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The Height of

the Greek Civilization

The Ancient Greeks developed a culture that became one of the

foundations of Western Civilization. Ancient Greek thinkers believe in

reason and the importance of the individual. Alexander’s empire brings

about a mix of Greek and Middle Eastern cultures. The Greeks valued

moderation and balance, loved beauty, stressed the individual, and sought

the truth through free inquiry. Western architects and sculptors have

copied Greek works for centuries; Greek philosophers, historians, and

scientists created traditions in these disciplines that are still valued today.

Chapter Five Overview

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At its height, Athens was the center of Greek civilization. Its classical styles of

art, architecture, and literature have endured in Western civilization. The

Greeks were the first to write and perform plays. Greek thinkers believed that

the power of reason could explain all things, a belief that became a basic

principle of science. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle taught

and lectured on several topics. The Greeks also produced the first true

historians in Herodotus and Thucydides, and the father of medicine in

Hippocrates. Alexander the Great had the goal of combining the best of Greek

and Persian cultures into one civilization. After he died, his empire was

divided. Although Greek political unity vanished, Greek culture spread and

mixed with Middle Eastern cultures to form the Hellenistic civilization.

Development of Greek Culture

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Quest for Beauty and Meaning

•Classical (By Definition – Refers to Ancient Greece and Rome)

•Developed in the period after the Persian wars

•Referred to architecture, art, painting

•Height of ancient Greece

•Literature develops to include plays, theater, thinkers, philosophy

Building for the Gods

•Sanctuaries – Parthenon – places where their deities would live

•“Golden Mean”, “Nothing to Excess”

•Perspective – use of optical illusions – height - straightness

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MassiveNo Base

TallerSlender

MoreDecorative

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Greek Arts

Showing the human body as being

perfect

Placed emphasis on the individual

Painting on Vases (Black Color)

Each vase had a specific

function

Each object had different art

depending on the function of the

pottery

Paintings on many showed the

daily life

•Amphora (Storage)

•Krater (Mixing Bowl)

•Leythos (Pouring Vessel)

•Kylix (Drinking Cup)

KylixLeythos

Krater

Amphora6

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•Sculpting the Human Body

•Myron

•What people should look like

•Phidias

•Larger than life statues

•Athena

•Zeus

•Praxiteles

•Reduced the size of the statues to normal size

Phidias:Athena

Phidias:Zeus

Praxiteles

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Myron: The Discus Thrower

Michelangelo:The Pieta

2,000 Year Difference

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Drama and Theater

The Greeks produced impressive literature

The Greeks invented drama

•Athenian playwrights excelled in comedic and tragic drama

Tragedy vs. Comedy ... The Muses (Symbol of Modern Theater)

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Odean of Herodes Atticus 161 A.D.

Theater of Dionysus 325 B.C.

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Athens - Acropolis

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Segesta - Sicily

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Tragedy -- Sorrowful -- Sad -- Moral

•Aeschylus -- “Father of Tragedy”

•Tragedy – struggles against fate – suffer to a tragic or unhappy ending

•“Oresteia”

•Consequences of ones deeds carry from generation to generation

•Sophocles

•Accepted human suffering as a part of life

•“Oedipus Rex”

•Stresses human courage and compassion

•Euripides

•Focuses on the qualities that bring disaster on themselves

•“Trojan Women”

•Misery that War brings

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Comedy

Happy endings – Humorous

•Aristophanes

•Creates social satire

•Makes fun of politicians

The Olympic Games

•Olympia – Temple of Zeus

•Big event for the Greeks and would even stop

wars in order to attend

•Ancient Events vs. Modern Events

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The Olympic Games

•Olympia

•Big event for the Greeks and would even stop

wars in order to attend

•Ancient Events vs. Modern Events

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The Greek Mind

Philosophers – seeker of wisdom and knowledge

Logic – science of reasoning

The Greeks laid the foundation for philosophy

We are all philosophers – we all want to learn something

The Greeks sought answers about people’s lives through reason

A new school of philosophy arose in Athens

Raphael’s “School of Athens”Painted 1509; Vatican Museums

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The Sophists (Soph = Wise)

Professional teachers

•Traveled from place to place

•Referred to as the “knower's” – could find the answers

•Did not believe in absolute standards (Moral / Legal)

•Truth is different for each person

•Taught young men how to win political arguments

Criticized by Socrates and Plato

•They accepted money !

•Wisdom should be free!

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Socrates (“Gadfly” of Athens)

•Grew up poor – was originally a sculptor

•Believed in absolute not relative truth (Truth is real and unchanging)

•Concerned with the process (think for yourself),

Not the information – Socratic Method (ask the right questions)

•Forced people to defend their statements

•Thought to be corrupting the youth

•Argued that a person who knew what was right = would do what is right

(Search for truth most important)

•“Know thyself”

•Tried and condemned

to death

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Plato

Student of Socrates

Opened up the Academy in Athens (closed 529 AD!)

Thought to be the world’s first university.

Recorded the dialogues – conversations of Socrates

Wrote The Republic

1. Disliked democracy – liked Sparta

2. Felt everyone should serve the state (not individual)

3. Best educated citizens should serve in the government

4. Felt too much freedom would produce social disorder

5. Helped to develop study of political science

Rejected the senses as a source of truth

The senses can be fooled

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Aristotle

•Wrote more than 200 books

•Founded a school in Athens – Lyceum

•“Golden Mean” – live moderately – avoid

extremes

•Developed the syllogism – (See next slide)

•a way to present an argument – is it logical?

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Aristotle & Syllogism

Deductive Reasoning (Argument is valid if premises are true!)

An example of a deductive argument and hence of deductive reasoning:1. All men are mortal 2. Socrates is a man 3. (Therefore) Socrates is mortal

Vs.

Inductive Reasoning (Suggests the Truth, but does not prove it!)

An example of a inductive argument and hence of inductive reasoning:

1. All observed crows are black. 2. (Therefore) All crows are black.

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Aristotle

•Wrote more than 200 books

•Founded a school in Athens – Lyceum

•“Golden Mean” – live moderately – avoid extremes

•Developed the syllogism

•a way to present an argument – is it logical?

Aristotle and Science

Stressed the value of knowledge gained through the senses

•Change = same matter taking on a different form

•First person to observe, classify, and generalize – scientific method

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Aristotle and Government

His book Politics

•Examined the Greek city-states and how they were governed

Looked for advantages and disadvantages of each

•Felt ideal form of government balanced monarchy,

democracy and aristocracy

•Felt the power should rest with middle class because they

know how to both command and to obey

Writers of History

The Greeks wrote the first true histories

Herodotus -- “Father of History”

•Separated fact from legend

•Wrote about the Persian wars

•Historia = “investigation”•Asked questions – sometimes offered supernatural explanations for events

•Accepted some statements that were not true

•Wrote about a variety of things

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Thucydides -- First Scientific Historian

•Checked all of his facts

•Wrote about things that he himself had firsthand knowledge

• Peloponnesian wars

• Visited the sites of historic events

• Interviewed eyewitnesses

•Rejected the idea that gods played a role in history

•Offered explanations as to why events occur - motivations

•Felt future generations could learn from the past

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Greek Mathematicians

•Use math for systematic methods of

reasoning to prove truth

Thales - Miletus

•Ionian Greek

•Astronomy – math – foretold a solar

eclipse

•Water was the basic substance of

everything in the world

Pythagoras

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The First Scientists

Greek Mathematicians

Pythagoras (6th Century B.C.)

•Tried to explain everything in

math terms

•Theorem about relationship of

right angled triangle

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The First Scientists

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Greek Mathematicians

Pythagoras

•Tried to explain everything in math

terms

•Theorem about relationship of right

angled triangle

•Taught that the world was round

and revolved around a fixed point!

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The First Scientists

“Who is Eratosthenes”

Earth’s circumference to

within 1%

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Greek Medicine

Hippocrates

•Believed that diseases had a

natural cause

•Believed that the body could heal

itself

•Wanted doctors to record their

cases and share the information

Hygiene

•Advocated good diet, rest, and

proper hygiene

•Drafted a code for doctors to

follow -- Hippocratic Oath

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Rise of the Hellenistic Greek World

Phillip of Macedonia conquers the Greek city-states

•Ends the Hellenic period

•Phillip assassinated -- 336 BC

Alexander takes over control of the Greeks •Punishes Thebes

•Alexander invades Persia -- 334 BC

•Alexander dies in Babylon – 323 BC

Alexander’s ideas

•Standard system of money

•Kept Persian system of administration

•Believed in strong world government with all equal

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Alexander’s Route of March and Conquests

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Conquest of the Phoenician City-State of Tyre

Alexander’s Arrival – Temple of Hercules

•333-332 BC – Brutal Siege

•Critical to Destroy Base of Persian Navy

•Great Cruelty to Vanquished Tyrians

•Example to those who resist

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Battle of Gaugamela – 331 BC

Final Defeat of the Persian Armies

•King Darius III Flees •Murdered by his own generals

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Persepolis

Capital of the Persian Empire

330 B.C.

Burned to the Ground

During a Drunken

Rage by Alexander?

or was it Deliberate?

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Alexander’s Last Great Victory --Battle of Hydaspes -- 324 BCAlexander Defeats the Indian

War Elephants

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Alexander’s empire divided on his death

Split between his three generals

•Antigonus

•Ptolemy

•Seleucus

Start of Hellenistic Age

•Lasted nearly 300 years.

•Were tolerant of other cultures / religions*

*With one Exception!

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Alexander Returns to Babylon

Dies in June, 323 B.C.

“Fever” or Poison?

Malaria/Typhoid Fever/Alcohol?

Seleucid kings suppress religion in Judea

Jews revolted under the Maccabee family

Preserved their religion

Book of Maccabee’s in the Bible

Resulted in Jewish holiday – Hanukkah

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Antigonus = Macedonia & part of Greece (301 BC – 168 BC)

Ptolemy = Egypt, Libya, Syria (Part) (332 BC – 31 BC)

Seleucus = Syria (Part) & Persia (312 BC – 63 BC)

Each formed dynasties

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Network of cities founded by Alexander

•New markets for goods

•Introduction of Greek culture / Intermixed

= Preserved

•Alexandria, Egypt’s greatest city

•Tomb of Alexander

•Center of Knowledge / Culture

•500,000 people

•Wide & beautiful streets

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750,000

books in the

library at

Alexandria!

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750,000

books in the

library at

Alexandria!

Today

Hellenistic Culture

•Hellenistic Philosophers•Cynicism

•Diogenes

•Give up luxuries – Live simply

•Epicureanism

•Epicurus

•Accept the world as it is – Live free of extremes

•Stoicism = Stoa (Painted Porch)

•Zeno

•Accept the most difficult things in life – become indifferent – do not show feelings

•Hellenistic Art and Literature•Art becomes profitable – emotions / busts / heads

•Menander

•Focus on Comedies

•Reflecting everyday life -- not heroes, gods or conflicts

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Hellenistic (Alexandria)Science / Medicine / Mathematics

•Eratosthenes

•Earth’s circumference to within 1%

•Euclid

•Elements of Geometry

Medical Instruments

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Hellenistic (Alexandria)Science / Medicine / Mathematics

•Archimedes

•Pulley

•Irrigation – “Archimedes Screw”

•Principle of Buoyancy

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