THE GOLDEN AGE OF GREECE

800 BCE – 300 BCE

Classical Period is rooted in Homer’s writings

The Acropolis “Upper City”

The Acropolis was built prior to the Peloponessian War in 430 BCE as a monument to the political and cultural achievements of Athens. The citizens of Athens would retreat to the Acropolis during enemy invasions.

The Propylaea “Fore-Gate”This is the monumental entrance to the Acropolis. It is actually a series of gateways rather than a single one.

The Parthenon was built between 448-432 BCE at the request of Perikles following the Persian

Wars and was dedicated to Athena

The Erechtheion and the Carytides (female statues that are designed to be pillars)

Other Greek Temples and Artifacts

TEMPLE OF ZEUS 456 BCE. DESTROYED BY EARTHQUAKE SEVERAL CENTURIES LATER

SARCOPHAGUS

ART AND THEATRE   It was during this time that democracy was born in Athens, that the Greek theatre produced some of its greatest playwrights, and that philosophers such as Socrates and Plato challenged man's thought processes.  During this era, Greece also produced architectural phenomena such as the Parthenon and art and sculpture that has been admired over the centuries.  The polytheistic society of the day also made advances in poetry, science and medicine, and recorded history.

Theatre of Epidaurus

Constructed in the 4th century BCE. It is made of limestone and seats 15, 000 people. It’s design allows for laser-sharp amplification even without modern technology and sound.

Greek Statues

APHRODITE WITH SON, EROS, BEING SEDUCED BY PAN

PERSEUS HOLDING THE HEAD OF MEDUSA

Aegean Bronze Age : Primitive Warfare

1600-1100 BCEVery primitive war helmet from early Bronze Age made of boar’s tusk. Accompanying shields were usually made of leather hide.

Phalanx Warfare

Between the early 7th century and the mid-4th century B.C the Ancient Greeks adopted a form of warfare which set them apart from other contemporary civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean. This involved the use of heavily-armed infantrymen call hoplites. They were supported by more lightly armed slingers and archers. They were distinguished by their round of wood and leather faced with bronze, their long thrusting-spear, and their protective armor of bronze: usually a helmet, a corselet and greaves.

The spear was indeed the principal offensive weapon of the hoplite. It was eight feet long and capped with an iron spearhead on one end, and a bronze butt-spike on the other. The butt-spike was useful as a secondary weapon for dispatching trampled-upon foes, or as a primary weapon after the spear shattered, as it usually did, upon impact. The hoplite's short sword was typically considered to be a sort of weapon of last resort.

Helmets, Breastplate, Greaves, Belt, Spearhead

Other Artifacts Used in the

Daily Lives of Ancient Greeks

Jewelry: Gold Necklace, Earrings, and Charms

Ancient Medical Equipment

Funerary Artifacts:Horse-Drawn Hearse and Sarcophagus

Grave ExcavationsFound in a fine state of

preservation

Died around 460-450 BCE. He was a mature man with considerable degeneration of the spine. His vertebrae and ribs were fused together and looked like molten wax. He had lost several teeth and had an abscess on his upper left jaw.

Grave ExcavationFound with numerous

grave offerings.

Died around 440-430 BCE. He was a young, adult male who had osteoarthritis in arms and neck probably as a result of labor and/or battle. He suffered from malnutrition during his childhood and had bad teeth.