Lockett Western Civ

People presented today and I really enjoyed their projects. Our group graded the others very well because they were all very informational and creative. I'm learning about the Persian War, Athenian lifestyle, Spartan lifestyle, and Greek traditions. I think the whole class is doing really well with the projects and everyone got all of their things together to make a nice presentation. All of the food has been really good and it's been an easy class; but of course, I am learning.

We presented today but it ended up taking up a whole class time because we didn't start until it was about 15 minutes into class and we had to distribute food. Hopefully, other groups get an earlier starting time and we can go through more projects at a quicker pace. I think our presentation went well. None of our categories included clothing, except for Gia's, so I think everything was appropriate and that we explained the Greek concept of things while avoiding spontaneous combustion and salmonella.

Today, we continued to work on our projects. Miel edited all the videos together so far and we finished our paper. Everyone is working really hard. Since our video is already pretty long, I'm going to briefly explain what I will bake and then put pictures. We decided to put the links in a google slide and present it that way so that everything is easily accessible.

We worked on our projects today. I am going to make an Ancient Greek dessert but I am not going to go through the exact processes as they did because I do not really want salmonella. I am going to set up a sheet behind me so that the kitchen isn't showing in my video. It would throw off the whole Greek vibe.

I wasn't in class today due to the school show performance.

Gods interacted with humans. Poseidon (god of the sea) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home and many other examples. The Spartans were fighters. They started to train at the age of 7 and their main strength was in their infantry (foot soldiers). Athen had immense naval power. They had a trireme that was the fastest ship in the world at the time. It seated up to 170 men and it could be used to ram into other ships. Greeks used a phalanx structure to fight up close. Every soldier would become dense, close together and aim their spear pointing at the enemy. They would advance as a unit. Athens goes to war with the Persians -the Persian army was a large force and Athens barely had a chance but the Persians were mercenaries so they did not have the passion that the Athens soldiers had. The Athenians were protecting their home and their democracy.

Today, we tried to plan out our "Women of Greece" project. I am going to make and Ancient Greek dessert. The rest of the group is figuring out other foods, makeup, and weaving to show the ways of life of women in Ancient Greece. I don't know what I'm going to make yet but whatever it is I have figured out how I am going to present. I'm going to make the dessert in a normal modern way because no one wants salmonella or anything, but I'll research and explain how it would have been made in Ancient times.

I was sick and absent for this class.

We watched a video about Cleisthenes and Ancient Athenian life. We had a question paper to follow along with the video. I was very thankful that the sheet went in order with the video because it was an hour long and it would have been very difficult to keep up with if the questions were out of order. I answered all of them, but some of my answers could have been a bit more detailed. Due to the need to constantly pay attention to the video, my answers were shorter so that I could keep up if something came next. A lot of the video consisted of things we had already talked about in class, but some of it was new informations. I didn't know about the importance of pottery until I watched the video. In ancient Athenian life, potters had no importance, but know ancient potter can sell for millions of others. The potter's main goal was simply to outdo other potters. Some of them would right little jokes and stabs at other potters on the bottom of their vases.

Today we went over notes that I already had in my previous blog. We also talked about direct democracy and the difference between middle class and aristocrats in Ancient Greece. The aristocrats had more power even though there were fewer aristocrats than middle class workers. With Isagoras and Cleithenes, the man with aristocratic help won the election but because of Cleithenes's support from the middle class, he ended up being the leader. We also mentioned how the presidential election happened 3 years ago and that is the craziest thing I've heard all day. It does not seem like a year has passed at all and I don't know why but it is really confusing me.

Today, I hear giggling behind me. The culprit is Isabelle Wilson. I think to myself, "What could be so amusing?" Then, I feel something pull at my hair. I turn around and say, "What did you do?" Isabelle Wilson has been coloring my hair with an orange sharpie. I respond calmly saying, "Belle, could you please refrain?" But she could not refrain. This angered Mr. Schick and I understand why. Now we are doing our blogs. I will not lie and say that I am not partially responsible for this, but I blame Isabelle Wilson and her evil ways. Before this outburst, we were taking notes on the essential terms of government: polis- fundamental political unit aristocracy- government run by a very rich noble king oligarchy- wealthy group who ruled tyrant- powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support Today, a tyrant has a negative connotation, but in Ancient Greece a tyrant could be a good ruler that had his citizens' best i...

Notes from today's class -20% of valleys were arable meaning suitable for farming -Greeks' diet consists of grain, grapes, olives, and fish -olives were a large part of Greece's economy because other countries could not produce olives -they became the cornerstone of economy for Greece -lack of resources led Greece to colonize other islands on the coastline and shoreline -back then, temperatures were more moderate -originated Olympics -Mycenae was located on a rocky ridge on Peloponnesus protected by a 20 foot thick wall -Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1100 BCE -they controlled trade in the region -1400 BC E Mycenaeans completely absorbed Minoan culture (Cultural Diffusion) The Trojan War -Greeks fought in many wars over time -Trojan War was thought to be fictional because of all of the mythological elements that were added to the story over time

The world's greatest civilizations were all located by rivers. The Greeks, Mesopotamians, and Egyptians were the ones we learned about but there were several more. Greece was mainly a mountainous peninsula. It was split into mini civilizations called city-states. It was difficult to unite the city-states due to the terrain and their loyalty to each other. A person would think of themselves solely as a Spartan before they would think of their fellow sisters and brothers in other city-states. More Notes From Textbook: -The Dorians moved into war-torn countryside -They may have been distant relatives of the Bronze Age greeks -Legend states that the greatest story teller was a blind man named Homer -Some believe he composed his epics celebrating heroic deeds -Iliad was one of his greatest poems (it was about the trojan war) -Greeks developed myths and traditional stories about their gods -They attributed human qualities such as love hate war wisdom to their gods and goddesses

We took a test on Egypt today and I think I did well. After the test, we took notes on Ancient Greece. Here are some of my notes: Seas  -Aegan  -Ionian  -Black -They were used for transportation -Greece was mainly covered in mountains and valleys -The climate was moderate -48-80 degrees Fahrenheit -major outdoor life -Myceneans settles in Greece around 2000 B.C.       Myceneans learned a lot from Minoans such as seaborne trade and a writing system and language, designs, religious, practice, and literature -They were fortified by a large wall -The Trojan was believed to be fictional but it's not