Download WHAT MADE THE 5TH CENTURY THE GOLDEN AGE

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.
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PHILOSOPHY- study of how people think about the world.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Zeno-the Mr. Spock of ancient Greece. Only logic should be used and emotion
should never enter the picture.
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SCIENCE
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MEDICINE
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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
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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.
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ENTERTAINMENT (DRAMA)-
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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.
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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?
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SPORTS (THE OLYMPICS)-
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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.