Download Golden Age of Athens

Ancient Greece:
Democracy and
Greece’s Golden Age
World History Core
Cultural Interaction
Democratic principles and classical culture
flourished during Greece’s golden age.
Why is it important today?!?!?
At its height, Greece set lasting standards in
art, politics, literature, and philosophy that are
still influential today.
Setting the Stage…….


For 50 years (477-431 BC) Athens grew
intellectually and artistically = Golden Age of Athens
Achievements in:
Drama
 Sculpture
& Architecture
 Poetry
 Philosophy
 Science
 Math

Pericles’ Plan for Athens



leader of Athens through Golden Age
461-429 BC, aka “Age of Pericles”
3 GOALS



(1) strengthen democracy
(2) hold and strengthen empire
(3) glorify Athens
GOAL 1: Strengthen Democracy



Increased # of paid public officials
Having paid officials meant even poor could
serve if elected or chosen by lot
Direct Democracy: form of government in
which citizens rule directly and not through
representatives
Important Question??????

How accurate do you think Pericles’
statement that Athenian democracy was in
the hands of the “whole people”?
Goal 2: Hold and Strengthen Empire
Delian League– Athens dominated all city-states in it
 Used $$$ from League to build up Athenian Navy
 Athens needed trade (waterways) to obtain grain
and raw materials to support the city-state
 Athens military strength=
Pericles treated members of
league as part of an empire
 Peloponnesus city-states
resisted (Ex. Sparta)

Goal 3: Glorify Athens



Used $$$ from League to undergo massive
building projects to make Athens beautiful
Convinced Assembly to buy gold, ivory, and
marble with funds
More $$$ was also needed to contract artists,
architects, and workers
Glorious Art and Architecture


Goal: Greatest Greek artists/architects to
glorify Athens
PARTHENON = center of his plans
Architecture and Sculpture:
Parthenon

Parthenon (temple)
23,000 sq foot building
in traditional Greek design
 Built to honor Athena
(Goddess of wisdom and
protector of Athens)
 Statue of Athena
inside 32 ft tall

Drama and History


Greeks invented drama as an art form and built
the 1st theaters
Civic Pride and Honor to Gods

Wealthy put on productions
Plays showed
leadership, justice,
and duties owed to Gods
http://www.thehistoryhub.com/theatre-of-dionysus-facts-pictures.htm
Tragedy
Serious drama about love, hate, war, and/or
betrayal
 Tragic hero: important figure and gifted with
extraordinary ability
 Tragic flaw: hero’s downfall (often pride)
 Sophocles: wrote over 100 plays, Oedipus
the King, 18 first prizes, 7 survived
 Aeschylus- won 13 first prizes, 7 plays
have survived

Comedy




Scenes with slapstick comedy and crude
humor
Made fun of politics and respected people
Satire: The use of humor, irony, exageration,
or ridicule to expose and criticize peoples
stupidity
Aristophanes: Lysistrata in which women of
Athens try to force their husbands to end the
Peloponnesian War
History


Recap: Dorian Age, no written records…had
works of Homer, but not considered accurate
Herodotus: a Greek, living in Athens,
pioneered accurate reporting


Book on Persian War = 1st history book
Thucydides: believed certain events and
political situations recur over time = important
to write events down
Important Question?????

Do you think that Thucydides was right in his
assertion that history sometimes repeats
itself??? YES OR NO…..
Athenians and Spartans Go to
WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Athens = power, prestige, and power = other
city-states hostility


SPARTA!!!
Sparta declared war in 431 BC
Important Question?????

What might have been Pericles’ goals in the
Peloponnesian War?
Peloponnesian War









Athens = Navy
Sparta = Army
Pericles’ Strategy: avoid land battles and wait for a sea
opportunity
Sparta marched into Athens territory
Pericles had no other choice but to bring people into city walls
City safe from hunger as long as ships could come into ports
2nd year of war PLAGUE outbreak in Athens, killing 1/3rd of
population and PERICLES!!!
Athens still continued to fight for several years
421 BC signed a truce (worn out by war)
Sparta Gains VICTORY!

Peace did not last, 415 BC Athens sent fleet
to Syracuse (Sicily) to destroy them, one of
the greatest allies of Sparta



Ended in crushing defeat in 413 BC
Athens, weak and few, continued to fight for
nine more years
404 BC Athenians surrendered

Lost empire, power, and wealth
Philosophers Search for
TRUTH!

After war = time of doubt and uncertainty =
rise of great thinkers

Determined to seek truth…
Complete the reading for the
Persian and Peloponnesian
Wars and then answer the
questions that follow.
Philosophers = “lovers of wisdom”
 Based philosophy on 2 assumptions:
 (1) The universe is put together in an orderly
way, subject to absolute and unchanging
laws
 (2) Understand laws through logic and
wisdom
Socrates


Absolute standards did exist for truth and justice
Question yourself and moral character

“The unexamined life is not worth living”
399 BC, age 60, trial for “corrupting youth of Athens”
and “neglecting the city’s Gods”
 His defense: teachings good for Athens, because
forced people to think about their actions and values
 Condemned to death, drinking
hemlock

Socratic Method

Form of cooperative argumentative dialogue
between individuals, based on asking and
answering questions to stimulate critical
thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying
presumptions.
Plato


Student of Socrates
370 BC wrote The Republic, set forth vision
of a perfectly governed society


Not democracy
All citizens fall naturally into 3 groups




(1) farmers and artisans
(2) warriors
(3) ruling class
Person with greatest insight and intellect from
ruling class would be chosen as philosopher-king
Aristotle





Student of Plato
Questioned nature of world and of human
belief, thought, and knowledge
Invented method of arguing according to
rules of logic
Invented basis of scientific method used
today
Famous pupil Alexander the Great (more
information to follow….)
Alexander the Great
Socrates
Raphael
Plato
Aristotle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F5qlu3n
SDY
Science
Archimedes
 Archimedes screw

War Machines (mainly used to defend his
home city-state Syracuse)
Science
Hippocrates
 Father of medicine
 Did not condone use of leeching (encouraged
exercise)
 Doctors and nurses have to take Hippocratic
oath (will not purposefully hurt patients, will
do their best to help)
Math
Euclid
Father of Geometry
 Pythagoras
Pythagorean Theorem- states that the square
of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right
angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the
other two sides.
