Last Test

Today we took our final test. I got a 90 which I am happy with. Our last class is Monday, bittersweet. Thank God for Delaney because she reminded Mr. Schick about the 5 extra credit points for writing out something from the book. So that's kind of it, until Monday.

Kappel the Teacher

Review / test questions

• Medieval period; 476 - 1453 AD
• New society has roots in the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, classical heritage of Rome, and customs of various Germanic tribes.
• Germanic invaders overrun the western half of the Roman empire causing: disruption of trade, downfall of cities, and population shifts to rural areas.
• Effects of Invasion
• Decline in learning.
• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the lord of the manor he provided them with food, weapons, and treasure.
• Clovis rules Gaul (Franks) until death in 511
• in 496 he has a battle conversion - him and 3000 warriors became Christians
• Church in Rome likes this
• by 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partners.
• Church + Frankish rulers = rise in Christianity
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks:
• live simple
• no marital relations
• obedience
• Sister Scholastica writes similar rules for nuns.
• Pope Gregory 1 goes secular (worldly power)
• Bead wrote the history of England
• Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies = theocracy.
• Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel, knows as Charles the Hammer.
• Hammer defeats a Muslin raiding party from Spain in 732.
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short.
• Son #1 - Carloman - dies in 771
• Son #2 - Charles, known as Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great.
• Charlemagne
• became the most powerful king in western Europe
• kept close watch on his huge estates
• Louis' three sons - Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD (they were weenies)

Germanic Kingdoms Unite under Charlemagne

• Medieval Europe is fragmented.
• Middle Ages = medieval period
• 476 - 1453 AD
• What happened in 476 AD?
• Romoulus Augustulus was told to step down. (no more emperor, no more Roman empire)
• This new society has roots in:
• Classical heritage of Rome
• Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
• Customs of various Germanic tribes
• Invaders overrun the western half of the Roman Empire causing:
• Disruption of trade
• Downfall of cities
• Population shifts to rural areas
• Decline of learning:
• Tribes had oral traditions, songs,couldn't read Greek or Latin
• Roman languages evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
• Few besides priests were literate
• Germanic Kingdoms emerge: 400-600 AD
• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the lord of the manor he provides them with food, weapons, treasure, etc.
• Results:
• no orderly government for large areas
• small communities rule
• Clovis rules the Germanic people of Gaul, knows as the Franks (France)
• in 496 he has a battlefield conversion - he and 300 of his warriors become Christians
• the Church in Rome likes this
• By 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as partners.
• Church + Frankish rulers = rise in Christianity
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks:
• vows of poverty (live simply in monasteries)
• chastity (no marital relations)
• obedience (listen to church superiors)
• Pope Gregory 1 goes secular (worldly power)
• Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies.
• This is a theocracy
• Gregory's spiritual kingdom (Christendom) extends from Italy to England, from Spain to Germany
• Clovis rules the Franks in Gaul until his death in 511
• Most of the rest of Europe consists of smaller kingdoms (7 in England alone)
• Clovis' descendants included Charles Martel, aka Charles the Hammer
• Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732
• if he hadn't won, western Europe could have become part of the Muslim Empire
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short
• He works with the Church and is named "king by the grace of God" by the Pope
• Pepin the Short dies in 768, leaving two sons
• #! Carloman dies in 711
• #2 Charles, aka Charlemagne meaning Charles the Great
• 6'4 of rocking ruling warrior greatness!
• Charlemagne's grandsons:
• Lothair
• Charles the Bald
• Louis the German
• Split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD

Continued

• Essay Questions:
• How did Christianity evolve from a cult like group to one of the most practiced religions in the wold?
• A European Empire Evolves
• Franks control largest European kingdom
• The Roman province formerly known as Gaul
• Ruled by Clovis - The Merovingian Dynasty
• Major domo - mayor of the palace - ruled the kingdom
• Charles Martel - Charles the Hammer
• extended the Franks' reign to the north, south, and east.
• defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732 - historic battle

Germanic Kingdoms unite under Charlemagne

• Main Idea
• Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire.
• Why it matters
• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from.
• Setting the stage
• Middle Ages = medieval period
• 500 - 1500 AD
• Medieval Europe is fragmented
• Invasions trigger changes in western Europe
• Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
• Disruption of trade
• Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
• Money is scarce
• Downfall of cities
• Cities are no longer centers of administration
• Population shifts
• Nobles retreat to the rural areas
• Cities don't have a strong leadership. 
• Decline in learning
• Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
• Only priests and church officials could real and write
• Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost
• Loss of a common language
• Dialects develop in different regions
• By the 800's French, Spanish and other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin.
• Germanic kingdoms emerge
• The concept of gov. changes
• Roman society: loyal to public gov
• Germanic society: loyal to family
• Germanic chief led warriors
• During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live
• During wartime, warriors fought for the lord
• "The king? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"
• Franks lived in the Roman province of Gaul - their leader is Clovis.
• The Franks under Clovis
• Another battlefield conversion (Constantine)
• Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
• The Church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
• Clovis and the Church begin to work together
• Clovis' military expertise + the Church's support and money = a strategic alliance between two powerful forces
• Germanic peoples adopt Christianity 
• 511 AD - Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
• 600 AD - Church + Frankish rulers convert many
• fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians
• Monasteries and convents
• 520 AD - Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
• Poverty, chastity (virgin), obedience, study
• His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
• 731 AD - the Venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (Bibles, Greek texts)
• (Pope) Gregory 1 expands papal power
• Papacy = pope's office
• Secular power = worldly power
• So... under Gregory the Great
• Papal power (power of the pope) is Political power, presented from the pope's palace.
• the Church can use church money to:
• Raise armies
• Repair roads
• Help the poor
• Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom)

The Middle Ages

• Feudalism
• a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances.
• the system based on personal loyalty to people who can help you.
• rich dudes; lord
• tough dudes; vassals (worked for the lord)
• Pyramid
• king
• the most powerful vassals (nobles and bishops)
• knights - mounted warriors who received fiefs for defending their lord's land)
• peasants (mostly serfs) landless, powerless, money-less, rights-less, just working for the land for "the man" (their lord)
• (very little middle class)
• Manor: the lord's estate
• a lord's manor house
• a church
• some workshops
• 15-30 families
• all on a few square miles
• Good news: its a self-sufficient community
• Bad news: its harsh if you're a peasant
• Peasants 
• poor and pay high taxes
• tax on grain
• tax on marriage
• church tax (10% of their income)
• they live in crowded cottages

Test Day

Today in western civ we took our last test on Rome before the final. Now we move onto the Middle Ages. Our homework for tonight is to read p. 151 and put the notes in your blog and for five extra points, copy the Chronology found on page 152.

• The first two early medieval centuries set the patterns for how this renewal would later take place in western and eastern Europe. 
• The Germanic kingdoms had taken over the western half of the Roman Empire.
• Roman institutions gradually stopped working.
• Cities ceased to be centers of trade and social life.
• Warfare became more important than education and culture. 
• Missionary-monks brought Christianity and Roman traditions to peoples beyond the empires's old frontiers.
• Both the missionaries and the Frankish rulers created precedents for spectacular later renewal in western Europe.
• The Roman Empire's surviving eastern half contributed to westerns Europe's chaos by efforts at reconquest.

Chronology:

• Fifth century:
• Angles and Saxons invade Britain.
• 486
• Clovis leads Frankish confederacy against Romans and rival Germanic invaders in Gaul
• 527-565
• Reign of Emperor Justinian in the Eastern empire
• 542
• Plague hits Egypt, then spreads throughout the Mediterranean area and much of western Europe.
• 568
• Lombard's conquer most of northern Italy
• 570-632
• Life of Muhammad
• 595
• Missionaries sent by the pope begin to convert the pagans of England
• 711
• Muslim invasion of Spain
• 800
• Slavs occupy almost all of eastern Europe

Pre Test Day

Today we had a day to study for other classes or the test tomorrow. The test will be on everything that we have learned about Rome. Test tomorrow, until then..

Rome Fades Away

• Diocletian
• he rules from 284-303
• its cool to persecute Christians
• Rome needs a big army (400,000)
• Rome needs a big gov (20,000 officials)
• had the idea to split Rome into two empires.
• Constantine
• rules from 306-337
• its cool to be a Christian
• conversion to Christianity via a cross in the sky
• 313 - his Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
• built a new capital in the East
• Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinople.
• The Edict of Milan
• a proclamation that gave religious toleration to Christianity within the Roman empire. 
• It was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Milan between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313. 
• The proclamation, made for the East by Licinius in June 313, granted;
• all persons freedom to worship whatever deity they pleased
• assured Christians of legal rights
• including the right to organize churches
• directed the prompt return to Christians of confiscated property.
• Peasants
• life in the Fourth Century
• getting bankrupted by endless tax collection
• new farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
• peasant can avoid paying taxes, but get just as hard by landlords
• paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back breaking work.
• landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power.
• foreshadowing feudalism.
• Western Empire crumbles
• Rome's power decreasing
• too poor and begins to be neglected
• Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe
• Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture the loot Rome itself in 410
• Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean
• Ostrogoth's in Italy
• Franks in Gaul
• Angles and Saxons in Britain
• End of an Era
• 500 BC - the monarchy was abolished
• 450 BC - the Twelve Tables are established
• 44 BC- end of the line for Julius Caesar
• 27 BC - 180 AD - the Roman Peace (Pax Romana)
• constant fifth century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling
• the last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father
• barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him

The Decline of the Roman Empire

Today in class we went over the test and took notes:

• Rise of Christianity 
• Jesus spent 3 years teaching
• Killed by Roman leaders
• Followers believe he was the Messiah
• Saul becomes Paul and spreads Jesus' message
• Christianity evolves from cult status to established, official structure
• Monotheistic - Jews and Christians 
• Conflicted with Roman beliefs
• Persecution against both was common
• Christianity appealed to the poor
• Some Roman leaders embraced Christianity
• 313 AD: Constantine had a battlefield conversion
• He issues the Edict of Milan
• No more persecution
• Approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
• The Roman Empire and Christianity are linked in power and influence

• Homework: write notes on page 123
• The greatest change that began among the people was the spread of Christianity.
• The Germanic barbarians of northern Europe became wealthier and more organized.
• From 200 AD they became such a large threat that emperors could only hold them off by building up the army.
• The empire was still strong enough to bring about the last and greatest change in civilization.
• Eventually, the burden of government and the army became too heavy to bear, the barbarian attacks grew too fierce to be resisted, and the empire began to collapse.

Test Day

Today we took our final Rome test. There were 40 questions, I thought I did well. The last part on the back page was about the emperors and that was challenging but everything else was fine. I hope I got a good grade.

Everything on the Test

Today we took notes again on everything that will be on the test.

• Where did the first Indo-Europeans settle around 750 BC?
• On the shores of the Tiber River
• What three groups of people dominated the culture of early Rome?
• Latin
• Etruscan's
• Greeks
• Who was Tarquin the Proud, and what was so significant about him?
• The last of the Roman kings.
• His son raped a women and got away with it.
• 534-510 BC
• Rome: monarchy to republic 
• Ruled by Etruscan kings (monarchy)
• After Tarquin (no more tyranny) the government became res publica.
• Patrician vs Plebeian 
• Patrician: upper class, land establishing, powerful, connected.
• Plebeian: common people, workers, farmers, some wealthy non-patricians.
• Senate
• governments assembly of 300 (unpaid) patricians, appointed for life, first by kings.
• Consuls
• two senators who led the government and military for one year terms.
• Tribunes
• leaders of the plebeian assembly: first rather powerless but gaining ground over the years.
• Why were the 12 tables so important?
• The first time laws were written down in Rome.
• Protect plebeians who were getting pushed around.
• Publicly displayed in the Forum 450 BC.
• The Roman Republic serves as a model for what modern document, and what modern government?
• The Constitution of the US and its separation of powers:
• Senate / Assemblies - US Senate / House of Reps, Consuls / Dictator - President of the US, Senate could act like judges - like our Supreme Court.
• Why could only the rich serve in the Senate?
• Members were not paid, but worked their way up from low-ranking magistrates to higher ones. They needed to spend a lot of money to look good, popular, and powerful, making them electable. Plebeians couldn't afford it. 
• The kings who ruled between 600 and 500 BC ordered the building of the Forum, Rome's political center.

Test Wednesday

Today we went over our old Rome test and went on the material that will be on the test Wednesday.

• Old Rome test
• Octavian
• AKA Caesar Augustus.
• First real emperor.
• Begins the Pox Ramona - roman peace.
• Built roads and aqueducts.
• Set up civil service to take care of roads, grain supply and postal services.
• Died at age 76 in 14 AD.
• Passed his power to Tiberius.
• Jesus 
• a Roman citizen practicing Jew.
• At 30 he began his ministry. (31-33 AD)
• Statements like "my kingdom is not of this world" made the Romans and Jew's nervous.
• The governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.
• Paul
• Was very important in telling about Jesus. (life, death, resurrection, message)
• Traveled; Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Coeinth, Rome, Jerusalem, Spain, Britain, Macedonia.
• Wrote letters to the people of the places he visited.
• Without Paul, Jesus was just an obscure preacher.
• Caligula
• Germanicus' son
• Tiberus' adopted grandson - next in line for emperor.
• Granted bonuses to military, made the governments spending a public matter.
• First 7 months of his reign were "completely blissful"
• He began to fight the Senate
• Claimed to be a god
• Cruel and insane; indulged in too much spending and sex. tried to make his horse a consul and a priest. slept with other mans wives and bragged about it.
• Assassinated by his own aides in 41 AD (age 28)
• Claudius
• isolated from his family because of his disabilities (cerebral palsy or polio)
• rose to the occasion; conquered Britain; built roads, canals, aqueducts, and renovated the Circus Maximus.
• awful marriage to Messalina, who was unfaithful to him, plotting to serve power for her lover Silius, - so Claudius killed them both.
• Religious Troubles
• Christianity and Judaism; monotheistic 
• Rome; many gods - some emperors viewed as gods
• 66 AD; Jews called Zealots tried to rebel. (Rome beat them and burned their temple)
• the Western Wall today in the holiest of all Jewish shrives.
• 1/2 million Jews died in the rebellion.
• Persecution and Christians
• Romans were harsh to worshipers.
• Christians were viewed as a cult.
• Often used for "entertainment" purposes.
• despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly.
• by 200 AD around 10% of Romans were Christians.

Rome Notes

In class Mr. Schick wasn't here, we took notes in the book;

• With the changes in Rome's society and politics, the character of its armies and their commanders also changed.
• Instead of the farmer-soldiers of old, it was now landless and property less proletarians who were drafted to fill the ranks of the legions.
• The government by supreme warlords was bound to be brief and unstable - unless one of them could turn military dictatorship int legitimate power.
• Julius Caesar
• Came from on old patrician family.
• He entered the politic world young.
• He sided with the poor people.
• In 60BC he began to collaborate with Gnaeus Pompeius.
• Won an appointment to have control of the southern regions of Gaul. 
• Conquered Gaul and even made forays into Britain and Germany.
• Crassus had led an army to a crushing defeat by the neighboring empire Parthia.
• With Pompey's support, the Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome.
• But instead he decided to come back with part of his army, in defiance of Roman Law.
• Pompey was hastily commissioned to defend the Senate, but his forces were not match for Caesar.
• The Father of the Fatherland - Caesar.
• Supreme pontiff - minor branch of government.
• Rubicon - northern Italy River: Rome and Rubicon.

50BC most of western Europe was under Roman Control.

Nero the Crazy

Today in western civilization I was actually in class today. We were supposed to watch a video but Mr. Schick’s computer decided to spaz for the 90% of the class. He ended up telling us two stories to pass time while his computer restarted. The first one was about a little 3 year old boy who kept slamming the stereo glass doors. Instead of young Bob Schick asking the little boy to not do that, he told the kid if he slammed another door, Mr. Schick would light him on fire. The next story included little young Martha. When Mr. Schick wasn't on the big screen making the next hit movie of the year, he was playing the role of Mr. Dad. One day he decided to dress young 2 month old Martha up in a dark blue onesie and take her to the grocery store. All the old ladies were in aw over her and kept asking what his name was, only to find out the he was a she. On the seventh grandma that asked when his name was, Mr. Schick said Omar, the grandmother was appalled and backed away slowly in fear. Those were the two stories of the day. Once his computer decided to work, we watched a video about the emperor that went crazy, Nero. 

Absent

Today I was absent from class again.

Absent

I wasn't in class today.

Last of Presentations

Today we finished all the presentations. Laura made Roman toast with fake honey, Grant bought sorbet, and Alexa made an incredible 3D map of Rome. Laura's food was good and I don't think I will get sick from it either. She went to Mars to get all her ingredients but sadly she didn't want to buy the real honey for a dollar more. Ryan ended up eating 6 1/2 pieces of the toast. Haggen-Dazs makes very good peach sorbet. Bella is bringing a dessert on Monday's class just because and we will start the new lesson, until then...

Presentations Day 2

Today, just like yesterday, we spent all class presenting the projects. We do not have class tomorrow so we will have to go into our Friday class time to finish the projects. I do not know how many more projects still have to be presented but it could take up all the class time on Friday. Whenever we finish presenting all of the projects we will continue our topic of Rome but more about the life style kind of. I'm really glad I presented first because I got it out of the way already, now my nerves are replaced with anxiousness while waiting for the grade, which I hope will come out soon. Well until Friday...

Presentation is Over

Today in class we started presenting our projects. My group presented first and I thought we did really well. The cake was terrible but we couldn’t help that, it was how they made it in Ancient Rome. The cookies weren’t as bad as the cake so that was a plus. After we presented Kappel’s group tried to present but none of their computers would work so they are going tomorrow. From how everything went today, the rest of the week will be spent presenting projects.

Test on Rome

Today we took our test on Rome. I think I did alright. Mr. Schick was really worried because the first class that took had a very low average. I think our class will definitely do a lot better, I hope. Today is the last day before spring break! I'm very excited because I get to sleep. Once we get back we will present our Rome projects and then move onto the next topic which is still on Rome. It's more about the gladiators and the kings, etc. Well, enjoy your break.

2 Days

• Roman Legion
• 5,000 soldiers
• groups of 80 people that were called century.
• infantry = on foot.
• cavalry = on horse.
• First Punic War was fought over Sicily - Rome won.
• Second Punic War was fought over Cartages try to fight back - Rome won.
• Third Punic War was fought to eliminate enemies - Rome won.
• Carthage was located in North Africa.
• The rapper that taught us all of this Chi-Cago.

For the rest of class we went over everything for the Ancient Rome Project. The details are all on his blog.

3 More Days

Today in class we watched a couple videos on youtube about the Punic Wars. The videos consisted of an animation that talked very fast and included a lot of information within about 10 minutes each video. Our Rome test will be on Friday and like I have said before, the project will be due when we get back from spring break. 3 more days until spring break, 2 more days of west civ, and Uconn is up by 12 in the first half with about 4 minutes to go.

Notes on Rome

Today in class, we took notes again. Our test will be on Friday and our projects are due the day we come back from school (Tuesday, 4/22/14). The notes from todays class are:

• Because the men were away at war fighting for Rome, the rich would take land from the poor.
• To continue to live on that land, they would farm the land and get paid next to nothing.
• Latifundium - the big estates that the rich managed to control - Gracchus brothers.
• Gracchus brothers wanted the rich to give back the land that they took from the poor.
• They took their idea to court.
• They won.
• A few senates beat them with a chair and threw their corps into a river.
• The idea was over turned and the rich got to keep their land.
• Punic Wars
• Fought on land and sea in three vicious rounds between 264 and 146 BC
• In the first phase, Rome was able to force Carthage out of Sicily.
• Rome won.
• Second, the Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy and brought Rome to a brink defeat.
• Third, Carthage was captured after bitter fighting.
• The Senate ordered the city to be leveled, people to be sold into slavery, and the ground on which it had stood to be solemnly cursed.
• This was only an epilogue to the main struggle.
• Rome had won control of the western Mediterranean.

6 Days

Today in class we took notes from the book on what will be on the Rome test. Those notes are:

• The Romans not only imitated Greek civilization but also improved on it, at least so far as government and warfare were connected.
• They arrived in a Mediterranean land with farming resources that were basically similar to those of Greece and they were able to support a large population.
• The Indo-European settler formed various tribal groups, among them the Latin people of central Italy.
• The Roman also borrowed directly from the Greeks. As part of their expansion across the Mediterranean in southern Italy as early as the 8th century.
• The king was advised by a council of elders called the Senate (Latin meaning old man) whose members he appointed.
• The people that settled in Italy were: Latin's, Etruscans, and the Greeks.
• The Etruscans were non-Indo-European immigrants who arrived in Italy from somewhere east about the 9th century.
• It was the Senate and the patricians who dominated city-state.
• Around 500 bc, Rome overthrew its rulers and the monarchy was also abolished.
• The new government became the "peoples government" (Latin - res publica - republic)
• A mixture of the Greek style democracy and a oligarchy.
• Was run by the Senate.

9 More Days

Today in class we took notes on Rome, those notes are:

• Mediterranean = middle earth.
• Latin's settled in Italy first.
• Settled on the shores of Tiber.
• They thought the gods gave them that location because they were designed to rule.
• Geographically lucky.
• They drained a swamp so they could use that land.
• Tarquin (harsh king) caused people to rebel.
• Their next government mixed a democracy, aristocracy, and a monarchy together.
• Res Publica (republic) - the business of the people.
• The President of the United States, like a king, controls the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Army.
• Unlike the Greeks, the USA can't vote on very government decision. (like Rome)
• Patricians met at the Senate.
• Plebeians met at the Assembly.  

For my project I am working with Leah and Maddie and we are baking a Ancient Roman recipe.

•  

April Fools Day

Today Mr. Schick started class off with a rap about Rome. It was clever and very funny. After that he told us about a new Rome project that we are starting. We have a lot of options of what we can do. The project is worth 200 points and we can work with a partner. I am working with Leah again and we decided to make an authentic Roman recipe. Because the first one that we picked was easy to make, we decided to make two. The first one is sweet cake and the second is sesame seed cookies. The project is due whenever we get back from spring break which is supposed to be April 21^st. Leah and I decided that we should bake each recipe a few times before we bring the final recipes into school for the class to try. Well until tomorrow.

Rome

Rome

·       Vocabulary

o   Patricians – upper-class citizens who belonged to the oldest and noblest Roman families.

o   Republic – in reference to ancient Rome, the system of city-states government in which decision-making power was shared between the Senate and other male citizens.

o   Plebeians – the Roman common people, including workers, small farmers, and wealthy people who were not patricians.

o   Senate – in ancient Rome, a government assembly appointed by the king, and under the Republic by the consuls.

o   Consuls – in the Roman Republic, two senators who led the government and military for one-year terms and appointed their own successors.

o   Dictator – in the Roman Republic, a single leader with full decision-making powers, appointed for a maximum six-month term during times of emergency.

o   Tribunes – Magistrates elected by the plebeians, who eventually gained the power to initiate and veto laws.

o   Client – a person who provides personal service in return for money and protection for a patron.

o   Patron – a wealthy person who supports others with money and protection in exchange for personal services.

o   Pontiff – in ancient Rome, one of the Republic’s leading priests.

o   Paterfamilias – the “family father” in ancient Rome, who had unlimited power over his household.

o   Matron – title of honor given to a married women in ancient Rome.

·       Italy and Its People

o   Italy was situated astride the Mediterranean Sea, commanding every direction.

o   The settlers formed various tribal groups.

o   Around 750 BC, the settlements joined to form a single city-states, Rome.

o   The Etruscans were non-Indo-European immigrants who arrived in Italy from somewhere east.

·       The Roman Republic

o   When a king died, his successor was chosen by the Senate.

o   Around 500 BC Rome overthrew its Etruscan rulers, and the monarchy was established.

o   They underwent a long and turbulent development under the influence of social struggles.

·       Republican Values

o   The “mixed government” was not just a system but a way of life.

o   A group of priests headed by the supreme pontiff who were leading magistrates of the Republic.

Test Day - Greece

Today is western civ, we took a test. It covered everything Mr. Schick said it would so no shocker there. But it covered the things on the quizlet, and the 58 point quiz paper. But a definite twist, it was open blog. In the past Mr. Schick had done that a few times on information that was difficult to remember, but he also does it probably to see how good our blogs are. I think that I did well, using my blog helped tremendously because otherwise I probably would have failed. I think our next chapter might me Rome? But I am not sure. We don’t have class tomorrow and no school Friday so our next class is bright and early Monday morning mods 2 and 3. Until then…

Pre Test Day / Notes

Today in Western Civilization we “studied” for the test tomorrow. Our studying included watching a very boring video. That’s the only thing we did in class today, our test is tomorrow. We are supposed to get 6 inches of snow tonight and into early tomorrow. That being said and we have off school we won’t take the test until Friday because we don’t have class Thursday. I hope we have off school tomorrow.


Notes:

1.     She was a trusted associate of Pericles, and may have even written some of his speeches.

Aspasia

2.     He was a war hero who had many adventures while trying to return home after the Trojan Wars.

Odysseus

3.     In 508 BC, he and his Spartan allies were driven from power by the very first “people’s revolution”

Isagoras

4.     This goddess is the patron of Greece’s capital city.

Athena

5.     An open “place of assembly” where Greek citizens would gather to discuss matters of importance.

Agora

6.     A sporting competition where the common man could actually compete against aristocrats.

Olympics

7.     A notion of excellence and virtue; the act of living up to one’s full potential.

Arête

8.     He composed the amazing stories The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Homer

9.     When these less-advanced people dominated Greece, writing disappeared for 400 years and the economy collapsed.

Dorians

10.  He watched from a golden throne as his forces were defeated at the Straits of Salamis.

Xerxes

11.  This city-state was home of democracy and the head of the Delian League.

Athens

12.  He was recalled from exile and asked to build the world’s first government of the people – a system of government we now know as democracy.

Cleisthenes

13.  The most beautiful and magnificent building of its time, it was dedicated to a goddess whose 40-foot stature was found within it.

Parthenon

14.  In a Greek tragedy, he was the main character who fulfilled a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother.

Oedipus

15.  This general rose from the ranks of the common people, and took steps to increase the naval power of Athens.

Themistocles

16.  An association of Greek city-states whose purpose was to remain strong and united against their enemies.

Delian League

 

17.  A fast, agile ship that was a feared weapon in the Greek navy.

Trieme

18.  This hero of ancient Greece is the central figure in a story which was the inspiration for a modern sporting even – the marathon.

Pheidippides

19.  He commanded the first Persian invasion of Greece, which ended with his defeat at Marathon.

Darrius

20.  Their kings dominated Greece from 1600 BC to 1200 BC.

Myceneans

21.  These legends describe Greek gods and goddesses and the nature of the world.

Myths

22.  The Greeks used trickery and clever naval strategy and to win this battle against the Persians.

Salamis

23.  He was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city’s Golden Age, who was determined to glorify his city through the arts, literature, and culture.

Pericles

24.  These are long narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds.

Epics

25.  These people ruled an empire that stretched all the way from Egypt and Asia Minor to India and the Himalaya Mountains.

Persians

26.  Apollo was said to speak prophesies through this person; an ominous prophesy caused the Greeks much worry before the Persians’ second invasion.

Oracle of Delphi

27.  This prominent city-state had a fearsome infantry and was located in southeastern Peloponnese.

Sparta

28.  He was the leader of the gods, and the father of the goddess of wisdom.

Zeus

29.  Mr. Schick wants to go back in time to hang out with this philosopher.

Socrates

  

Test Day Wednesday

Today we spent all of class going over the 58 point quiz thing. We are allowed to have food and drinks in class again so in the middle of 2 and 3 mods, we were allowed to go get food. I got a half and half Arizona iced tea. And that made me very happy. Our test will be on Wednesday even if we do not have school tomorrow. I really hope we have a delay tomorrow because cyber days suck and I didn’t bring home any of my books. But we heard the story of how Mr. Schick cannot pronunciation the word Hippolyta. It was one homer would have told. Well, until tomorrow…

Annie is Addicted

Today in Western Civ, we actually had a productive class! We found out that Annie is on crack, and we peer graded our projects. The best one in the class by far was Megan King’s. She had a video and a 6 slide storyboard. We rated her a 100, but she wasn’t here to defend herself. Besides all of that, Grant, Leah and I got a 90 for our project. I am happy with that grade because we came a long way from what we were going to show on that first Monday class. Quarter 3 ends today and grades have to be in by Tuesday morning. Mr. Schick said that he will grade all our blogs over the weekend. We are supposed to get snow again for about the 100^th time this year, so maybe a cyber-day? Oh well, until next time…

No Wifi in the Gym

Mr. Schick was not here today as planned. We went to the gym and our assignment was to finish the 58 point quiz worksheet. The internet in the gym is terrible, it was a very easy day and class. We will probably have our test next week hopefully, maybe even Friday. The third quarter ends Friday and grades are due before Tuesday morning at 8:30. We don’t have class tomorrow so until Friday…

Boring Tuesday

Western Civ today we finished the last two presentations of the Athens/Sparta Commercial. After that Mr. Schick found a quizlet with everything we would need to know for the test. Tomorrow Mr. Schick won’t be in class because of a St. Joseph’s Program training thing. We will finish the “58 Point Quiz” in either the gym or auditorium. So until tomorrow…

Happy St. Patty's Day!

1.      Mostly fertile land is not a characteristic of Greece.

2. Approximately 2/3 of Greece is covered by mountains.

3. The term barbarian as it was originally used in the ancient world. The word came from the Greek “barbarous,” which originally meant “Non-Greek.”

       4.    A megalithic structure are massive rough-cut stones used to construct monuments and tombs.

       5.    The term tribe refers to a social and political unit consisting of a group of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship.

6.      Tribes were governed by warrior kings or queens, chieftains, and tribal leaders chosen by warriors.

7. The first European barbarians to make contact with civilization were the Greeks.

8. The United States would not be considered a member of “Western civilization”

9. The name of the sea located just west of the Greek mainland is the Ionian Sea.

10. The name of the sea located just east of the Greek mainland is the Aegean Sea.

11. The major crops of the Aegean people were onions, wheat and beer.

12. The Minoan civilization arose on the island of Crete.

13. The Mycenaean civilization established settlements along the Greek mainland’s southern shore and on some islands.

14. The Mycenaean civilization built massive walls to protect themselves from attacks.

15. The Dark Ages is a period of Greek history in which the population dropped, ships no longer sailed, and writing fell out of use.

16. Following this time period, the Greeks joined the Phoenicians as the leading commercial and seafaring nation of the Mediterranean?

17. In historical writing, the letter “c” might appear before a date, as in “c. 1500 BC.”  That means around, about and or circa.

18. By 600 BC, Greek city-states dotted the coastlines around the Mediterranean Sea.  These were called colonies.

19. Although they varied in size, ancient Greek city-states most closely resembled counties as a modern-day geographical feature?

20. Oligarchy, which in a small group of citizens dominated, and the power of the majority was limited in various ways.

21. In a democracy is where decisions were made by the majority of adult male citizens.

22. In tyranny, a self-proclaimed dictator held power.

23. In monarchy, power is held by a single ruler, and is often passed along from father to son.

24. Spartans used this oligarchy for their government system.

25. At what age seven Spartan males begin their military training.

26. The wealthiest city-state in the ancient Greek world was Athens.

27. The high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town was known as the Parthenon.

28. The southern peninsula where Sparta was located is called Peloponnesus.

29. Triremes were massive fighting ships with three banks of oars, used to ram or board enemy ships.

30. Hoplite was a heavily armed and armored citizen-soldier of ancient Greece.

  

Short answers.    

 

1.      The years the Dark Ages began and ended were about 1100 – 800 BC.

2.      The titles of Homer’s stories during the Dark Ages were “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad”

3. The word “Mediterranean” originally meant middle earth.

4.      Aristocrats were prominent and long-established Athenian land-owners.