Classical Greek Section III

Greek Achievements

Preview Main Idea / Reading Focus Greek Philosophy

Quick Facts: Greek Philosophy Greek Literature

Greek Architecture and Art

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Main Idea The ancient Greeks made great achievements in philosophy, literature, art, and architecture that influenced the development of later cultures and ideas.

Socrates First great Athenian philosopher Little known of his personal life Students writings, including Plato s, put forth his idea Broad Concepts Writings give clear picture of Socrates s thoughts and how he taught Socrates interested in broad concepts of human life truth, justice, virtue Philosophy of Socrates Asking Questions Socrates believed philosophers could learn what made good people, societies by asking questions Started with basic questions, like What is truth? (Socrates followed up with more questions) Socratic Method By working through series of questions, Socrates thought people could discover basic nature of life

Reading Focus i How did Greek philosophy influence later thinking? i What types of literature did the Greeks create? i What were the aims of Greek art and architecture? II. Greek Philosophy Despite their condemnation of Socrates, the people of ancient Greece were great believers in philosophy. The word philosophy itself comes from the Greek word philosophia, meaning the love of wisdom. Background Earliest philosophy traced to 500s BC Reached height in Athens during 400s, 300s BC Inspired by greatest philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Classical Greek Section III Method of learning through questions called the Socratic method Plato One of Socrates students, became great philosopher in own right Left behind great number of writings that record ideas on wide variety of topics, from nature of truth to ideal form of government The Republic argues that government should be led by philosophers Theory of Government Philosophers most qualified to make good decisions Did not support Athenian democracy in which all men could take part Plato wanted to make philosopher s education more formal Founded the Academy, which in Plato s lifetime became most important site for Greek philosophers to do their work Aristotle The Third Philosopher Aristotle was among students who studied at the Academy More concerned with nature of world that surrounded him Tried to apply philosophical principles to every kind of knowledge

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Greek Literature Other Greek literature remains, with a great many works still popular today. Greeks excelled in poetry both epics and other forms history, and drama.

Homer s Epics Most famous works are some of earliest Epic poems of great events and heroes The Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to poet Homer, tell stories of Trojan War Iliad and Odyssey

Emphasis on Reason and Logic Emphasis on reason, logic Reason, clear and ordered thinking; use reason to learn about world Observe carefully, think rationally about what one has seen Iliad tells story of last year of war, two heroes Achilles and Hector Odyssey tells story of heroes from the war, with Odysseus who was forced to wander the sea

These two works became basis for the Greek education system

Classical Greek Section III Other Forms of Poetry Greeks wrote many types of poetry besides epics Hesiod wrote descriptive poetry about works of gods, lives of peasants Greeks also created lyric poetry Named after the lyre, musical instrument often played to accompany reading of poems Lyric poems do not tell stories, but deal with emotions, desires Lyric poets Sappho, one of few Greek women to gain fame as writer; dealt with daily life, marriage, love Pindar, late 500s, early 400s; poems commemorated public events, like Olympic Games History Among fields for which Greeks best known Greek authors wrote about and analyzed own past First major Greek historian, Herodotus Lived in Greece during wars with Persia; described battles and public debates in The Histories Primary Sources Thucydides lived during Peloponnesian War, wrote about it Included primary sources, like speeches he heard delivered Looked at sources critically, ignored unreliable, irrelevant ones Describing Famous Men

Another early historian, Xenophon fought in Persia after Persian Wars Concentrated less on sources, debates, more on describing famous men; had less critical style Work has helped us learn what life was like in 300s BC Greece Drama While the Greeks wrote histories to preserve the past, they created a new form of writing for entertainment drama, the art of playwriting Athenian Roots Earliest dramas part of festivals Dionysus, god of wine and celebration Group of actors called a chorus Recited stories Development Dramas became more complex Individual actors took on roles of specific characters in stories Two distinct forms of dramas developed, tragedy and comedy Distinct Forms Tragedies Focused on hardships faced by Greek heroes Three great writers Aeschylus, Greek myths Sophocles, suffering people brought on selves Euripides, tragedy brought on by chance, behavior

Classical Greek Section III Comedies Many comedies were satires, plays written to expose flaws of society Aristophanes greatest Greek comedy writer Plays poke fun at aspects of Athenian society, from government to treatment of women IV. Greek Architecture and Art Parthenon impressive not for sheer size, but for proportion Designers careful not to make too tall, too wide Parthenon more than 200 feet long, 100 feet wide Had doors, no windows Surrounded by tall, graceful columns Above columns, slabs of marble carved with scenes from myths Ruins appear white today, but parts originally painted in vivid hues Huge gold, ivory statue of Athena stood inside Parthenon

Greek Architecture and Art Beauty Athenians enjoyed beauty, both written and visual Expressed love of written beauty through literature; visual beauty through architecture, art

Sculpture Enhancements To enhance appearance of buildings, added fine works of art, painted and sculpted Grandest buildings built on acropolis, at city s center Human Forms Greek sculptors among finest world has ever known Particularly adept at sculpting human form; studied people at rest, moving Tried to re-create what they saw, paid particular attention to muscles Lifelike, Not Realistic Greeks wanted statues to look lifelike, active, not necessarily realistic Portrayed subjects as physically perfect, without blemishes, imperfections Greek statues almost all depict figures of great beauty, grace Roman Copies Few original works remain; most copies made a few hundred years later

Architecture Athenians wanted their city to be most beautiful in Greece Built magnificent temples, theatres, public buildings

Parthenon Most magnificent on acropolis Massive temple to Athena Begun by Pericles, 447 BC Took 14 years to build

Classical Greek Section III Roman artists made many copies of greatest Greek statues Many copies survived even after original statues destroyed

Painting Only a few original Greek paintings survive Best preserved are paintings on vases, plates, other vessels Scenes from everyday life, or from myths, legends Most use only red, black; still convey movement, depth

Larger Paintings Little evidence of larger works; written sources say Greeks created murals in many public buildings Often included scenes from Iliad, Odyssey; showed aftermath of battles, rather than battle itself Themes similar to tragic drama popular with Athenians

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.

~Aristotle Onassis~