Greek Archaic or Formative Period

(800-500 B.C.)

Greek Archaic or Formative Period (800-500 B.C.)

• A major creative period– Greek alphabet– Homer's writings (Illiad and Odyssey)– Greek religion codified– Morals– Science– Democracy

What a Difference Language Makes

Greek Alphabet• First alphabet with the

ability to write in full phonetic detail– Less ambiguity– Anyone with a little

training could learn to read and write

– No longer restricted creation of new ideas as pictograms and Chinese characters did

– Easy recording

Greek Language Accomplishments

• Homer’s writings-foundation of Greek civilization

• Aesop’s fables- Greek ethics• Hesiod’s writings-defined Greek religion• Science was born

Greek religion did not have a god that gave the “true” method of living so the Greeks adopted the lifestyle of the Homeric heroes as their standard and Homer’s works became the “scriptures” of the Greeks.

Homer

• Blind bard, or professional story teller

• Recited stories to a scribe• Created the Illiad and the Odyssey

– Greatest literary works of all time, in terms of their impact on society

– Began the western literary tradition – Basic values for the Greek culture – Almost like a religious text, often

memorized– Mythical beginnings for Greek history– Was a unifying force for the Greek

people– Defined the epic genre

Homer

Epics• Larger than life• Long story with many

events over many years• Heroes and often gods• Wrestle with problems

and also with life• Lessons that can apply

to everyone in many periods of time

The Iliad

• Discusses the interaction of men and gods• Takes place in the last year of the Trojan War• Examines the motivation of the main characters• Themes

– Purpose of life and immortality is achieved through heroic acts (areté)

– Human vanity and pride can be costly– Growth comes from inner reflection– Death can be ennobling– Human action is influenced only slightly by the gods

Illiad and the Bible

• Many gods involved• Challenge by Hector• Greek fear and shame• Acceptance by Ajax by lot• Hector's ridicule of Ajax• Spears and stones• Armor of Achilles• Post fight honor (until

Patroclus and Achilles, then sacrilege)

• One God• Challenge by Goliath• Israelite fear• Acceptance by David• Goliath's ridicule of David• Slings and stones• Armor of Goliath• Post death beheading

The Odyssey

• Travels of Odysseus trying to get home

• Tone is light hearted• 10 year journey• Exploration of his

growth and maturing• Growth comes from

experiencing troubles

“How foolish men are! It is their lot to suffer, but because of their folly they bring upon themselves sufferings over and above what is fated for them. And then they blame the gods.”

The quote is a dialogue from Zeus in the Odyssey

Religion

Theogony• by Hesiod (700 B.C.)• Traces the descent of the gods (myths)• Greek Gods

– Separate race from humans– Immortal characteristics– Explanation for life events and conditions– Did not give patterns for moral behavior– Art and literature—method of finding purpose

of life

Chaos

Gaea Tartarus Eros Erebus

Uranus + Gaea

Mountains Pontus

Cyclope HecatonchiresCronus

(Saturn) + Rhea

Coeus + Phoebe

Oceanus + Tethys

HestiaHades(Pluto)

Poseidon(Neptune)

Zeus(Jupiter) +

Hera(Juno)

Demeter(Ceres) +

Zeus

Ares HebeHephaistos

(Vulcan)

Athena(Minerva)

(no mother)

Persephone(Proserpina)

Leto+

ZeusIapetus

Atlas Prometheus Epimetheus

Maia+

Zeus

Dione +Zeus

ApolloArtemis(Diana)

Hermes(Mercury)

Aphrodite(Venus)

Religion

The Olympics• Founded in 776 BC• Held in Olympia• First event was a foot

race• Other events added

– Boxing, javelin, throwing, chariot racing, wrestling, long jump, discus

• Held every 4 years until 394 AD

• Revived in 1896

MoralsAesop• Slave in 550 B.C. • Wrote short stories• Attention to ethics• Used fables and morals to

make his points– Cicada and the fox (learn

from others' mistakes)– Greedy dog (the greedy end

up with less)– Tortoise and the hare

(perseverance)

Aesop's The Lion and the Mouse

Or The Mion and the Louse

Science

Thales• First great Greek thinker (625 B.C)• First Philosopher, First scientist• Mathematician, astronomer• Greatest contribution:

“All events, even extraordinary ones, can be explained in natural terms that can be understood by humans.”

• Water is the fundamental material

"In its early days philosophy included science – which became known as 'natural philosophy'. Thales' thinking was scientific because it could provide evidence for its conclusions. And it was philosophy because it used reason to reach these conclusions."– Strathern, Paul, Mendeleyev's Dream, New York:

Berkley Books, 2000, p.11.

Thales and Water

"We know from anecdotal evidence that Thales arrived at his theory [that water is the fundamental material] after seeing some seashell fossils high above the contemporary sea level. But his speculations probably went deeper than this. He must have seen the mist rising from the Anatolian hills to become clouds, and have observed the rain falling from clouds in storms out over the Aegean. Land becoming damp air, which in turn became water. Just a couple of miles north of Miletus, a large river meanders over the wide plain to the sea. (This is in fact the ancient River Meander, from which our word derives.) Thales would have observed the river slowly silting up: the water becoming muddy earth. He would have visited the springs on the nearby hillside: the earth becoming water again. It takes little imagination now to see how Thales conceived of the idea all is water.“

– Strathern, Paul, Mendeleyev's Dream, New York: Berkley Books, 2000, p.12.

Science

Pythagoras• Inventor of

Mathematics• Created a system for

expressing equations• Through numbers, all

truth could be expressed (fundamental of the world)

• Irrational numbers bad

Science

• Pythagoras (cont)– Pythagorean theorem– Trigonometry– Music is based in

mathematics• Principle of harmonic

vibration• String length

relationships (octaves, fifths, etc.)

Pythagoras

• Discovered– Golden Mean (ratio of

1.618)• Body dimensions• Crosses

“The Golden Mean defines the proportions of the Parthenon, the shape of playing cards and credit cards, and the proportions of the General Assembly Building at the United Nations in New York. The horizontal member of most Christian crosses separates the vertical member by just about the same ratio: the length above the crosspiece is 61.8% of the length below it. The Golden Mean also appears throughout nature – in flower patterns, the leaves of an artichoke, and the leaf stubs on a palm tree. It is also the ratio of the length of the human body above the navel to its length below the navel (in normally proportioned people, that is). The length of each successive bone in our fingers, from tip to hand, also bears this ratio.”– Peter L. Bernstein, Against the Gods, 1996, XXVI

Golden Triangle and Rectangle

• Golden Rectangle

Pythagoras

• Golden Triangle– Isosceles with 72 and 36 degree angles– Used to construct the Golden Spiral– Dodecahedron forms a 5 pointed star

made of Golden Triangles• Symbol of the Pythagoreans

•Ram’s horns

•Sea shells

•Flowers•Galaxies

Golden Spirals

Science• Anaximander

– Fire was the fundamental element

• Heraclitus– Fundamental concept of change being constant– “No one can step in the same river twice”

• Xeno– Any movement is impossible because you can

divide all space in half

• Democritus– Atomic Theory

• Atoms were the fundamental of nature • solved the Xeno dilemma

Democracy• Rule of Law

– Draco (621 BC)—tyrant of Athens• Written Laws were harsh (“draconian”)

but equal• Stability

• Broad Participation of Government– Families formed a council, Aeropagus

(Oligarchy)

• Solon, Father of Democracy– Gave voice to merchants and other

non-landholders– First jury system– Strong currency system– Freedom of thought and action

Persian Wars5th Century BC

• Revolt of Ionian Greeks– Present day Turkey– Brought the wrath of Darius, the Persian King

• Darius defeated at Marathon– Greek messenger carried the news to Athens– Shouted “NIKE” (victory) and died– Traditional race distance is from Marathon to

Athens

• Xerxes– Bridge over the Bosporous– Defeated the Spartans but they gained glory– He was defeated on the sea at Salamis – He was defeated on land at Plataea (phalanx)

Phalanx

Thank You