Ch. 1.2 The Civilization of Ch. 1.2 The Civilization of the Greeksthe Greeks

Classical Greece 800 Classical Greece 800 BCEBCE – 338 – 338 BCEBCE

I. The Polis: The Center of Greek I. The Polis: The Center of Greek LifeLife

• A town, city, or village where the people met for political, social, and religious activities.– Usually hilltops served as political and

religious centers, ex. The Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens

– Lower ground, the agora, usually was the center of social and economic activity

AthensAthens

The Agora (lower ground)The Acropolis (city on a hill)

Greek City-StatesGreek City-States

• 3 main groups:– Citizens WITH political

rights (free adult males)

– Citizens WITHOUT political rights (women and children)

– Non-citizens (slaves and foreigners)

• Citizens:• Only about 10% of

the population• Took part in law-

making• Duty to fight and die

for city-state

IA. City-States: Sparta IA. City-States: Sparta 800-600BCE800-600BCE

• Military State• Males at 7 years taken away and put under state

control (unhealthy children left to die)• Males at 20 put in army; lived in barracks until 30, when they were

allowed to live at home, vote in the assembly, but they remained in military service until age 60.

• Women lived at home allowing for greater personal freedom; exercise was encouraged to bear healthy children

• All meals eaten in public• Foreigners and travel were discouraged because of fear of

insurgency and new ideas• Education limited; study of philosophy, literature, and

the arts not allowed for fear of free thinking

IB. AthensIB. Athens• Largest, most powerful city-state• By 683BCE, Athens had shifted from a monarchy to an aristocracy• Citizens elected the nobles to government• Aristocrats owned the best land & controlled politics• Economic problems forced small farmers into debt and

slavery• By 594BCE, Solon reformed the economy by canceling

the debts and ending slavery• 508BCE, Cleisthenes made further reforms by allowing

ALL citizens to submit and debate laws– Created the Council of 500, whose members were chosen randomly– Considered the founder of democracy; direct democracy

• 461-429BCE: Pericles– The Golden Age of Greece– Increased democracy by paying public officials and jurors– Athens becomes center of Greek culture– “We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics minds his own

business; we say he has no business here at all.”

• When Anacharsis saw Athenian democracy at work, he remarked that it was strange that in Athens wise men spoke and fools decided.   Solon showed Anacharsis some laws that he was drafting for the Athenians.   Anacharsis laughed at Solon for imagining that the dishonesty and greed of the Athenians could be restrained by written laws.  Such laws, said Anacharsis, are like spiderwebs: they catch the weak and poor, but the rich can rip right through them.

II. The Greek Love of WisdomII. The Greek Love of Wisdom

• Philosophers used logic and reason to think critically about the nature of the universe

• Investigated society, morality, politics

II. Greek PhilosophersII. Greek PhilosophersA. Socrates• Goal of education to improve

human understanding• “the unexamined life is not

worth living”• Question authority

1. The Socratic Method: a technique to draw knowledge from pupils through question and answer

B. Plato• Socrates’ student• Wrote “The Republic” – society

should be ruled by philosopher-kings; society should be governed by the wisest, not the richest.

• Men and women should be equal in education and position

• 3 groups in society:

1. philosopher-kings who ruled

2. Warriors to protect

3. Masses

Death of Socrates, Jacques-Louis David, 1787, The Met, New York.

C. Aristotle• Plato’s student• Wrote “Politics”• Analyzed and classified the

world based on observation and investigation

• Studied forms of government and concluded the three best were: aristocracy, monarchy, and constitutional government; the latter being the best of the three

• Developed libraries and local museums; expanded curriculum of schools

Plato gestures up toward Heaven, his source of inspiration

Aristotle points to the earth, from which his observations sprang

Decline of GreeceDecline of Greece

• Peloponnesian War (431 – 409 BCE) between Sparta and Athens

– Sparta defeats Athens, disbanding the Delian League (a Greek city-state military alliance) and thereby weakening Greece

• 338BCE King Philip II of Macedonia invaded and defeated the Greeks, ending democracy & restoring a monarchy

• With Greece in decline, Rome is developing its power…

Classical ArtClassical Art

– Relating to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome (classical Antiquity). The classical world played a profoundly important role in the Renaissance, with Italian scholars, writers, and artists seeing their own period as the rebirth (the "renaissance") of classical values after the Middle Ages. The classical world was considered the golden age for the arts, literature, philosophy, and politics. Concepts of the classical, however, changed greatly from one period to the next. Roman literature provided the starting point in the 14th century, scholars patiently finding, editing and translating a wide range of texts. In the 15th century Greek literature, philosophy and art - together with the close study of the remains of Roman buildings and sculptures-expanded the concept of the classical and ensured it remained a vital source of ideas and inspiration.

Raphael, Raphael, School of AthensSchool of Athens1509-1511, Vatican Palace, Rome, Italy1509-1511, Vatican Palace, Rome, Italy

Greek ArtGreek Art• The art of the ancient Greeks is

often referred to as "classical art." It is simple and geometric and placed a great emphasis on the beauty of the human body. They usually used their ideas of the ideal human or of the gods as the subject of their art, rather than actual people. The Greek people used their artistic talent to create beautiful sculptures, vases, paintings, jewelry, and reliefs. Many of these pieces still exist today. Sculpting is probably what the Greeks are most known for, however. Many museums around the world house ancient Greek sculptures or copies of those sculptures.

Venus de Milo, Louvre, Paris.

Nike of Samothrace, Louvre, Paris.

Discobolos by Myron

Greek Vase, British Museum, London.

Greek ArchitectureGreek ArchitectureArchitectureGreek architecture was big, beautiful, and symmetrical. Temples were the most common form of architecture, however they were used for politics as well as worship. There were three orders, or styles, of architecture in Ancient Greece. The Doric and Ionic orders were the most common, and the Corinthian order, while seen more in Roman architecture, was sometimes used also.

Doric Ionic Corinthian

The AcropolisThe Acropolis

The Temple of Athena Parthenos, erected between 447-438BCE under Pericles.

Architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates

Doric temple with perfect symmetry expressed as x = 2y + 1

(short sides have 8 columns & long sides have 17)

Erechtheion: Shrine of Gods and Kings (421-405BCE)

Caryatids (Gr: priestess)

Ionic shrine; asymmetrical

Marble bust of Pericles, Roman, 2nd C. AD, British Museum, London

Citadel provided safety: only accessible from West

Plan of the AcropolisPlan of the Acropolis

Metope

Pediment Sculptures

Frieze

The Parthenon restoration projectThe Parthenon restoration project(Bombed by the Venetians in 1687 when it was under Turkish control and used (Bombed by the Venetians in 1687 when it was under Turkish control and used as an ammunition storage facility. The rocket destroyed the building’s center.)as an ammunition storage facility. The rocket destroyed the building’s center.)

• It is said that “More human creative genius concentrated on the Periclean Acropolis than in any other place or time in the history of Western Civilization.”

• At one time or another it has been converted to a Byzantine Church, a Catholic Church, and an Islamic Mosque. Each time the building was structurally modified.

The Parthenon Pediments - PhidiasThe Parthenon Pediments - Phidias

The Elgin Marbles, British Museum, LondonRemaining Pediment statues, Athens

E. pediment sculptures

Greek, High Classical

450-400BC

Males-Study in anatomy; Females-Study in drapery

Dionysus

3 Goddesses

Metopes; 4 scenes-Greeks v. Centaurs, Trojans, or amazons; Gods v. giants

-only 2 figures, deep relief, painted