Transcript The Height of Greek Civilization: 750

The Height of Greek
Civilization: 750-150 B.C.E.
750-150 B.C.E.
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● During the mid-400s B.C.E., Greek civilization reached its cultural peak The Greek Golden Age.
o The greatest accomplishments of Greek civilization were made in the
city-state of Athens.
o The Greek Golden Age is characterized by accomplishments in the
following areas:
 Architecture
 Sculpture
 Painting
 Drama
 Literature
o Many of the accomplishments made during the Greek Golden Age
have influenced western civilization to the present day.
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● Greek art and architecture are characterized by both beauty and
simplicity.
● The artistic style used in Greek art and architecture is known as classical.
● Greek architecture:
o The greatest accomplishment of Greek architecture is the Parthenon,
a temple built to the goddess Athena at the summit of the Acropolis
in Athens.
o The Parthenon is noted for its simplicity and beauty.
o All Greek city-states began building temples similar to the
Parthenon. They believed these temples were the homes of their
gods and goddesses.
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● Greek artwork also stressed beauty. The Greeks were able to create
artwork that stressed the importance of the individual. Furthermore,
Greek artwork perfected the human form.
● Greek Paintings:
o The greatest evidence remaining of Greek artwork is found on Greek
pottery.
o The Greeks painted pottery using red/black color combinations.
o Greek pottery depicts scenes from Greek mythology and everyday life
(school children, carpenters, farmers, etc.).
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● Greek Sculptures:
o Greek sculptures depicted the human being in the perfect form (i.e.,
Greek athletes, warriors, heroes, and gods and goddesses).
o Greek sculptures are characterized by perfection and power.
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● Greek Drama & Theater:
o The Greeks were the first people to write and perform plays.
o Greek plays were presented twice a year at festivals held to honor
the goddess Dionysus.
o The earliest Greek plays were tragedies.
 Tragedy: A play in which the lead character struggles against fate
only to be doomed - after much suffering - to an unhappy, or
tragic, ending.
o The Most famous Greek tragedies:
 Oresteia by Aeschylus
 Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
 The Trojan Women by Euripides
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● Greek Drama and Theater:
o However, not all Greek plays were tragedies. The Greeks are also
credited with writing comedies.
 Comedy: A play with humorous themes and happy endings.
o The most famous Greek writer of comedy was Aristophanes.
Aristophanes created Greek plays reflecting the issues of the day in
Ancient Greece (politics, political figures, social issues).
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
● The Olympic Games:
o Greeks stressed the importance of physical fitness and athletics.
o Every four years, the Greek city-states held a sporting event known as
the Olympic Games in the city of Olympia.
o The games were a religious festival to honor the Greek god Zeus.
o The Olympic Games were an important aspect of Greek culture, so
much so that wars and trading were stopped to allow all Greek citystates to participate in the games.
o The Olympic Games reflected the Greek emphasis on individualism.
Competitions were held between individuals rather than teams.
o The Olympic Games included racing, boxing, wrestling, disc
throwing, broad jump and the pentathlon (running, jumping, disc
throwing, wrestling and hurling the javelin).
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age
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The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
● The Greeks believed that the human mind was capable of understanding
everything that occurred in nature and society.
● Greek thinkers became known as philosophers. Philosophers (the
seekers of wisdom) used their intelligence to create the most magnificent
ideas the world has ever known. They are also responsible for the
creation of the following disciplines.
o History
o Political Science
o Biology
o Logic: The science of reasoning.
The Greek Mind
● The Greek Philosophers:
o Socrates: Greek educator and philosopher
 Studied the way in which individuals learned how to think for
themselves.
 The Socratic Method: A questioning method in which Socrates
forced his students to defend their statements and clarify their
thinking.
 However, Socrates was considered a danger to Athenian society,
and was sentenced to death in 399 B.C.E. for “corrupting the
young.”
The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
● The Greek Philosophers:
o Plato: Greek Educator and Philosopher
 Opened an academy that existed until 529 B.C.E.
 Wrote the earliest book on political science - The Republic, a
work that discussed what would be the ideal society and
government.
 Believed the state was more important than the individual.
● Each member of a society should place service to the state
above personal goals.
● Freedom - - - > social disorder.
● Favored the government of Sparta over Athens.
● Believed that only the most intelligent members of society
should participate in government.
The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
● The Greek Philosophers:
o Aristotle: Educator and philosopher:
 Wrote over 200 books on topics ranging from astronomy to
political science.
 Created a school in Athens.
 Believed that all humans should live a simple and balanced life.
 Influenced the creation of the scientific method. Stressed the
importance of observing facts, classifying them according to
similarities and differences, and developing conclusions from
data.
The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
Greek Historians: The ancient Greeks were the first people to separate “fact from
fiction.”
o Herodotus:
 The first Greek Historian, Herodotus, is considered “the father of
history.”
 Herodotus wrote about war, political events, famous individuals, social
customs, and religious beliefs and customs. His most famous work is
Historia, an academic study of the Persian Wars.
o Thucydides:
 The first scientific historian (rejected the belief that gods and goddesses
influenced events that occurred in human society, rather, he believed
human beings make history).
 Studied and wrote academic works about the Peloponnesian War.
The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
● The First Scientists:
o The ancient Greeks believed the world was ruled by natural laws,
which could be uncovered by human reasoning.
o Greek scientific studies were based off of observation and thought.
o The Greeks were the first people to study mathematics as a science.
 Greek mathematicians made important contributions to logic,
astronomy, whole numbers, ratios, and geometry.
 The most famous Greek mathematician was Pythagoras, the
creator of the Pythagorean theorem which is still taught around
the world to this very day.
The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
● The First Scientists:
o Greek scientists also made important contributions to the field of
medicine.
o The Greek physician, Hippocrates, is considered “the father of
medicine.”
 Hippocrates believed that diseases had natural causes, and that
the body could heal itself (a theory that went against the common
belief that illness was caused by the gods).
 Hippocrates believed that human beings needed to use proper
hygiene (health care) to stay healthy (i.e., a good diet, exercise,
rest, etc.).
 Hippocrates’ ethical code of conduct in medicine has been in use
for over 2000 years.
The Greek Mind
The Greek Mind
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Alexander’s Empire
Alexander’s Empire
● In 359 B.C.E., Philip II became the King of Macedonia, a people who lived
north of Greece on the Balkan Peninsula.
● King Philip II of Macedonia had three goals:
o Create a strong standing army.
o Unite the Greek city-states under Macedonian rule.
o Destroy the Persian Empire.
● 28 years later, Philip II had achieved two of his three goals.
o He had created the strongest army in Greece.
o By 338 B.C.E., he had conquered all the Greek city-states except Sparta.
o However, in 336 B.C.E., on the eve of his invasion of Persia, he was
assassinated.
o His son, Alexander, became the new King of Macedonia, and inherited a
united Greek kingdom.
Alexander’s Empire
● Alexander of Macedonia:
o Became King of Greece & Macedonia at age 20.
o Respected military commander
o Courageous
o Well-educated (tutored by Aristotle)
● In 334 B.C.E., Alexander set out to achieve his father’s third goal - the conquest
of the Persian Empire.
o Alexander won many impressive victories against the Persians, and soon
conquered the entire empire.
o Alexander also liberated Egypt from Persian rule, and was declared a Pharaoh
of Egypt by the Egyptian people.
o Alexander created a new city in Egypt and named it after himself Alexandria.
Alexander’s Empire
Alexander’s Empire
● By 330 B.C.E., the Persian Empire was under the control of Alexander,
who declared himself the new ruler of the Persian Empire.
● In 327 B.C.E., Alexander and his army invaded India, reaching as far east
as the Indus River Valley. However, his army was tired, and refused to
continue fighting.
● Alexander returned to the new capital city of his empire, Babylon, and
died shortly after arriving. He was only 33 years old.
● In his short life he conquered the known world - Alexander the Great.
Alexander’s Empire
Alexander’s Empire
● Alexander’s Imperial Vision:
o When Alexander first began his wars of conquest, his mission was to
punish Persia.
o However, he soon had a new vision - to create an empire that united
European and Asian culture (Greek & Persian culture).
 Alexander wore Persian clothes; married a Persian princess;
encouraged his soldiers to marry Persian women; enlisted Persian
soldiers in his army.
 Alexander created 70 cities throughout the Persian Empire to
serve as military bases and centers of Greek language and
culture.
Alexander’s Empire
● Alexander was successful in both his military and cultural goals.
o Politically speaking, Alexander’s empire did not survive his death, and
was divided amongst his generals.
o However, culturally, Alexander’s Greek & Persian Empire continued
to survive. The new culture created by Alexander (Greek & Persian)
became known as Hellenistic culture.
o Hellenistic: Time period from the late 4th century BCE to the 1st
century CE that was characterized by Greek achievement and a
blending of Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Indian cultures due to the
empire of Alexander the Great.
The Hellenistic World
● Hellenistic culture thrived in the European and Middle Eastern cities that
were a part of Alexander’s empire.
o Alexandria, Egypt became a center of commerce and learning.
 The first museum in world history.
 A great library
 An institute for scientific research.
 A zoo and a botanical garden.
 In 250 B.C.E., Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Bible into
Greek (the Septuagint).
o Greeks soon became part of the upper-class of European and Middle
Eastern society.
o Greek women were allowed to read and write, and hold important
positions in banking, real estate, and government.
The Hellenistic World
● An era of academic achievement - the Hellenistic World.
o During the Hellenistic period, important academic achievements were made
in the areas of science, medicine, and mathematics.
 Science: Hellenistic scientists discovered that the sun was larger than
the earth; that the earth revolved around the sun; and that the stars
were very far away from the earth.
 Medicine: Hellenistic doctors began dissecting human corpses to learn
more about human anatomy. For the first time, scientists began to
understand the human nervous system, brain, and liver.
 Mathematics & Physics: A Hellenistic mathematician named Euclid,
wrote The Elements of Geometry; a physicist named Archimedes
invented the cylinder screw, and discovered the principles of buoyancy
and the lever.
The Hellenistic World
● Alexander’s lasting legacy:
o Although his empire was short-lived, Alexander created Hellenistic
culture, which combined the cultures of the west and east (Greece,
Persia, Egypt & India).
o By doing so, Alexander created a period of intellectual and social
improvement, collaboration, and understanding.
o Alexander died before he could see his Hellenistic culture flourish,
however, we still enjoy the artistic, academic, and social
accomplishments of his Hellenistic empire to this very day.
o Through Alexander’s conquests, Greek civilization reached its
greatest height.
The Hellenistic World
The Hellenistic World
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