Transcript The Culture of Ancient Greece

Chapter 5
Greek
Civilization
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Greek Civilization
Chapter Introduction
Section 1 The Culture of
Ancient Greece
Section 2 Greek Philosophy
and History
Section 3 Alexander the Great
Section 4 The Spread of
Greek Culture
Reading Review
Chapter Assessment
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Get Ready to Read
Section Overview
This section discusses the culture of the
ancient Greeks as expressed in their
religion, literature, and art.
The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Mythology
• The Greeks believed in many gods and
goddesses. 
• They thought these deities affected
people’s lives and shaped events. 
• The Greeks believed the 12 most
important gods lived on Mount Olympus,
the highest mountain in Greece. 
• Greek myths were stories about gods
and heroes.
(pages 155–156)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Mythology (cont.)
• In these stories, gods had special
powers but looked and acted like
humans. 
• The Greeks followed rituals to win the
gods’ favor. 
• They hoped that the gods would grant
good fortune to them in return. 
• The Greeks believed in prophecy, or
predictions about the future.
(pages 155–156)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Mythology (cont.)
• Many Greeks visited an
oracle to receive a
prophecy. 
• An oracle was a sacred
shrine where a priest or
priestess spoke for a
god or goddess. 
• The most famous oracle
was at the Temple of
Apollo at Delphi.
(pages 155–156)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
How did the Greeks believe their
gods and goddesses were like
humans?
Greek gods and goddesses
married, had children, played tricks
on each other, quarreled, and fought
wars.
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Poetry and Fables
• Greek poems and stories are the oldest
in the Western world and serve as
models for European and American
poems and stories. 
• An epic is a long poem about heroic
deeds. 
• The first great epics were the Iliad and
the Odyssey, written by a poet named
Homer.
(pages 157–158)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.)
• The Iliad is about a battle for the city of
Troy. 
• The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus,
a Greek hero. 
• Greeks believed these two epics were
real history.
(pages 157–158)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.)
• A slave named Aesop
wrote many fables. 
• A fable is a short tale
that teaches a lesson. 
• Fables were
passed from
person to person
by oral tradition.
(pages 157–158)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Why were the heroes of Homer’s
epics considered role models?
The heroes in Homer’s stories had
courage and honor. They worked to
be the best they could be, and they
fought to protect their honor.
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Drama
• Drama is a story
told by actors who
pretend to be
characters in the
story. 
• The Greeks used
drama as part of
their religious
festivals. 
• The Greeks developed
two types of drama—
tragedies and comedies.
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(pages 160–161)
The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Drama (cont.)
• A tragedy is the story of a person who
tries to overcome difficulties but fails. 
• A comedy is a story with a happy
ending. 
• Aeschylus was a writer who wrote a
group of three plays called Oresteia. 
• These plays teach that evil acts cause
more evil and suffering.
(pages 160–161)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Drama (cont.)
• The Writer Sophocles wrote the plays
Oedipus and Antigone. 
• Euripides wrote plays about real-life
people instead of gods. 
• Aristophanes wrote comedies that
made fun of leading politicians and
scholars.
(pages 160–161)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
How are plays of today similar to
those of ancient Greece?
Actors in plays of today like those of
ancient Greece wear costumes.
Music and dance also occur in
many of today’s plays, as they did
in Greek plays.
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Art and Architecture
• Greek artists believed in the ideas of
reason, balance, harmony, and
moderation and tried to show these
ideas in their work. 
• Although Greek murals have not
survived, examples of Greek paintings
still exist on decorated pottery. 
• The most important architecture in
Greece was the temple dedicated to a
god or goddess.
(pages 162–163)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Art and Architecture (cont.)
• The most
famous
temple is
the
Parthenon. 
• Greek
architecture
included
columns,
which were
first made
from wood.
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(pages 162–163)
The Culture of Ancient
Greece
Greek Art and Architecture (cont.)
• Later, the Greeks began using marble. 
• Many of today’s churches and
government buildings have columns. 
• Greek sculpture expressed Greek ideas.
(pages 162–163)
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The Culture of Ancient
Greece
What elements of Greek
architecture are present in your
school or in buildings in your
community?
Answers will vary, but should
include symmetry and proportion
between building parts, the use of
columns, pediments, pedestals, or
materials such as marble or tiles.
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The Culture of Ancient Greece
How and why did the Greeks honor
their gods?
They honored their gods with rituals,
festivals, and temples, so the gods
would grant good fortune.
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The Culture of Ancient Greece
What values did the epic poems
of Homer teach Greeks?
courage, honor, loyalty, and the
value of the husband-wife
relationship
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The Culture of Ancient Greece
Contrast How do Greek
tragedies and comedies differ?
Tragedy: person fails to overcome
difficulties because of fate or
personal flaws;
Comedy: happy endings
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The Culture of Ancient Greece
Make Generalizations Why did
Greek artists include the ideas of
reason, moderation, balance, and
harmony in their work?
Artists hoped viewers would be
inspired by the art.
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