Classwork #5

Read 468-477 do 1, 3, 4, 5.

1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
Renaissance: Rebirth. In the historic context, =, it refers to a revival of art and learning.
Humanism: An intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements.
Secular: A worldly society rather than spiritual and concerned with the here and now.
Patron: Leader of a movement group.
Perspective: Shows three dimensions on a flat surface.
Vernacular: Someone's native language.

3. What are some of the characteristics of the "Renaissance man" and "Renaissance woman"? Men were expected to create art, while women were only expected to recognize it.

4. How did Italy's cities help to make it the birthplace of the Renaissance? Overseas trade made Italy's cities thrive. The region had many sizable towns, making it possible for people to exchange ideas; an ideal breeding ground for intellectual revolution.

5. What was the attitude of Church leaders and the wealthy toward the arts? Why? Church leaders beautified Rome and other cities by spending huge amounts of money for art. Also, wealthy merchants and families either had themselves made into portraits or donated art to cities to hang on public squares to demonstrate their importance.

May 15, 2019 Class

I did horrible. I will not be able to get into John's Hopkins and get a partner. This is it. This is the end. I will rot in the streets and die lonely while people walk all over me. It wasn't particularly great meeting the students here, but it wasn't awful; I guess.

Maybe I'll have to focus more on wrestling and less on school because, otherwise, I'll just be another student with a trashy resume and nothing interesting to say for themselves.

I got one wrong. The worst part is that my gut was telling me: "Don't choose that one, Gía! It's wrong and you know it." But what did I do? I chose it anyway and went against my gut. So... I probably got a 65/66. Not great, but it will suffice.

A big shootout to Trent, who sat down during Bio class to help me study. He truly is an angel sent from above. Trent, if for some reason you end up reading this, viele danke!

May 14, 2019 Class

Who immigrated into Rome? Latins (first immigrants), Greeks, and Etruscans.
The capital Rome would have either stood on Palatine or along the Tiber river.
Greeks ruled much of the land around the Mediterranean Sea (also controlled Carthage).
Tarquin the Proud is the seventh and final king of Rome.

• The backstory:
• Sextus (Tarquin's son) wanted to court Lucretia and blackmailed her.
• She gave into blackmail and then committed suicide.
• Because of this, Tarquin and his family were ran out of Rome.

Res publica - "the people's affairs".

• English word "republic" comes from this.
• Basically three governments rolled into one.
• Aristocracy (the Senate 300).
• Monarchy (2 consuls).
• Democracy (tribunes).

SPQR - Senatus PopulusQue Romanum

• Decision made by "the Roman Senate and People".
• Has three branches of government:
• Executive is composed of the two consuls, which can veto each other and serve one year terms.
• Ar times, it also includes a dictator, who in turn serves for six months and has complete power.
• The legislative branch is composed of the Senate and Assemblies.
• The Senate was composed of 300 people, and later 373 people who served for life.
• The SPQR had a judicial branch composed of praetors chosen by the Centuriate Assembly and served for a year.

The United States government also has three branches and is modeled after the SPQR.

• The executive branch instead has a president and a vice president.
• The president is the most powerful single person in the United States, who has the power to veto bills proposed by the people and the Senate.
• The legislative branch, as the SPQR has a Senate, but with 100 senators.

May 10, 2019 Class

I kind of forgot what we did in class on Friday... But I have reason to believe that we were reviewing and I was taking notes. Anyway, an important thing to remember was that Maryland has eight representatives in the house of representatives (perhaps it is also important to mention that California has the largest amount of representatives with 55). Also, some important things to know about emperors after Caesar Augustus is who they were and their personalities. (Also, I should check out the rap again because I have yet to memorize it.)

Important emperors include:

• Tiberius (ruled from AD 14 to AD 37)
• At 77 years old, after the death of his son, he exiled himself from Rome and left his prfects in charge.
• Caligula (ruled AD 37 through AD 41)
• Known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity.
• All praetorian guards, Senators, and the imperial court teamed up to assassinate him.
• Claudius (ruled AD 41 to 54)
• Is thought to have had cerebral palsy.
• He would have been an even better leader if he did not have a barrier due to the disease(s) he suffered from.
• Died by poisoning (which was his last wife's plan to give the throne to her son, Nero).
• Nero (r. AD 54-68)
• Had an obsession with the arts.
• He wanted Rome to be the better version of itself by magnifying it with the use of art.
• Hugely overspent and even raided some Temples for money.

Classwork WMSIO #8

Read Rome and Roots of Western Civilization pages 178-183
Answer questions 1 and 5
Do worksheet 5

1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
Greco-Roman culture: Mixing of elements of Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic (mixing of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian) cultures.
Pompeii: Roman town in which the best examples of Roman painting were found in AD 79.
Virgil: Roman poet who wrote the epic Aeneid, the most famous work of Latin literature, in ten years.
Tacitus: A Roman historian who, among all others, did actually present facts truly as they were.
Aqueduct: Structures designed by Roman engineers to bring water into cities and towns.

5. What influence did Latin have on the development of Western languages? Latin remained the language of learning in the West, and then became the official language of the Roman Catholic Church coming into the twentieth century.

Classwork WMSIO #7

Discuss the topic: The United States is declining, like the Roman Empire did. Give solid supporting ideas to reasoning.


According to Gibbon's reasoning in his book, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1780s, the fall of the Roman Empire was caused by its greatness in size. I do not agree with him and instead believe in the simple rules of "Risk". The leaders of the Roman Empire were too greedy and spread themselves out too thin without enough army men to defend themselves. Therefore, when outside forces (Ottoman Turks) saw this, they attacked and that is when historians like Gibbon decided to call it the end. But I believe their end was set in stone, it was just a matter of when.

This event has happened before with Germany and the First World War. German leaders had greed in their mind and conquering the World as their purpose. As they strived conquering the world, they made many enemies and not enough forces to annihilate them, that is what happened to the Roman Empire. They had no control whatsoever over their enemies, and it backfired.

Classwork WMSIO #5

Since I had already done WMSIO #6 during WMSIO #5 should have been done, I am going to do that one now.

Read pages 168 - 172
Answer page 172 #1, 3, 4, 5
Do Worksheet 3




1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
Jesus: Jew born around 6 to 4 BC in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. Most of his recorded life comes from the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible: the Gospels. He was said to have been the Son of God and savior of the human race to save all from sin.
Apostle: One of twelve of Jesus' main disciples or pupils.
Paul: The apostle Paul who greatly influenced Christianity.
Diaspora: The dispersal of the Jews.
Constantine: Roman emperor who credited his success gaining the throne to the help of a Christian God, ending the persecution of Jews.
Bishop: Supervisor of several churches.
Peter: Became the first bishop in Rome after traveling from Jerusalem. Jesus referred to Peter as the "rock" on which the Christian Church would be built.
Pope: The father or head of the Christian Church.

3. What did Jesus emphasize in his early teachings? He emphasized God's personal relationship to each human beings; stressed the importance of people's love for God, their neighbors, their enemies, and themselves; and taught that God would end wickedness and would establish an eternal kingdom after death for people who sincerely repented their sins.

4. Why did the early Christians face persecution from the Romans? Early Christians faced persecution from Romans because they refused to worship Roman gods.

5. What was the importance of the Nicene Creed? It defined the basic beliefs of the Church, solving disputes among Christians.

Classwork WMSIO #6

Read pages 173-176
Answer questions # 1, 3, 4, 5 on page 176.
Complete worksheet 4 (page 91).

Notes:

• End of the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180) marked the end of Pax Romana.
• Following rulers did not know how to manage such a vast empire and it, in return, started declining.
• During third century AD, Rome's economy weakened due to several factors.
• Hostile tribes outside boundaries of the empire and other pirates from the Mediterranean Sea disrupted trade.
• Having reached limit of expansion, Romans were in need of more precious metal.
• The government raised taxes, desperate for revenue.
• Also started minting coins that contained less and less silver.
• With the hope of creating more money with the same amount of precious metal it would take to make less.
• The economy soon suffered from inflation.
• Harvests in Italy and western Europe became increasingly meager because the overworked soil had lost its fertility.
• Years of war had also destroyed much farmland.
• Eventually, serious food shortages and disease spread, and the population declined.
• Military and Political Turmoil
• Over time, Roman soldiers had become less disciplined and loyal.
• Gave their allegiance to their commanders, who fought amongst themselves for the throne, instead of Rome.
• To defend against increasing threats to the empire, the government began recruiting mercenaries.
• Eventually, citizens' feelings of loyalty also declined, losing their sense of patriotism.
• Diocletian (r. AD 284-305)
• Strong-willed army leader who became the new emperor.
• Severely limited personal freedoms.
• Doubled the size of the army and attempted to control the inflation by setting fixed prices for goods.
• Believed the empire had grown too vast for one lone ruler.
• Divided the empire into 
• Greek-speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt).
• Latin-speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain).
• Kept the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West.
• Even though he shared authority, he kept overall control.
• His eastern part of the empire was far wealthier than the western part of the empire, for it included most of the empire's great cities and trade centers.
• Retired due to ill health.
• Diocletian's plans for orderly succession failed and civil war broke out.
• By AD 311, four rivals were competing for power.
• One of them was Constantine, the one who would later end the persecution of Christians.
• Constantine gained control of the western part by AD 312 and continued many of the social and economic policies of Diocletian.
• By 324, united both parts of the empire.

1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
Inflation: A drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices.
Mercenary: Foreign soldier who fought in exchange for money.
Diocletian: A strong-willed army leader.
Constantinople: (9Modern day Turkey) city of Constantine, previously called Byzantium.
Attila: Powerful chieftain of the Huns who terrorized  both halves of the Roman empire with his 100,000 men.

3. What were the main internal causes of the empire's decline? The government raised taxes to meet revenue when precious metals were scarce and the economy soon suffered from inflation; harvests were  becoming increasingly meager due to the overworked soil; food shortages and disease spread; soldiers had become less disciplined and loyal; and citizens were becoming less and less patriotic and would refuse to fight for their country.

4. How did Diocletian succeed in preserving the empire? He doubled the size of the Roman army; controlled inflation by setting fixed prices on goods; presented himself in god-like aura to restore the prestige of the office of emperor; and divided the Roman empire into the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West.

5. Why did so many Germanic tribes begin invading the Roman Empire? Due to the Asian nomadic tribe known as the Huns burning everything in their path (starting with Germanic tribes living near the borders of the empire), the Germanic tribes had to choice but to go inland.






P.S. I did Day 6's classwork because the board stated to read the pages from day 6. I did not check on the piece of paper nor online because I thought it was correct. By the time I realized I was not, it was too late, so I decided to stick with it.

Classwork WMSIO #4

Review the rap and the PowerPoint.
Write a paragraph comparing rap info with paragraph info.

The book did not say anything about the swamp (which I think means that the government is corrupt), or I at least don't remember reading so. There are three branches of government (and only one government) in the book, but three governments in the rap: democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy, which I think cannot be possible, made into a republic. The rap did have that it was not a tyranny and the book didn't specify it, but it sure did not say that it was a tyranny. Instead, the book stated the government as a republic. Plebeians were not having fun because they were being oppressed by patricians; they were definitely having some fun. Both the textbook and the rap state there are two consuls and all the army terms. Both go over the Punic Wars and Hannibal's strategy of going though the Alps. The rap did not go over the Punic Wars in much detail, a thing that the book did do. In the book, there were three wars between Carthage and Rome going from 264 BC - 146 BC. 

The rap did not give the backstory of why the rich were getting richer and what the latifundia was, but the book did. Both talked about the Gracchus brothers were killed by senators and how it started a civil war. Then, Julius Caesar started rising around 60 BC and formed a triumvirate (group of three leaders) with Pompey and Crassus. Then, Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and gained his troops' devotion; that is in both the book and the rap. The battle between Pompey and Julius Caesar after crossing the Rubicon River was covered. The rap kind of went over Julius C. becoming a dictator if one reads in between lines, and the book specified so. March 15, 44 BC was the death of Julius C. He died of 23 stab wounds and his last words were "Et tu, Brute?" 

At 18 years old, Octavian formed a new triumvirate with Lepidus and Mark Antony. Mark Antony met Cleopatra and became allies against Octavian. He won against them and accepted the title of Augustus. Pax Romana started in 27 BC for 207 years. Slaves didn't have many rights. For entertainment, Romans watched gladiator fighting. (There is no Circus Maximus in the textbook.)

To be such a short rap, it covers most of the important parts and is very well done.

Classwork WMSIO #3

Notes:

1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.


Civil War: Conflict between opposing groups within the same country.

Julius Caesar: Military leader involved in the first ever triumvirate in Rome. In 44 BC, he was named dictator for life and was then killed on March 15, 44 BC.

Triumvirate: A group of three rulers.

Augustus: Title given to a ruler, which means "exalted one".

Pax Romana: "Roman peace"--a period of peace and prosperity lasting 207 years (27 BC - AD 180) after the start of Augustus' ruling.




3. What factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic? The growing discontent among lower classes in society and a breakdown in military order. Brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus attempted to make the poor content. Following their death, a civil war took place in Rome. As the republic became more unstable, military generals seized power for themselves.


4. What were the main reasons for the Romans' success in controlling such a large empire? Efficient government and able leaders. For example, Augustus glorified Rome and also set up civil service. That is, he paid officers to manage people's affairs.


5. What measures did the government take to distract and control the masses of Rome? It provided free games, races, mock battles, and gladiator fights. By AD 250, Romans already celebrated 150 holidays in the Colosseum.

Classwork WMSIO #2

finish reading The Roman Republic (p. 155-159)
answer questions 1, 3, 4, 5 (p. 159)
do worksheet 1 (The Romans Create a Republic p.88)





Notes:

• By the fourth century BC, the Romans dominated central Italy, and by 265 BC, they were the masters of nearly all of Italy.
• Punic Wars (264 - 146 BC) were between Rome and Carthage, a colony of Phoenicia.
• First Punic War  (264 - 241 BC)
• Fought in the western Mediterranean for control of Sicily.
• Ended in the defeat of Carthage.
• Second Punic War (218 - 202 BC)
• Mastermind behind the war was 29-year-old Carthaginian general named Hannibal.
• Hannibal assembled an army of 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 60 elephants.
• For more than a decade, moved his army on a long trek from Spain across France and through the Alps.
• Lost half his men and most of his elephants.
• Won his greatest victory at Cannae in 216 BC.
• With the aid of many allies, the Romans prevented capturing of Rome.
• Finally, the Romans found a military leader to match Hannibal's boldness--Scipio.
• In 202 BC, Hannibal was forced to defend his native city, Zama, and was defeated by the Romans.
• Third Punic War (149 - 146 BC)
• After Rome laid siege to Carthage, the city was set afire on 146 BC and its 50,000 inhabitants were sold as slaves.

• By winning the Punic Wars, Rome gained dominance over the western Mediterranean.
• Then went on to conquer the eastern half.
• By 70 BC, Rome's Mediterranean empire stretched from Anatolia to Spain.
  

Questions:



1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.

Republic: (comes from the Latin res publica, "people's affairs") people choose representative to vote in behalf of the people.

Patrician: wealthy, aristocratic landowners who held most of the power in the early republic.

Plebeian: common farmers, merchants, workers, and artisans which made up the majority of the Roman citizens.

Tribune: someone elected to represent the Roman lower class citizens.

Consul: One of two officials who shared the powers of ruling the republic  and whose time in office was limited to only a year. (They also could not be re-elected before ten years after their previous term.)

Senate: assembly composed of upper class citizens only.

Dictator: Someone with absolute power who only led the people for six months.

Legion: Military division of the Roman army.

Punic Wars: Three battles lasting over a century between Rome and Carthage.

Hannibal: Led a force of 50,000 soldiers and 60 elephants through the Alps for more than a decade to attemmpt to conquer Italy.


3. What limits were there on the power of the Roman consuls? They both had the power to overpower each other; so they limited each other's power. Their terms were a year's length and could not be elected again in ten years.


4. What was the significance of the Twelve Tables? The upper class people would stop inventing more ways to punish poor people. It gave lower class citizens rights and defended them from unjust laws created against them.


5. How was Hannibal's attack on Rome daring and different? He decided to lead his troops through the Alps to attack Romans head on.

Classwork WMSIO #1

What to do:

Write out main ideas from pages 152 and 153.

Write out timeline (only for Rome).

Start reading pages 155 through 159.

Ancient Rome and Early Christianity (500 BC-AD 500)

Main Ideas:

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

Empire Building - At its height, the Roman Empire touched three 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 (single-god) religion called Christianity. Based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, it soon spread throughout Rome and beyond.

Timeline:

509 BC

Rome becomes a republic.

264 BC

First Punic War begins.

218 BC

In the Second Punic War, Hannibal invades Italy.

31 BC

Octavian defeats the forces of Antony and Cleopatra.

AD 284

Diocletian becomes emperor of Rome.

AD 476

Western Roman Empire falls.

Notes:

•  Rome founded 753 BC by Romulus and Remus according to the legend.
•  Built on seven rolling hills near midpoint of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Earliest inhabitants, Greeks, Latins, and Etruscans, came in around 1000 BC and 500 BC.
• Latins built the original settlement at Rome on the Palatine Hill, and were therefore believed to be the first Romans.
• Between 750 BC and 600 BC, the Greeks established colonies along Southern Italy and Sicily.
• Etruscans (skilled metalworkers and artisans) are native to Northern Italy.
• They influenced Romans' architecture (using the arch) and their writing system.
• Around 600 BC, an Etruscan became the king of Rome.
• (Popular public center Forum was the heart of Roman political life.) 
• The last king was Tarquin the Proud (Superbus).
• Driven from power in 509 BC due to tyranny in both senses of the word.
• Established a republican government from the phrase res publica, meaning "public affairs."
• A republic is a form of government in which citizens vote for their leaders. (Only free-born male citizens were given the right to vote.)

• Struggle for power.
• Patricians--wealthy landowners--versus plebeians--common farmers, artisans, and merchants, which are the majority of the population.
• Tribunes--assembly formed by plebeians that chose representatives for themselves.
• Protect rights of plebeians from unfair acts of patrician officials.
• The Twelve Tables
• On 451 BC, ten patrician officials wrote down Rome's notes.
• Carved on twelve tables and hanged in the Forum.
• Government terms.
• Legal code in: 
• Rome was the Twelve Tables
• the United States is the United States Constitution.
• Consul: king-like leader who commanded the army and directed the government. The consuls worked in pairs and composed the executive branch of the government.
• Senate: had 300 aristocrats who took care of domestic policies. Its counterpart at the time would have been the Tribal Assembly, which was elected by the tribune and made laws for the common people.

April 24, 2019 Class

I have set my mind to memorizing the Rome song. Apparently, some kids have used it to memorize the test answers and I will surely do that. Also, the song link didn't work for me. And in case it also didn't work for you, I'm putting a link I found on YouTube here. Also, I found an amazing video of the Greco Persian Wars that you guys should totally watch. He is apparently still in John Carroll and I honestly congrat him from this blog. (P.S. I will definitely ask around juniors I know to find him.)

Who settled Rome? (Firstly, Latins.)

• Located along Tiber river
• Etruscans.
• Came from north-central part of the peninsula.
• Had metalworkers, artists, and architects.
• Two foundating myths:
• Virgil's Aeneid (very close to the Odyssey).
• Brothers Remus and Romulus raised by she-wolf.

April 23, 2019 Class

Mr. Schick is suffering from umbilical hernia and has got to undergo surgery. At six o'clock in the morning (0600) on Thursday, Mr. Schick will start going into surgery and will miss ten days of school (otherwise stated as two weeks resting overall). We will miss him greatly and will remember him as we work each of the eight assigned days. We will have him present in class tomorrow, April 24, 2019 for "LOOK FORWARD," whatever it is. I checked my blog entries and found out my blog was visited twenty-one times from Germany. Amazing! Also, I have another new place to add--Indonesia. Now, I have people that visit my blog from Egypt, Indonesia, Germany, (an) unknown location(s), and a familiar from the Dominican Republic.

April 12, 2019 Class

I did not attend class today as I had to catch a flight.

April 10, 2019 Class

Today we learned about Plato's Allegory of the Cave. We talked about Socrates' thoughts on the unexamined life and so on. This will be on the test as an essay question. I have to take the test tomorrow because I will be absent for most of the class on Friday, as I will be leaving at noon.
I am definitely not excited and very nervous; I am definitely nervous. I will be going to school at around 7:10 to take the test at 7:15 and be able to go to class by eight o'clock. I feel like I will fail this test about as badly as I did will all of the work I have had to turn in a rushed assignment because I have not had time to have a good night's sleep AND do all my work before going to school. I guess the fact that people say school is your second home is true because I sure do my HOMEwork at school. Have no off mods? No problem. Do it in between classes, in the car, during advisory, or sometimes (not recommended) during lessons that one is already familiar with or directly before the work is due.

April 9, 2019 Class

Well... Today was a horrible day. Today I had Biology first, which would not be so bad if I had not had to wear bunny ears for about ten minutes straight before going to class and then getting called for doing homework that is due tomorrow at the beginning of class (which is worth 120 points and I have only done about fifty percent of all of it)!! Then, nothing bad with Mr. Schick's class besides not taking any notes from a PowerPoint because he doesn't have a PowerPoint because I have not made one.
Then German... It actually was not as bad a class as it normally is. This class, I was actually able to do the homework previously noted before and the work from the class itself (I am honestly a little bit too proud of that) which is something I normally do, even though I had already done the work by the time he is done speaking. Chorus... meh. Jesus Christ Mission and Ministry, my least favorite class, may I say. Ugh. I almost fell asleep. I must have incredibly strong willpower because I did not actually fall asleep (not longer than two minutes anyway).
Lastly, I had Studio which is finally starting to come along, after half a semester of depressive thoughts toward the class, it is starting to become more tolerable. It is as if I change into some artist who actually enjoys art and makes time fly by super fast. My paintings are starting to look way better than they did before.
What really messed up my day was the Spring Concert. I did horrible. I cannot afford to lose any more points in Chorus. I have died of embarrassment TWICE today, not once. Once I could get behind but twice? Nu-uh. First, I tripped while going up the stairs to leave because I miscalculated how many steps were left because I had to text my mom to tell her I was sorry I was late. The second time was during the concert when I messed up SOLO before the song had even began and everyone was laughing at me (or with me since I smile and flush when embarrassed).

Classwork #4

Explain significance of:
Philip II- king Philip of Macedonia wanted to control Greece and then move on to Persia to avenge the Persian invasion in 480 BC.
Macedonia- Place located North of Greece that has rough terrain and a cold climate.
Alexander the Great- Son of Philip II who earned his nickname for his actions the 13 years following his father's death.
Darius III- Persian king whom Alexander defeated mercilessly, completely ending Persia's power.

How was Philip II able to conquer Greece? He used the phalanx formation (16 men across with 16 men deep, all armed with 18 feet long pikes) and then used the fast moving cavalry to crush disorganized opponents. Took Greeks' independence away at the battle of Chaeronea.

Philip II's goal was to conquer Persia. Why did Alexander continue his campaign of conquest after this goal had been achieved? He was more interested in expanding his empire rather than governing it.

What happened to Alexander's empire after his death? His Macedonian generals fought amongst themselves for control of his empire. Three ambitious leaders--Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus--eventually won out. Antigonus took Macedonia and other city-states. Ptolemy took over Egypt and was declared pharaoh of Egypt. He later established a dynasty. Seleucus took over most of the Persian empire (which was later called the Seleucid kingdom).



Explain the significance of:
Hellenistic- Blending of the Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian cultures.
Euclid- Highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria. His best-known book is Elements, that contains 465 geometric propositions and proofs.
Archimedes- Scientist who accurately estimated value of pi.
Colossus of Rhodes- Largest Hellenistic statue which stands a hundred feet tall and was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It was toppled by an earthquake around 225 BC. Its bronze covering was sold for scrap. (The Nike of Samothrace statue was also found on Rhodes.)

How did trade contribute to cultural diversity in the Hellenistic city of Alexandria? Trade ships from all around the Mediterranean were docked in the spacious harbor. By the third century BC, Alexandria had become an international community.

How did Euclid influence some of the developments in astronomy during the Hellenistic period? His teachings in geometry were what led astronomers Aristarchus and Eratosthenes to study planets and stars with geometry, therefore understanding the world better.

What did Stoicism and Epicureanism have in common? Both stressed the importance of living a virtuous life in harmony.

April 4, 2019 Class

Today is the day! Today is the day (actually night, but whatever) that I write down my answers for the classwork/homework. Yahoo!

Also, I will write down my notes on the blog prior to the present one.

1. Explain significance or words below:

a. Direct democracy: form of government inn which citizens rule directly instead of having representatives vote for them.

b. Classical art: portray ideal beauty.

c. Tragedy: serious drama about common themes (e.g. love, hate, war, and betrayal).

d. Comedy: Contain scenes filled with slapstick situations (involving excessive physical activity to produce comical scenes) and crude humor.

e. Peloponnesian War: tension between Athens and Sparta. War broke out and Athenians erected a walls which was supposed to keep Spartans out. Also created barricade composed of their navy to keep trade out of Sparta. But, when a trader infected with the plague was let inside the erected walls, citizens could not get out and transmitted the plague over to other citizens; resulting in the death of a third of the population (accounting for the ruler at the time--Pericles).

f. Philosopher: literally translated to "lovers of wisdom" were thinkers who used logic and reason to figure out and explain things about the world, rather than putting so much faith into the mythological gods and goddesses.

g. Socrates: (470-399 BC) encouraged to examine the beliefs of followers using the Socratic method.
h. Plato: (427-347 BC) was both a wrestler and a poet before he became a philosopher; student of Socrates. Founded a school called the Academy in 387 BC.
i. Aristotle: (384-322 BC) was the son of a physician and one of Plato's brightest students. Stayed at the Academy for twenty years until Plato's death. He then opened his own school called the Lyceum.

3. What steps did Pericles take to strengthen democracy in Athens? He increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries to ensure that all citizens, no matter wealthy or poor, could hold office. Introducing direct democracy, Pericles made sure citizens could directly vote on issues regarding them instead of voting for representative who would in turn vote for them.

4. What were the battle strategies of Athens and Sparta in the Peloponnesian War? To avoid land battles with Spartans and wait for an opportunity to attack from the sea. Eventually, though, the Spartans swept through Athens and burned down their food supplies. Although it did not affect Athenians as much as long as they could sail to get supplies from allies and foreign states.

5. Why do you think some Athenians found the ideas of Socrates so disturbing? Because they were very unhappy with how sad their life was they did not feel like examining their life. Maybe they thought as best living an unexamined life and were disturbed by a man who had quoted that: "The unexamined life is not worth living." Perhaps they did not like his way of thinking.

April 3, 2019 Class

Today, we had to read pages 134 through 139 (section 3) and take notes. But I could not finish taking notes. Moreover, we had to answer questions 1, 3, 4, and 5. And I have not even read those. Honestly, I am just having a bad day. I just want it all to be over so I could go back to sleep. I am very lazy today and will NOT be posting my notes as I normally do and will instead go right into answering the questions.

Edit: Welp… I am too tired to do this right now. I am still sore from practice because I was basically forced to go today even though I am currently limping around. I will have the questions answered sometime this week.

Textbook pages:

My notes:
Democracy and Greece's Golden Age

• Pericles (495-429 BC; r. 461-429 BC) was an Athenian leader during the Golden Age who held onto popular support for 32 years.
• Came from a rich, noble family.
• His father led the Athenian assembly and fought the battle of Salamis (which was during the Persian Wars) 
• And his mother was Cleisthenes' niece.
• Skillful politician, inspiring speaker, and respected general.
• He was well-known for his political achievements as the leader of Athens.
• Age of Pericles.
• 1. Strengthened Athenian democracy.
• 2. Held and strengthened the empire.
• 3. Glorified Athens.
• Increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries.
• Before, most of the positions were unpaid, so only the wealthier Athenian citizens could afford to hold office.
• After, even the poorest of citizens could hold office.
• Consequently, Athens had more citizens engaged in self-government than any other city-state in Greece.
• Direct democracy: form of government in which citizens vote directly on issues that affect them instead of electing a representative to do so.
• An important legacy of Periclean Athens.
• Male citizens in the assembly established all important government politics.

• After the defeat of the Persians, Athens helped organize and took leadership over the League of Delian and the city-states in it.
• Pericles used the money to strengthen Athens' navy and beautify Athens.
• To beautify Athens, he ordered to build the Parthenon, that was built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens.
• It contained examples of Greek art that set standards for the future generations of artists around the world.
• Much of the work was done by the sculptor Phidias.
• In the Parthenon, there was a thirty foot tall statue of Athena made with gold and ivory.
• Greek sculptures during the Golden Age:
• Aimed to create graceful, strong and perfectly formed figures.
• Classical art--portray values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion.
• Showed neither joy nor anger, but serenity.
• Tried to capture the grace of the human body while in motion.
• Portrayed ideal beauty instead of realism.

• Drama and History
• The Greeks invented drama as an art form and built the first theaters in the West.
• The actors used colorful costumes, masks, and sets to dramatize the stories.

Class notes:

In tragedy, the hero has a fatal flaw, hubris (excessive pride).
Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex--rex being king; so Tyrannosaurus Rex is basically the king of the dinosaurs--(basically translated as king Oedipus).

April 2, 2019 Class

Well, presentations are OVER (finally, Lord), and I was excited... But then I checked out Mr. Schick's blog and he stated we had to take notes on pages 134 through 149 instead of straight up learning from a PowerPoint/ presentation that was made by Mr. Schick (which is what I definitely prefer).

Moreover, we will take the test on the three sections--which will cover pages 134 through 149--on April twelfth. And I really hope I could say that it is an April Fool's joke, but today is April the second. So it cannot be :(

I feel like the fourth quarter is going to walk all over me and enjoy killing me slowly. But, leaving me alive enough to recover during the Summer to come back next year. I feel it. In fact, I know it. I may even be unable to get First Honors this quarter.

I have a question for you, the reader of this blog: When would the dress down day for the fourth quarter be if the quarter ends by the end of the school year? Would the school not have a dress down day or would only count the GPA from the Mid-Quarter-Reports? Or perhaps something completely different?
Please, at least one person leave a comment or it will haunt me for the rest of my life (no kidding).

March 27, 2019 Class

Yet again, I forgot to write my blog (which I thought I had written) on Wednesday. I have no clue as to what happened on that day because my memory does not retain much of the important things. 

So... 

I'll give you a fun fact: I cannot do any cartwheels, round offs, nor walk on my hands or anything really athletic for wrestling.

March 29, 2019 Class

Well, you totally did not wonder why I did not write my blog yesterday, but I will still tell you why:

I did not have enough battery on my laptop to write a blog at the time. I mean... my laptop turns off at 5% and I only had 8%. I also had to finish a German PowerPoint before the classes ended. But I knew I had time to write the blog between yesterday and today. Right now, I am tired out of my mind and still have to write this blog. I want to go to sleep so badly but I know that after writing this, I probably will not for a couple of hours.

The group whose presentation I liked the best was the first one: with the children of Athens and those of Sparta. I was laughing my butt off and did not stop until their presentation did.
I liked the pancake-like food that Katie and i-forgot-her-name did were pretty good but their project was something done in a rush and without much thought put into it. Although I was surprised they actually did research and all.
Tibo(?) and other-guy's presentation was plain boring. I feel like they portrayed no emotions toward the subject, therefore all students were very bored. Perhaps even Mr. Schick. If they liked the subject and showed interest toward it, we all may have been able to understand better and enjoy the presentation at all.

March 28, 2019 Class

Well, our project was a complete mess. For the first 10 minutes of class, I did not know where any of my group members were. Mr. Schick looked like he was having a bad time well before we came I came into class and after our project was over, he seemed even more upset. I do not know what is going on. Because I asked a friend of mine who is in another section if the same happened in her class, but she said that he was fine and probably just expecting more from the honors students.

After the presentation, I checked to see in which range we qualified in the rubric and it was a C/D average. I am literally DYING.
I will not be able to rest the same after the presentation until I get the grade back. I will not be happy when it comes, but at least I will be able to rest in peace and not freak out. My grade will probably be brought down to a D before the quarter even starts 🤦.
I was at least able to be in first honors the first three quarters of the school year. Am I happy? Not exactly. Disappointed? Very.

I really hope we serve as a reference on what not to do for future groups and fellow classmates.

March 25, 2019 Class

Today's class was a project preparation day. Honestly, it sucked. Nobody has done anything. Everything was left to the last minute. And, I believe I speak in behalf of all of the groups in all of the sections (or at least the honors section). The pillars of my group were absent today and I feel we're going to do very poorly, or at least I will. I am definitely NOT excited about this. I think the due date for the project should be moved towards either Friday or Monday of next week. We did not have enough time to prepare.  In less than fifteen minutes into the class, all the groups were done discussing their plans, that is because they have none.
At least the test on Ancient Greece was not as much of a failure as the Ancient Greece project will be. I got one question wrong. Which wasn't great... but I will be OK. At least I get one 'ding'.

March 22, 2019 Class

So... we had the Greece test yesterday. I did not study beforehand because I was too tired. I had come back from a doctor's appointment which I attended right after school and had come home at six. To then have dinner with a pile of homework I also had to do. I was tired and decided to go to bed earlier. So that I could rest and, if for some reason, I had awoken earlier than normal, I could study. But that, of course, was not the case. Instead, I had to study in between classes. The class right before Western Civilization was the one in which I studied the most--Biology.
Mr. "Jonnah" Gzanna is one of the most chilled teachers I've ever met. I was studying mid-class and he did not say a word. Special thanks to Alita Pirozzi who helped me throughout the entire class. She helped me review all eight pages of notes TWICE. I could not have asked for a better helper.
As to how the test went, I believe I got at least one wrong because I confused the Aegean and Adriatic seas. Pretty dumb, am I right? I must have gotten that one wrong, and perhaps another one, too. So I got either a 95% or a 97.5% on the test. If I got a 95 percent on the test, my grade would go up to a 94.13% to end the last quarter; while with the latter grade, my grade would go up to a whooping 94.71%. And, in the rare case I did not miss any questions (a very rare case, indeed), my grade would be raised to a 95.31%, which in complete honesty, would not do anything noteworthy to my overall GPA. therefore, it is not of my interest.

Greece Notes #8

Greek, important philosophers

• Socrates
• Unlike most people at the time, he turned to science and logic--instead of mythological gods--for explanations on how the world worked.
• Socratic method: fostered critical thinking.
• "The unexamined life is not worth living."
• "I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think."
• Charged with serious crimes of:
• Impiety (disrespecting the gods) and
• Corruption of Athens' youth.
• At his trial, he descripted himself as the stinging gadfly of the lazy old horse that Athens was.
• He did not deny what he had done, but instead had asked for free dinners for life.
• Found guilty by Athenian jury and sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock.
• Plato
• Was a student and follower of Socrates.
• He wrote out Socrates' teachings and described his trial in Apology (which at the time meant explanation).
• Another famous book of his was called Republic.
• In it, he wrote about Socrates' discussion of justice and an ideal state.
• Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle believe the perfect society would be one were philosophers such as themselves lead the government.
• It is one of the most influential books on philosophy ever written.
• Aristotle
• A student of Plato (who was a student of Socrates)
• Helped to foster the idea of Athens as an intellectual destination.
• His school--the Lyceum--focused on cooperative research--building on knowledge gathered from all over the world.
• Did Aristotle invent the internet?
• Not exactly, although he did dream of having sum of mankind's knowledge easily accessed in one location.
• He wrote extensively on numerous topics such as:
• Logic, physics, biology,
• Ethics, politics, rhetoric,
• Motion, theatre, poetry,
• Metaphysics, psychology, dreams, et cetera.
• Also tutored Alexander the great.

Creece Notes #7

Is teh United States a republic (the people vote for their leader and the leader makes decisions) or a democracy (people vote directly on issues that concern them)?

The Greeks' gods interaction with humans is what makes their relationship unique.

• Examples are:
• Poseidon (god of the sea) interfering with Odysseus.
• Aphrodite (goddess of love) had lovers who were both gods and men.
• Dionysus (a demigod of wine) was the son of Zeus (basically, god of gods) and Semele (a human princess).

• Greek city-states military forces
• Spartans
• Greeks certainly were warlike people, but especially the Spartans.
• Spartans were known for having a rough, ruthless infantry--soldiers who fought on land.
• Spartan boys were trained since age seven.
• Athens
• Athenians also had a great infantry, but their navy was incredible.
• Their most efficient weapon was the trireme.
• It was a technological marvel which was rowed by up to 170 men distributed among three levels.
• It was the fastest ship at the time, which could also be used as a battering ram.
• Phalanx
• Close-rank, dense grouping of warriors on land.
• Armed with long spears and interlocking shields.
• Soldiers would advance slowly towards their enemies until ranks were broken.
• Then, the soldiers would take the place of the person in front lowering their spear.
• Persian War
• Greek army
• Soldiers used iron weapons (so that ordinary citizens could afford to arm themselves).
• Armed with spears, swords, and shields).
• Foot soldiers (hoplites) were trained from an early age.
• Often fought in the phalanx formation.
• Had a "home field" advantage.
• Were motivated to preserve their nation so that they would not have democracy taken away from them.
• Persian army
• Had huge numbers of soldiers.
• Were a long way from home.
• It was a professional army composed of soldiers by hire (aka mercenary).
• Sequence of attack
• Archers, who do damage from afar.
• Cavalry (horses), which disrupt communication between the enemies' generals and soldiers.
• Lightly armored infantry.
• Carried spears, swords, and bows.
• The Greeks were victorious and formed the Delian League.
• Which took taxes from all of the citizens in the city-states that made up Greece (especially Athens) and used the money toward military growth.
• Built up army to be able to defend Greece from another attack and invasions.

March 18, 2019 Class

Today, we were given the choice whether to have today as a meeting day with our group or Friday, along with Monday (the class day before our presentation--which I believe is too early). We chose today. And, now we have normal class taking (and finishing) our notes tomorrow. Then, I believe we have the test on Ancient Greece (which I am also not looking forward to). In our meeting, we decided who would do what. Olivia and Leigh are both making food to bring on the day of the presentation--Olivia is baking some kind of dessert, I believe, and Leigh is cooking a traditional, Greece plate. Caitlin and Miel (who is a new addition to our group) are doing makeup. And I am sewing, which has actually become weaving (which I, luckily, also know how to do... kind of). Again, I am really NOT looking forward to this.

March 16, 2019 Class

So, Mr. Schick assigned us a two hundred point project in which we have to explore an aspect of Ancient Greece that personally interests us. Simultaneously, I am excited that the project is two hundred points and nervous. If I get 90%, my grade drops by one percent. I want to get to a 93.5 percent or above, which will get me a GPA weighted scale of 4.450 instead of the 4.350 that I currently have with a 93.38 percent.
I am in a group with Caitlin, Leigh, and, apparently, also Olivia. Our project is going to be based around the women in Ancient Greece (feministic much for me). It also deals with food and makeup used equally by both men and women (that thankfully lessens the feministic bomb). For the project, I have learned how to rehydrate seaweed and make olive oil. On Monday, I will bring ashes for makeup, along with seaweed to rehydrate, and a basin to mix elements in. Honestly, it is quite fun so far, being in a project with Caitlin and Leigh, although I do not know if Olivia will be as nice as them. We were also going to bring a few other things, such as red iron oxide, but most of them were unsafe to use; red iron oxide could spontaneously combust, for example.

Classwork #3

Today during class, we watched a 55-minute video on Greek civilization leading to We only watched through 50 minutes of the video, though. I thought Caitlin would be supervising over the class and we would do nothing, so I brought my homework and hoped to finally study my German 2 material. That's when I got my not so great surprise. (I was lucky to not have brought grapes; although I'll admit I did try to look for them). Anyway, we got a worksheet that had questions we were to answer. Since I have nothing else to comment, I'll post my answers whenever I get back from practice.

1. What was the situation in Athens in 508 BC and why? 
2. What class did Cleisthenes come from and what kind of power did this group exercise over Athenians?
3. How did Aristotle describe life for most Athenians in the sixth century BC? As a world riven by injustice.

Greece Notes #6

Hippias (r. 527-510 BC).

• Before his brother's death (murdered), he had fit in the older meaning of a tyrant.
• After, Hippias had turned into a tyrant best described by the modern definition of the word.
• He was eventually ostracized from Athens (thing that, at the time, was worse than death).
• Seeking revenge, he began to work with the Persian king Darius I, helping the Persians invade Marathon (to the eastern coast of Athens).
• With Hippias gone, Isagoras and Cleisthenes (both aristocrats) were engaged in a power struggle.
• Isagoras had support from some fellow aristocrats and from Sparta.
• Cleisthenes, on the other hand, had the support of the majority of Athenians.

Greece Notes #5

During the seventh and sixth centuries, aristocrats ran the government in most of Greece

• Back then, as right now, rich people wielded much influence in society, and held much government power, than middle to poor classes.
• Aristocrats: members of the ruling class.
• Aristocrats attended symposiums--meetings where elite men enjoyed wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussing politics.
• Politics was an exclusive club.
• There were no women (except for the "entertainment"),
• Also no middle class,
• Nor slaves.
• Sometimes, certain aristocrats were excluded due to wrong connections or falling out of favor.
• If on the outside, sometimes aristocrats would form alliances with hoplites--well-armed soldiers--and set up alternative forms of government called tyranny.
• Tyrant: someone who rules outside the framework of the polis.
• The modern meaning of a tyrant is an abusive or oppressive ruler.
• The Greek meaning is someone who simply seized power (usually with hoplite help).

Greece Notes #4

Book notes:

• Polis: fundamental political unit in Ancient Greece made up of a city and its surrounding countryside--which included numerous villages.
• Acropolis: a fortified hill top.
• Citizens gathered to discuss the city's government at the agora, the marketplace, or an acropolis.
• Monarchy: (in government) where a single person (normally a king) rules.
• Aristocracy: a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families.
• Families often earned political power after serving in the king's military cavalry.
• Oligarchy: a government ruled by a few people.
• New class of wealthy merchants and artisans emerged. 
• When dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, they sometimes took power or shared with nobility.
• Tyrant: ruler who seized control of the government by appealing to the common people for support.
• Unlike today, tyrants were not considered harsh or cruel; rather, they were looked upon as leaders who worked for the interests of the common people. 

• Democracy: rule by the people (first adapted by Athenians).
• Citizens participated directly in political decision making.
• When nobleman Draco took power, he developed a legal code based on the idea that all Athenians were equal under the law in 621 BC.
• His code was so cruel that the term draconian--meaning extensive cruelty or severity--was created.
• Solon started ruling at 594 BC.
• He outlawed debt slavery and organized citizens into four classes according to wealth.
• Only the three highest could hold office, although all four classes could partake in the Athenian assembly.
• Cleisthenes (r. 500 BC) divided the citizens into 10 classes based on which area they lived in.
• Greater power in the assembly (all citizens allowed to submit laws for debate and passage).
• "Council of Five Hundred": proposed laws and counseled assembly. 
• The members were chosen by lot or at random.
• As a result, the Athenians participated in a limited democracy.
• Only free, adult, male, property owners born in Athens.
• At the time, women, slaves, and foreigners were excluded from citizenship.

Athenian education 

• Differed from sons and daughters.
• Sons of wealthy families received a formal education.
• Schooling began at seven years of age and prepared boys to become good citizens.
• They studied reading, grammar, mathematics, poetry, History, and music.
• Boys also received training in logic and public speaking as they were expected to debate issues in the assembly. 
• Greeks believed it was important to train the body, so they also partook in athletic activities every day.
• When they got older, boys went to military school to help prepare them for another important thing in Athenian society--defending Athens.
• Daughters stayed at home with their mothers and other female members at the household. 
• They did not go to school.
• Learned about child-rearing, weaving cloth, preparing meals, managing the household, between other skills to prepare them for marriage and motherhood.
• Some women took their education farther and learned how to read and write.
• Among those, some even became accomplished writers.
• Most women had very little to do with Athenian life outside boundaries of family and home.

In-class notes:

Warring City-States

• Polis: fundamental political unit made up of the city and the surrounding countryside.
• Words such as politics (affairs of cities), policy, political, metropolitan, and many others are derived from polis.
• Monarchy: rule by a single person (a king, in Greece).
• Aristocracy: rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families.
• Oligarchy: wealthy groups, dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help).
• Tyrant: powerful individual who seized control by appealing to common people for support.