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World History
Chapter Four
Section four
Greek Philosophers
• Challenged belief that everything was caused
by the gods
• Philosophers – lovers of wisdom
• Used observation and tried to find causes for
events
• By using reason and observation we could
discover the laws of the universe
Morality and Ethics
• What is the best kind of government? What standards
should rule human behavior?
• Sophists – questioned accepted ideas – not really
philosophers – taught subjects in demand
• First to charge for their teachings – looked at as a disgrace
for doing so
• Developed the art of rhetoric – skillful speaking
• Believed they could make a person think black was white
• If you learned how to use rhetoric effectively one could
advance their status or career
• Some followed the Sophists and others accused them of
ruining Greek values – would argue for the sake of arguing
Socrates
• Philosopher
• Was a critic of the Sophists
• Wrote no books – spent his time talking to people
about their beliefs
• Used the “Socratic Method” – asking a series of
questions to lead a person to an answer
• Helped people seek truth and self knowledge
• Many people saw him as challenging the Greek
ways of life
Death of Socrates
• At age 70 he was put on trial for corrupting
the youth of Athens and not respecting the
gods
• Jury of 501 people
• Defended himself but the jury found him
guilty and sentenced him to death
• He was loyal to Athens and drank a cup of
poison hemlock to kill himself
Plato
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Plato – philosopher and student of Socrates
Set up a school in Athens called the Academy
He taught his own ideas there
Emphasized reason and believed that through
rational thoughts we could realize ethical
values, see perfect beauty and learn how to
best organize society
• Wrote The Republic – describes ideal state
Plato
• Rejected Athenian democracy because it
condemned his teacher, Socrates
• Believed the state should respect a citizens
rights
• Ideal society in three classes:
1.Workers – produce necessities
2.Soldiers – defend state
3.Philosophers – to rule the state
Plato
• The wisest philosopher-king would rule the state
and have ultimate authority
• Believed that for the most part men were
superior to women in both mental and physical
tasks – but some women were superior to men
• These women he thought should be educated
and serve the state
• Both men and women would have military
training and raise their children in a communal
center – for the good of the republic
Aristotle
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Philosopher and student of Plato
Tutored Alexander the Great
Developed own ideas about government
Analyzed all governments that existed at the
time and found good parts of each
• Thought democracy could lead to mob rule so
he favored rule by one single person – they
had to be smart and virtuous
Aristotle
• The “golden mean” – how people ought to live
– a moderate course between two extremes
• Reason should be the guiding force in our lives
• Set up his own school, the Lyceum in which all
subjects were studied
• The first universities were based on Aristotle's
ideas and the Lyceum
Architecture
• Balance, harmony and order
• Parthenon – temple dedicated to Athena
exemplifies the above qualities
• Early Greek styles copied Egyptian style of
rigid figures – as time went on they developed
their own style and created more life-like and
idealistic figures
• Only Greek paintings are on pottery – portray
Greek life – war, daily chores, athletics
Literature
• Included Homer and Iliad
• Tragic Drama – plays – first created for
religious worship of goddess Dionysus
• Performed outside with little scenery
• Actors wore elaborate costumes
• Chorus chanted or sang to go along with what
was on stage
Plays
• Greatest Athenian playwrights – Aeschylus,
Sophocles and Euripides
• All wrote tragedies – human suffering normally
ending with disaster
• Purpose of a tragedy was to stir up emotions of
pity and fear
• Comedies – humorous plays that mocked people
and their customs
• Aristophanes – wrote most of the surviving Greek
comedies we have today – much like today's
political cartoons
Historians
• Herodotus – “father of history” –
• went beyond just reporting names and dates –
he actively went to collect information from
people who remembered events to get an
accurate portrayal of what happened
• He noted bias and conflicting accounts in his
works
• His writings did show a bias of hatred of the
Persians
Historians
• Thucydides – wrote about the Peloponnesian
War
• He lived through the war and described it
thoroughly describing how brutal and violent it
was
• He was Athenian but tried to be non-biased in his
writings
• Herodotus showed how research was important
and Thucydides showed the importance of bias