An Introduction to The Greek World

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An Introduction toThe Greek World
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Sources

• Primary Sources works produced within a culture
• art and architecture
• literature and written records of other sorts
  (business lists etc.)
• Secondary Sources Commentary by modern authors
  on the ancient cultures
• textbooks and other modern writings
• Internet Resources
• can be primary sources (if they reproduce texts
  or images from the original culture)
• or secondary sources (if they are modern
  commentary)

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Greece in the Mediterranean
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The Greek Environment
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The Greek Landscape
http//www.ancient-greece.org/map.html
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Prehistoric Greece
First settlers c. 50,000 BCE Agriculture
develops c. 7000 BCE Bronze appears c. 3000 BCE
Abbreviations BCE Before the common era CE
common era c. circa (about)
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Prehistoric Greece
The culture of the Cyclades (Cycladic Islands)
The Bronze Age (c. 3000 BCE c. 1200 BCE) Three
civilizations develop in three different parts of
the Greek world
Mycenaean culture develops in the mainland of
Greece
The Minoans lived on the Island of Crete
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Cycladic Culture
The Cycladic culture is known for its figurines
(also called idols) which were found in tombs
and could be objects of personal devotion (like
icons in modern Greece).
Cycladic culture was closely allied with the
Minoan civilization.
Idol Vroma Flying fish R. Basic
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Minoan Culture

• Minoan culture was characterized by
• palaces, built on an open plan, with a great many
  rooms, but without fortifications

• an apparent focus on the ocean, including
  seafaring and trade

Thera Freso, R. Basic
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Minoan Culture
There are many images of women, often portrayed
in positions of authority
Fresco, R. Basic
Minoan civilization may have been more
egalitarian with worship oriented toward female
deities
Sacred images often focused on the mysterious
labrys (double ax), and on bulls, including the
enigmatic representations of bull-leaping
Priestess, Thera fresco, R. Basic
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Minoan Culture

• Minoan figurine
• faience (quality workmqnship, highly specialized
  technique)
• what are the figures attributes (iconography)?
• what did she represent within her society?

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Minoan Culture
Detail of a sacrifice from Minoan Crete, 1450-
1400 BCE.
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Mycenaean Culture
Mycenaes Lion Gate, R. Basic
Mycenaean art tends to emphasize hunting and
warfare, while other indicators (i.e. grave
goods) argue for a warrior-dominated society.
In contrast, Mycenaean palaces are fortified with
huge walls and built to withstand siege.
Mask of Agamemnon, Artchive
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Mycenaean Culture
Fresco fragment depicting Mycenaean woman 13th
century BCE
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Upheavals ...
In about 1400 BCE, the volcanic island of Thera
exploded in a disaster whose atmospheric effects
were felt around the world. Probably, ashfall
ruined agriculture for years. Possibly, a tidal
wave destroyed the Cretan navy and led to the
fall of Minoan culture.
Thera fresco, R Basic
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Mycenaean Dominance
Minoan civilization suffers a major setback.
Soon, the local writing system, Linear A,
disappears. Linear B, a form of Greek, used by
the Mycenaeans, appears in Crete.
Warrior Vase, R. Basic
Minoan civilization is dead, but Mycenae
flourishes. Linear B tablets reveal a complex
economic and religious world. Many of the names
of classical Greek gods appear on these early
bronze age tablets.
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The Dark Age
By about 1200 BCE, nearly all of the Bronze Age
power centers had been destroyed or fallen into
disuse. Greece entered a dark age in which
monumental building and art were not
practiced. But the culture continued to develop
and expand.
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Archaic Greece
Some cities lost prominence, others became more
important. Greeks colonized the coast of Asia
Minor and Southern Italy. By 750 BCE, national
sanctuaries at Delphi and Olympia were
formed. Agriculture intensified and population
grew. The first poets whose works are preserved
in writing, Homer and Hesiod, were composing
their epic works.
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Classical Greece The Polis
Individual city-states (polis, pl. poleis)
developed Each had its own governmental system,
laws, and religious festivals All shared
language, literature, and the same divine
pantheon Most shared similar ideas about gender
roles, division of labor, sexuality, education,
and family identity.
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The Polis City Walls (Troy)
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Polis and Community
Shared Government Shared laws Shared religious
festivals Shared myths
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Agriculture
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Family Groups
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Mens Social Roles
Social Roles varied from society to society some
widespread phenomena Farming work or overseeing
farming work on ones own land Service in the
military Participation in government to the
extent allowed by the states constitution Partici
pation in rituals of ones state Education of
ones children
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Womens Social Roles
To marry and bear citizen children To care for
the household resources To spin and weave To
participate in the states religious rituals
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Sexuality
Sexuality was not a matter of the partners
gender (male vs. female) but concerned active vs.
passive roles. Active roles were appropriate for
grown men, whether the partner was male or
female Passive roles were appropriate for women
and to some extent, teenaged men, but not for
adult males How far did the reality match the
ideal? Public vs. private? Hard to say
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The Greek Gods
The Greek gods were a family, led by Zeus, whose
authority commanded his two brothers, three
sisters and eight children. In myth, the family
squabbled and fought, a macrocosm of real
families the goddesses, while under paternal
authority, often pursued their own
agendas. Zeus, a sky god, and was seen as a
moral and ethical force. On the other hand,
myth abounded with stories of his seduction of
mortal women.
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Zeus and Hera
Hera, Zeuss sister, was his wife and queen. Zeus
and Heras marriage was portrayed as rocky and
contentious in myth, but in cult and art it
represented the ultimate divine marriage as a
model for humans. Hera was a beautiful,
desirable bride, Zeus a manly, welcoming husband.
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Poseidon and Hades
Zeuss brother Poseidon was god of the sea, while
his brother Hades ruled the underworld with his
wife, Persephone
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Demeter and Persephone
Demeter is the grain god, and Persephone, her
daughter by Zeus, is the queen of the
underworld. Their mother-daughter relationship
represents the life-affirming process of yearly
cycles and crop fertility, where death is
transformed into life.
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Athena
Athena, born from her father Zeuss head, was
goddess of warfare, but also of intelligence and
womens crafts, especially weaving.
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Artemis
Artemis, the huntress, remained forever a virgin,
roaming the wilderness, a liminal and often
threatening figure Yet her other aspect was to
promote the fertility of animals, aid in
childbirth, and oversee the transition of virgins
into brides
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Apollo, Artemis twin brother, was the beautiful,
unapproachable god of music, poetry and prophecy
Apollo and Hermes
Hermes, another youthful god, was both divine
messenger and trickster
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Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the goddess of love, symbolizing
intoxicating sexuality and beauty. In myth she is
often portrayed as a willful girly-girl, but
she is elsewhere portrayed as a powerful,
personally-accessible goddess.
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Hephaestus and Ares
Hephaestus, the lame god of the forge and
craftsmanship, was married to Aphrodite the
ugliest god married to the most beautiful. Ares,
god of war, was Aphrodites lover.
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Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of wine. His celebration
could involve loss of self and ecstasy, and was
particularly appealing to women.
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finis