unit 2 greek culture. greek culture the historical context 1200 b.c. war between greece and troy...
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Greek Culture
The Historical Context1200 B.C. War between Greece and Troy
5th century B.C. Greek culture reached a high point
---Failure of Persian invasion---Establishment of democracy and flourishing of S.P.L.A.& HW
Civil war between Athens and Sparta
4th century B.C. All Greece ruled by Alexander, King of Macedon
146 B.C. Romans conquered Greece
Greek Culture
Social and Political Structure Athens was a “democracy”. The economy rested on an immense amou
nt of slave labour. The Greeks loved sports.
Olympic GamesThe world’s foremost amateur sports competiti
on (1896)
Greek Culture
Homer 700B.C. Author of ancient Greeks’ epics
(1200-1100 B.C.)
The Iliad
Trojan War
Greek: Agamemnon, Achilles, Odysseus
Trojan: Hector The Odyssey
Return of Odysseus after the Trojan War
to his home island of Ithaca.
Greek Culture
Lyric Poetry Sappho (612-580 B.C.) woman poet
- The most important lyric poet of ancient
Greece
- Noted for love poems of passionate
intensity
Pindar (518-438 B.C.)
Best known for odes celebrating the
victories at the athletic games.
(the 14 Olympian odes)
Greek Culture Drama - Developed in the 5th century B.C. - Performed in open-air theatres, actors wore masks
Writer Works Tragedy/Comedy
Characteristics Noted for
Aeschylus(525-456 B.C.)
Prometheus Bound, Persians, Agamemnon
Tragedy Only two actors and a chorus;Written in verse
Vivid character portrayal and majestic poetry
Sophocles(496-406 B.C.)
Oedipus the King, Electra, Antigone
Tragedy Add a third actor and decrease the size of the chorus.
Strong impact on European literature. Some plots adopted by later writers. “the Oedipus complex”
Euripides (484-406 B.C.)
Andromache, Medea, Trojan Women
Tragedy Mainly about women; more of a realist; characters less heroic, more like ordinary people.
The first writer of “problem plays”
Aristophanes (450-380 B.C.)
Frogs, Clouds, Wasps, Birds
Comedy Loose in plot, satirical in tone, full of clever parody and acute criticism.
Contemporary events and direct attacks on well-known people of the day
Greek Culture History
Herodotus (484-430 B.C.)Father of HistoryWrote wars between Greeks and PersiansFull of anecdotes, digressions, and lively dialogue
Thucydides (460-404 B.C.)More accurate as an historianWrote wars between Athens and Sparta, between Athens and
SyracuseTrace events to causes and bring out the effects
Greek Culture
Philosopher Ideas
Pythagoras (580-500 B.C.)Founder of scientific mathematics
All things are numbers.
Heracleitus (540-480 B.C.) Fire is the primary element of the universe.Everything else has arisen out of it.All is flux, nothing is stationery.The strife between the opposites produce the harmony.
Democritus (460-370 B.C.)One of earliest philosophical materialists
Speculate about the atomic structure of matter.“For all men good and truth are the same, but pleasure is different for different men.It is repentance for what has been shamefully done that sets life right.He who does wrong is more unfortunate than he who is wrong.It is right, since we are human, that we should not laugh at human misfortunes but lament them.”
Philosophy and Science
Greek Culture Greatest Names in European
Philosophy Socrates (470-399 B.C.)
Teacher of PlatoThe dialectical method of argumentPut on trial on a charge of “injuring the city”Condemned to death
Greek Culture Greatest Names in European
Philosophy Plato (428-348 B.C.)
Student of Socrates and teacher of AristotleWrote famous Dialogues to record SocratesIdealism
Only “ideas” like beauty, truth, goodness are completely real
The physical world is only relatively real
Many of his ideas were absorbed into Christian thought
Greek Culture Greatest Names in European Philosophy
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)Plato’s pupilThe great humanist and the great man of science meet
Wrote epoch-making works on logic, moral philosophy, politics, metaphysics, psychology, physics, zoology, poetry, rhetoric.
Did much to form the philosophical, scientific and cosmological outlook of an entire culture.
Works that are still important now Ethics, Politics, Poetics, Rhetoric
Differ from his teacher in many ways Emphasize direct observation of nature, theory should follow
fact; Plato relied on subjective thinking. Idea and matter made up concrete individual realities; Plato held
ideas had a higher reality than the physical world.Man’s aim in life is happiness
Greek Culture
Schools Philosopher Ideas
Sophists Protagoras(500 B.C.)
Man is the measure of all things.
Cynics Diogenes(412-323 B.C.)
He decided to live like a dog and the word “cynic” means “dog” in Greek. Reject all conventions, advocate self-sufficiency and extreme simplicity in life.
Sceptics Pyrrhon(360-272 B.C.)
Not all knowledge was attainable.
Epicureans Epicurus(341-270 B.C.)materialist
Pleasure is the highest good in life; not sensual enjoyment, but freedom from pain and emotional upheaval; could be attained by the practice of virtue.
Stoics Zeno(335-263 B.C.)materialist
Opposed to the Epicureans. The most important thing in life is not pleasure but duty. One should endure hardship and misfortune with courage. Virtue is the sole good in the life of a man. If he has to die, he should die nobly.
Contending Schools of Thought
Greek Culture Science
Democritus Put forward the first atomic theory.
Plato A mathematician.
Archimedes Did important work not only in geometry, but also in arithmetic, mechanics, and hydrostatics.
Mathematics, the purest of sciences, was applied in acoustics, optics, geography, Statics and astronomy.
Aristotle Contributed to Zoology, started methodical research, laid massive foundations for modern science.
Euclid Well-known for his Elements, a textbook of geometry and in use until the early years of the 20th century.
Greek scientists deduce theories and build up systems.
Greek Culture Art, Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery
Art
Greek art is a visual proof of Greek civilization. Architecture
the Doric style (masculine style): sturdy, powerful, severelooking and showing a good sense of proportions and numbers, monotonous and unadorned.
the Ionic style (feminine style): graceful and elegant, shows a wealth of ornament.
the Corinthian style: ornamental luxury. Famous temples: the Acrpolis at Athens (437-432 B.C.);
the Parthenon (447-432 B.C.).
Greek Culture Art, Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery
SculptureThe earliest Gods, stiff, lifeless wood carving;
7th century B.C. Size became bigger and life-size, stand stiff;
5th century B.C. Beauty of the internal structure of
human bodies and mythological figures.
Greek Culture Art, Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery
Discus Thrower
- relaxation and contraction of the muscle
- sense of body movement
- good sense of harmony and
the balance of opposites
Greek Culture Art, Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery
Venus de Milo
- the most famous
- broken arms
- symbol of beauty,
grace and health,
a personification of vitality and dignity.
Greek Culture Art, Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery
Laocoon group about 125 B.C.
- a priest of Troy
- he was suffered a slow death
and killed by serpents with
his sons for he warned the
Trojans against Greek attack
- the expression of Laocoon’s
face-fear, sympathy and terror
Greek Culture Art, Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery
Pottery a result of domestic needs and needs for foreign trade Varying shapes (jars, utensils) Beautiful paintings (everyday scenes, animals, figures in Iliad and
Odyssey) Vases from Attica Black-figure paintings & Red-figure paintings
Greek Culture Impact played a vital part in the Renaissance in Italy and other European countries
Spirit of Innovation - invented mathematics, science and philosophy - first write history - speculate the nature of the world Supreme Achievement philosophy, science, epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, historical
writing, architecture, sculpture, etc. Lasting Effect - the bold effort they made to understand the world had an enduring effect on later generations; - in literature, countless writers quoted, adapted, borrowed; - Byron’s Isles of Greece - Shelley’s Hellas and Prometheus Unbound - Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn