Transcript Greece`s Cultural Contributions

Mythology, Olympics, Culture, and Philosophy
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 Essential Questions:
Student will be able to
 How did mythology help the
demonstrate knowledge
early Greek civilization
of ancient Greece in
explain the natural world
terms of its impact on
and the human condition?
Western civilization by:
 Describing Greek
Mythology and religion
 Citing contributions in
drama, poetry, history,
sculpture, architecture,
science and mathematics
 What impact did Greek
mythology have on later
civilizations and the
contemporary world?
 What were some important
contributions of Greek
culture to Western
civilization?
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A term that shows
emphasis on exciting
stories rather than
precise moral laws
 Morals come from
philosophies
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Greek Mythology is
polytheistic
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Zeus: Chief ruler of the gods
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 God of the sky, lightening and
thunder
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Hera
 wife of Zeus and protector of
marriage
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Athena
 goddess of wisdom and crafts
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Apollo
 God of the sun and poetry
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Aphrodite
 Goddess of love
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Poseidon
 God of the Seas
Hades
 God of the Underworld
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Artemis
 Goddess of the Hunt, Apollo’s
twin sister
Each city-state had a
special guardian
 Guardian was
celebrated with special
prayers , gifts, rituals,
and festivals.
 Helpful to keep Gods in
good moods
 No moral guidance or
hope of happy afterlife
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Oracles:
 Locations where you
could ask the Gods
questions
 Answers were
interpreted by Priests
Greek mythology differed
from other religions in that
it was more an attempt to
understand human
qualities than divine ones.
 The gods and goddesses
represented human
strengths and weaknesses
 Moral issues were left for
the humans to solve
themselves.
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No single source of
written scripture such
as the Qur’an or the
Bible
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Myths gave the Greeks explanations to
questions they couldn’t answer
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Greek mythology still continues to influence
the Western world in literature, art,
architecture, and politics
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Athletic contests
Several games:
 Isthmos games held every two
years at the Gulf of Corinth
 Pythian games held every four
years at Delphi
 Most Famous: held at
Olympia, took place every four
years
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The Ancient Olympics
started roughly around 700
B.C.E to honor Zeus
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No women allowed
 Not even to watch
Only Greek nationals
could perform
 Performed nude
 Inside temple at
Olympia was Phidias's
statue of Zeus, an
Ancient wonder of the
World
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Originally a one-day
festival of athletics and
wrestling
 By 472 B.C.E it had
expanded to five day and
many more events
 One the “middle day” or
third day of the festival
100 oxen were sacrificed
to Zeus
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Races
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 The Stadion (oldest)
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▪ A sprint one length of the stadium
(192 m)
 2- Stade Race’
 Long distance
▪ Between 7-24 stades
 Race in full armor
▪ 2-4 stades
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Wrestling
 Had to throw opponent on the
ground three times
 No biting or genital holds
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Boxing
 Vicious and brutal
 Leather and sometimes metal
strapped over hands
 Continued until one opponent
acknowledged defeat
Horse-racing
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Confined to wealthy
Had to own horse
6 laps of track
Also had Chariot races
Pentathlon
 A series of five events
▪ Sprinting
▪ Long-jumping
▪ Used stone weights to increase the
length of their jump
▪ Javelin
▪ Long wooden stick with spear head
▪ Usually height of thrower
▪ Discus
▪ Circle-shaped stone, iron, bronze or
lead
▪ wrestling
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Traditional style
 Parthenon
 Used for 200 years
 Set standards for future artists
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Sculpture
 Phidias
▪ Sculpture of Athena
▪ Figures that were graceful,
strong, and perfectly formed
▪ Faces only showed serenity
 Classical Art
▪ Valued order, balance, and
proportion
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Balance, Harmony
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Parthenon: simple
rectangle, tall columns,
gently sloping roof
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Columns:
 Doric
 Ionic
 Corinthian
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By 450 B.C. Greek
Sculptors feature natural
poses
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Carved gods, goddesses,
men, women to most
perfect and graceful
form.
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Epic poems
 The oldest known Greek
literary sources, the epic
poems Iliad and Odyssey,
focus on events surrounding
the Trojan War.
 Both written by Homer
▪ In these stories the Greeks
interacted with the Gods
▪ Humans were differentiated by
their lack of miraculous powers
▪ The stories of the Gods explained
the sorrows and surprises of
human life as the whims and
actions of the Gods
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Greeks invented it
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Productions in Athens
were both an expression
of civic pride and tribute
to the gods
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Actors used colorful
costumes, masks, and
sets to dramatize stories
about leadership,
justice, and the duties
owed to the gods.
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Two kinds of plays:
 Tragedy
 Comedy
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1st plays out of religious
festivals
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Performed in large
outdoor theaters
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Chorus sang or chanted
comments on the action
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Explored the
relationships between
people and the gods
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Tragedies: told stories of human suffering
that usually ended in disaster
Purpose to stir emotions of pity and fear
Serious drama about
common themes such
as love, hate, war, or
betrayal
 Featured:
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Three famous
dramatists:
 Aeschylus
▪ The Oresteia
▪ Wrote more than 80 plays
 Main character, or tragic
 Sophocles
hero
 Often had extraordinary
talents and a tragic flaw
 Flaw led to hero’s
downfall
 Euripides
▪ Oedipus, Antigone
▪ Wrote more than 100 plays
▪ Medea
▪ Sympathetic to women
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Powerful family torn apart by betrayal,
murder, and revenge
Saw how pride could cause horrifying
misfortune and how gods could bring down
even the greatest heroes
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Explored what happens when
an individuals’ moral duty
conflicts with the laws of the
state
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Young women whose brother
killed in rebellion
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King forbids her to bury him,
she does anyways
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She is sentenced to death
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Duty to gods is greater than
human law
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Contained scenes filled
with slap-stick and crude
humor
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Often satires
 Works that poked fun at the
subject
 Customs, politics, respected
people
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Aristophanes
 The Birds
 Lysistrata
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Allowed for free
discussion and criticism
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Herodotus
 “father of history”
 Visited lands, chronicled
information
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Thucydides
 wrote about
Peloponnesian war
▪ Lived through the war
 Vividly described
savagery
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Set standards for
future historians

 Essential Questions:
Student will be able to
 How did mythology help the
demonstrate knowledge
early Greek civilization
of ancient Greece in
explain the natural world
terms of its impact on
and the human condition?
Western civilization by:
 Describing Greek
Mythology and religion
 Citing contributions in
drama, poetry, history,
sculpture, architecture,
science and mathematics
 What impact did Greek
mythology have on later
civilizations and the
contemporary world?
 What were some important
contributions of Greek
culture to Western
civilization?