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Transcript
Chapter 2 The Cultural Context of Classical Myth Notes: • Blue Slides – Take notes-include the slide title and underlined material. Testing information! • Yellow Slides – Do not take notes – listen and learn! Socrates said… Is there anyone to whom you can entrust a greater number of serious matters than your wife? And is there anyone with whom you have fewer conversations? Myths reflect the society that produces them. In this chapter we will consider the background of the Greeks by examining: • • • • the nature of the land they lived in their origins and history how they lived as groups and individuals something about their values – what they hoped to achieve in life and how they hoped to do it Greek Geography • Greece was barren and dry, just like today • Its small rivers were not navigable and often dried up in the heat of the rainless summers • the landscape is dominated by high mountains – dominate ¾’s of the land • small, isolated plains lie between the mountain ranges Ancient Greece Other Resources: • limestone crystallizes under high pressure and forms marble – the Greeks used the marble for sculpture and for temples like the Parthenon in Athens. • clay provided material for pottery, which the Greeks produced in great abundance and the pottery and the fragments give us many of our illustrations of Greek social life. The Greatest Resource: • the Aegean Sea played a major role in the life of the ancient Greeks • fish was a staple of their diets • the sea was an avenue of communication • sailors always in sight of land were able to travel long distances in small, open boats • transportation of goods for trading to and from foreign lands Geography - Concluding Thoughts: • the extremely mountainous terrain discouraged communication by land and favored political independence for the citystates on the small, isolated plains. • Many Greek legends told of the founders and early rulers of the city states. • Greeks were the greatest seafaring people of the ancient world. Greek History • Greece was occupied even before the Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age before 7000 BC (BCE) • • • • • • Early Middle Bronze Age 3000 -1600 BC Late Bronze Age (Mycenaean Age)1600 -1150 BC Dark Age 1150 - 800 BC Archaic Period 800 – 490 BC Classical Period 490 – 323 BC Hellenistic Period 323 - 30 BC The Late Bronze Age (Mycenaean Age) (1600 – 1150 BC) • the Greeks were ruled by powerful kings who with their retainers constituted the military and aristocratic elite • lovers of war, rode to battle on horsedrawn chariots, and acquired great wealth • the Mycenaean Greeks may have called themselves Achaeans (a-ke-anz), a word Homer uses to describe the men who attacked Troy. The Late Bronze Age (Mycenaean Age) (1600 – 1150 BC) continued… The coincidence between centers of power in Mycenaean times and important locations in cycles of Greek legend – the Mycenae of Agamemnon, The Tiryns of Heracles, and the Thebes of Oedipus – indicates that many Greek legends probably originated during the Mycenaean period. The Dark Ages (1150 – 800 BC) • the destruction of the Mycenaean world was attributed to people from NW Greece – they were called the Dorians and according to Greek legend, were the sons of Heracles . • few archaeological remains survive – this period was known for social disorganization, depopulation, and impoverishment. The Archaic Period (800 – 490 BC) • the Greek alphabet was invented – it was the first writing that encoded an approximation of the actual sound of the human voice. Earlier languages - Linear B was nonalphabetic and Phoenician writing had signs only for consonants • the emergence of the Greek polis, the politically independent city-state • Homer -The Iliad and The Odyssey, and Hesiod - Theogony The Archaic Period (800 – 490 BC) continued… • rebirth of commerce. • the introduction of coinage, which made for capitalism and the enrichment of a new social class. • this social class, kakoi (bad men) were looked down on by the aristoi (best men) The Archaic Period (800 – 490 BC) continued… • in cultural matters the aristocracy clung to power - as the most literate citizens, its members were the creators or sponsors of most Greek literature, art, and philosophy. • What we know of Greek culture comes from the aristoi, the free male citizens descended from old families • there is little information about the kakoi, the poor, slaves, women and other noncitizens who were mostly illiterate The Classical Period (480 -323 BC) • 508 BC the emergence of the world’s first democracy • under the leadership of Cleisthenes (klis – the nez) the polis was reorganized to place all decision making in hands of all adult male citizens • now authority in government came from ones ability to persuade a large, unruly assembly of citizens, not from inherited wealth and family prominence The Classical Period (480 -323 BC) continued… • rule by written law • reason supported by evidence as the basis for decisions • the separation of religious and political institutions • historical writing • science • philosophy The Classical Period (490 -323 BC) continued… • 490 BC during a Persian invasion near Marathon – the Greeks drove the Persian army into the sea. • Herodotus wrote “if there were need of proof, how noble a thing is freedom.” • the marathon race celebrates this victory today The Classical Period (480 -323 BC) continued… • the Golden Age of Greece brought us the statesman Pericles, the philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle • once the Persian threat receded, the Greeks were divided – one lead by Sparta a military state ruled by aristocracy and the other by democratic Athens • a ruinous conflict known as the Peloponnesian War from 431 BC to 404 BC raged and Greece never recovered The Hellenistic Period (323 - 30 BC) • 338 BC Philip II of Macedon conquered the city-states of Greece • his 22 year old son, Alexander inherited the throne and attacked the enormous Persian empire • Alexander the Great died in 323 BC and this is the beginning of the Hellenistic Period The Hellenistic Period (323 - 30 BC) continued… • after his death Alexander’s empire broke into separate kingdoms • Greek culture became world culture throughout the ancient East and cities were established on the Greek model • 146 BC the Greek mainland was conquered by Rome • This period ended in 30 BC when the great city of Alexandria fell to the Romans after the suicide of Cleopatra VII Greek Society - Greek Males • final authority over their wives and other members of their households • obligated to fight in wars • citizens of the polis • taught to read and write, strong athletics– highly competitive society • individuals were celebrated for their wit and ability to entertain (tell great stories) at the symposium (drinking party) Greek Society - Greek Females • Greek proverb – A woman knows only two great moments in her life: her marriage and her death. • marriages arranged, women managed the household, many died during childbirth • usually not educated Greek Society - Slavery • up to 1/3 of the workforce in classical Greece • slaves had no rights – could be killed with impunity • made the Athenian democracy possible by allowing “citizens” time to debate public policy, philosophize, and argue laws Greek Society - Religion • the Greeks had many gods – no Greek god was all powerful, but each controlled a certain sphere of interest • rituals were usually in the form of a sacrifice – animals and foodstuffs – human sacrifice was highly uncommon • the underlying logic of sacrifice: In order to gain the god’s goodwill, destroy what you value the most. Conclusion – Yeah! • This concludes your notes for Chapter 2. • Be sure to put yourself in my place, and think about the questions you would ask about this chapter and write those questions down in the left column. • Next, summarize in your own words, each page of your notes.