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Greece Intro – The tradition of Greece is often the first in which Westerner’s feel they can recognize themselves. They were the first to place human beings at the center of the universe. Other civilizations focused on deities and godlike rulers – Greeks no longer saw mortals as the inconsequential objects of divine whim. Men and women assumed some importance in the scheme of things – they had some control over their own destinies and some moral responsibility for their actions. Greek poetry, sculpture and architecture became the standard against which later works were judged. The Western tradition has inherited many of its political forms and practices, its views on human behavior, its insistence on philosophical rigor and its approach to scientific inquiry. The Greeks laid the foundation of Western civilization. The Hellenic Civilization made 3 long lasting contributions to western civilization. (pg. 82) 1. Democracy 2. Humanism – humanistic learning – lit, phil, theater, music, arts 3. A skeptical spirit – Passion for questioning for inquiry Greek Civilization The Hellenic Age 479 BC to 323 BC 1st stage of classical civilization The Greek world - several hundred city-states Athens was the cultural center – dominated the Hellenic Age Increasing urban lifestyle Greek gods – Mt. Olympus Government City-states – had many commonalities: language, ancestry, history and Homer yet never were politically united. Athens functioned as a democracy – no other poleis did. The culture that flourished in Greece was know as Classic or Classical First, best…. Greek culture was the highest moment in the entire history of the humanities. Permanent and recognized significance the classics are the works that have survived from Greece and Rome. Classicism – Specific principles impressed through the art and literature of Greece and Rome Emphasized simplicity over complexity, balance/symmetry over asymmetry, restraint/excess At the heart of this movement: the search for perfection for the ideal form. Theater The Tragedy Dramatic form that reached a state of perfection during this time. “Tragedy” in Greek means “goat song” – may relate to prehistoric religions ceremonies in which competing male choruses sang and danced while intoxicated – in homage to the god of wine. Thespis (whose name we get “thespian” or actor) introduced an actor with whom the chorus could interact. Theater was born. By 5th century BC the chorus achieved its classical function as mediator between actors and audience. By 4th century BC – actor became the focus of the drama and the chorus’s importance declined. The chorus performed in a circular area called an orchestra or “dancing place” in the center of which was a functioning altar – serving as a reminder that tragedy was a religious right. The realistic setting not important – ideas and language were. All men wore masks, platform shoes, robes = otherworldly quality. The essence of Greek tragedy – the belief that mortals cannot escape pain and sorrow. The plots dealt with fundamental human issues with no easy solutions – such as the decrees of the state vs. the conscious of the individual; or divine law vs. human law. Humans were forced to make hard choices without being able to foresee the consequences of their decisions. All tragedies had 3 parts with a 4th satire. Aristotle felt that the purpose of tragedy was to work a cathartic or purging effect the audience, to arouse pity and terror so that these negative emotions could be drained from the soul. The tragic heroes were warnings, not models. Plato Republic 4th century BC Aeschylus earliest Sophocles 496-406 BC Oedipus Rex (429 BC) and Antigone (442 BC). Wrote 125 plays only 7 survive. Euripides 480-406 BC Aristophanes Lysistrata – Captured the antiwar spirit and bawdy humor. The women of Athens and Sparta withheld sex from their husbands until they signed a peace treaty. Pre-Socratics Natural The Sophists Philosophy The Socratic Revolution Plato/Platonism Aristotle Pre-Socratics (515 BC - ??) Concerned with determining the nature of the physical world. Debated over materialism and idealism Atomists: another school of thought in the Pre Socratic thinkers – believed that everything was composed of atoms – eternal, invisible bodies of varying size that could not be divided into smaller units. Sufficient to explain every aspect of the physical world – feelings, tastes, sight, ideas, etc. (movement and shape of atoms) The Sophists From the Greek word “Sophia” meaning wisdom. Scorned Pre-Socratic speculation @ atoms and elements as irrelevant and useless. Focused on humanistic values/practical skills such as public speaking and logic. “Man is the measure of all things.” Humans, as the center of the universe, have the power to make judgments about themselves and their world. They helped free the human spirit to be critical and creative. But this ideal caused problems – undermined the traditional Greek views that the gods controlled everything. The Socratic Revolution (470-399 BC) Socrates launched a new era in philosophy. What separated Socrates from the Sophists was his passionate conviction that an enduring moral and intellectual order existed in the universe. His method at arriving at true moral and intellectual values is known as the Socratic Method. He asked step-by-step questions – compelling his students to begin a quest for knowledge in light of their confused ignorance. He believed the psyche (mind/soul) was more important than the mortal and doomed body. Those who want wisdom must protect the psyche by giving their minds the maximum amount of knowledge through stimulating conversations and debates (Socratic Method). “Virtue is knowledge” – A person who knows the truth, acquired through personal struggle to self-enlightenment, will not commit evil deeds. Those who do wrong do so out of ignorance. The Athenians of this era began to perceive Socrates as a threat to their way of life. Tried Socrates by a jury – found him guilty of impiety and corrupting the Athenian youth – sentenced to die. Plato 427-347 BC One of Socrates students. Through his dialogues we have learned most of what we know about Socrates. Plato’s philosophy is the fountainhead of Western idealism. Idealism: a thought system that emphasizes spiritual values, and makes ideas rather then matter the basis of everything that exists. Plato favorer the invisible world of the Forms, or Ideas, in opposition to the physical world. The psyche’s true home was the world of the Forms, which it inhabited before birth and after death – the time when the psyche was lost in wonder among the eternal Ideas. In contrast, the body lived exclusively in the material world, completely absorbed by the life of the senses. Once trapped inside the body, the psyche could glimpse the higher reality, or Forms, only through remembrance. He thought a set of mental exercises the psyche would be able to recall the Ideas to which it had once been exposed. The best training for the psyche was the study of math, since math required signs and symbols to represent other things. One major implication of Plato’s idealism is that the psyche and the body were constantly at war. The psyche’s attempts to remember the lost Ideas meet resistance from the body’s pursuit of power, fame, and physical comforts – Dualism. At death the psyche would return to the world of the Forms. Plato – emphasis on mathematic/forms Aristotle 384-322 BC (focused on biology/nature) Had the most comprehensive mind of the ancient world. Studied everything but math and science. Studied philosophy under Plato. Opened the school, the Lyceum (walking or strolling school) that rivaled Plato’s Academy. Aristotle felt the only world was the natural world (as opposed to Plato’s psyche/ideals) No separate invisible realm of Ideas existed. Nature could be studied and understood by observation, classification, and comparison of data – the empirical method. He rejected Plato’s forms – felt that form and matter were inseparable; both were rooted in nature. His belief: potential evolving into its final form/its purpose. Thus he concluded that everything had a purpose and end. To achieve happiness, he advised striking a mean or a balance between extremes of behavior Example: Foolhardiness Courage /\ Cowardice Thought the best form of government was a constitutional regime ruled by the middle class. He felt that the middle class (mean) would excite neither envy from the poor nor contempt from the wealthy. They would honor and work for the good of all. His influence on Western Civilization is immeasurable. His writings formed the core of knowledge that Christian scholars later studied as they struggled to keep the light of civilization burning after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Jewish and Moslem thinkers ranked his books just below their own religious scriptures. Today Aristotelianism is embedded in the official theology of the Roman Catholic Church. Architecture The temple was the supreme architectural achievement of the Greeks Apollo’s Shrine at Delphi (fig 3.13) Delphi thought to be the center of the earth was hallowed ground to the entire Greek world. Inside was Apollo’s oracle – the only woman permitted at Delphi – to whom people journeyed from all over Greece with their questions. The Parthenon (fig 3.15) pg. 73 Eastern- style Doric Temple on Athens’s Acropolis dedicated to Athena. Established a new standard of classicism with 8 columns on the ends and 17 on the sides. Early eastern style architecture influenced by the Pythagorean quest for harmony through mathematical rules. Eastern style builders had standardized 6 as the perfect number of columns for the ends of temples and 13 (twice 6 plus 1) as the perfect number of columns for the sides. Balanced, harmonious, restrained. Sculpture Hermes with the infant Dionysus fig 3.26 pg 81 Poseidon (or Zeus) fig 3.21 pg 78 Doryphoros fig 3.22 pg 79 Both exemplify the classical ideal of balanced repose. Musculature Praxitelean curve – a mimic of the contrapposto poise. Shows more natural pose – places the body’s weight on one leg and uses the other leg as support. This posture along with the mastery of the representation of the musculature helped to make the classical revolution. Greece – The Hellenistic Age 323 – 146 BC Dominated by large metropolitan centers linked by trade and commerce. More radically mixed and ethnically varied (called Hellenistic because of the role Greece played in its development) More eclectic: Several key motifs grew from oriental roots: 1. the concept of a ruler who is also divine 2. New religious cults that promised immortality 3. The aesthetic ideal that identifies grandiosity with earthly majesty. Alexander dreamed of a world community united by a common leader – multiracial and multicultural (i.e. the USA) Hellenistic kingdoms replaced the Hellenic poleis. Period reflected a growing cosmopolitanism. The economic order rested on specialized luxury crafts and professional occupations, international trade and banking and an abundance of cheap supply of slaves. Class divisions were pronounced. For the rich: life was luxurious Middle Class: trades people, skilled artisans – struggled. Poorest Free Class: laborers, unskilled workers, small land owners, life offered little. Slaves: expected to bear the brunt of all hard labor Philosophy in the Hellenistic Age Cynicism Skepticism Epicureanism Stoicism Cynicism – had least impact. Denounced all religions and governments, shunned physical comfort Skepticism – argued that nothing could be known for certain – felt the senses were unreliable sources of knowledge. Epicureanism – Began with Epicurus who started a school in Athens where pupils (including women and slaves) would gather to discuss ideas. The best way to keep one’s wants simple and thus achieve happiness was to abstain from sex and instead focus on friendship. Felt senses offered accurate view of physical world. Saw universe (like others) determined by the behavior of atoms moving in empty space. But he argued that because atoms on occasion swerved from their set paths, and made unpredictable deviations, it was possible for humans to make free choices. Also advocate of freedom of fear – fear of gods, death, the hereafter. Thought that the gods existed, but felt they did not care about human beings. Hellenistic World – Legacy Athens and its culture achieved the status of an inspiring model to be honored and emulated. Set a basis for all of history of the Western World. But Had no interest in democracy Nor did the kings of this time want to further humanism (art, literature, poetry, speech, philosophy) the kings felt these aspirations were irrelevant to their imperial goals or were subversive of (went against) them and their goals. The great cultural centers – Alexandria and Pergamum – with their libraries, poets, scientists, artists, schools of philosophy, marble buildings and monuments were thought to be politically useful for the rulers. Use of propaganda only – not the development and celebration of humanity. Hellenistic sculptured architecture – more life-like and realistic – expressed emotion and individualism. Female nudity 1st introduced. Still today. Rome adopted and modified the Greek temples. Used them as a standard. Schools of Philosophy Stoicism – Advocating a restrained way of life – being tolerant of others – resignation to disappointment. Epicureanism – Highest goals – development of mind and no demands Skepticism – Nothing can be known for certain Cynicism – Denounced society and its institutions as artificial Stoicism was the most popular Hellenistic philosophy that appealed to many Romans and had an impact on early Christian thought.