Hello there my fellow historians,
and welcome to this first lesson on the unit
on ancient Greece.
My name is Mr. Petroxa and I am extremely excited
to be teaching you this unit.
When I was in school a long, long time ago,
as you can tell by my many wrinkles,
I was absolutely fascinated about learning about
this period of history.
There are so many interesting things
to learn about the ancient Greeks,
and I can't wait to share everything I know with you,
as well as learn some new things myself. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
as well as learn some new things myself.
Let's get started by looking at the question
we will be answering in this lesson.
The question that we going to answer is:
how was ancient Greece organised?
Let's have a look at the lesson structure.
We're going to begin with the star words.
I'm going to share some key vocabulary with you.
Then we'll have a look at where Greece actually is;
we're going to try to find it on a map.
Then I'll tell you a little bit about Greece's geography.
And then we'll have a look at the Greek city-states.
And then at the very end is the end of lesson quiz. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
And then at the very end is the end of lesson quiz.
And the end of lesson quiz
is always going to come at the end of each lesson.
So make sure you do that, as it's going to help you to recap
all of the learning that you do.
Let's now look at the things that you're going to need.
You're going to need your exercise book or a piece of paper
where you can write some notes.
You're going to need a pencil or a pen,
and then you're going to also need a ruler.
If you haven't got those things,
go and get them now.
Be quick. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Super speedy guys.
Let's now look at the key star words.
We've got five words.
We've got geography, port, polis, government, and democracy.
Let's begin with geography.
And geography, are the physical features of an area
on the Earth surface.
The physical features of an area on the Earth surface,
that is referred to as geography.
Then we have port.
A port is a place where ships load and unload cargo.
A place where ships load and unload cargo WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
A place where ships load and unload cargo
is known as a port.
Good job. Next one.
We've got a polis.
My turn and your turn.
Polis. Polis. Good job.
And a polis is a city state,
which is like a small country within the region of Greece.
Then we've got a government.
A government is a type of system by which a community,
a state or a nation is governed.
The government is a type of system
by which a community, state or nation is governed.
Good job.
And last we got democracy. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
And last we got democracy.
And a democracy is a form of government
in which power rests with the people,
either directly or through elected representatives.
Let's begin by finding Greece.
Now in this unit, we're going to study
the history of ancient Greece.
You might think, well,
why are we studying about ancient Greece?
And the reason for that is that ancient Greece
is one of the greatest and most influential civilizations
that has been in history.
The ancient Greeks were great thinkers. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
The ancient Greeks were great thinkers.
They were great warriors.
They were great writers, actors, athletes, artists,
architects, and politicians.
And their achievements have left a lasting imprint
on the world.
This is why ancient Greece is sometimes known
as a classical period or classical antiquity.
Because of its great achievements,
and long lasting influence over the rest of the world.
But,
do you guys know where Greece is?
Here, I'm showing you a map of a continent. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Here, I'm showing you a map of a continent.
What continent do you think I'm showing you a map of?
That's right. It's the continent of Europe.
What countries can you recognise on this continent?
Can you recognise the UK?
Point to the UK.
If you said the UK is this island here,
then you are absolutely right.
Now that we know that, now we can recognise where the UK is.
Have a go.
Where do you think Greece might be? WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Where do you think Greece might be?
That's the United Kingdom.
You maybe have been into Greece on holiday.
Ready? Three, two, one.
And Greece is?
Over here.
If you pointed at Greece on the map, awesome job.
Well done. Well found.
The red shaded part shows modern Greece.
So let's zoom in. You ready?
Three, two, one, zoom in.
Now, modern Greece. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Now, modern Greece.
Greece today is a country in South Eastern Europe;
and it has a population of around 10.9 million people.
And it's capital is the city of Athens.
The capital is the city of?
Athens. Good job.
And Athens has a population of approximately
three million people.
Let's have a look at your very first task
on the unit on ancient Greece.
Here you got to complete the sentence.
Modern Greece is located in South East...
What continent is Greece in? WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
What continent is Greece in?
Have a think. Have a go.
Pause the video and complete these task.
Did you get it right?
Tell me that you got it right.
Are you ready? Three, two, one.
Modern Greece is located in South East Europe.
Awesome job guys. Well done.
Now let's have a look.
Modern Greece is surrounded by three seas.
It's surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
It's surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea,
the Aegean Sea, and the Ionian Sea.
Let's try and find them on the map.
You got the Mediterranean Sea here.
You got the Aegean Sea, and you got the Ionian sea.
So three seas surround modern Greece.
The mainland of Greece is 80% mountains,
and it's surrounded by more than 1000 smaller islands.
This is the Greek mainland here.
And then you can see around the mainland, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
And then you can see around the mainland,
there are around 1000 islands.
Now, Greece enjoys hot summers and enjoys mild winters.
So that in ancient times,
people actually spent a lot of time outside
working and chatting with their neighbours.
Next question,
how many seas is modern Greece surrounded by?
Is modern Greece surrounded by two seas?
Is it surrounded by three seas?
Is it surrounded by four seas? WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Is it surrounded by four seas?
Is it surrounded by five?
Have a think.
How many seas is modern Greece surrounded by?
A, B, C or D.
At this point, pause the video, and then have a go.
Let's see if you remembered how many seas
modern Greece is surrounded by.
How many seas is modern Greece surrounded by?
It is surrounded by, A, B, or C, D?
It's B. It's surrounded by three seas. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
It's B. It's surrounded by three seas.
So modern Greece is surrounded by three seas;
the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Ionian Sea.
Excellent job guys. Well done.
I'm going to leave this answer up
so that you can copy it down,
and you can check it against your own.
Awesome job class. Well done.
Let's continue learning about Greece's geography.
In ancient Greece,
so now we're moving back to ancient Greece.
In ancient Greece,
communication and long journeys by land, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
communication and long journeys by land,
were really difficult because of the mountainous terrain.
And the mountainous terrain actually made travel
also very difficult.
And it was really difficult to farm on the rocky hillsides,
so fishing and trade became really important part
of people's daily lives.
And a very famous ancient Greek philosopher
and writer called Plato once wrote,
that the Greeks did not live on the land,
but around the sea, like frogs on a pond. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
but around the sea, like frogs on a pond.
Due to Greece's mountainous geography,
it was really difficult to farm.
It was really difficult to travel.
It was really difficult to communicate between the travel,
and therefore the seas and ports, and fishing, and sailing
became really important part of their lives.
Let's now look at this answer here.
What specific feature of Greece's geography
made farming, travel and communication difficult? WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
made farming, travel and communication difficult?
What is it about Greece's geography that made
all those things really difficult, back in ancient times?
Have a look. Have a go.
Pause the video and complete this task.
Let's have a look. Ready?
What specific feature of Greece's geography
made farming, travel and communication difficult?
The answer is Greece's mountainous terrain
made farming, travel, and communication difficult. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
made farming, travel, and communication difficult.
Meaning that the seas and ports
became an important part of everyday life.
So the specific feature that made all those things difficult
is the mountainous terrain.
Again, at this point, I'm going to pause the video.
You can pause the video too
to check your answer against mine.
Let's move on.
Now that we know where Greece is.
Greece we know it's in South Eastern Europe,
we know a little bit about its geography, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
we know a little bit about its geography,
we know it's surrounded by three seas:
the Mediterranean, the Ionian and the Aegean Sea.
We know that it's really mountainous.
How did that impact the development of Greece
during ancient times?
Let's find out.
This unique geography of rocky mountains, seas and island,
it meant there was no unified Greek empire.
That meant that
Greece wasn't one big country like it is now.
The people at the time did not refer to themselves WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
The people at the time did not refer to themselves
as being Greeks; instead they called themselves Hellenes.
And they called the area that they lived in as Hellas.
It was the Romans much later on,
who gave the name Greece to the region.
In this part, what I want you to do,
is I want you to use the key keywords,
you've got unified, Romans, Hellenes,
you've got Greece, mountainous, and Hellas, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
what you're going to do is you're going to figure out
where this words are going to go in those sentences.
Once you think you've got it, write those sentences down,
and once you've written your sentences down,
check them by reading them to yourself.
At this point, pause the video, and then have a go.
Let's check those sentences. Are you ready?
For much of its history,
ancient Greece was not a unified empire. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
ancient Greece was not a unified empire.
It's mountainous terrain made it difficult
to unify the country.
People referred to themselves as Hellenes,
and they referred to the area they lived in as Hellas.
It was the Romans which named the area as Greece.
And so we got unified there, we got mountainous,
we got Hellenes, we got Hellas, we got Romans,
and then we have Greece.
Make sure that for Hellenes, Hellas, Romans and Greece, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Make sure that for Hellenes, Hellas, Romans and Greece,
you have started those words with capital letters
because they are names.
Make sure you do that.
At this point, I'm going to pause the video
so you can check your answer against my own.
Awesome job guys. Well done.
Let's move on from that.
As we learnt earlier, people in ancient Greece,
they lived in smaller communities.
They lived in smaller cities
known as a polis or a city-state. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
known as a polis or a city-state.
And each city state ruled itself.
That means that they had their own governments,
their own laws, and even the own army.
The city-states were connected by the seas and the ports.
And they tended to be located in the valleys
between the mountains or on coastal plains.
Let's have a look at this one.
It's a true or false question.
People in ancient Greece lived in city-states.
Each one had its own government, laws and army. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Each one had its own government, laws and army.
Is that true or is that false?
True or false?
Pause the video and complete that task.
Let's have a look at the answer to this question.
People in ancient Greece lived in city-states.
Each one had his own government, laws and army.
Is that true or is that false?
It is true.
Let's find out a little bit more about Greek city-states.
The ancient Greek city-states
had a lot of different types of government
because they all lived independently of each other. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
because they all lived independently of each other.
And one of the reasons why
they were all so independent from each other
was because of Greece's geography.
Remember, Greece's geography is really mountainous.
It made it really difficult for travel,
communication and so on.
Therefore each Greek city-state developed
in their own independent way.
Let's find out a bit more about them.
What kind of governments did Greek city-states have?
There could be monarchies, where kings ruled WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
There could be monarchies, where kings ruled
and they passed their powers onto their heirs.
There could be an oligarchy,
where an elite few ruled over the people.
There could be a tyranny,
where one ruler seized powerful strength and force.
Or there could also be a democracy,
where people were citizens
and they could vote to choose their own rulers.
Direct democracy, where people voted to choose
their own rulers, emerged in the city of Athens,
and it lasted for around a hundred years, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
and it lasted for around a hundred years,
between 500 and 400 BCE.
However, Athenian democracy excluded slaves,
it excluded women, and it excluded the poor.
Therefore it was mainly men.
It's primarily men who could vote.
And those men had to have a certain amount of wealth.
They could not be poor. They could not be slaves.
It wasn't a very democratic system of government.
Here I have two questions, which I would love to prompt WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Here I have two questions, which I would love to prompt
some really high level thinking from you.
Under which type of government would you have liked
to lived in if you were back in ancient Greece?
And why would you want to live
under that type of government?
And then my next question,
this is a tricky question actually,
what do you think is unfair
about the different types of government?
I think there's something unfair about each of them. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
I think there's something unfair about each of them.
There's something unfair about the monarchy.
There's something unfair about the oligarchy.
There's something unfair about tyranny.
And there was something unfair about Athenian democracy.
Remember, in Athenian democracy, only men could vote.
Women couldn't vote. Poor people couldn't vote.
Slaves couldn't vote.
So what's unfair about that system?
At this point, what I'd like to do, pause the video.
If you are with someone next to you,
then you can have a discussion with them. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
then you can have a discussion with them.
If you're working on your own,
then I would love you to write your own ideas.
And once we come back, I will share my thinking.
I just want you to pause the video, and then have a go.
Let's have a look.
I would love to hear your answers.
I would love to read your thinking.
Let's have a look.
We had the monarchy, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
We had the monarchy,
where the rule is passed on the powers to their heirs.
We had the oligarchy where a neat few ruled over the people.
We had the tyranny where one person,
one strong ruler was in control.
And then we had democracy
where people could vote for their representatives;
but in Athenian democracy,
only if you were a man of a certain amount of wealth.
In my thinking,
I think all of the systems of government
in ancient Greek city-states, they were all unfair. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
in ancient Greek city-states, they were all unfair.
And the monarchies, people didn't have much say
in who their rulers were,
as power was transferred from the kings to their heirs.
There was no system.
You couldn't vote for who the King was going to be.
Under an oligarchy,
only the rich and the powerful had any power.
Again, that's not very fair.
Under tyranny, again the problem here would be,
that all power is held by one single person, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
that all power is held by one single person,
who would have got that power through strength and force,
and the use of violence.
In my opinion, if I had been alive in ancient Greece,
I would have wanted to live in a democracy
because I would have had some power to choose my rulers.
However, if I had been poor, or if I had been a slave,
I would not have had any rights.
Also remember that women
didn't have any voting rights either.
The system was not very fair at all. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
The system was not very fair at all.
But still I think that type of democracy
was still better than the monarchy.
It was still better than oligarchy.
And it was still better than tyranny.
I wonder what you guys made of it.
Let's move on.
Some of the main city-states in ancient Greece
were as follows.
Here's a map of some of the key ancient Greek city-states.
We've got Athens.
And Athens is the most famous of the Greek city-states.
Remember, Athens is the current capital of modern Greece. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Remember, Athens is the current capital of modern Greece.
And Athens was the home of democracy
where people were allowed to vote for the own rulers.
Next one, we have Knossos.
So we got Athens here.
And then we have Knossos on the Island of Crete.
Now Knossos was the oldest city
in the whole of ancient Greece.
And it was located on the Island of Crete,
not on the Greek main island.
Knossos was the centre of the Minoan civilization.
Next one, we got Olympia. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Next one, we got Olympia.
We have Athens, we have Knossos, and we have Olympia here.
Now, Olympia was the site of the original Olympic games
where all of the different Greek city-states
would send athletes to compete.
And then lastly, we have Sparta.
We had Athens.
Athens is here.
We had Knossos on the Island of Crete.
We had Olympia, and then we had Sparta.
Now, why is Sparta famous?
Sparta is famous for developing the greatest warriors WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Sparta is famous for developing the greatest warriors
of all of ancient Greece.
Boys in Sparta would leave their families
to begin training as soldiers at the age of seven.
Imagine being seven, and being trained to be a soldier.
That seems very tough.
Now let's complete this sentence here.
We got a sentence,
and we have three key words that you can use.
You can use the word Greece, rulers or Athens.
Note that Greece and Athens, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Note that Greece and Athens,
you got to use capital letters because their proper nouns.
They are names of places.
At this point, pause the video, and then have a go.
Let's have a look and see what the answer is.
Ready. Steady. Here's the answer.
The city of Athens is viewed as the home of democracy
where people voted for the own rulers.
It is the capital of Greece today. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
It is the capital of Greece today.
But remember, the key point to make about Athenian democracy
is that even though it was a better system
than the other forms of government,
like monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny, it wasn't great.
Because you could only vote
if you were a man of a certain amount of wealth.
You couldn't vote if you were a woman, if you were poor,
or if you were a slave.
Not great at all.
Class, that is the end of your lesson.
Great work today.
It's now time to complete your end of lesson quiz.
If you'd like to do, WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
If you'd like to do,
please ask your parent or carer to share any of your work.
And they can do that on Instagram.
They can do it on Facebook. They can do it on Twitter.
They're going to tag @OakNational,
and they're going to use the hashtag learn with Oak.
Please ask your parents or carers
to share your work for you.
Awesome job guys. Well done.
I hope you enjoyed our first lesson
on this unit on ancient Greece.
I'm so excited to be learning about it.
You can probably tell by my massive smile
and the way I'm talking in a very good way.
Thank you so much for all of your hard work today. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
Thank you so much for all of your hard work today.
I hope to see you for our next lesson.
Goodbye muffins.