Download Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece
-Key Concepts-
I. Prehistoric Beginnings
• The Myceneans and
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•
the Minoans
Heinrich Schliemann’s
Discoveries
--Ancient Troy (1870)
--Mycenae (1876)
Arthur Evans
Uncovers Knossos
(1899)
A. Minoan Civilization
• Society at its peak
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•
between 2000-1500 BCE
Harmonious and peaceful
society
--first known flush toilet
Minoan civilization closely
interrelated to Mycenean
civilization
Minoan government
A. Minoan Civilization (cont)
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Minoan Social Classes
Treatment of Women
Minoan Entertainment
A Gift for Inventions
and Engineering
Minoan Religion
Minoan Art
B. Mycenaean Civilization
• Emergence of Mycenean
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Civilization
Mycenean Conquest of the
Minoans
The Fall of Mycenean
Civilization
--Dorians
Mycenean Culture and
Government
-- “wanax”
A culture geared toward war
Mycenean Art
C. Influence and Significance of
Early Greek Civilization
• Minor impact on later Greek
life and culture
• Cultural slate “wiped clean” by
Dark Ages (1200-750 BCE)
• Great wave of immigration
during this era all over the
Aegean and along western
coast of Asia Minor
• Still, significant contributions:
--earliest European civilizations
--progressive Minoan art
--Minoans: worldly and
innovative
II. The “Dark Ages” (1200-750
BCE)
• “Dark Ages” in the Near
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•
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East were shorter, ending
around 900 BCE
Homer provides some
glimpses
Simple political patterns
Emergence of an
aristocracy exerting
influence over society
II. The “Dark Ages” (cont)
• Social Life during the
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“Dark Ages”
Purpose of Early Greek
Religion
Anthropomorphic Greek
gods
Greek indifference to an
afterlife
The role of arete or
“excellence” in early
Greek thought
III. Early Greek Literature and the
Greek Alphabet
• Development of the
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•
•
Greek alphabet
Benefits of the Greek
alphabet
Homer’s Iliad
--Achilles and the Trojan
Wars
Homer’s Odyssey
--Odysseus and Penelope
III. Early Greek Literature (cont)
• Lessons of Homer’s Epics
• Women as well as men
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•
•
pursued excellence
Homer’s depiction of the
gods
Arete and the Birth of the
Olympic Games (776
BCE)
Centrality of religion for
communal activity
III. Early Greek Literature (cont)
• Hesiod and the theme of
•
•
justice
-- Works and Days
Solon and the theme of
moderation
6th Century BCE Lyric
Poetry
--Sappho from the island
of Lesbos
--Archilocus the sailor
IV. Greek Geography
• Mountains and islands
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•
created isolation
Blessed with lots of good
harbors
Isolation led to political
disunity
Intimate size of Greek
city-states
Most plentiful natural
resources
V. Early Political History and
Colonization
• The Emergence of the
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City-State (“Polis”)
--Athens, Sparta and
Thebes
Importance of access to
the sea in trading
internationally
Role of the gods in sea
travel
The prosperity of Corinth
Origins of Greek
colonization movement
V. Early Political History (cont)
• Reasons for Greek
•
•
colonization between
735-600 BCE
The Pattern of Greek
colonization
-- “metropolis”
-- oikist
Interaction with local
inhabitants
--1500 city-states
stretching from modern
Spain to Asia Minor (550)
V. Early Political History (cont)
• Influence of other
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•
cultures through trade on
Greek culture
Evolution of Greek citystate government
--phalanxes
Difference between
ancient Greek political
system and current
American system
V. Early Political History (cont)
• The concept of Greek
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•
citizenship
--ethnos (“league”)
--metics
Extension of some
political rights to the
poor
Humanistic approach
to politics
VI. The Centrality of the Greek
Polis
• The basic political unit
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was the polis
The center of the polis
was the acropolis
The Greek agora or
marketplace
--Athen’s Painted Stoa
Most Greeks were
farmers
Some small-scale
craftsmen
VI. The Centrality of the Greek
Polis (cont)
• Intimacy was a key
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feature of polis life
Polis laws and
government varied
The simplicity of the
Greek lifestyle
Layout of Greek homes
--men’s dining room
--women’s room for
working wool
--courtyard
Furniture and clothing
VI. The Centrality of the Greek
Polis (cont)
• Greek Dietary Habits
• The nature of Greek
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slavery
Duties of Greek slaves
Sources of slaves
Treatment of slaves
Leisure and sociability of
Greek life
Greeks were very
religious people
Individual defined by
place within the polis
VII. The Armed Camp of Sparta
• Spartan militarism forged
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out of treatment of their
neighbors
--Messenian Revolt (650
BCE)
Spartan governmental
system
--ephors (overseers)
The equality of Spartan
citizens— “Equals”
VII. Ancient Sparta (cont)
• Treatment of Helots
• The training of Spartan
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•
boys
The role of women in
Sparta
The “common mess” of
Spartan men
Spartan attitudes toward
materialism
Spartan military posture
was isolationist and
defensive
VIII. The Athenian Political
Partnership
• The legend of Theseus
• Athens evolved in a
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different direction than
Sparta
Hereditary aristocracy
ruled from 750-600 BCE
--Draco’s Laws (610 BCE)
Emergency powers given
to Solon (594 BCE)
Solon introduces
democratic principles
VIII. Athenian Political Partnership
(cont)
• The tyranny of Pisistratus
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(546 BCE)
The overthrow of the
tyranny of Hippias (510
BCE)
Lasting stability
introduced by Cleisthenes
(507 BCE)
All Attica divided into 10
regions— “demes”
VIII. Athenian Political Partnership
(cont)
• Basic components of
•
Athenian political
system:
--Assembly
--Athenian Council
--magistrates
--generals
The institution of
“ostracism”
VIII. Athenian Political Partnership
(cont)
• Athenian democracy was
•
•
never truly democratic,
but close
Problems with the
system:
--undue influence of
persuasive speech
--continuity of experience
of officeholders
Reason-focused,
humanistic foundation for
Athenian political system
IX. Greek Military History
The golden age of Greece is set
between two wars like giant
bookends.
A. The Persian Wars
• Initial Athenian contact
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with Persia
Athenian assistance to
Ionian Greeks
Two Persian campaigns:
490 and 480-479 BCE
The Battle of Marathon
(490 BCE)
Xerxes’ invasion of
Northern Greece (480)
A. The Persian Wars (cont)
• The burning of Athens
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and Spartan resistance at
the Pass of Thermopylae
The naval battle of
Salamis (479 BCE)
Significance of victory
over the Persians
Victory released a
tremendous surge of
confidence and optimism
in human potential
B. Growth of the Athenian Empire
(478-431 BCE)
• Glorious war followed by
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inglorious era
Establishment of the
Delian League
--triremes
Growing Athenian abuse
of the Delian League
Spartan creation of the
Peloponnesian League
B. Growth of Athenian Empire
(cont)
• Rich Athenians
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exploited the Delian
League
Evolution of the
Athenian Jury System
The political
leadership of Pericles
Aggressive foreign
policy against Sparta
C. The Peloponnesian War (431404 BCE)
• Origins of the War
• Athenian military strategy
• Problems with this
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•
strategy
Faltering Athenian
religious confidence
Deteriorating political
leadership in Athens
--Cleon’s capture of 120
Spartan “Equals” (425)
C. Peloponnesian War (cont)
• Changing Spartan Military
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Strategy
--Athenian siege of Melos
(416 BCE)
--Betrayal of General
Alcibiades
Athenian surrender and
aftermath
--Rule of the Thirty
Tyrants
Continuing strife between
Greek city-states
X. Women and Slaves in the Daily
Life of Ancient Athens
• Discrimination against
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women: seclusion
Special privileges for
priestesses and
courtesans
--Aspasia
Ancient Greek marriage
Life expectancy and daily
duties of women
Property rights of
Athenian women
X. Women and Slaves in Athens
(cont)
• Sexual bias against
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women
Legendary bias against
women
--Pandora’s box
The importance of
bearing male children
The role of Athenian
slavery—small-scale but
crucial to the
development of Athenian
culture
XI. Early Greek Philosophy
Phileo = “To love”
Sophia = “Wisdom”
A. Ionian Cosmologists (or PreSocratics)
• Studied the workings of
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the physical universe
apart from a religious
context
--Thales
Nature is not governed by
chance or manipulated by
the gods—nature is
orderly
Importance of human
reason
A. Ionian Cosmologists (cont)
• All things could be
reduced to a primary
substance
--concept of
“metaphysics”
--Thales: water
--Democritus: primal
matter (atoms)
A. Ionian Cosmologists (cont)
• Used general concepts
crucial to abstract
thought
--Anaximander: notion of
“boundless” and evolution
--Pythagoras: numbers
explain natural world
--Parmenides: reality
known solely through the
mind, not the senses
B. The Sophists
• Professional teachers
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offering worldly
wisdom and lessons
in persuasion
The importance of
oral culture in Athens
The training of
Athenian youth
--Symposium
B. The Sophists (cont)
• Humanistic and
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relativistic teaching of
Protagoras
-- “Man is the measure of
all things”
--no absolute truths
Impact of such teaching
Conservative criticism of
the Sophists
Fear that Sophist
teaching would offend the
gods
C. Socrates
• His life and background
• Human beings and
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•
society were the essential
subjects of philosophical
inquiry
Did believe in universal
values and absolute good
His method of teaching
was continuous
questioning
C. Socrates (cont)
• New Direction in Greek
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philosophy: Ethics
An emphasis on critical
self-examination
Charges brought against
Socrates by a democratic
faction
The trial of Socrates
The execution of Socrates
XII. Greek Religion in the Classical
Period
• Concept of reciprocity
• Divine punishment of
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humans
--miasma
The nature of the gods
No uniform Greek faith or
creed
Priests, priestesses and
religious observances
XII. Greek Religion in the Classical
Period (cont)
• The nature of a
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•
religious sacrifice
The role of hero cults
--Hercules
The Cult of Demeter
and the “Mysteries” of
Eleusis
XIII. Greek History
• “historia” =
•
humanistic inquiry
Herodotus—the
Father of History
--Father of
anthropology as well
--chronicled the
Persian Wars
XIII. Greek History (cont)
• Thucydides and the
Peloponnesian War
--scrutinized the reliability
of sources
--sought underlying
principles of history;
moralistic writing
--Athenian hubris led to
Peloponnesian War
--humanistic explanation
for historical events
XIV. Greek Medicine
• Hippocrates = Father of
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Scientific Medicine
Four “humors” (fluids) in
the human body: blood,
phlegm, black bile and
yellow bile
Physician should base his
knowledge on careful
observation of patients
and their response to
remedies
XV. Greek Art and Architecture
During the Golden Age
• “Black Figure” Vases and
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jugs
Athenian sculptors took
human greatness as their
main theme
Well-proportioned,
naturalistic human nudes
appear early in the 5th
century BCE
Sculptors and tragedians
both depicting “universal
man”
XV. Greek Art and Architecture
During the Golden Age (cont)
• Aristocrats commission
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public statuary
Popularity of bronze as a
medium for sculptors
--Myron’s Discus Thrower
Motion and energy in
Greek statuary reflected
the possibility of change
and instability in classical
Greek times
XV. Greek Art and Architecture
During the Golden Age (cont)
• The Athenian Parthenon
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(447-438 BCE)
Difference from Egyptian
and Near Eastern temples
A new depiction of
Athena
Not a gathering place for
worshippers
Size and appearance of
the building
An Ionic Frieze is used on
a Doric-style Temple
XVI. Classical Greek Drama
• Emergence of the Tragic
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Drama (500 BCE)
Athenian dramatic
competitions
--protagonists
The role of the chorus
and special effects
Tragedies were very
humanistic
The universal law of fate
and the role of rational
reflection
XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont)
• The theatrical production
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•
--Thespis = first single
actor
Ideal plot inspired pity or
fear leading to a
“catharsis” or cleansing
for the audience
--Sophocles’ Antigone
Plays frequently featured
women as central, active
figures
XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont)
• Aeschylus and
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patriotic dramas
--The Persians
Sophocles and the
problems of the
human condition—
moderation also a key
--Oedipus Rex
XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont)
• The innovations of Euripides
--Medea and Electra
--most psychological of
classical Greek tragedians
• Aristophanes and classical
Greek comedies
--The Clouds
--Lysistrata
--Birds (414 BCE)
• State sponsorship of Greek
comedies with no censorship
XVII. The Significance of Greek
Athletics
• Origins of the Olympic
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Games
Importance of
sportsmanship at the
games
Individual, not national
competition and the
nature of training
Classical Greek Olympic
Events
XVII. Greek Athletics (cont)
• Determining a winner
• Prizes for victors and the
keeping of Olympic
records
--The significance of the
pentathlon
• No women allowed;
•
athletes performed in the
nude
Later history of the
Olympics before the
modern era
XVIII. The Legacy of Ancient
Greece
• See the Greeks realistically
• The primacy of freedom
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--eleutheria
Glorification of the mind and body
Dignity of the individual
Key words traced back to Greek civilization
Notion of democracy
Rich philosophical foundation
Fullest development of the human potential
--paidea = everyone must sculpt their own statue