Download CHAPTER 5 • Section 3

CHAPTER 5 • Section 3
built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens, contained examples of Greek art that set standards for future generations of artists
around the world. Pericles entrusted much of the work on the Parthenon to the
sculptor Phidias (FIDH•ee•uhs). Within the temple, Phidias crafted a giant statue
of Athena that not only contained such precious materials as gold and ivory, but
also stood over 30 feet tall.
Phidias and other sculptors during this golden age aimed to create figures that
were graceful, strong, and perfectly formed. Their faces showed neither joy nor
anger, only serenity. Greek sculptors also tried to capture the grace of the idealized
human body in motion. They wanted to portray ideal beauty, not realism. Their values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion became the standard of what is
called classical art.
Drama and History
Drama and History
Critical Thinking
This poster
promotes an 1898
production of
Euripides’ Medea,
starring the great
French actress
Sarah Bernhardt.
▼
• How might Greek plays have been
expressions of civic pride? (Possible
Answers: by demonstrating Athenian
values such as justice and freedom of
speech; by showing off prosperity with
lavish productions)
• Do you think that Thucydides was right
in his assertion that history sometimes
repeats itself? Why or why not? (Yes—
Empires rise and fall; No—There are
always different people, situations, and
technologies.)
The Greeks invented drama as an art form and built the first theaters in the West.
Theatrical productions in Athens were both an expression of civic pride and a tribute to the gods. As part of their civic duty, wealthy citizens bore the cost of producing the plays. Actors used colorful costumes, masks, and sets to dramatize
stories. The plays were about leadership, justice, and the duties owed to the gods.
They often included a chorus that danced, sang, and recited poetry.
Tragedy and Comedy The Greeks wrote two kinds of drama—tragedy
and comedy. A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such
as love, hate, war, or betrayal. These dramas featured a main character, or
tragic hero. The hero usually was an important person and often gifted with
extraordinary abilities. A tragic flaw usually caused the hero’s downfall.
Often this flaw was hubris, or excessive pride.
In ancient times, Greece had three notable dramatists who wrote tragedies.
Aeschylus (EHS•kuh•luhs) wrote more than 80 plays. His most famous work
is the trilogy—a three-play series—Oresteia (ohr•res•TEE•uh). It is based
on the family of Agamemnon, the Mycenaean king who commanded
the Greeks at Troy. The plays examine the idea of justice. Sophocles
(SAHF•uh•kleez) wrote more than 100 plays, including the tragedies
Oedipus the King and Antigone. Euripides (yoo•RIP•uh•DEEZ), author of
the play Medea, often featured strong women in his works.
In contrast to Greek tragedies, a comedy contained scenes filled with
slapstick situations and crude humor. Playwrights often made fun
of politics and respected people and ideas of the time. Aristophanes
(AR•ih•STAHF•uh•neez) wrote the first great comedies for the stage,
including The Birds and Lysistrata. Lysistrata portrayed the women of
Athens forcing their husbands to end the Peloponnesian War. The fact that
Athenians could listen to criticism of themselves showed the freedom and
openness of public discussion that existed in democratic Athens.
More About . . .
Sophocles, Myth, and Psychiatry
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, believed that the myths explored
in Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King paralleled a tendency in child development.
He named this tendency the “Oedipus
complex,” after the play’s hero. The
Oedipus complex describes the feelings
of a child toward the parent of the opposite sex and hostile or jealous feelings
toward the parent of the same sex.
History As you learned earlier in this chapter, there are no written records
from the Dorian period. The epic poems of Homer recount stories, but are
not accurate recordings of what took place. Herodotus, a Greek who lived
in Athens for a time, pioneered the accurate reporting of events. His book on the
Persian Wars is considered the first work of history. However, the greatest historian
of the classical age was the Athenian Thucydides (thoo•SID•ih•DEEZ). He believed
that certain types of events and political situations recur over time. Studying those
events and situations, he felt, would aid in understanding the present. The
approaches Thucydides used in his work still guide historians today.
In-Depth Resources: Unit 2
• History Makers: Sophocles, p. 18
Contrasting
How did
tragedy differ from
comedy?
B. Possible Answer
Tragedy—serious
drama about common themes such
as love, hate, war,
and betrayal.
Comedy—slapstick
situations and
crude humor.
136 Chapter 5
DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION:
ENGLISH LEARNERS
Exploring Themes in Greek Drama
Class Time 20 minutes
Task Reviewing the major themes explored by Greek dramatists
Purpose To inspire students learning English to practice their writing skills
Instructions Have students reread the passages on Greek drama on
this page. Ask them to make a list, as they read, of the different themes
treated in Greek theater. These might include:
• leadership
• justice
• duties to the gods
• love and hate
• war
• betrayal
• humor
• self-criticism
136
Chapter 5
Tell students to choose three of these themes and to think about recent
television shows or movies that they have viewed that deal with similar
subject matter. For example, the movies in the Star Wars series deal with
war. When they have come up with one example for each theme, ask
them to write a paragraph that describes how that production explored the
theme. As a bonus question, ask students if they can identify any shows
or movies in which a leading character has a tragic flaw that causes his or
her downfall.
CHAPTER 5 • Section 3
Athenians and Spartans Go to War
As Athens grew in wealth, prestige, and power, other city-states began to view it
with hostility. Ill will was especially strong between Sparta and Athens. Many people thought that war between the two was inevitable. Instead of trying to avoid conflict, leaders in Athens and Sparta pressed for a war to begin, as both groups of
leaders believed their own city had the advantage. Eventually, Sparta declared war
on Athens in 431 B.C.
Athenians and Spartans Go
to War
Peloponnesian War When the Peloponnesian War between the two city-states
Analyzing Motives
What might
have been Pericles’
goals in the
Peloponnesian
War?
C. Possible
Answers to protect
the city’s trade in
grain and other raw
materials; to rid
Athens of its
Spartan enemy; to
continue to use
Delian League
funds; and to
spread the empire
by acquiring overseas colonies
Critical Thinking
began, Athens had the stronger navy. Sparta had the stronger army, and its location
inland meant that it could not easily be attacked by sea. Pericles’ strategy was to
avoid land battles with the Spartan army and wait for an opportunity to strike
Sparta and its allies from the sea.
Eventually, the Spartans marched into Athenian territory. They swept over the
countryside, burning the Athenian food supply. Pericles responded by bringing residents from the surrounding region inside the city walls. The city was safe from
hunger as long as ships could sail into port with supplies from Athenian colonies
and foreign states.
In the second year of the war, however, disaster struck Athens. A frightful plague
swept through the city, killing perhaps one-third of the population, including
Pericles. Although weakened, Athens continued to fight for several years. Then, in
421 B.C., the two sides, worn down by the war, signed a truce.
• Who held the advantage during the
Peloponnesian War? Explain.
(Possible Answer: Sparta, because
of its militarism and interior location)
• Why might the plague that struck
Athens in the second year of the war
have been so devastating? (Crowded
conditions allowed the disease to
spread quickly.)
In-Depth Resources: Unit 2
• Primary Source: Plague in Athens, p. 11
Sparta Gains Victory The peace did not last long. In 415 B.C., the Athenians sent
a huge fleet carrying more than 20,000 soldiers to the island of Sicily. Their plan
was to destroy the city-state of Syracuse, one of Sparta’s wealthiest allies. The
expedition ended with a crushing defeat in 413 B.C. In his study of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides recalled: “[The Athenians] were destroyed with a total
Electronic Library of Primary Sources
• “The Athenians and the Spartans”
42°N
16°E
Black
Sea
24°E
Peloponnesian War, 431–404 B.C.
Byzantium
THRACE
Adriatic
Sea
MACEDONIA
Amphipolis (422 B.C.)
Cyzicus
(410 B.C.)
Aegospotami (405 B.C.)
Spartalos (429 B.C.)
Cynossema (411 B.C.)
PERSIAN
EMPIRE
Aegean
Sea
Ionian
Sea
Arginusae Islands (406 B.C.)
GREECE
History from Visuals
Interpreting the Map
Have students use the map to create a
time line showing important battles of
the Peloponnesian War. Ask students why
such a significant number of battles
might have occurred across the Aegean
on the Ionian coast. (Possible Answers:
Pericles’ strategy involved sea battles;
much of Greece is coastline.)
IONIA
Thebes
Athenian victory
Spartan victory
Athens and allies
Sparta and allies
Neutral states
Sicily
Delium (424 B.C.)
Notium (407 B.C.)
Athens
SKILLBUILDER Answers
Ephesus
1. Location in Aegean coastal regions
Corinth
Miletus
2. Movement It allowed the Athenian
navy to acquire supplies from its
colonies and from foreign states.
Mantinea (418 B.C.)
Sparta
Syracuse (413 B.C.)
Sphacteria (425 B.C.)
Mediterranean Sea
100 Miles
0
GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Maps
0
1. Location Where were most of the allies of Athens located?
2. Movement Why was the sea important to Athens during
the Peloponnesian War?
In-Depth Resources: Unit 2
• Geography Application: The Peloponnesian
War, p. 9
200 Kilometers
Crete
137
Name
SKILLBUILDER PRACTICE:
ANALYZING MOTIVES
5
Section 3
Reasons for the Peloponnesian War
Task Examining the reasons Athens went to war
against Sparta
Purpose To relate these reasons to the goals of
Periclean Athens
Instructions Tell students that Athens’ motives for seeking
war with Sparta may have been rooted in Pericles’ three
goals. Have them answer the following questions.
1. How could the goal of strengthening democracy have
helped lead Athens into war? (Civic pride may have
convinced citizens of Athenian invincibility.)
B
2. How could war be used to strengthen Athens’ trade
empire? (The Athenian navy could conquer other ports
and prevent Athens’ enemies from trading with
other cities.)
3. How might war increase Athens’ prestige? (by making
Athens the region’s dominant military, economic, and
cultural power)
For more practice, have students complete the Skillbuilder
Practice activity for this section.
SKILLBUILDER PRACTICE
Analyzing Motives
When you analyze motives, you examine the reasons why a person, group, or
government took a particular action. These reasons can be rooted in the needs,
emotions, experiences, or goals of the person or group. The passage below is
from a funeral oration delivered by Pericles in honor of Athenian soldiers. As
you read, keep in mind Pericles’ goals for Athens—to strengthen Athenian
democracy, to hold and strengthen the empire, and to glorify Athens. Then
answer the questions that follow. (See Skillbuilder Handbook)
ut before I praise the dead, I should like
to point out by what principles of action we
rose to power, and under what institutions and
through what manner of life our empire became
great. . . .
Our form of government does not enter
into rivalry with the institutions of others. We do
not copy our neighbors, but are an example to
them.
It is true that we are called a democracy, for the
administration is in the hands of the many and
not of the few. . . .
And we have not forgotten to provide for
our weary spirits many relaxations from toil. . . .
Because of the greatness of our city the fruits of
the whole earth flow in upon us; so that we enjoy
the goods of other countries as freely as our own.
Then, again, our military training is in
many respects superior to that of our adversaries. . .
. And in the matter of education, whereas they
from early youth are always undergoing laborious
exercises which are to make them brave, we live at
ease, and yet are equally ready to face the perils
which they face. . . . [W]e can be as brave as those
who never allow themselves to rest; and thus too
our city is equally admirable in peace and in war.
from Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Benjamin Jowett.
1. The purpose of Pericles’ speech was to honor those who had died in the early
campaigns of the Peloponnesian War. What might have been his motives in
speaking first of how Athens became a great empire? ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.
Class Time 15 minutes
Date
CHAPTER
2. a. Why do you think Pericles referred to the Spartans without once mentioning
them by name? ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
b. What probably were Pericles’ motives in comparing Athens and Sparta? __________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How do you think Pericles’ goals for Athens affected the content and tone of
his funeral oration?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Classical Greece 7
In-Depth Resources: Unit 2
Teacher’s Edition
137