May 31

It was a good year. I had fun and learned a lot. Some good memories in this class. You were a very good teacher.

May 30

Today in class, we finished going over the powerpoint about Luther and Reformation of the church. We talked about the actions Martin Luther took in order to reform and change the Church. He rallied a good amount of people up and protested the pope. Then he was excommunicated from the church. So he took o another identity an escaped the Diet of Worms. The Diet of Worms was an assembly of the city Worms in Germany. They believed he should stay in Worms until he relaxes and cools down. But he escaped and went back to Wittenberg where people have made their own religions and follow what Luther wanted people of the Catholic church to follow all of the time.

May 29

What's So Wrong with the Church? Corrupt leadership. Renaissance- era popes spent on personal pleasure. Pope Alexander VI said he fathered several children. Many priests and monks were poorly educated. How can you teach if you can barely read? Some priests broke their vows, they got married/had children. Some priests drank to excess, many gambled. But mostly, indulgences. The selling of indulgences (pardons) "releases a sinner from performing the penalty a priest imposed for sins". Johann Tetzer was a monk who sold indulgences to help rebuild St. Peter's Cathedral. A monk named Martin Luther objected to this practice. So, who is this "Martin Luther"? Formative Years. Martin Luther was born in Germany in 1483. He attends the University of Erfurt (he called it a beerhouse and a whorehouse). After getting his degree he enrolls in law school (his father's wish). As people are dying of the plague (which they "deserve"). ZAP! Everything changes with a bolt of lightning. Martin was on his way back to school after a visit home (he was 21). He got struck by lightning and knocked off his horse. He then decided to become a monk. Monk-y Business. Two weeks later, Martin drops out of law school. 1504- he joins an Augustinian monastery. 1507- ordained a priest. 1508- teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg. 1512- he becomes a Doctor of Theology. Martin Luther gets mad at the Church. Luther thinks Tetzer is a "pardon-merchant". Martin came up with 95 objections to the Church of "doing business". He nails them to the church door in Wittenburg on Halloween. Known as the "95 Theses". The Church is Going to need Aloe for this Burn. The "95 Theses" document was copied and taken to a printer. Luther says the Church needs to be Reformed. "Reformed"="Reformation". People win salvation by faith in God's gift of forgiveness. All Church teachings should be clearly based on the words of the Bible. All people with faith is equal. People do not need priests to interpret the Bible for them. Those were all the notes that I had written down in my book based on the slideshow. That is all we did today in Western Civilization. 

May 11

Yesterday in class, the students talked to Mr. Schick from being on rest for two weeks. It was interesting speaking with the teacher after not seeing him for a little bit of time. Well, things did feel like they were getting back to normal in that class. Anyways, Mr. Schick talked about his surgery and how things went with it, and then he spoke on the time he was gone for. After that, we took notes on the 'Rome' slide that he created for the upcoming test, which I hope I do well on. Rome, Rome, Rome. Who settled Rome? Etruscans came from the north-central part of the peninsula. Metal workers, artists, architects. Who else settled Rome? Greeks, they had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea. The Romans borrowed ideas from them such as religious beliefs, the alphabet, much of their art, military techniques and weaponry. But who first settled there? The Latins, which are descendants of Indo-Europeans. Settled on the banks of the Tiber. They drained the swamp. Many streams flowed into the Tiber. 

May 24

Read: 488-494

Questions: 1,3,4

1.

• indulgence- pardon for sins believed to buy a way into heaven
• reformation- formation of several protestant church reformations
• Lutheran- what Luther and his follower's religion was called
• protestant- Christians who belong to non- catholic churches
• peace of Augsburg- a famous religious settlement who decided the religion of the state
• annul- to set aside (marriage)
• Anglican- church of England with Elizabeth as head

3. -Queen Elizabeth I helped restore Protestantism 

-Powerful monarchs challenged the church as the supreme power in Europe
-Many leaders viewed the pope as a foreign ruler and challenged his authority
-European princes and kings were jealous of the Church's wealth. 
-Merchants and other people didn't want to pay taxes to the church
-Some church leaders had become worldly and corrupt
-Many people found Church practices such as selling indulgences unacceptable
-People wanted to be able to divorce

4. A group of people at the time of Martin Luther who was Catholic protestors of certain Catholic beliefs.

May 22

Today in class, we went over the powerpoint about reformation again. We talked about patrons and artists they sponsored. Like d'Este, she sponsored almost all of the greatest artists of all time. For example, she sponsored Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and many more. She was also an artist herself. Her parents were wealthy and powerful and passed that down to her. We then talked about Michaelangelo's sculptures and paintings in the churches. He was a creative genius. 

May 20

Read Page: 468-477
Questions: 1,3,4,5

1:
Rennaisance: a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome

Humanism: A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity

Secular: Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

Patron: a person who provides financial support for the arts

Perspective: point of view

Vernacular: the everyday language of ordinary people

3:

Man:                                                          
-Renaissance writers introduced the idea that all educated people were expected to create art. the ideal individual strove to master "universal man. Later ages called such people "Renaissance man"


Woman:
-the upper-class woman also should know the classics and be charming. But not meant to seek fame. They needed to inspire art but rarely create it. the upper-class woman was better educated than a medieval woman

4: Thriving cities, a wealthy merchant class, and the classical heritage of Greece and Rome

5:  Medieval artists had used religious subjects to convey a spiritual ideal. Renaissance artists often portrayed religious subjects, but they used a realistic style copied from classical models.

May 17

Read Page: 468-477
Questions: 1,3,4,5

1:
Rennaisance: a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome


Humanism: A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity


Secular: Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters


Patron: a person who provides financial support for the arts


Perspective: point of view


Vernacular: the everyday language of ordinary people


3:
Man:                                                          
-renaissance writers introduced the idea that all educated people were expected to create art. the ideal individual strove to master "universal man. Later ages called such people "Renaissance man"


Woman:
-the upper-class woman also should know the classics and be charming. But not meant to seek fame. They needed to inspire art but rarely create it. the upper-class woman was better educated than a medieval woman


4:


5:

May 16

Today in class, we took our fifty point test on Rome. I ain't gonna lie, I feel like I didn't do too hot. A couple of questions I drew a blank and had no clue what the answer was. I studied a lot for this test too. I have no clue what went wrong. But I am praying that I did well. Because if I didn't, I am going to be in trouble at home. And I don't want that. But after the test, we were allowed to go on our laptops, so I got a bunch of work done.

May 14

-Latins were the first to settle
-Greek had many colonies along the Mediterranean sea
-Settled on Palatine hill
-Tarquin was the seventh and final king
-lucretia and Sextus she committed suicide after tarquins son raped her
-democracy
-aristocracy
-monarchy
-NO TYRANNY
-Res publica means peoples affairs, how we get republic
-executive, judicial, and legislative
-some had two consuls, one-year terms, veto power, controls the military and could appoint a dictator.
- The as one pres., four-year terms, veto, commander in chief.
- some legislative only had two houses, now the US has 100 senators, and there are 435 reps. 55 from Cali, 8 from MD. Two-year terms
- Judicial back then was praetors and that's it. Now, we have court for everything. Supreme court had nine members with lifetime terms.
- twelve codes/now bill of rights
-Punic war
--naval batter in Sicily was the first
--23 years
--Hannibal attempted the new tactic in the second.
--Rome destroyed Carthage in the third one
-latifundia(big farms)
-Julius Caesar was very successful; he made people happy and stuck to his words.
- Pompey, Crassus, and Julius were the triumvirate
- crossing the Rubicon= point to no return
-Appoints himself as power of Gaul

May 13

Today in class, we reviewed more for the test. We went through a power point that talked about the differences and similarities between the US now and Rome. We also talked about what kind of government time had and used while they were the powerhouse of the ancient time. They used a republic with representatives. Kind of like what we use today. We also discussed their military tactics and how they won so many battles. But we also talked about how they fell from the throne.

May 8

pg 178-183

• the Romans developed many ideas and institutions that became fundamental to western civilization
• Romans learned the art of sculpture from the greeks
• bas- relief or low- relief images project from a flat background
• Mosaics were pictures or designs made by setting small pieces of stone, glass, or tile onto a surface
• frescoes were painted directly on walls
• Livy compiled a multivolume history of Rome from its origin to 9 BC
• Latin remained the language of Rome after the fall of Rome
• Many US buildings include Roman features
• Romans figured that all laws should be equal and apply to the poor and rich

terms and questions:

• Greco-roman culture: an ancient culture that developed from a blending of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures
• Pompeii: a Roman town where most paintings were found. Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the town in thick layers of ash killing lots of people
• Virgil: A poet that wrote/created the Aeneid
• Tacitus: Roman historian that presented multiple facts accurately
• Aqueduct: a pipeline or channel built to carry water to populated areas

5. It started the language called the Romance languages which were the French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian adopting Latin into their languages

May 7

1)
Greco - Roman culture- The mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman culture produced a new culture

Pompeii-Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Virgil-wrote Aeneid-legend of Aeneus; poet

Tacitus-historian-presented facts accurately, wrote about good and bad of imperial Rome

aqueduct-bring water into cities and towns

2) I think the law would be the best accomplishment because it set up a lot of governments today by giving people the same set of laws as everyone else and giving the people they say. 

3) Greco-Roman culture is the mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman
cultures.

4) The Greeks were known for beautiful but idealized sculpture; Roman sculptors created more realistic works.

5) It forms the basis for Western languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian; more than half of English words have a basis in Latin.

May 6

Read Page: 173-176
Answer Numbers: 1,3,4,5
Worksheet: 4

1.

• Inflation- a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices, which was one of the factors that prompted the weakening of Rome's economy.
• Mercenaries- foreign soldiers that fought in exchange for money that the Roman government recruited in order to defend themselves against increasing threats to the empire. Mercenaries felt little sense of loyalty to the empire.
• Diocletian- a strong-willed army leader that became the new emperor of Rome in 284 A.D. He limited personal freedoms but also restored order and increased the strength of the empire.
• Constantinople- the city, originally called Byzantium, that was the capital on the Bosphorus Strait. The city was eventually renamed Constantinople, after Constantine, the commander that relocated the capital in the first place. After his death, the empire would be divided again, with the East surviving and the West falling.
• Attila- a powerful chieftain that the Huns united under. They terrorized both parts of the empire but eventually failed due to famine and disease.

3. The main internal causes of the empire's decline were hostile tribes, inflation, food shortages and disease, and overworked soil.

4. Diocletian succeeded in preserving the empire by doubling the size of the Roman army and divided the empire into the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West.

5. Germanic tribes began invading the Roman Empire in order to flee from the Huns who were destroying their region.

May 1

The rap "Rome" by Chi Cago compares to the information in the textbook in many different ways. The textbook and song talk about the same things, but in different forms. On page 155, it says how the earliest settlers in Rome were the Latins, Greeks, and the Etruscans. But in the song, the lyrics are "Well, you got the Etruscans and the first Romans were the Latins." In the rap, he says the same thing: "The Greeks, but the Latins come first, to the shores of the river Tiber, patricians and plebeians drained a swamp, next thing you know, livin' in Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome." Another thing that the rap mentions that's in the textbook is when he raps about the Pax Romana and the two consuls. I think that this rap is a good start and platform to build off for studying Rome. The song reviews the basics and main ideas of Rome. That is mostly all we did today in class.

May 2nd

Read Pages: 168-172
Answer #'s: 1,3,4,5 on page 172
Worksheet 3 (Page:90)

1)
Jesus- Born in the town of Bethlehem, later started working as a carpenter, and then at the age of 30, he started his public ministry. He was known as the Messiah, and he calls himself the Son of Man or Son of God

• Apostle- One of the followers of Jesus who preached and spread his teachings

• Paul- the Apostle, had an enormous influence on Christianity's development

• Diaspora- The dispersal of the Jews from their homeland in Palestine

• Constantine- Another Roman Emperor

• Bishop- A high-ranking Christian official who supervises a number of local churche

• Peter- Apostle, He knew Jesus

• Pope- The bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church

3)
Personal relationships with God, the importance of people's love to God, Also, offered eternal life if you repented for your sins

4)
They refused to worship the Roman gods

5)
It defined the Church and basic beliefs

April 30

    The Republic Collapses 

1.    Economic Turmoil

·     Civil War- conflict between groups within the same country. 

2.    Military Upheaval

·     A breakdown of the once loyal military.

3.    Julius Caesar Takes Control

·     Julius Caesar- a military leader who joined forces with Crassus, a wealthy Roman, and Pompey, a popular general.

·     Triumvirate- a group of three rulers who dominated Rome.

4.    Caesar’s Reform 

5.    Beginning of the Empire 

·     Augustus- an excepted title for Octavian, or “exalted one” 

April 26

1)

Republic- A form or government in which power is in the hands of representatives and leaders are elected by the citizens who have the right to vote

Patrician- A member of wealthy, privileged upper class

Plebeian- One of the common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up most of the population

Tribune- An official elected by the plebeians to protect their rights

Consul- One of the two powerful officials elected each year to command the army and direct the government

Senate- The supreme governing, originally made up only by aristocrats

Dictator- A political leader given absolute power to make laws and command the army for limited a time

Legion- A military unit of ancient Roman army, made up of about 5,000 foot soldiers and a group of soldiers on horseback

Punic Wars- A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage

Hannibal- 29 year old Carthaginian general, he was a brilliant military strategist who wanted too avenge Carthage's earlier defeat

3) 
They could only serve for one year, the same person could not be elected for ten years, and one consul could always overrule the others decision.

4)

That all free citizens had protection under the law.

5)


Instead of a head on attack, he used a surprise attack.

April 25

Main Ideas
Power and Authority:

• Rome's government began as a republic, where elected officials represent the people.
• Eventually emperors seized power and expanded the Roman Empire.

Empire Building:

• The Roman Empire touched three continents at its height, which were Europe, Asia, and Africa.
• Rome brought peace and prosperity to its empire for several centuries until it eventually collapsed.

Religious and Ethical Systems:

• Christianity, a "single-god or monotheistic religion" based on Jesus of Nazareth, rose out of Judea.
• It soon spread throughout and beyond Rome.

Timeline:

• 509 B.C.- Rome becomes republic.
• 264 B.C.- The first Punic War begins.
• 218 B.C.- Hannibal invades Italy in the Second Punic War.
• 31 B.C.- Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra's forces (bust of Cleopatra.)
• 284 A.D.- Diocletian becomes the emperor of Rome.
• 476 A.D.- The Western Roman Empire falls (Roman horseman.)

April 24

Today in class, we talked about the test we took before the break.  I did not do too hot on this test. I got a seventy-eight on it. that's a big OOF. But with these next two weeks, I should be able to fix that grade. Mr. Schick will not be here for the next two weeks, he will be out due to a procedure that he has to get done. I'm gonna miss him and his rapping skills. I'm wishing him a good surgery and a fast recovery.

April 11

Today in class we went over the test and studied. I feel pretty prepared for this test. We went over the main peace that was on the test. we also did a background of Alexander to have a better knowledge of him even tho not much would be on the test about him.

April 5

* Philip ll - king of Macedonia 359 - 336 BC
* Macedonia - Kingdom, north of Greece, rough terrain and a cold climate
* Alexander the Great - the son of king Philip ll, ruled for 13 years, learned science, geography, and literature, very smart
* Darius lll - Persian king, fled Persia when Alexander invaded to avoid capture

April 4

Today in class if we had finished our first assignment we were told to do page: 142-145 and the questions: 1,3,4,5 on 145 in our textbook along with taking notes and putting all of it on our blog for that day.

1.

•direct democracy - a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives 

•classical art - values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion 

•tragedy - a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war or betrayal 

•comedy - scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor 

•Peloponnesian war - war between Athens and Sparta  

•philosopher - great thinkers who sought the truth  

•socrates - believed that absolute standards existed for truth and justice 

•plato - wrote The Republic and envisioned a perfect society 

•Aristotle - questioned the nature of the world and of human belief, thought, and knowledge 

3. Pericles increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries in order to increase democracy. This allowed Athens to have more citizens participating in self-government.

4. The Athenians' battle strategy was to avoid land battles with the Spartans and wait to strike them from the sea. The Spartans' battle strategy was that they had the stronger army and their inland location prevented them from being easily attacked by the sea.

5. Some Athenians might have found the ideas of Socrates disturbing because he believed that standards existed for truth and justice, and he encouraged Greeks to question their character and what they believed, which was unusual for someone to do back in Greek times.

April 2

1)

Direct Democracy- Form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Classical Art- Values or harmony, order, balance, and proportion

Tragedy- Serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal

Comedy- scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor

Peloponnesian War- A war between two leading city-sates in ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta

Philosopher- A thinker who uses logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society, and mortality

Socrates- A Greek philosopher

Plato- A student of Socrates

Aristotle- Another important Greek philosopher


3)He increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries.
4)Athens avoided land battles and attack by sea.
5)Maybe because they had never been asked to question their own morals.

April 1

Today we presented the Greek Olympics. It was very informative. The videos were pretty funny.  There was supposed to be another presentation, but a person was sick and the other person did not have any of the stuff needed to present. We are eating the food they brought in, but that is it.

March 27

Today in class we worked on our project once again because Mr. Schick was not here today because he had some type of appointment, so he was not able to come. I'm going to be completely honest my group mates are just ruining our project. We were supposed to do the videos yesterday but one of my partners made up some random excuse that made us not able to take the videos. Then today we were supposed to do the videos after school but someone did not mention he had an appointment and then my other partners just don’t care about grades, so they left or they just don’t want to do them at all. So, I'm just super mad because it wouldn’t take us long anyway and so I'm thinking I'll just do the ones that I can do by myself and then they can figure it out themselves. Overall today has been a stressful day due to this so that’s good.

March 25

today we took our test on Greece. I don't feel super confident considering I study half the wrong stuff. I don't think it will stay that way but I need to have high hopes. I'm really proud of myself and how I've done freshmen year and hope I can stick it out from the last quarter

March 20

• Hippias was a tyrant who ruled from 527 to 510 BCE
• Cleisthenes' supporters- and the ordinary Athenian citizens- revolt against Isagoras' tyranny
• they trap Isagoras on the acropolis for two days- on the 3rd day he fled and was banished 
• 508 BCE
• Cleisthenes was a member of the elite, very rich, insulated from the "hoi polloi", and saw craft politician
• saw value in tapping the intelligence, talents, and energies of non- aristocrats (middle class)
• didn’t realize the value of women
• citizens could participate- but only one fifth of Athenians were citizens (free, adult, male, property owners born in Athens)
• after several years, Athens practiced a direct democracy
• Direct democracy:
• where the state is rule by its citizens
• rule is based on citizenship
• majority rule decides vote
• in the agora, citizens argued, made speeches, then voted with white stones (yes)/ black stones (no)
• first practiced in Athens under Cleisthenes by around 500 BCE
• what is unique with the Greek relationship with their gods is the interaction with humans
• Poseidon (sea God) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home
• Aphrodite (love goddess) had lovers of both gods and men
• Dionysus (wine God0 was son of Zeus (a god) and of Semele (human princess)
• Zeus- ruler of heaven and earth; father of Athena; god of sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice. had a temper and threw thunder bolts
• Athena goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare, and peace, intelligence, battle strategy and handicrafts. Born from Zeus' head fully formed and armored. Patron of Athens
• Greeks were war like people- especially the Spartans
• Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on land
• spartan boys trained from the time they were seven 
• Athens had a great infantry, but nothing could compare with their navy
• Most effective weapon was the trireme:
• technological marvel
• fastest ship in the world at the time
• rowed by up to 170 men on three levels
• used as a battering ram agile, fast
• Phalanx:
• close-rank defense grouping of warriors
• armed with long spears and interlocking shields
• soldiers advanced slowly toward enemies

March 19

Today in class we met with our groups and started to think of our ideas for our project. My group is doing the Olympics in Greece which is a pretty cool topic. So far, we've done some of the PowerPoint and talked a little bit about what else we were going to do. I am praying that my group does good just so I start of strong for the last quarter. Besides all of that we have a lacrosse game against Curley today at 5 which should be pretty exciting because we won against them last year. Hopefully we do as good as last year, and I hope I get a good amount of playing time because I want to score my first goal of my high school career. Overall today has been a pretty good day and I cannot wait for the weekend just like everyone else so I can relax and maybe hang with my friends.

March 15

Today in class, we discussed what will be coming up for our Western Civilization class. In the future, we will be having at least one more quiz, one more test, and a two hundred point project that's going to be due right after the quarter ends. We discussed what our project will be on and how we are going to accomplish our end goal. My group consists of Demetri, Maddie, and me. We are going to build the Acropolis and make greek food. We will spend a day at one of our houses and work on it together. We are going to build a model of the Acropolis out of craft materials and make a powerpoint about it. We feel really confident about it. We are going to focus on the architecture and artistic features of Ancient Greece.

March 14

homer composed the Iliad and the Odyssey in the eighth century BCE, centuries after the events it describes happened

they were the only ones to survive the burning of the library of Alexandria

metis: skill, cunning

Odysseus announces his real name while sailing away from the Cyclops island, and the Cyclops calls down curses on him which gets all of his men killed

greek meaning of heroism: extraordinary attribute or ability

Odysseus executes all the housemaids for sleeping with the suitors and he's not even married to them

"and so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband, her white arms around him pressed as though forever

the Iliad is a poem of war, the Odyssey is a poem of peacetime

Kleos: glory, renown achieved on the battlefield that guarantees  immortality because of your deeds are so amazing

weren't werent for diving intervention the humans in the Odyssey would have continued that cycle of violence

March 13

March 11

Polis: a fundamental political unit
Monarchy: rule by a single person
Aristocracy: rule by a small group of nobles
Oligarchy: wealthy groups
Tyrant: powerful individuals who seized control by appealing to the common people for support
Epic: stories and or legends
Myths: traditional stories
Homer: the greatest storyteller who was blind 
Dorians: people who moved to the war-torn countryside
Mycenaens: people who settled in the Greek mainland 

March 7

• 2000 B.C. Minoan civilization prospers on crete
• 1780 B.C. Hammurabi issues code of laws
• 1500 B.C. Mycenaean culture thrives on Greek mainland
• 1472 B.C. Hatshepsut, women Pharaoh begins her reign
• 1200 B.C. trojan war takes place
• 1027 B.C. Zhou dynasty begins in China
• 850 B.C. assyrias expand their empire
• 750 B.C. Greek city-states flourish

March 6

• in the Greek city-states of Athens, a new form of government developed - democracy - in which citizens exercised power
• Alexander the Great spread Greek culture throughout much of Asia, Greek, Egyptian, and Asian cultures then blended to create Hellenistic culture
• Athens assumed control of a defense league and eventually built it into an empire, later Alexander conquered the Persian empire and beyond to create a vast new empire of his own
• 2000 B.C. Minoan civilization prospers on crete
• 1780 B.C. Hammurabi issues code of laws
• 1500 B.C. Mycenaean culture thrives on Greek mainland
• 1472 B.C. Hatshepsut, women Pharaoh begins her reign
• 1200 B.C. trojan war takes place
• 1027 B.C. Zhou dynasty begins in China
• 850 B.C. assyrias expand their empire
• 750 B.C. Greek city-states flourish