Transcript The Greek Culture - Fort Lewis College

The Greek Culture
Presentation by Janelle Loghry
History
Early Philosophy
 Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in
1829.
 Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined
NATO in 1952.
 A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political
liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven
years.
 The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a
parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy.
 Greece joined the European Community in 1981.
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Facts
Population: A little less than 11 million.
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Religion: Greek Orthodox — 98 percent; Muslim — 1.3 percent; other — 0.7 percent.
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Size: Slightly smaller than Alabama.
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President: Costas Caramanlis
Greece is known as the cradle of democracy.
The Genesis Story
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Pelasgian: There was nothing but the goddess of all things, called Eurynome, and
she had arisen from solely Chaos. She divided the seas, and danced, and from her
movement creation had initiated. From her delicate fingers she begot a snake god,
Orphion, and her child, seeing this breath-taking goddess prance about, was filled
with desire, and coiled himself around his mother. She was impregnated with the
Universal Egg. From this egg all the universe sprang: the sun, moon, stars, earth,
and all the world's creatures and critters. Eurynome then created seven planetary
powers, and placed a Titan and Titaness to watch over each. The first man
emerged from the dust of Arcadia; his name was Pelasgus.He taught the rest of
mankind all it needed to know about surviving.
Homeric/Orphic: it was Nyx [light] and Erebus [darkness] who gave birth to a silver
egg in which Eros hatched and thus set the world in motion. This Eros was nothing
like the mischievous cherub often associated with the Roman's Cupid, though; this
Eros was double-sexed with four heads and had created the earth, sky, moon, and
planets. Nyx was personified as a triad of Night, Order, and Justice, and was the
ruler of all of this until her power was granted to Uranus.
Olympian: First there was Chaos, and from Chaos, Gaia, or mother earth, emerged.
She soon had her son Uranus, who instantly showered her with fertility and
impregnated her with the Hecatoncheires [hundred-handed giants], Cyclops, and
Titans. Uranus and Gaia were also the parents off all the seas, mountains, and
natural features of the world.
Mythology continued
Their gods were personalized with individual strengths and flaws; gods made
mistakes, got embarrassed and were caught cheating on their spouses. But,
also there were gods who were heroic, wise, loving, and developed essential
crafts like weaving.
 Because Greece is a country of mountains and islands, in which isolated
communities were able to develop their own distinctive beliefs and ways of
life, the country is particularly rich in local folklore traditions.
 The Greeks used myth to explain natural phenomena, cultural variations,
traditional enmities, and friendships. It was a source of pride to be able to
trace one's descent from a mythological hero or a god.
There are 4 different types of Gods
 Olympians: The superior Gods
 Aphrodite,(love and beauty)Ares,(war) Apollo(Arts)
 Titans: the beings who ruled before the coming of the Olympians
 Gaia (Earth Goddess), Atlas
 Chthonians: these are the Greek gods and goddesses of Earth and the Underworld
 Hates, Thanatos (Death)
 Free spirits: do not fit into a specific category
 Asklepios (Healing) Nike (Goddess of victory)
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Women’s Early Roles
Controlled by the men
 Learned to read, household skills, simple mythology, spent most
time at home with the other women
 Marriage: Girls got married in their teens, often to 30 year old
men. Fathers chose the husband. Girls must be virgins before
marriage
 Wedding Ceremony: Make an offering to the Gods and then
share a cake with her husband.
 Women were not regarded as a part of the family until the first
child was born.
 Life expectancy: 35-40 years because of child bearing.
 Respectable women would not be seen in public. The men
inherited all of the wife’s possessions at the time of marriage.
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Women’s roles continued
Three classes of women
 Wives class:
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 Stay
at home and weave. Could not go in public except
for religious ceremonies.
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Concubines:
 Poor
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women, led to prostitution for survival.
Hetaerae:
 Educated
women. Companions to men for a price. Meet
men at parties. Intellectual companions as well.
Greek Men
Leaders of the household
 Hunting, and work
 Social Life
 Not there much for the family
 Elders have a high status and should be treated
with respect.
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Dress
 Clothing
for both women and men consisted of two
main garments—a tunic and a cloak.
 Fabric was brightly colored and made by hand by
the women.
 Womens’ tunic reached to the floor. Men’s were
usually above the knees.
Music and Food
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Greek Music
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Greece is the source for an original European cuisine. The
climate of Greece is conducive for growing olives and lemon
trees and both of them form an important part of Greek
cooking. Vegetables like aubergines and courgettes are
commonly used. Garlic, thyme, basil, oregano also find pride
of place in Greek food. Honey is used as flavor for desserts
and the famous Feta cheese is usually a specialty ingredient.
The Olympics
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Hippias of Elis, a fifth century BC sophist, was the first to compile the
initial victor list of the Olympic Games. According to him, the first
athletic contest, the foot race, was held at Olympia, in Western
Peloponnese, for the first time in 776 BC, in honor of the Olympian God,
Zeus.
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the Olympic Games were not the first athletic events to be organized in
the Mediterranean area. Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians had a
long tradition in athletic activities as shown by athletic scenes carved on
the tombs kings and nobles.
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The Myceneans adopted all Minoan games and introduced chariot racing
and more track events. In the Mycenean world the chariot was
considered extremely important, as it is not only used in hunting and in
war but for religious and funerary ceremonies as well.
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The Illiad and the Odyssey mention competitive games and sport.
In Class Topics
Power Distance: High
 Uncertainty aviodance: High
 Masculine Culture
 Indivualist culture: Very competitive.
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Any Questions?
Sources
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Received on October 15, 2005,
http://www.greekculturalcentre.org/factsaboutgreece.htm
Received on October 15, 2005
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/athens2004/2002000505_olygreekfacts10
.html
Received on October 17, 2005
http://www.ahtg.net/TpA/modgreece.html
Received October 20, 2005
http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix/
Received October 20, 2005
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grdr/hd_grdr.htm
Received October 27, 2005
http://www.areopagus.net/beginning.htm#1
Received November 1, 2005
http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/greek-food.html
Received November 1, 2005
http://encarta.msn.com/media_681500053/Reb%C3%A9tika_Music_of_Greece.
html