Transcript File

Greek Culture
Chapter 8, Lesson 1
► You
Greek Beliefs
should have an understanding of citystates.
 Independent states made up of a city and land
surrounding them.
 It separated people politically
► The
people of Greece had a connection
through culture.
 Spoke the same language.
 Shared beliefs and customs.
 Believed the same myths (traditional stories
about gods and heroes.) which expressed
religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks.
Who Were the Greek Gods?
► Like
many others in the ancient world, the
Greeks believed in gods and goddesses.
 However, they did not see them as all-powerful
beings.
►They
did have great power, but they looked and
acted like human beings.
►They married and had children, and sometimes acted
like children themselves when they played pranks on
each other.
►Since they had human qualities they Greeks did not
fear them.
Who Were the Greek Gods?
They believed the 12 most important gods and goddesses
lived on Mount Olympus.
 Greece’s highest mountain.
 It was protected by a gate of clouds.
►The gods and goddesses could go in and out as they
pleased, but humans were not allowed in.
► Some of the gods were:
 Zeus – King of the gods on Mount Olympus.
 Athena – goddess of wisdom and crafts.
 Apollo – god of sun and poetry.
 Aphrodite – the goddess of love.
 Ares – the god of war.
 Poseidon – the god of the seas and earthquakes.
►
Who Were the Greek Gods?
► Zeus
was worshipped as the chief god by all
Greeks.
► Each city-state also chose one god or
goddess as their protector.
► They would win their favor through rituals.
 An action that is part of a religious ceremony.
►The
gods were worshipped in temples and homes.
►Prayed and offered gifts to the god.
 Through rituals they hoped the god or goddess
would reward them.
Who Were the Greek Gods?
►
►
Festivals to honor the gods and goddesses were an
important part to Greek life.
 Each city-state held public feasts and sacrifices.
 Athletes took part in athletic competitions.
►They were for the “greater glory of Zeus.”
►Held in the city of Olympia and were known as the
Olympic Games.
►It began in 776 B.C., and took place for more than
1,000 years.
►The first modern Olympics were held in 1896 in
Athens.
The Greeks believed the god would be pleased if people
showed their skill in the arts, in athletic games, or thinking.
► Greeks
Greek Oracles
believed every person had a fate or
destiny.
 Certain events are going to happen no matter
what you do.
 Also believed in prophecy (prediction about
the future).
 The Greeks believed that the gods gave
prophecies to warn people about the future in
time to change it.
► They
did these things be visiting an Oracle.
 A sacred shrine where a priest or priestess
spoke for a god.
Greek Oracles
► The
most famous one was the temple of
Apollo at Delpi.
 The oracle chamber was located deep inside.
►It
also had an opening in the floor where the
volcanic smoke hissed from a crack in the earth.
►A
priestess sat on a stool and listened to
questions.
 The priests translated her answers.
► State
leaders or their messengers traveled
to Delphi to ask advice from the Oracle of
Apollo.
Epics and Fables
►
►
Greek poems and stories are some of the oldest literature
in Western civilization.
 They were often used by Europeans and Americans as
models for writing their own literature.
►England’s William Shakespeare is an example,
borrowing Greek plots and settings for his many
dramas and often organized the dramas in much
the same way the Greeks did.
The first Greek stories were epics.
 Two of the great epics from ancient Greece were Iliad
and the Odyssey written by Homer during the 700s
B.C.
 Homer based these on stories about a war between
Greece and Troy (Once existing where northwestern
Turkey is today.
The Trojan Horse
the Iliad, a prince of Troy falls in love
with Helen, the wife of a Greek king and
kidnaps her.
► The angered Greeks attack Troy in revenge
but are unable to break through the thick
walls surrounding the city.
► They are able to get in by tricking the
Trojans.
► In
 They construct a large hollow wooden horse
where the best of Greeks soldiers were hiding
while the rest sail away.
► The
The Trojan Horse
Trojans believed they have won and
the giant horse is a victory prize.
 The Trojans roll the horse into the city and at
night, the Greeks get out and open the city
gates for the rest of the Greek army who
returned during the dark of night.
► The
Greeks are then able to capture the
city, save Helen, and take her home.
► The
The Trojan Horse
Odyssey tells the story of Odysseys
(oh-DYS-ee-uhs) who was a Greek hero of
the Trojan War.
► It tells of his long trip home after the fall of
Troy.
 He encounters storms, monsters, and witches
along the way and takes him 10 years before
finally returning home to his wife.
► Today
people use the word odyssey to
describe a long, exciting journey.
The Trojan Horse
Greeks believed that the Iliad and the
Odyssey were more than just stories.
► The
 They looked at epics as real history as it gave
them an ideal past with a cast of heroes.
 It was believed that Homer’s stories taught
courage and honor as well as loyalty to friends
and value the relationship between husband
and wife.
 It showed heroes striving to be the best they
could be and
 Heroes fought to protect their honor and their
families honor and these heroes became models
for Greek Boys.
► Aesop
Aesop’s Fables
was believed to be a story teller around 550
B.C. who told stories such as “The Fox and the
Grapes” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
 We now know he probably didn’t exist, but
these stories did and are collectively known as
Aesop’s Fables.
 Fables are short stories that teach a lesson.
► In most of Aesop’s Fables animals spoke and
acted like people.
 The stories were often funny and showed
human weaknesses and strengths and each
ended with a useful truth, or moral.
► Another
Aesop’s Fables
famous story was “The Hare and the
Tortoise.”
 It told the story of a speedy hare and slow
moving tortoise participating in a race.
 The hare was so far ahead he decided to nap.
 The tortoise kept moving and passes the
sleeping rabbit and wins the race.
► The moral of the story is “slow and steady wins
the race.” Other phrases included:
 “It is easy to dislike something you cannot
have”
 “Appearances can be deceiving.”
“Appearances can be deceiving”
► These
Aesop’s Fables
stories were told during a time known as
the Golden Age of Greece.
 During this time period art, philosophy,
architecture, and literature flourished.
► For 200 years, Aesop’s fables were a part of Greek
oral tradition.
 Stories were passed from generation to
generation by word of mouth and would take
many years before these stories were written
down.
► Since Aesop’s fables have been translated into
many languages it has been read by people
around the world even today.
The Impact of Greek Drama
► The
ancient Greeks created and performed the
first dramas.
 A drama is performed by actors, usually on a
stage.
 Many of today’s movies, plays, and shows are
dramas.
► Greek dramas were divided into two categories:
tragedy and comedy.
 Tragedy – character struggles to overcome
hardships but does not succeed.
 Comedy – The story ends happily and today,
the word comedy is used to describe a story
filled with humor.
The Impact of Greek Drama
► During
the fifth century B.C. four writers emerged
as the best of Greeks dramatists, or writers:
► Aeschylus (EHS-kuh-luhs)
 Earliest greek dramatists.
 Wrote a set of three plays called the Oresteia
that tells about a Greek king’s return from the
Trojan War and the troubles that strike his
family.
►It is a story about revenge and murder and
shows that one evil action can lead to
another.
 Although the play ends tragically, good
triumphs over evil in the end.
The Impact of Greek Drama
► Sophocles




(SAH-fuh-kleez)
Great Athenian writer.
Accepted suffering as a real part of life.
Stressed courage and understanding
In his play Antigone (an-TIH-guh-nee), he
questions whether it is better to obey order or
to do what one believes to be right.
► Euripides
(uh-RIH-puh-deez)
 Unlike Aeschylus and Sophocles, he wrote of
ordinary people and often showed the suffering
caused by war.
The Impact of Greek Drama
► In
theaters today, men, women, and
children could all be actors.
 This was not the case in ancient Greece, as only
men could be actors.
 Even female characters were played by men.
► Aristopanes




(ar-uh-STAH-fuh-neez)
Most famous writer of Greek comedies.
Poked fun at the leaders and issues of his day.
Encouraged people to think and laugh.
Much of his work included jokes, just like TV
comedy includes today.
How Greek Drama Developed
► Drama
was more than entertainment in
ancient Greece.
 It was part of festivals and showed loyalty to a
city-state.
 In early dramas, a group of performers known
as the chorus, presented the story through
singing and dancing.
 Dramas later used multiple actors on stage.
 Storied were then created using action and
conflicts (fight or disagreement) among the
characters.
Greek Art and Architecture
► The
ancient Greeks excelled in the arts and
architecture.
 Created works that expressed the ideals of
reason, balance, and harmony.
 The characteristic of Greek art became the
artistic style that we now call classical.
 Classical Greek art set standards of beauty that
people still admire today.
► They constructed beautiful buildings.
 Every city-state had a temple dedicated to a god
or goddess.
 Temples such as the Parthenon included a central
room that had statues of Greek gods.
Greek Art and Architecture
► Large
graceful columns supported many Greek
buildings.
 Some famous buildings in Washington D.C. such
as the White House and the Capitol, have Greek
columns.
► Sculpture decorated many Greek temples.
 The human body was the favorite subject of
Greek artists.
 They attempted to show the ideal beauty in
perfect human form.
The Lincoln Memorial