Greek Culture

And its Impact on the World

Alphabet and Language

Greek alphabet was adapted from the Phoenicians

It uses 24 letters that stood for sounds

Greek letters are still used in science and mathematics and are also the names of fraternity and sorority houses on college campuses

Hundreds of Greek root words are still used as the basis of the English language today

Bio, astro, geo, hydro

Philosophy

Love of wisdom Socrates wandered around asking questions with a

group of young men following him around Socratic method is named after him Put on Trial and sentenced to death for corrupting the

youth of Athens and disrespecting the Gods Socrates writes nothing but his student Plato will write

down Socrates’ ideas Plato begins a school of thought—The Academy—and

his student Aristotle will continue the tradition Aristotle was the tutor of Alexander the Great Stoicism, Skepticism and Epicureanism are philosophical

schools of thought that will dominate the Hellenistic Age.

Architecture

The Parthenon in Athens is the ultimate example of Ancient Greek Architecture.

The steps and the entablature both form convex curves—there are no straight lines!

Names of styles are Corinthian, Dorian, Ionic

Marble, frieze and sculptures used throughout

Olympic Games

Began in 776 BC in the city-state of Olympia Held to honor Zeus Competitions first included footraces then

wrestling, boxing, javelin, discus throwing were added

The pankration event combined wrestling and boxing and had no rules except scratching the facial area

Winner would receive a wreath of Olive leaves

Drama Comedies Aristophanes Plays satirized politics

and politicians, poking fun at society and ridiculing the rich

Tragedies Created to honor the God of

Wine and fertility– Dionysus Performed in Amphitheatres Aeschylus, Sophocles, and

Euripides Sophocles focuses on the

individual Oedipus Rex despite doing

everything to change his fate still ends up killing his father and marrying his mother for which he punishes himself by stabbing himself in the eye

Study of History

Herodotus—History of the

Persian wars—often called

The father of history Thucydides—History of the

Peloponnesian Wars Began the scientific analysis of events based on

actual eyewitness accounts and factual evidence and then added their own poetic interpretations

Mythology

In the beginning is Chaos Ouranos—the Heavens and

Gaea—the Earth create the Titans

Kronos kills his father and marries his sister Rhea thus the Olympian Gods

are created Kronos eats his

Children

Literature

Homer Rhetoric Drama Mythology

Science Eratosthenes—Correctly measures the earth’s

circumference, Ptolemy—Geocentric theory—cartography, creation of latitude/longitude

Archimedes—Develops a system of levers and pulleys

Medicine—Hippocrates Astronomy—Aristarchus—proposed

Heliocentric theory

Anaxagoras—eclipses

Mathematics

Thales—the Father of Mathematics Geometry—Euclid wrote the Elements of

Geometry used up until the late 1900s Pythagoras—Theorems, Pi

Sculpture

Ideals of classical art—Order,

Balance and Proportion Sculptures show

grace, serenity,

strength and perfection Most Greek

Sculptures exist

today because the

Romans copied them

Discus Thrower

Democracy

Tyrants established the first steps to democracy

Cleisthenes created the council of 500 Pericles ruled over the golden age—all

male citizens 18 and older