G REEK A GE Section 1 A RT OF THE G OLDEN

A RCHITECTURE AND A RT     The Athenians surrounded themselves with beauty.

400s B.C. – golden age of Greece Many public buildings Showed admiration of the human body

Victorious athlete from Bénévent Louvre The Discus Thrower by Myron

Greek vase painting

Vase painting depicting Greeks marching against Greeks, in the Peloponnesian War

T HE N ATURE OF G REEK A RT     Glorified human beings Symbolized the Greek’s pride in their city-states Expressed Greek beliefs in harmony, balance, order, and moderation Expressed the Greek belief in combined beauty and usefulness Bronze statue of Poseidon from 450 BC in the National Museum of Athens

G REEK P HILOSOPHERS    Used observation and reason to find causes for what happened Explored many subjects (mathematics, music, logic , and rhetoric ) They questioned accepted traditions and ideas

S OCRATES     Most of what we know comes from his student Plato Lounged around the marketplace, asking his fellow citizens what they believed Used a series of questions (called the

Socratic Method

) to help people seek truth Was condemned to die by an Athenian jury, death by drinking hemlock

"The Death of Socrates" by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

S OCRATIC M ETHOD Who is most able to do good to his friends and harm to his enemies in a time of sickness?

Or when they are on a voyage, amid the perils of the sea?

a doctor

The sea captain.

      When a man is well, do you still need doctors?

Yes. And if you aren’t on a voyage do you still need ship captains?

Yes.

Then in time of peace do you still need laws ?

Of course.

See how Socrates proved his point by asking questions? Socrates asked the question as a way of summing up his argument. The only answer the other person could give, when examining the argument Socrates presented, was Yes.

P LATO      The execution of Socrates left Plato with a lifelong distrust of democracy He fled Athens Wrote The Republic, describing the ideal state He felt the state should govern every aspect of people’s lives Divided society into 3 classes (workers, soldiers, and philosophers) led by a philosopher king.

“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” --Plato “As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser.” --Plato

A RISTOTLE      Plato’s most famous student Analyzed all forms of government Set up a school, the Lyceum, for the study of all branches of knowledge 1,500 years later, the first European universities would rely heavily on Aristotle’s writings.

Taught Alexander the Great

Lyceum, the school of Aristotle

P OETRY AND D RAMA  Plays began as religious festivals     Performed in outdoor theaters Greek literature began with the epics of Homer Tragedy - plays that tell of human suffering, usually end in disaster Comedy customs – Humorous plays that mocked people or

Delphi Theater

The theater at Delphi is build further up the hill from the Temple of Apollo and it presented the seated audience with a spectacular view of the entire sanctuary below and the valley beyond. It was built in the 4th c. B.C. our of local Parnassus limestone and was remodeled several times subsequently.

Its 35 rows can accommodate around five thousand spectators who in ancient times enjoyed plays, poetry readings, and musical events during the various festivals that took place periodically at Delphi.

H ERODOTUS  Father of History   He went beyond listing names of rulers or retelling ancient legends Wrote about the Persian Wars T HUCYDIDES An Athenian, wrote about the Peloponnesian war, tried to give an accurate account.

A LEXANDER THE G REAT

T IMELINE   Alexander was born on 356 B.C. He was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympias, a princess of Epirus. His tutor was Aristotle, who trained him in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine and philosophy.

    United the Greek city-states after the death of his father, Philip of Macedon He was 20 when he became king Led conquests that formed an empire Considered one of the greatest military strategists of all time.

  Conquered Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia Traveled all the way to India

H ELLENISTIC CULTURE   Alexander encouraged a mix of cultures wherever he went, and married several foreign women himself His conquests led to a mix of Persian, Egyptian, and Greek culture

D EATH   On the afternoon of June 10–11, 323 BC, Alexander died of a mysterious illness in the palace of Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon. He was just one month shy of turning 33. Because he never named an heir, the Greek empire quickly disintegrated.