Day 2 of the Revolution Video on Greece

We began this video discussing with of Athens grew with their wealth as trade over the Mediterranean grew for the Greeks olive oil. Another major trading point for the Greeks was there pottery like the vases. These vases were often made by the poorest people of Greece. These vases had patterns like simple figures and geometric patterns. Today, these Greek vases are extremely valuable. Making these vases allowed for ordinary people to show their talents. Next the part of the video talked about the chain of rulers and or tyrants to follow in Greece. Peisistratos, father of Hippias, was the first ruler discussed. This was a good ruler who helped Greece to grow, but when he died in 527BC, his son Hippias took over the ruling. In 514BC Hippias brother was murdered causing Hippias to become bitter to the people. This was when he became a tyrant out of revenge towards the people of Athens. The video said, " He had no cause but self preservation". In 510BC Cleisthenes overthrew Hippias by trapping Hippias and banning him. This was Cleisthenes heroic act by saving the people. The next ruler was an Athenian aristocrat named Isagoras. Isagoras tried to overthrow Cleisthenes with the help of Sparta. Isagaros brought his troops to the acropolis and then ostracized Cleisthenes and his family. This is when the ordinary people of Athens revolted against Isagoras to push him and the Spartans out of Athens after three days of surrounding them. This is when in 508BC the first democracy began as the people fought for power for themselves. Cleisthenes was then brought back to Athens to unite Athens by giving the people a voice to govern themselves. Every 9 days there were meetings with the people where they had direct votes on things like taxes, roads, and war using white or black rocks to answer yes or no.  The next portion of the video was discussing the "Olympics" of Greece on Olympia. This was the origin of the modern Olympics where any Greek man could visit from all over Greece to watch or participate in 776BC. Women were not allowed to participate or even watch. Some of the games included chariot racing, boxing, and wrestling. Participating in these events helped to show heroic abilities of the men. The video ended by bring up the Persians from the East becoming a threat to Athens.