Ancient Greece: Ancient Greece -Key Concepts-
I. Prehistoric Beginnings: I. Prehistoric Beginnings The Myceneans and the Minoans
Heinrich Schliemann’s Discoveries
--Ancient Troy (1870)
--Mycenae (1876)
Arthur Evans Uncovers Knossos (1899)
A. Minoan Civilization: A. Minoan Civilization Society at its peak between 2000-1500 BCE
Harmonious and peaceful society
--first known flush toilet
Minoan civilization closely interrelated to Mycenean civilization
Minoan government
A. Minoan Civilization (cont): A. Minoan Civilization (cont) Minoan Social Classes
Treatment of Women
Minoan Entertainment
A Gift for Inventions and Engineering
Minoan Religion
Minoan Art
B. Mycenaean Civilization: B. Mycenaean Civilization Emergence of Mycenean Civilization
Mycenean Conquest of the Minoans
The Fall of Mycenean Civilization
--Dorians
Mycenean Culture and Government
-- “wanax”
A culture geared toward war
Mycenean Art
C. Influence and Significance of Early Greek Civilization: C. Influence and Significance of Early Greek Civilization Minor impact on later Greek life and culture
Cultural slate “wiped clean” by Dark Ages (1200-750 BCE)
Great wave of immigration during this era all over the Aegean and along western coast of Asia Minor
Still, significant contributions:
--earliest European civilizations
--progressive Minoan art
--Minoans: worldly and innovative
II. The “Dark Ages” (1200-750 BCE): II. The “Dark Ages” (1200-750 BCE) “Dark Ages” in the Near East were shorter, ending around 900 BCE
Homer provides some glimpses
Simple political patterns
Emergence of an aristocracy exerting influence over society
II. The “Dark Ages” (cont): II. The “Dark Ages” (cont) Social Life during the “Dark Ages”
Purpose of Early Greek Religion
Anthropomorphic Greek gods
Greek indifference to an afterlife
The role of arete or “excellence” in early Greek thought
III. Early Greek Literature and the Greek Alphabet: III. Early Greek Literature and the Greek Alphabet Development of the Greek alphabet
Benefits of the Greek alphabet
Homer’s Iliad
--Achilles and the Trojan Wars
Homer’s Odyssey
--Odysseus and Penelope
III. Early Greek Literature (cont): III. Early Greek Literature (cont) Lessons of Homer’s Epics
Women as well as men pursued excellence
Homer’s depiction of the gods
Arete and the Birth of the Olympic Games (776 BCE)
Centrality of religion for communal activity
III. Early Greek Literature (cont): III. Early Greek Literature (cont) Hesiod and the theme of justice
-- Works and Days
Solon and the theme of moderation
6th Century BCE Lyric Poetry
--Sappho from the island of Lesbos
--Archilocus the sailor
IV. Greek Geography: IV. Greek Geography Mountains and islands created isolation
Blessed with lots of good harbors
Isolation led to political disunity
Intimate size of Greek city-states
Most plentiful natural resources
V. Early Political History and Colonization: V. Early Political History and Colonization The Emergence of the City-State (“Polis”)
--Athens, Sparta and Thebes
Importance of access to the sea in trading internationally
Role of the gods in sea travel
The prosperity of Corinth
Origins of Greek colonization movement
V. Early Political History (cont): V. Early Political History (cont) Reasons for Greek colonization between 735-600 BCE
The Pattern of Greek colonization
-- “metropolis”
-- oikist
Interaction with local inhabitants
--1500 city-states stretching from modern Spain to Asia Minor (550)
V. Early Political History (cont): V. Early Political History (cont) Influence of other cultures through trade on Greek culture
Evolution of Greek city-state government
--phalanxes
Difference between ancient Greek political system and current American system
V. Early Political History (cont): V. Early Political History (cont) The concept of Greek citizenship
--ethnos (“league”)
--metics
Extension of some political rights to the poor
Humanistic approach to politics
VI. The Centrality of the Greek Polis: VI. The Centrality of the Greek Polis The basic political unit was the polis
The center of the polis was the acropolis
The Greek agora or marketplace
--Athen’s Painted Stoa
Most Greeks were farmers
Some small-scale craftsmen
VI. The Centrality of the Greek Polis (cont): VI. The Centrality of the Greek Polis (cont) Intimacy was a key feature of polis life
Polis laws and government varied
The simplicity of the Greek lifestyle
Layout of Greek homes
--men’s dining room
--women’s room for working wool
--courtyard
Furniture and clothing
VI. The Centrality of the Greek Polis (cont): VI. The Centrality of the Greek Polis (cont) Greek Dietary Habits
The nature of Greek slavery
Duties of Greek slaves
Sources of slaves
Treatment of slaves
Leisure and sociability of Greek life
Greeks were very religious people
Individual defined by place within the polis
VII. The Armed Camp of Sparta : VII. The Armed Camp of Sparta Spartan militarism forged out of treatment of their neighbors
--Messenian Revolt (650 BCE)
Spartan governmental system
--ephors (overseers)
The equality of Spartan citizens— “Equals”
VII. Ancient Sparta (cont): VII. Ancient Sparta (cont) Treatment of Helots
The training of Spartan boys
The role of women in Sparta
The “common mess” of Spartan men
Spartan attitudes toward materialism
Spartan military posture was isolationist and defensive
VIII. The Athenian Political Partnership: VIII. The Athenian Political Partnership The legend of Theseus
Athens evolved in a different direction than Sparta
Hereditary aristocracy ruled from 750-600 BCE
--Draco’s Laws (610 BCE)
Emergency powers given to Solon (594 BCE)
Solon introduces democratic principles
VIII. Athenian Political Partnership (cont): VIII. Athenian Political Partnership (cont) The tyranny of Pisistratus (546 BCE)
The overthrow of the tyranny of Hippias (510 BCE)
Lasting stability introduced by Cleisthenes (507 BCE)
All Attica divided into 10 regions— “demes”
VIII. Athenian Political Partnership (cont): VIII. Athenian Political Partnership (cont) Basic components of Athenian political system:
--Assembly
--Athenian Council
--magistrates
--generals
The institution of “ostracism”
VIII. Athenian Political Partnership (cont): VIII. Athenian Political Partnership (cont) Athenian democracy was never truly democratic, but close
Problems with the system:
--undue influence of persuasive speech
--continuity of experience of officeholders
Reason-focused, humanistic foundation for Athenian political system
IX. Greek Military History: IX. Greek Military History The golden age of Greece is set between two wars like giant bookends.
A. The Persian Wars: A. The Persian Wars Initial Athenian contact with Persia
Athenian assistance to Ionian Greeks
Two Persian campaigns: 490 and 480-479 BCE
The Battle of Marathon (490 BCE)
Xerxes’ invasion of Northern Greece (480)
A. The Persian Wars (cont): A. The Persian Wars (cont) The burning of Athens and Spartan resistance at the Pass of Thermopylae
The naval battle of Salamis (479 BCE)
Significance of victory over the Persians
Victory released a tremendous surge of confidence and optimism in human potential
B. Growth of the Athenian Empire (478-431 BCE): B. Growth of the Athenian Empire (478-431 BCE) Glorious war followed by inglorious era
Establishment of the Delian League
--triremes
Growing Athenian abuse of the Delian League
Spartan creation of the Peloponnesian League
B. Growth of Athenian Empire (cont): B. Growth of Athenian Empire (cont) Rich Athenians exploited the Delian League
Evolution of the Athenian Jury System
The political leadership of Pericles
Aggressive foreign policy against Sparta
C. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE): C. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) Origins of the War
Athenian military strategy
Problems with this strategy
Faltering Athenian religious confidence
Deteriorating political leadership in Athens
--Cleon’s capture of 120 Spartan “Equals” (425)
C. Peloponnesian War (cont): C. Peloponnesian War (cont) Changing Spartan Military Strategy
--Athenian siege of Melos (416 BCE)
--Betrayal of General Alcibiades
Athenian surrender and aftermath
--Rule of the Thirty Tyrants
Continuing strife between Greek city-states
X. Women and Slaves in the Daily Life of Ancient Athens: X. Women and Slaves in the Daily Life of Ancient Athens Discrimination against women: seclusion
Special privileges for priestesses and courtesans
--Aspasia
Ancient Greek marriage
Life expectancy and daily duties of women
Property rights of Athenian women
X. Women and Slaves in Athens (cont): X. Women and Slaves in Athens (cont) Sexual bias against women
Legendary bias against women
--Pandora’s box
The importance of bearing male children
The role of Athenian slavery—small-scale but crucial to the development of Athenian culture
XI. Early Greek Philosophy: XI. Early Greek Philosophy Phileo = “To love”
Sophia = “Wisdom”
A. Ionian Cosmologists (or Pre-Socratics): A. Ionian Cosmologists (or Pre-Socratics) Studied the workings of the physical universe apart from a religious context
--Thales
Nature is not governed by chance or manipulated by the gods—nature is orderly
Importance of human reason
A. Ionian Cosmologists (cont): A. Ionian Cosmologists (cont) All things could be reduced to a primary substance
--concept of “metaphysics”
--Thales: water
--Democritus: primal matter (atoms)
A. Ionian Cosmologists (cont): A. Ionian Cosmologists (cont) Used general concepts crucial to abstract thought
--Anaximander: notion of “boundless” and evolution
--Pythagoras: numbers explain natural world
--Parmenides: reality known solely through the mind, not the senses
B. The Sophists: B. The Sophists Professional teachers offering worldly wisdom and lessons in persuasion
The importance of oral culture in Athens
The training of Athenian youth
--Symposium
B. The Sophists (cont): B. The Sophists (cont) Humanistic and relativistic teaching of Protagoras
-- “Man is the measure of all things”
--no absolute truths
Impact of such teaching
Conservative criticism of the Sophists
Fear that Sophist teaching would offend the gods
C. Socrates: C. Socrates His life and background
Human beings and society were the essential subjects of philosophical inquiry
Did believe in universal values and absolute good
His method of teaching was continuous questioning
C. Socrates (cont): C. Socrates (cont) New Direction in Greek philosophy: Ethics
An emphasis on critical self-examination
Charges brought against Socrates by a democratic faction
The trial of Socrates
The execution of Socrates
XII. Greek Religion in the Classical Period: XII. Greek Religion in the Classical Period Concept of reciprocity
Divine punishment of humans
--miasma
The nature of the gods
No uniform Greek faith or creed
Priests, priestesses and religious observances
XII. Greek Religion in the Classical Period (cont): XII. Greek Religion in the Classical Period (cont) The nature of a religious sacrifice
The role of hero cults
--Hercules
The Cult of Demeter and the “Mysteries” of Eleusis
XIII. Greek History: XIII. Greek History “historia” = humanistic inquiry
Herodotus—the Father of History
--Father of anthropology as well
--chronicled the Persian Wars
XIII. Greek History (cont): XIII. Greek History (cont) Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War
--scrutinized the reliability of sources
--sought underlying principles of history; moralistic writing
--Athenian hubris led to Peloponnesian War
--humanistic explanation for historical events
XIV. Greek Medicine: XIV. Greek Medicine Hippocrates = Father of Scientific Medicine
Four “humors” (fluids) in the human body: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile
Physician should base his knowledge on careful observation of patients and their response to remedies
XV. Greek Art and Architecture During the Golden Age: XV. Greek Art and Architecture During the Golden Age “Black Figure” Vases and jugs
Athenian sculptors took human greatness as their main theme
Well-proportioned, naturalistic human nudes appear early in the 5th century BCE
Sculptors and tragedians both depicting “universal man”
XV. Greek Art and Architecture During the Golden Age (cont): XV. Greek Art and Architecture During the Golden Age (cont) Aristocrats commission public statuary
Popularity of bronze as a medium for sculptors
--Myron’s Discus Thrower
Motion and energy in Greek statuary reflected the possibility of change and instability in classical Greek times
XV. Greek Art and Architecture During the Golden Age (cont): XV. Greek Art and Architecture During the Golden Age (cont) The Athenian Parthenon (447-438 BCE)
Difference from Egyptian and Near Eastern temples
A new depiction of Athena
Not a gathering place for worshippers
Size and appearance of the building
An Ionic Frieze is used on a Doric-style Temple
XVI. Classical Greek Drama: XVI. Classical Greek Drama Emergence of the Tragic Drama (500 BCE)
Athenian dramatic competitions
--protagonists
The role of the chorus and special effects
Tragedies were very humanistic
The universal law of fate and the role of rational reflection
XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont): XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont) The theatrical production
--Thespis = first single actor
Ideal plot inspired pity or fear leading to a “catharsis” or cleansing for the audience
--Sophocles’ Antigone
Plays frequently featured women as central, active figures
XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont): XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont) Aeschylus and patriotic dramas
--The Persians
Sophocles and the problems of the human condition—moderation also a key
--Oedipus Rex
XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont): XVI. Classical Greek Drama (cont) The innovations of Euripides
--Medea and Electra
--most psychological of classical Greek tragedians
Aristophanes and classical Greek comedies
--The Clouds
--Lysistrata
--Birds (414 BCE)
State sponsorship of Greek comedies with no censorship
XVII. The Significance of Greek Athletics: XVII. The Significance of Greek Athletics Origins of the Olympic Games
Importance of sportsmanship at the games
Individual, not national competition and the nature of training
Classical Greek Olympic Events
XVII. Greek Athletics (cont): XVII. Greek Athletics (cont) Determining a winner
Prizes for victors and the keeping of Olympic records
--The significance of the pentathlon
No women allowed; athletes performed in the nude
Later history of the Olympics before the modern era
XVIII. The Legacy of Ancient Greece: XVIII. The Legacy of Ancient Greece See the Greeks realistically
The primacy of freedom
--eleutheria
Glorification of the mind and body
Dignity of the individual
Key words traced back to Greek civilization
Notion of democracy
Rich philosophical foundation
Fullest development of the human potential
--paidea = everyone must sculpt their own statue