability on the Nile
• The pyramids were massive stone tombs, originally covered marble, but the marble was later stripped off during the Muslim Conquest.
• The Temple of Amon at Karnak is the largest religious building in the world, also made out of huge blocks of stone
• Stone sculptures and interior painting depicted humans and gods in a series of regulated poses, often in profile and without perspective, but were highly effective

Egypt

Hi Blog:)

Today we started learning about ancient Egypt. Here are my notes:

• Upper Egypt was a 500 mile long strip of fertile land along the Nile.
• Lower Egypt was the wide land of the Nile delta, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea
• The Nile was the major provider of life for the Egyptians and was much revered in lore and writing
• Around 3100 BC the two lands were united under a single king or Pharaoh (Narmer AKA Menes)
• Nile flows from south to north
• Biggest river in the world
• Pharaoh was all powerful, worshipped like a god, and intimately connected to the other major Egyptian gods and goddesses
• Egyptians relied on a harmony and balance of the universe which they called "maat" (personified by the goddess Maat: ideological opposite of goddess isfet)
• Pharaohs had multiple wives, and all routes to financial and social success were through the palace.
• Women could inherit money and land and divorce their husbands, though and only a tiny few wielded real political power
• THEOCRACY
• Gods were often portrayed with heads or bodies
• Egyptians believed in an afterlife (ka), and they mummified bodies to preserve them for this post death journey
• All souls would need to justify themselves at the point of death and either be sent to an after world paradise or the jaws of a monster

Quiz

Hey Blog!

Today I took the Mesopotamia quiz! I got to study before it and that helped. I didn't think I knew all of the right answers but I ended up getting a 100 on it, so that's good. We are also starting a new unit on Egypt. I'm excited to learn about Egypt.

Sick Day

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I was sick on Monday and Tuesday, so I wasn't in class.

Mesopotamia

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Today we learned more bout ancient Mesopotamia. Here are my notes:

• Wandering nomads drove herds of domesticated animals in many areas, especially to the south of Sumer in Arabia.
• Sumer was conquered by the Akkadians c. 2350 BC - their gods took the place of previous gods and were all forced to worship them
• King Hammurabi of Babylon created a series of laws known as "Hammurabi's code"- laws included "an eye for an eye" and regulations on marriage, divorce, and punishments for all sorts of crimes.
• Indo-Europeans were people from the grasslands of the Russian Steppe who introduced the horse to the Near East
• The warlike Indo-European tribe known as the Hittites settled in Asia Minor.
• The Hittites had a lucrative trade in metals and conquered nearly all of their neighbors, threatening Egypt

Mesopotamia

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Today we took more about ancient Mesopotamia. Here are my notes:

• 200,000 years ago a human species emerged in equatorial Africa
• 14,000 years ago a world wide human race existed
• Earliest prehistoric age is the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)
• Neolithic Age (New stone age) marked by advanced tools
• Populations rose because of surplus of food
• Permanent settlements
• Hierarchies appeared in village life
• Status of women lowered
• Inventions of wheel and plow made it possible to produce enough food for storage
• Villagers were polytheists, worshipping multiple nature, human, and animals
• AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
• Mesopotamia:
• Sumer occupied the land between the Tigris + Euphrates rivers
• Population increased dramatically due to new irrigation techniques 
• Cities and towns were founded, some with as many as 40,000 inhabitants
• Better food storage allowed for diversity in professions: priests, tradesmen, artisans, politicians, and farmers
• Kings emerged and family dynasties
• Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing, known as cuneiform
• A pantheon of Sumerian gods/goddesses emerged
• Worlds first (surviving) epic was the Sumerian "Epic of Gilgamesh"which told of a great flood
• Sumerians first divided the hour into sixty minutes and the minute into sixty seconds; they also organized a calendar based on moon cycles
• The Ziggurat was a Sumerian temple built on top of a "mountain" of earth

Western Civ Day 1

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Today was the first day of the second semester and the first day of Western Civilization. We started reading about Mesopotamia in class and taking notes on it. Here are questions 1 & 3 in the textbook.

1) Fertile Crescent: The curved shaped region in Southwest Asia with rich, fertile land.
Mesopotamia: The lands facing the Meditteranean Sea and the plains included the Fertile Crescent.
City-state: A city and the surrounding land that it controlled.
Dynasty: A series of rulers from a single family.
Cultural Diffusion: The process in which a new idea or a product spreads from one culture to another.
Polytheism: The belief in more than one specific God.
Empire: Several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under control of one ruler.
Hammurabi: The ruler of the Babylonia Empire from 1792 BC to 1750 BC.

3) Three challenges were unpredictable flooding combined with a period of little to no rain, no natural barriers fro protection, and limited natural resources.