Blog Post #43 -Not in class today mon or tues-

     Today, Tuesday April 30th, and yesterday, Monday April 29th, I was not in class because I was in Florida for a cheer competition. I did not have my computer with me to write a blog yesterday. Even though we had class, please don't take off a point because of yesterday. I will still make up the work that I missed, including the notes that will be in my blog.

Blog Post #42 - Ancient Rome and Early Christianity -

pages 152-153

Main Ideas

Power and Authority- Rome began as a republic, a government in which elected officials represent the people. Eventually, absolute rulers called emperors seized power and expanded the empire.

Empire Building- At its height, the Roman Empire touched 3 continents--- Europe, Asia, and Africa. For several countries, Rome brought peace and prosperity to its empire before its eventual collapse.

Religious and Ethical Systems- Out of Judea rose a monotheistic, or single-god, religion known as Christianity. Based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, it soon spread throughout Rome and beyond.

Timeline

(R) 509 B.C. - Rome becomes a republic.
(W) 321 B.C. - Chandragupta Maurya founds Mauryan Empire in India.
(R) 264 B.C. - First Punic War begins.
(R) 218 B.C. - In the Second Punic War, Hannibal invades Italy.
(W) 202 B.C. - Han Dynasty takes power in China.
(R) 31 B.C. - Octavian defeats the forces of Antony and Cleopatra.
(W) A.D. 100 - Moche culture arises in South America.
(R) A.D. 284 - Diocletian becomes emperor of Rome.
(W) A.D. 200 - Aksum kingdom emerges in east Africa.
(R) A.D. 476 - Western Roman Empire falls.

Blog Post #41 - Started Ancient Rome -

     Today in class we started a new powerpoint on Rome. Before that though, we listened to this song that Mr. Shcick wrote that was actually pretty good. It went to the music of a Flo Rida song. At first I was like woah okay then as it went on if you actually listened to the lyric it would make sense as to why the song was like that. The song was made from the powerpoint which we started. We actually got pretty far into the powerpoint. Sadly, Mr. Schick won't be here for the next two weeks. I am pretty excited although for this next chapter because personally I find ancient Rome very interesting. It just sucks that our amazing teacher won't be here to teach it to us. I actually learn the material way better when the teacher is explaining the powerpoint rather than reading it myself, but it will be okay I guess.

Blog Post #40 - Test Day -

     Today in class, well actually room 321, I took my test on Ancient Greece. There were 2 parts of the test, the multiple choice part and the essay part. I think I did really good on the two essays but I might've bombed the test part. When I got back to class I found out that Mr. Shick is going to be gone for two weeks due to a surgery he's getting Saturday because an has an umbilical hernia. I feel bad for him because he had to make lesson plans for 2 weeks for 3 classes, which is pretty hard since I couldn't even imagine making a lesson plan for 1 day. Anyways, I have a lot of homework tonight that I am not excited to do at all, but I'm going to try my best. I really hope I didn't get an F on this test but I think I got a C or a D. To be honest I probably got an F. Oh well.

Blog Post #39 - Friday's Class -

     On Friday I was not in class due to being sick. However, I didn't get to write the blog on Friday since I wasn't on my computer at all and yesterday I never had the chance to.

Blog Post #38 - Review -

     Today in class we reviewed the material since we have a test this Friday. For the first twenty minutes of class me and Grace stayed in the brown room to watch a presentation based on this Indian tribe. It was really cool to hear the students speak about it that are going to Oklahoma next week for that. When we got back to class though the class was reviewing the questions we did on section 5. I didn't get to hear most of the review stuff which sucks but oh well. I will just have to study super hard  for the test. Next we watched a video on Plato's thoughts, I forgot what it was called but it was about a cave and how the people in the cave represented the people of Ancient Greece and Plato was the guy that got out of the cave. We discussed it and I ended up understanding the video. I'm kinda nervous for the test but ii think ill be fine.

Blog Post #37 -Section 4 Review Study Guide-

     Today in class Mr. Schick gave us a chapter 4 review study guide to do so in my blog I'm just going to put that in here since I already took notes on section 5.

A. Philip 11      B. Darius 111      C. Alexander.     D. Demosthenes

D       1. He was Greek.  
B       2. He was Persian.  
C D   3. He ruled over Greece.  
A       4. After his death, his son assumed control over his empire.  
B       5. This king twice fled the battlefield to escape from Macedonian forces.  
A C   6.  He was king of Macedonia.  
B       7. His offer to give up the western third of his empire was rejected.  
C       8. After his death, much of his empire was split among 3 of his generals.  
B C   9. He ruled over the Persian Empire.  
C      10. He defeated a powerful Indian army at the Hydaspes River in 327 B.C.  
D      11. His warnings of threats posed by foreign armies were ignored by the Greeks.  
A B  12. He was assassinated by a former follower.  
C      13. After his conquest of Egypt, he was welcomed by the people as a liberator.  
C      14. At Issus, realizing that his forces were out numbered, he ordered his finest troops to charge
               straight at the enemy's king. The ploy earned him control over Asia Minor.  

Blog Post #36 - Alexander's Empire/The Spread of Hellenistic Culture -

Section 4 Alexander's Empire

Philip Builds Macedonian Power
- Macedonia~ is a kingdom located just north of Greece, that had rough terrain and a cold climate
- they had one important resource, their shrewd and fearless kings
- in 359 B.C. Philip ll became king
- he was 23 years old and he transformed peasants into an army
- the Macedonians defeated the Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea
- Alexander the Great~ king Philip 11's son that took over the rule when he got stabbed in 336 B.C.

Alexander Defeats Persia
- he was 20 years old, but he was under Aristotle's teaching learning science, geography, and literature
- in 334 B.C. he led 35,000 soldiers across the Hellespont into Anatolia
- he won the battle against the Persian defenses
- Darius 111~  the Persian King
- won the battle against Darius and his troops and then got control of Anatolia
- his victory at Gaugamela ended Persia's power
- he also occupied Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis

Alexander's Other Conquests
- he now reigned as the unchallenged ruler of southwest Asia
- they had been fighting for 11 years, and marched more than 11,000 miles
- when he got back he became ill and died at the age of 32
- Antigonus became king of Macedonia and took control of the Greek city-states
- Ptolemy seized Egypt, took the title of pharaoh, and established a dynasty
- Seleucus took most of the old Persian Empire, which became known as the Seleucid Kingdom
- his conquests had a cultural impact
- a vibrant new culture emerged from the blend of Greek and Eastern customs

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Section 5 The Spread of Hellenistic Culture

Hellenistic Culture in Alexandria
- Hellenistic Culture~ culture that blends Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences
- Koine, the popular language, was a dialect from Greek ("common"), it was Hellenistic
- Alexandria~ Egyptian city that became the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization
- it's diverse population exceeded over half a million people
- its greatest attractions were its famous museum and library

Science and Technology
- Alexandrian scholars provided most of the scientific knowledge available to the west
- Aristarchus, an astronomer, estimated that the sun was at least 300 times larger than Earth, and that the planets revolved around the sun
- Eratosthenes tried to compute earth's circumference and he was a highly regarded astronomer and mathematician, he was also a historian and poet
- Euclid~ a highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria
- his best known book, Elements, contained 465 carefully presented geometry propositions and proofs
- Archimedes~ a scientist that accurately estimated the value of pi, also explained the law of the lever
- using his ideas, Hellenistic scientists later built a force pump, pneumatic machines, and a steam engine

Philosophy and Art
- philosophers became more concerned with how people lived their lives, so 2 major philosophies such as Stoicism and Epicureanism developed out of this concern
- a Greek philosopher named Zeno founded the school of philosophy called Stoicism
- stoics proposed that people should live virtuous lives in harmony with the will of god or the natural laws that God established to run the universe
- also preached that human desires, power, and wealth were dangerous distractions that should be checked
- Stoicism promoted social unity and encouraged its followers to focus on what they could control
- Epicurus founded the school of thought called Epicureanism
- he taught that gods who had no interest in humans ruled the universe and that the greatest good came from virtuous conduct and the absence of pain
- he believed that the only real objects were those that the 5 senses perceived
- Epicureans proposed that the main goal of humans was to achieve harmony of the body and mind
- rulers, wealthy merchants, and cities all purchased statues to honor gods, commemorate heroes, and portray ordinary people in everyday situations
- Colossus of Rhodes~ the largest known Hellenistic statue that was bronze and over 100 feet high
- Hellenistic sculptures more natural works, compared to the serene face and perfect body of an idealized man or woman

- by 150 B.C. the Hellenistic world was in decline
- a new city, Rome, was growing and gaining strength

Blog Post #35 -Pop Quiz Today-

     Today in class we took a pop quiz. I wasn't prepared that much because I didn't get to finish my notes yesterday meaning I didn't read the last half of the chapter. I was not happy about this at all because I think we should've been allowed to finish our notes on the section before the pop quiz. I honestly thought I got a 1/7 but I ended up getting a 4/7 which is better than nothing, which I honestly could have gotten. After we took the pop quiz, we started reviewing our notes and the terms we had to define. When we defined the terms comedy and tragedy Mr. Schick started telling some really interesting stories about Ancient Greece and how they did things. Also, the class found out some pretty interesting things about what some plays were about back then. I wish we would've been able to take notes for the class, considering the pop quiz wasn't the best way to end the day in my opinion.

Blog Post #34 -Democracy and Greece's Golden Age-

Pericles' Plan for Athens

- was a skillful politician, an inspiring speaker, and a respected general

- dominated the life of Athens from 461 to 429 B.C.

- this period is called the Age of Pericles

- he had 3 goals:

1. to straighten Athenian Democracy 

2. to hold and strengthen the empire

3. to glorify Athens

- 1) increased the number of public officials 

- more citizens could now engage in democracy making Athens one of the most democratic governments in history

- Direct Democracy is a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

- 2) helped organize the Delian League 

- used the money from the Delian League to make the Athenian Navy the strongest in the Mediterranean 

- 3) he also used money from the Delian League to beautify Athens 

- they bought huge amounts of gold, ivory, and marble 

- more money went to architects, artists, and workers who used those materials

Glorious Art and Architecture 

- The Parthenon was a masterpiece of architectural design and craftsmanship

- it was built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens

- it was built mostly by Phidias, and Phidias also built a 30 foot statue of Athena made out of only ivory and gold

- him and other sculptors during this golden age aimed to create figures that were graceful, strong, and perfectly formed

- they wanted to portray ideal beauty, not realism

- their values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion became the standard of Classical Art

Drama and History

- Athenians built the first ever theaters in the West

- expressions of civic pride and tributes to their Gods

- the Greeks wrote 2 types of drama, Tragedy and Comedy

- Tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal

1. Aeschylus wrote more than 80 plays 

2. Sophocles wrote more than 100 plays

- Comedy contained slapstick situations and crude humor that would be based of politics and respected people at the time

1. Aristophanes wrote the first great comedies for the stage

• History- Herodotus, a Greek who lived in Athens for a time, created the first book of history based off the Persian Wars

Blog Post #33 -Presentations-

     Today in class, the class had three more projects to present. The projects that were presented today were very entertaining and really helped me understand some topics that were from Ancient Greece. I really enjoyed Sean, Kyle, and Trent's project because it was really funny so it made that part of the class very enjoyable. Next was Sam and Anthony's. I really liked thinking about what it would be like back then. I got the notecard poor craftsman and had to decide whether another poor person should be convicted or not. The black and white rocks were fun to do since that's what they did back in Ancient Greece. The last project was Ryan, Austin, and Patrick. I learned a lot about the navy of Ancient Greece. They did something with fire but they said there was some complications with their video which sucks. Anyways, I think all the projects deserve an A because everyone seemed to put a lot of time and effort into them.