THE GOLDEN AGE AND GREEK GIFTS

Do Now

Who was Pericles? Why was he important to the development of Athens and its early democracy?

The Golden Age

After defeating the strong Persian army, Greeks felt a great sense of pride.

Tribute from the Delian League allowed Athens to rebuild.

The Golden Age of Athens lasted from 479 B.C. to 431 B.C.

Architects designed new government buildings, schools, temples, and theaters.

Pericles

Directed architects and builders to create beautiful structures

Pericles

His goal was to make Athens an example to all of Greece, and to rebuild Athens as the model for respected political, economic, and social structures, as well as the center for art and learning.

Oversaw the building of the Parthenon, which honored the goddess Athena.

Pericles

Completed in 438 B.C., it took 9 years to build and required more than 22,000 tons of white marble.

Today it is considered a classic example of balance and simplicity, and many modern buildings are based on it.

Parthenon

Supreme Court

Acropolis

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial (Continued)

Greek Columns

Pericles

He also had the best architects and artists that the Greek world had to offer. They designed new government buildings, schools, temples, and theaters.

Pericles

Statues of Greek gods and of people decorated buildings. Murals, or wall paintings, showed lifelike scenes from Athens’ history and Greek myths.

Discobolus: The Disc Thrower

Pericles Sculpture

Remember…

Pericles

Paintings on vases showed scenes from Greek mythology and daily life.

Pericles

By carefully observing vases, we can see how people dressed, how they wore their hair, and even what they ate.

Literature and Theater

Theater means “a place to see.” During the Golden Age, Athens was known throughout Greece for its fine theaters and skilled playwrights.

Literature and Theater

a. It was an all-day outdoor event

b. There were men actors only – they played women’s roles as well

c. There were few actors – costumes were important

d. All actors wore masks to represent different characters and emotions

Theater Masks

Greek Theatre

Activity

Turn to pages 326 and 327 of your textbook to look at a Greek Theater.

Aesop’s Fables

The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf The Hare and the Tortoise The Ant and the Grasshopper

Atlas

A book of maps is called an atlas. The Greek god Atlas was said to carry on his shoulders the columns that separated the heavens and the earth.

Achilles

Achilles’ heel is sometimes used to describe a person’s weak spot. It comes from the myth about Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War.

Hesiod

Greek poet and author, wrote down the myths and legends that had long been told in Greek mythology

Hesoid

In other poems, he described the difficulties of everyday life in ancient Greece. His poems have provided modern historians with useful information about early Greek culture.

Homer

Greek poet and author of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Much of what we know about the Mycenaeans comes from his stories.

Sophocles

Ancient Greek writer of tragedies, or serious plays

Sophocles

In tragedies, the main characters come to an unhappy end. In Sophocles’ tragedies, heroes always struggle to do the right thing. In one play, a young woman named Antigone faces a terrible choice. If she chooses to do the right thing, she will break an unfair law. The punishment for breaking the law is death. Antigone chooses to do the right thing and accept the consequences.

Aristophanes

Ancient Greek writer of comedies, or humorous plays

Aristophanes

In his comedies, he used humor to make serious statements about political and social life.

Science, Mathematics, and History

Pythagoras

Greek philosopher and mathematician; the inventor of geometry

Pythagoras

Believed that everything in the universe could be explained by using numbers.

Pythagoras

Remembered for his theorem, or formula, that expresses the relationship among the lengths of the sides of a right triangle; this is called the Pythagorean theorem.

Pythagorean theorem

Hippocrates

Greek physician known as the Father of Medicine

Hippocrates

Believed that illnesses had natural causes.

Hippocrates

His name is associated with the Hippocratic oath, a pledge of duties and responsibilities made by doctors to this day.

Democritus

Greek scientist and philosopher; explained that all matter is made up of building blocks called atoms

Democritus

He believed people could understand nature by learning about the movement of atoms.

Herodotus

One of the earliest geographers and Greece’s first historian.

Herodotus

Wrote 9 books about the Persian Wars that included not only facts but also differing views about the wars and their causes.

Thucydides

Greek teacher who is considered the greatest historian of ancient times.

Thucydides

Wrote about the war between Sparta and Athens from beginning to end.

He wrote about the war from both sides, and is therefore credited with creating a method in which historians write about historical events without including their personal opinions.

Socrates

Greek philosopher who taught by asking questions.

Socrates

His teachings focused on morals, or knowing right from wrong.

Asking students questions required them to think for themselves.

His way of teaching, called the Socratic method, is still a model for debating ideas.

Socrates

Let’s take a minute to review the Socrates handout.

Plato

Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and teacher of Aristotle

Plato

He started a new school called the Academy in Athens.

Plato

He taught philosophy, law, and science.

His writings on politics, justice, religion, and education are still read today.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher and tutor of Alexander the Great. He is considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time.

Aristotle

He collected, organized, and classified information, a method important to modern science.

He studied astronomy, law, and economics.

He was also a pioneer in zoology (the study of animals) and botany (the study of plants).

Wrap Up

Who was your favorite person of the Golden Age of Athens? Why?