The%20Culture%20of%20Ancient%20Greece

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The Culture of Ancient Greece
Section 1
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Section 1 Objectives

• After this lesson, students will be able to
• Explain how Greek poetry and fables taught Greek
  values.
• Describe how Greek art and architecture expressed
  Greek ideas of harmony and beauty.

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Greek Mythology

• Myth A traditional story about gods and heroes
• Some created as a way to explain the
  unexplainable
• Fiction but some have a real-world connection
• Real to the ancient Greeks a part of their daily
  life and religion
• Again, religion is about keeping the gods happy
  so they dont squash you

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Greek Mythology

• The Greeks had numerous gods and goddesses, who
  ruled over one or more domain.
• The gods looked and acted more like human beings
  than like gods.

Zeus, god of the sky, king of the gods
Hera, goddess of marriage
Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty
Apollo, god of light, beauty, music, etc.
Athena, goddess of wisdom, protector of cities
Pan, god of shepherds
Demeter, goddess of agriculture
Ares, god of war
Hephaestus, god of fire blacksmithing
Hermes, god of the market, messenger
Not pictured Hades, god of the underworld
Poseidon, god of the sea
Artemis, goddess of the hunt
Dionysus, god of wine
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Greek Mythology

• Ancient Greeks built temples and held rituals and
  festivals to gain favor from the gods.

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What Was a Greek Oracle?

• Greeks believed in fate and prophecy.
• Oracle a sacred shrine where a priest or
  priestess spoke for a god or goddess
• Most famous oracle was at Delphi

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Greek Poetry and Fables

• Epics long poems about heroic deeds
• Homer
• Iliad
• Odyssey
• Areté (the Greek idea of excellence)

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Greek Poetry and Fables

• Iliad Epic about the Trojan War

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Greek Poetry and Fables

• The Trojan War
• The Trojan Horse

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Greek Poetry and Fables

• Odyssey The story of Odysseus journey home
  from the Trojan War

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Who Was Aesop?

• Fable a short tale that teaches a lesson
• Aesop Greek slave famous for his fables

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Greek Dramas

• Drama story told by actors who pretend to be
  characters in a story
• Comedies happy ending
• Tragedy person struggles to overcome
  difficulties but fails
• Euripides dramatist who questioned traditional
  thinking about war
• Sophocles dramatist who used three actors and
  painted scenery to tell a story
• Aristophanes poked fun at politicians and
  encouraged audience to think

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Greek Art and Architecture

• Columns Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

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Section 1 Questions

1. How and why did the Greeks honor their gods and
   goddesses?
2. What was an oracle?
3. Who wrote the Iliad and Odyssey?
4. What is the subject matter of the Iliad?
5. What is the goal of a fable?
6. What is drama?
7. How do we readily see a Greek influence in
   todays architecture?

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Greek Philosophy and History
Section 2
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Section 2 Objectives

• After this lesson, students will be able to
• List the kinds of ideas that Greek philosophers
  developed that are still used today.
• Explain that Greeks wrote the first real
  histories in Western civilization.

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Greek Philosophers

• Philosophers people who ponder questions about
  life
• History, political science, science, mathematics
• Pythagoras believed universe followed the same
  laws that governed music and numbers
• Pythagorean theorem a² b² c²

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Who were the Sophists?

• Sophists Professional teachers who taught that
  there was no absolute right or wrong

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The Ideas of Socrates

• Socrates
• Great philosopher
• Taught that absolute right and wrong did exist
• Challenged his students to think using the
  Socratic Method, a way of using pointed questions
  in order to get his students to use reason
• Tried and executed for his ideas

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The Ideas of Plato

• Plato
• Student of Socrates
• Established the Academy
• Taught that governments should be headed by
  philosopher-kings
• Wrote the Republic
• Split people into three groups
  philosopher-kings, warriors, and everybody else

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Who Was Aristotle?

• Aristotle
• Student of Plato
• Opened the Lyceum
• Taught the golden mean a person should do
  nothing in excess
• Wrote Politics
• Divided governments into three types government
  by one person, government by a few people,
  government by many people
• A mixture is the best

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Greek Historians

• Herodotus The Father of History
• The Histories
• Thucydides considered by many to be the
  greatest historian of the ancient world
• History of the Peloponnesian War
• Either I was present myself at the events which
  I have described or else I heard of them from
  eyewitnesses whose reports I have checked with as
  much thoroughness as possible. - Thucydides,
  History of the Peloponnesian War

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Section 2 Questions

1. Who were the Sophists?
2. What happened to Socrates?
3. Name the school that Plato established.
4. Who did Aristotle go on to teach?
5. Name the two historians mentioned and the books
   each one wrote.

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Alexander the Great

• Section 3

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Section 3 Objectives

• After this lesson, students will be able to
• describe how Philip of Macedonia united the Greek
  states under Macedonia.
• explain how Alexander the Great conquered the
  Persian Empire.

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Macedonia Attacks Greece

• Macedonia North of Greece

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Macedonia Attacks Greece

• Condition of Greece following the Peloponnesian
  War poor
• Demosthenes tried to warn Athens about Phillip
  II
• Phillip II king of Macedonia has dreams of
  uniting Greece under Macedonia and conquering
  Persia
• Conquered some Greeks, invited some to join him,
  bribed others
• Crushed the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea
• Assassinated in 336 B.C.

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Alexander Builds an Empire

• Alexander the Great
• Tutored by Aristotle as a youth
• Commander in the army by the age of 16
• King by the age of 20
• Ruthless in pursuit of and merciful in the wake
  of victory
• Freed Greek city-states in Asia Minor
• Alcoholic?

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Alexander Builds an Empire

• Why was he so successful?
• Use of combined arms techniques
• Possessed the coup doeil
• Determination
• Leadership (fought at the front, endured the same
  hardships as his men)

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Alexander Builds an Empire
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Alexander Builds an Empire

• Alexanders Conquests
• Tightened his grip on Greece first (Thebes)
• Battle of Granicus Alexander was almost killed
• Battle of Issus
• Siege of Tyre
• Egypt (Alexandria founded)
• Battle of Gaugamela (250,000 vs. 47,000)
• Incursions into India

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Alexander Builds an Empire
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Alexander Builds an Empire
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Alexander Builds an Empire
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Alexanders Legacy

• Alexander died at 32 from a fever (?)
• Legacy what a person leaves behind when he or
  she dies
• Alexanders legacy
• Spread and preserved Greek heritage
• Hellenistic Era time when Greek ideas and
  language spread to non-Greeks
• Alexandria

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The Empire Breaks Apart

• His empire was split among his top commanders.
• They squabbled amongst themselves.

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Section 3 Questions

1. Who attempted to warn the Athenians that Phillip
   II was a threat?
2. What kind of strategies did Phillip use to gain
   control over Greece?
3. At what battle was Alexander almost killed?
4. What was Alexanders legacy?

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The Spread of Greek Culture

• Section 4

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Section 4 Objectives

• After this lesson, students will be able to
• Describe how Hellenistic cities became centers of
  learning and culture.
• List the major discoveries in math and science
  made by Hellenistic scientists.

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Greek Culture Spreads

• New Greek cities spread Greek culture
• Alexandria

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Greek Culture Spreads

• Architecture and Sculpture
• Temple of Zeus at Olympia

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Greek Culture Spreads

• Literature and Theater

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Philosophy

• Epicureanism
• Taught that happiness was the goal in life and
  the way to be happy was to seek out pleasure
• Avoided public service
• Stoicism
• Founded by Zeno taught from a stoa
• Taught that happiness came from following reason
  and doing ones duty public service important

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Greek Science and Math
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Greek Science and Math

• Aristarchus - Established that Earth revolves
  around the sun
• Eratosthenes Calculated Earths circumference
• Euclid Developed plane geometry how points,
  lines, angles, and planes relate to one another
• Archimedes Probably most famous of the Greek
  scientists and mathematicians, calculated pi
• Hippocrates father of medicine

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Section 4 Questions

1. Why did the city of Alexandria attract scholars?
2. What happened to Greek culture during the
   Hellenistic Age?
3. Explain the ideas of both the Epicureans and the
   Stoics.
4. Create a chart like the one below that lists
   facts about the scientists shown.

Scientist Facts
Aristarchus
Eratosthenes
Euclid
Archimedes
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THE END