Greek Art of the Golden Age

GREEK ART OF THE GOLDEN AGESection 1

ARCHITECTURE AND ART The Athenians surrounded themselves with

beauty. 400s B.C. – golden age of Greece Many public buildings Showed admiration of the human body

Victorious athlete from Bénévent Louvre

The Discus Thrower by Myron

Greek vase painting

Vase painting depicting Greeks marching against Greeks, in the Peloponnesian War

THE NATURE OF GREEK ART Glorified human

beings Symbolized the

Greek’s pride in their city-states

Expressed Greek beliefs in harmony, balance, order, and moderation

Expressed the Greek belief in combined beauty and usefulness

Bronze statue of Poseidon  from 450 BC in the National Museum of Athens

GREEK PHILOSOPHERS Used observation and reason to find causes

for what happened Explored many subjects (mathematics,

music, logic, and rhetoric) They questioned accepted traditions and

ideas

SOCRATES Most of what we know

comes from his student Plato

Lounged around the marketplace, asking his fellow citizens what they believed

Used a series of questions (called the Socratic Method) to help people seek truth

Was condemned to die by an Athenian jury, death by drinking hemlock

"The Death of Socrates" by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

SOCRATIC METHODWho is most able to do good to his friends and harm to his

enemies in a time of

sickness?

a doctor

Or when they are on a

voyage, amid the perils of

the sea?

The sea captain.

When a man is well, do you still need doctors?

Yes. And if you aren’t on a voyage do you still

need ship captains? Yes. Then in time of peace do you still need

laws ? Of course.

See how Socrates proved his point by asking questions? Socrates asked the question as a way of summing up his argument. The only answer the other person could give, when examining the argument Socrates presented, was Yes.

PLATO The execution of Socrates left

Plato with a lifelong distrust of democracy

He fled Athens Wrote The Republic, describing

the ideal state He felt the state should govern

every aspect of people’s lives Divided society into 3 classes

(workers, soldiers, and philosophers) led by a philosopher king.

“As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser.”

--Plato

“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.”

--Plato

ARISTOTLE Plato’s most famous student Analyzed all forms of

government Set up a school, the Lyceum,

for the study of all branches of knowledge

1,500 years later, the first European universities would rely heavily on Aristotle’s writings.

Taught Alexander the Great

Lyceum, the school of Aristotle

POETRY AND DRAMA Plays began as religious festivals Performed in outdoor theaters Greek literature began with the epics of

Homer Tragedy - plays that tell of human suffering,

usually end in disaster Comedy – Humorous plays that mocked

people or customs

Delphi TheaterThe theater at Delphi is build further up the hill from the Temple of Apollo and it presented the seated audience with a spectacular view of the entire sanctuary below and the valley beyond. It was built in the 4th c. B.C. our of local Parnassus limestone and was remodeled several times subsequently.Its 35 rows can accommodate around five thousand spectators who in ancient times enjoyed plays, poetry readings, and musical events during the various festivals that took place periodically at Delphi.

HERODOTUS Father of History He went beyond listing

names of rulers or retelling ancient legends

Wrote about the Persian Wars

THUCYDIDES

An Athenian, wrote about the Peloponnesian war, tried to give an accurate account.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

TIMELINE Alexander was born on 356 B.C. He was born

in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympias, a princess of Epirus.

His tutor was Aristotle, who trained him in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine and philosophy.

United the Greek city-states after the death of his father, Philip of Macedon

He was 20 when he became king Led conquests that formed an empire Considered one of the greatest military

strategists of all time. Conquered Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia Traveled all the way to India

HELLENISTIC CULTURE Alexander encouraged a mix of cultures

wherever he went, and married several foreign women himself

His conquests led to a mix of Persian, Egyptian, and Greek culture

DEATH On the afternoon of June 10–11, 323 BC,

Alexander died of a mysterious illness in the palace of Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon. He was just one month shy of turning 33.

Because he never named an heir, the Greek empire quickly disintegrated.