Commercial Project

Today in western civ we watched some videos of places in the world. First we watched one of Baltimore and it was awful. It wasn’t good and it didn’t make Baltimore seem very nice. We then watched another one of Los Angeles and we compared the two videos. Los Angeles made there video look much better and made Los Angeles seem like a much better place to go to for a nice vacation. The reason why we watched those videos is because we are doing a project. We are making videos, and poster boards, or we are doing whatever we want on Sparta or Athens. I am doing my project with Hanna and Hana. I don’t know if we are doing it on Athens or Sparta yet, but I know we are making a commercial for it. Well I hope you have a nice weekend and I shall see you next week!

Sparta and Athens

Well today Devin taught the class today and we went over our LO3 notes from the other day. The notes which I have a blog from the other day on, where all about Athens and Sparta. It was stuff like how they were different, and what the were like. I think it was things like Sparta had more of an army and Athens had more of like a navy. They were more on water and Sparta was more on land. 
. It said that they were both very competitive with each other. There was a lot of other things that we talked about like the golden ages, monarchies, and oligarchies. We also talked about democracies which is a government by common people. That is all we pretty much did that whole class and then you talked a little in the end. Well till Friday because we don’t have class tomorrow!

Geography of Greece

So today we took notes in I don’t even know what it was called. It was called like government geography or something like that. Hold one I am going to get my notes out of my folder.  Never mind it wasn’t called government geography I don’t know what I was thinking. It was called Geography of Greece. Well the topics were geography of course, Mycenaean’s, Culture in Decline which was also known as the dark ages, and Homer and myths. That was it for today and I am sure we will probably take more notes tomorrow. Some of the notes were about like the dates of things of when they began and when they ended, and some things were about events and other things. Well today it was also snowing during class, but then I went outside and it had all already melted. It was kind of sad, but see you tomorrow!

LO3 Notes

• dark ages began to develop in city-states
• polis-Greek city-state
• Greek city-states were small places, consisting of no more than a town and few square miles of the countryside
• acropolis- a combination of fortress and temple precinct
• Athens and Sparta fought each other and competed
• hoplites- men at arms
• they equipped themselves with bronze, helmets, armor, round shields, long spears with iron blades and short iron swords
• phalanxes- formidable shock units of several hundred men each
• the sense of the city-state as a community of all its citizens was reinforced by tradition and myth
• each city-state was believed to have been founded by a family or clan
• the status of a father usually determined that of his children
• good life of an individual was to participate in civic affairs
• the communities that would become city states were ruled by kings
• monarchy- development of citizen armies
• oligarchy- one way of a new form of government
• other city-states developed into large commercial centers
• triremes- massive fighting vessels that fought in Phoenician style by ramming or boarding enemy ships
• tyranny- the rule of tyrant or self proclaimed dictator who held power partly by force party by exploiting internal divisions and partly by providing efficient government
• democracy- government by common people
• the most powerful and successful city-state was Athens
• immigrants were almost never awarded citizenship and slavery was widespread
• when a city-state send some of its citizens overseas to found a colony the new settlement became a separate, independent state
• Spartans were descendants of Greeks  
• landholders- less than 10,000 adult males
• helots- descendants of earlier Greek immigrants who were bound to the land by the Spartan state and compelled to work for landholding citizens
• when and how the Spartans developed their government is unknown
• by the fifth century policy decisions had been taken over by the council of elders
• council of elders was some of thirty men from leading families who had to be at least sixty years of age and were chosen by citizens for life
• there were also two kings(high priests and army commanders) whose positions were hereditary in different families
• ephors- five officials elected annually and usually also elderly
•  boys were taken from there families by the state at age 7 for toughing and military training
• women led free and active lives
• Spartan women won praise for sharing the militaristic ideal for their menfolk
• fourth century is when Spartan started to lose battles
• the freedom of Spartan women aroused by admiration and disproval by the Greeks
• to protect their harsh and rigid way of life the Spartans tried to seal off their city-state from outside influences
• aristocrats-descendants of prominent and long-established Athenian families that had traditionally ruled the city-state
• 800 BC was when many old established communities in Attica merged to form a single city-state that was known by the most important communities Athens
• over years Athens grew to become the wealthiest and one of the most powerful Greek- City states
• Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta in which Athens was defeated
• ostracism- it is when the assembly could exile him or any other citizen for 10 years by simple majority vote that required no proof of actual wrongdoing
• 445 BC was when final peace was made with Persia, Athens was the controlling power of the Aegean Sea
• civic and political participation was therefore part of the Athenian way of life for adult male citizens
• during the Age of Pericles there were about 40,000 adult males who qualified
• women from well-off families in democratic Athens led more restricted life and had fewer rights than in Athens
• Athenian girls and women who every four years wove a new robe for Athena's sacred image on the acropolis
• fifty thousand or so resident aliens were a very verified group
• resident aliens in Athens bore all the obligations of citizenship but they were entitled to only some of the benefits
• the hundred or so slaves in Athens were also a very diverse group
• most slave owners were small business people and farmers who kept only a few slaves and often worked side by side with them'
• male slaves usually worked in silver and lead mines  and were sure to die sooner because they were overworked
• Assemblywomen- is when the wives actually take over the government

Auditions

Well in class on Friday I can’t really remember what we did. Wait now I remember. We just went over our notes we took from the other day that we took while reading the book. We were auditioning for who is going to be the teacher on Monday since you are not going to be there. You are going on the Holocaust trip with all the seniors. I got to audition and I thought I did a pretty good job, but apparently my class didn’t think so. I walked away asking for an applause, how rude. I mean I think I should have gotten the part to be teacher on Monday! Well that was all we did that class was audition, but we only had enough time for 3 people to audition. Then in the end you took over and talked about stuff and notes. Well I don’t really know what else to say except have a nice weekend!

Test Back

Well today we got our tests back and I wasn’t too happy with my score. At least I still have a decent grade in your class and will do better on the next one. Well today that was all we did was we went over the test. I made some dumb mistakes on the test and I should have gone over it more. Who knows maybe I would have done better. Some of the questions confused me, but I know that’s what you wanted. You wanted to make some questions tricky and it worked. Well I don’t know really what else to say because that’s the only thing we did today. The only other thing I could say that I personally did in class today was sing. Oh and I have to email you that I finished the pyramid game! I shall do that after I finish typing this blog. Oh well we don’t have class on Thursdays so you’ll see my next cool blog on Friday!

Pyramid Game

Well today was a really frustrating western civ class. We had to play this pyramid game and it would never end! We would die or something would happen to us. It would never end and you would have to keep doing it over and over again. I was partners with Hanna and we did it at least 10 times. I didn’t like that game. I mean it was a fun western civ class, but the game wasn’t. The first people to finish it got a 20 out of 20 and the second people got an 18 out of 20. Then like 3 groups or something who finished next got 16 out of 20 and the rest got 15 out of 20. That was probably me. If you didn’t finish though you got a zero which that one wasn’t me because I finished. Well tomorrow is Wednesday so I’ll see you tomorrow!!

Pyramid Game

Chapter 3 Notes

• LO1 - describes the way of life of the barbarian peoples of Europe after the Agricultural Revolution
• Greek-city states were the first to practice citizen participation in government
• the city-states also traded and colonized along the Mediterranean Sea
• after 500 BC it enabled them to preserve their independence against the kings of Persia
• over 3,000 years up to the Persian Empire, civilization had spread from its Sumerian and Egyptian homelands to right across from southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa
• to lands stretching two thousand miles northwestern which is now called Europe
• 4000 BC farming and village life had spread throughout the continent
• by 3500 BC there were peoples in western Europe who could construct ceremonial monuments
• megalithic- word meaning large boulder
• archeologists have found traces of them in the soil
• Stonehenge was a huge open- air monument built by a prosperous farming and trading people wets of England
• was built in 2000 BC
• consists of 160 massive boulders that weigh 50 tons each
• 2500 BC was when Indo European Peoples moved into Europe
• European peoples had traditionally worshipped that turned to Gods of fatherhood and thunder
• when a leading warrior died all his belongings would go with him in his grave
• the warriors wife would be buried next to him
• tribes- groups of villagers or farmsteads
• tribes formed loose alliances under warrior kings or queens and together they would battle comrades
• tribal groupings fought for metals, slaves, and other items that brought prestige the their possessors
• these groups were mostly temporary
• people who spoke Indo-European were most likely skilled in farming,  metalworking, trade, and warfare
• those people were called barbarians
• barbarians was from the original word barbaros meaning non-Greek
• 2500 BC when tribal groups and the way of life that emerged in Europe
• 1000 AD 2000 years ago the European peoples came into contact with civilization

Informative Sentences

Short Answer A: Name and describe three technological innovations or inventions of the ancient Egyptians.

   The Egyptians had created more than just three things. They created the calendar which is our calendar today, with 365 days on it. They invented the written language, back then they used hieroglyphs. Believe it or not the Egyptians also created eye makeup.


Short Answer B: Describe three important features of the Egyptian pyramids.

The pyramids were covered in marble. The pyramids were so big they could take up 13 acres of land. Each block on the pyramids weighed 5,000 pounds! The blocks were cut very precisely when making the pyramid.

essays

ESSAY A: Describe the social hierarchy of the ancient Egyptians

       The hierarchy of the ancient Egyptians was like the list of the most powerful groups. First, at the top, was the Pharaoh. The pharaoh was the religious and political leader. He had two titles known as "Lord of Two lands" and "High Priest of every temple". The Pharaoh owned all the land, made laws and collected laws. Then below the pharaoh is the government officials. The government officials consist of the nobles, and the high priests. They assisted the pharaoh and were very respected in ancient Egypt. They were known as the "White Kilt Class." Then below the government officials we have the soldiers. The soldiers protected the Pharaoh and his kingdom/palace. They had wooden weapons, bows and arrows, and they got to ride in carriages.
       Then below the soldiers we have the middle class groups. The middle class is the scribes, merchants, and the artisans. The scribes told stories, wrote poetry, kept records, and describes anatomy and medical treatment. The merchants used the money/barter system, and there payment was bags of grain. The artisans were the people who carved statues and reliefs. They all had different jobs like craftsmen and sculptors. There were some artisans that painted scenes in everyday life. Then we have the lower class which is the farmers and the slaves. The farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions, and benefited from the irrigation of the Nile River. Last, but not least we have the slaves. The slaves helped the wealthy with whatever they needed. They usually helped with the household and child raising duties. That is the hierarchy of ancient Egypt.

ESSAY B:  Discuss the importance of the Nile River in the lives of Egyptians.

      The Nile River was very important in Egypt. The Egyptians life is basically centered around it. The Nile was there major provider for life for the Egyptians. The Nile was used for bathing, transportation, irrigating and it was drinking water. Every July the Nile floods, and every October it leaves rich soil. It was tough when it flooded because it would take away all there crops, but they would plan ahead and not plant in July. They would plant after October because of the soil. It helped them plant there crops much better. The Egyptians also built sailboats and the Nile was the way to increase transport ability. The Egyptians would also go on the sailboats and hunt for fish. The river also protected Egypt because by the time people would start swimming they would immediately get tired. The Egyptians would just stand at the shore and throw spears at there enemies. The Nile was a very important part in the lives of the Egyptians.
     
     
     

Test and Probably No School

So today we were supposed to have a test on the Egyptians and that stuff, but we got so into talking about this snow storm that we didn’t have enough time to take it. That was like one reason we didn’t take it and the other was that you wanted all of your classes to take it all on the same day. Therefore this test will be on Monday. The whole class time though we did talk about this snow storm and this cyber day thing. I really don’t agree with it because if we don’t have to make this day up so it’s not fair to give us all of this homework. I mean I know we have missed other days too, and you guys want us to catch up on things, but I got more homework yesterday then I have all year. Well I’ll see you either Friday or Monday!

Studying

Today in Western civ we kind of just studied the whole time. You weren’t here today so we were in room one twenty four or something like that. That was pretty much all we did. We read your blog an you said that we could use this class to study for our test tomorrow. I hope I do well on this test because I need to keep my grades up. Well I don’t know what to say anymore because we kind of just sat there today and there was nothing exciting because we just sat there! Well we did some studying too of course and some other homework, but that’s it. So I hope JC does well in the academic questionnaire thingy. Sorry I don’t know much about it. I just know that you get asked questions. I remember in Human Geo when you asked us some of the questions they asked you. Alright well bye!

5 Aspects in Life in Egypt

Well today in western civ we took notes on Egyptian life again. It was notes on the five aspects of Egyptian life. It was a power point and we watched some videos on how they mummify someone. It was really weird and there were a lot of layers to make a mummy. Then I also found out that today we don’t have a test tomorrow it is now on Wednesday and I am happy because it is an extra day of studying. Otherwise we took notes today on pyramids, daily life, Gods and goddesses, geography, and I don’t know what the other one is, but I will find out. I learned that in daily life of a pharaoh that the pharaoh is on top then it goes the government officials such as the nobles and priests, soldiers, scribes, merchants, artisans, farmers, and then the slaves and servants. We then learned about what each of them do. We took other notes and things, but we didn’t have that long of a class because we had a two hour delay!

Egyptians

Well today we found out that we have an upcoming test on Tuesday. It’s on the early Egyptians and I should probably start studying now so I can get a good grade on it. Well otherwise today all we did was take notes. The notes were on hieroglyphs and hieratic writing. We also learned about the calendars and sailboats and how they used sailboats to get across the Nile. The Egyptians had created the calendars to keep track of the seasonal cycles. That is what our calendars are like now. Then we also learned about papyrus. Papyrus is a type of ink that they used back then to write scripts. Papyrus was made from mashed Nile reeds. Papyrus was also stores in scrolls and these scrolls were the books of ancient Egypt. Well that’s all we did today was write notes. So I hope you have a great weekend and I hope you enjoyed this blog.

Egyptians and Pharaohs

 Today in western civilization we took notes, and we also got assigned seats. It’s kind of sad I liked not having assigned seats, but eh who cares I like the seat I got today anyway. This time I am in the back, so let’s see what happens. Anyways we took notes on Egypt and the Egyptians today. It was mainly talking about pharaohs and what their lives were like, and what they believed in. They believed in things like afterlife. People would prepare their tombs and then they would put treasures and things that they wanted to take to their afterlife. They don’t know what it is going to be like, but they believed that the things they put in there would go up with them too.  There was also a weird fact that they had many wives, but some of them were there sisters. That’s weird to have your sister as a wife. Well tomorrow let’s see if you’ll see another blog from me because the weather is supposed to not be good tonight.

LO3

LO3 Land of the Pharaohs

• LO3 contrasts the ancient civilization of the Nile with that of the Tigris- Euphrates, and discuss the defining features of Egyptian life
• Egypt stretches along the lower reaches of the Nile's four thousand mile course from Central Africa to the Mediterranean
• this country is divided into two sections called the ancient Egyptians the "Two Lands"
• upper Egypt is a narrow strip of fertile land, five hundred miles length and 12 miles in width, and flows across North African desert
• Lower Egypt is a pattern of waterways, formed by the Nile
• 3100 BC was when the "Two lands" were unified under a single king
• pharaohs- a name derived from the Egyptian word for "palace" which they used to mean "the king"
• maat- universal stability and harmony
• the Egyptians believed that it was she whom the gods and goddesses had appointed to conduct the rituals and sacrifices that won their favor and made sure that they did their work of upholding the universe
• Egyptian society was organized in such a way as to be under the pharaoh's control and responsive to his will
• people brought and sold, inherited land, houses and goods throughout the Two Lands
• the pharaoh had many wives
• Hatshepsut- was the king a little after 1500 BC
• women as well men were entitled to benefit from the pharaohs rule
• "Great ones of musical troupes" meant directing the worship of the gods with music and song
• there are no records of women's expectations of men, but men were expected to respect the women in their families
• in 1800 BC a book of "wisdom" was written
• on tomb carving of married couples, the wife is usually depicted smaller compared to her husband than she would naturally be, and it is placed on the left, the humbler side
• the Egyptian priests and rulers believed that one god had created all others
• Akhenaten(pharaoh of New Kingdom) took this idea so far that he tried to abolish the worship of other leading deities
• He failed in the "religious revolution"
• Old kingdom inspired a great new idea after 2000 BC that local administrators who now held power independently of the pharaoh came to expect that they would also live independently of him after death
• it was now believed that every person, possessed a life or soul after the body died, and preserving the body and putting comforts in the tomb would help it in the life to come
• hieroglyphs- in 3100 BC carvings and paintings intended to honor the pharaohs 
• hieroglyphs were actual pictured of real life or mythical creatures and objects
• the Egyptian name for hieroglyphs was "the writing of the words of god"
• hieratic- priestly script
• demotic- popular script
•  most Egyptian writing was done with ink on papyrus
• by 2500 BC the Egyptians had adapted sail boats to travel the open sea to the Mediterranean's eastern shoreline
• the Mediterranean then became a highway
• Egyptians god-king must have a stone tomb as a resting place for all time
• pyramids- the masterpieces of practical engineering
• king khafu who ruled in 2650 BC
• great pyramid measures 476 feet in height and 760 feet on each side of the base
• the pyramid consists of 2.3 million cut blocks each weighing 5,000 pounds
• temple buildings were usually constructed of horizontal beams held by columns
• in 1530 BC the temple of Amon at Karnak had begun it ended in 1300 BC
• it was the largest building ever constructed
• covered ground area about 400 yards by 110 yards by 10 acres
• the roof of the main hall was on 134 columns
• the columns are 70 ft high and 12 in diameter
• on tombs they were rules like the left foot usually was forward and wigs and beards were treated in a standard stylized lifestyle
• in 2200 BC week pharaohs allowed local officials to gain independent hereditary power in the regions that they controlled
• Hyksos- semitic immigrant tribes
• the end of the New Kingdom was in 1100 BC
• 525 BC Libyans, and the Nubians
• 333 BC province of the empire of Persia
• 30 BC ruled by the greeks and then conquered by the Romans
• the last great temples of the Nile were built after 250 BC