Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
WHAT MADE THE 5TH CENTURY THE GOLDEN AGE? What happened that made Athens the place where spectacular progress was made? Democracy in Athens allowed all citizens to feel as if they were a part of this city-state and that each of their contributions made things better. So here are some of the things that have become gifts from Ancient Greece. PHILOSOPHY- study of how people think about the world. o Socrates had at one time been the perfect Athenian citizen. He had served in the Peloponnesian wars and had been recognized for his heroic service. He was educated and till the time of Pericles’s death had been the darling of every symposia (dinner party). As the Peloponnesian War dragged on, Socrates began to see Athenian rights slipping away. The decisions of Athens were irrational and he began to question the decisions of its leaders. Could there be peace with honor, or peace itself? There was no compromise with Sparta. The Athenians were sure they did not need allies. So Socrates began to question how wise these leaders were and for that matter, what was wisdom? How do we know if someone is wise? This line of questioning started Socratic Method or questioning what was really going on in life. Was it real or perceived? He said such things as “an unexamined live is not worth living” and “Eat to live, not live to eat”. He was considered dangerous to the young because he encouraged them to think for themselves. He was also accused of showing disrespect for the gods. He was given a choice by democratic Athens of not discussing his ideas (no freedom of speech), ostracism or death. Socrates chose death by drinking hemlock. He refused to leave the city that he had loved all his life, and knew that he was doing only what all Athenians had loved and fought for at one point....he was practicing being free and part of a democracy. So in 399 BCE, Socrates was executed. Several years later, Athenians decided that they had made a mistake and erected a statue to Socrates. o Plato-student of Socrates. Wrote down the words of Socrates. Invented political science or the study of government. He invented what he thought would be a perfect government. His most famous book was called “The Republic” in which people would be chosen for their positions in life by ability. He did not like Athenian democracy and thought that lower classes were too stupid to take part in government. He also wrote a book about the lost continent of Atlantis which started a search that lasts even today. He also opened a school that remained open for several hundred years named the Academy. o Aristotle- Student of Plato. He wrote over 200 books on everything from Astronomy to Political Science. He started a school called the Lyceum, and taught the Golden Mean (or everything in moderation). Invented scientific method. He also invented syllogism. A syllogism is a three step scientific conclusion in which person says something like this: Dolphins have live births and feed baby with mother's milk. Mammals have live births and feed baby with mother's milk. Therefore dolphins are mammals. Also, Aristotle was the first to classify animals. Aristotle influenced scientific knowledge until the 15th century AD. Tutor of Alexander the Great. o Zeno-the Mr. Spock of ancient Greece. Only logic should be used and emotion should never enter the picture. o SCIENCE o MEDICINE o Archimedes- discovered law of physics that eventually led to accurate bombing with weapons and locks (as in the Panama Canal) Hippocrates- the father of modern medicine. Invented the Hippocratic Oath that says that doctors must look after the good of the patient. DEMOCRACY o - Athens had the first-the first time in history that people have a say in their government. Women in most of the city states had little rights. LITERATUREThe first epic poetry was written. The Iliad and Odyssey are famous classics even today. ENTERTAINMENT (DRAMA)- HISTORY Theatre was invented as part of a religious festival. A chorus told the story. Then one writer began to write lives for individuals to say and the chorus would answer back. Very soon, the stories were no longer about religious issues, but were stories called tragedies or stories that did not have a happy ending. All the actors (males) played both male and female parts, and used megaphones to project their voices. Later, in the 5th century BCE, there were two kinds of plays; tragedy tells of a main character with a tragic flaw or a quality of life that if the person does not change, it will kill him. There is a few times in a well written tragedy that there is comic relief which is a comic line or action. Stephen Spielberg, and George Lucas follow the Greek formula. The other type of play is a comedy which usually makes fun of someone or something in everyday life. o Herodotus-called the father of history, because he wrote the first known book to tell strictly history. ART AND ARCHITECTUREo Arête was used here. Statues and buildings were perfect in every way and are copied. Most of Washington DC is copied from Greek architecture. Below are examples of Greek columns used in much of their architecture: Venus de Milo- the perfect woman- a size 14? . SPORTS (THE OLYMPICS)- LANGUAGE- Again. a religious festival to honor Zeus. The games were played totally in the nude and were only for men. A woman could be executed if she tried to participate. All warfare stopped when it was time for the Olympics. Their performance and bodies had to be perfect to honor the gods. Greek has worked its way everywhere throughout history. In Jesus time, the Torah was written in Greek because Greek was the language that most educated people spoke. Scholars would only read and write in Greek and Latin. Our founding fathers read ancient Greek and Latin before they wrote the Declaration of Independence.