Greek CivilizationIntroduction: During the mid-400’s B.C., Greek civilization reached its cultural peak. The Ancient Greeks excelled in architecture, sculpture, painting, philosophy, science, history, and theatre. They created works inspired by societal themes; like, bravery, honor, dignity, beauty, and love. This developed into a style now known as classical. Many traditions and aspects of modern culture were influenced by Ancient Greece.

Define classical:

Aspect of Greek Civilization

Description Impact on Ancient Greece

Impact on Modern Society (similarities?)

Visual Arts

Drama

Architecture

Olympic Games

Philosophy

History

Science & Math

Visual Arts

Art reflect the society that creates them. Nowhere is this truer than in the case of the ancient Greeks. Through their temples, sculpture, and pottery, the Greeks incorporated a fundamental principle of their culture: arete. To the Greeks, arete meant excellence and reaching one's full potential.

Ancient Greek art emphasized the importance and accomplishments of human beings. Even though much of Greek art was meant to honor the gods, those very gods were created in the image of humans.

Much artwork was government sponsored and intended for public display. Therefore, art and was a tremendous source of pride for citizens and could be found in various parts of the city. Typically, a city-state set aside a high-altitude portion of land for an acropolis, an important part of the city-state that was reserved for temples or palaces. The Greeks held religious ceremonies and festivals as well as significant political meetings on the acropolis.

In both painting and sculpture, the Greeks – because they emphasized the individual – excelled at portraying the human form. Today we can still see examples of their work in paintings on Greek vases and in statues of idealized human figures. Greek sculptors, such as Myron and Phidias, focused on powerful deities and heroes; later, sculptors, such as Praxiteles, carved ordinary people too.

Ancient Greek sculptures were typically made of either stone or wood and very few of them survive to this day. Most Greek sculpture was of the freestanding, human form (even if the statue was of a god) and many sculptures were nudes. The Greeks saw beauty in the naked human body.

Early Greek statues called kouros were rigid and stood up straight. Over time, Greek statuary adopted a more natural, relaxed pose with hips thrust to one side, knees and arms slightly bent, and the head turned to one side.

Other sculptures depicted human action, especially athletics. A good example is Myron's Discus Thrower. Another famous example is a sculpture of Artemis the huntress. The piece, called "Diana of Versailles," depicts the goddess of the hunt reaching for an arrow while a stag leaps next to her.

Among the most famous Greek statues is the Venus de Milo, which was created in the second century B.C.E. The sculptor is unknown, though many art historians believe Praxiteles to have created the piece. This sculpture embodies the Greek ideal of beauty.

The ancient Greeks also painted, but very little of their work remains. The most enduring paintings were those found decorating ceramic pottery. Two major styles include red figure (against a black background) and black figure (against a red background) pottery. The pictures on the pottery often depicted heroic and tragic stories of gods and humans.

One popular form of Greek art was pottery. Vases, vessels, and kraters served both practical and aesthetic purposes. This krater depicts Helios, the sun god, and dates from the 5th century B.C.E

Greek Architecture

Greek architects provided some of the finest and most distinctive buildings in the entire Ancient World and some of their structures, such as temples, theatres, and stadia, would become staple features of towns and cities from antiquity onwards. In addition, the Greek concern with simplicity, proportion, perspective, and harmony in their buildings would go on to greatly influence architects in the Roman world and provide the foundation for the classical architectural orders which would dominate the western world from the Renaissance to the present day.

There are three orders of classical architecture - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian - all named as such in later Roman times. An order, properly speaking, is a combination of a certain style of column with or without a base and an entablature (what the column supports: the architrave, frieze, and cornice).

The Greeks certainly had a preference for marble, at least for their public buildings. Initially, though, wood would have been used for not only such basic architectural elements as columns but the entire buildings themselves. Early 8th century BCE temples were so constructed and had thatch roofs. From the late 7th century BCE, temples, in particular, slowly began to be converted into more durable stone edifices; some even had a mix of the two materials. Some scholars have argued that certain decorative features of stone column capitals and elements of the entablature evolved from the skills of the carpenter displayed in more ancient, wooden architectural elements.

The stone of choice was either limestone protected by a layer of marble dust stucco or even better, pure white marble. Also, carved stone was often polished with chamois to provide resistance to water and give a bright finish. The best marble came from Naxos, Paros, and Mt. Pentelicon near Athens.

The ancient Greeks are rightly famous for their magnificent Doric and Ionic temples, and the example par excellence is undoubtedly the Parthenon of Athens. Built in the mid 5th century BCE in order to house the gigantic statue of Athena and to advertise to the world the glory of Athens, it still stands majestically on the city’s acropolis. Other celebrated examples are the massive Temple of Zeus at Olympia (completed c. 460 BCE), the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (completed c. 430 BCE), which was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world, and the evocative Temple of Poseidon at Sounion (444-440 BCE), perched on the cliffs overlooking the Aegean. The latter is illustrative of the Greek desire that such public buildings should not just fulfil their typical function of housing a statue of a Greek deity, and not only should they be admired from close-up or from the inside, but also that they should be admired from afar. A great deal of effort was made to build temples in prominent positions and, using sophisticated geometry, architects included optical ‘tricks’ such as thickening the lower parts of columns, thickening corner columns, and having columns ever so slightly lean inwards so that from a distance the building seemed perfectly straight and in harmony. Many of these refinements are invisible to the naked eye, and even today only sophisticated measuring devices can detect the minute differences in angles and dimensions. Such refinements indicate that Greek temples were, therefore, not only functional structures but also that the building itself, as a whole, was symbolic and an important element in the civic landscape.The formal vocabulary of ancient Greek architecture, in particular the division of architectural style into three defined orders: the Doric Order, the Ionic Order and the Corinthian Order, was to have profound effect on Western architecture of later periods. The architecture of ancient Rome grew out of that of Greece and maintained its influence in Italy unbroken until the present day. From the Renaissance, revivals of Classicism have kept alive not only the precise forms and ordered details of Greek architecture, but also its concept of architectural beauty based on balance and proportion.

Greek Drama

The Greek theatre history began with festivals honoring their gods. A god, Dionysus, was honored with a festival called by "City Dionysia". In Athens, during this festival, men used to perform songs to welcome Dionysus. Plays were only presented at City Dionysia festival. Athens was the main center for these theatrical traditions. Athenians spread these festivals to its numerous allies in order to promote a common identity.

At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. After some time, only three actors were allowed to perform in each play. Later few non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Due to limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very active part of Greek theatre. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery of its lines. Since men were the only people allowed to act, they typically portrayed both male and female roles. Ancient Greek actors had to gesture grandly so that the entire audience could see and hear the story. However most Greek theatres were cleverly constructed to transmit even the smallest sound to any seat.

Tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays were the theatrical forms.Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject in comic manner. Aristotle's Poetics sets out a thesis about the perfect structure for tragedy.

Aristotle's Poetics contain the earliest known theory about the origins of Greek theatre. He says that tragedy evolved from dithyrambs, songs sung in praise of Dionysus at the Dionysia each year. The dithyrambs may have begun as frenzied improvisations but in the 600s BC, the poet Arion is credited with developing the dithyramb into a formalized narrative sung by a chorus. Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights of the fifth century are Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus.

Comedy was also an important part of ancient Greek theatre. Comedy plays were derived from imitation; there are no traces of its origin. Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays. Out of these 11 plays survived - Lysistrata, a humorous tale about a strong woman who leads a female coalition to end war in Greece.

Theatre buildings were called a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. They consisted of three main elements: the orchestra (A large circular or rectangular area at the center part of the theatre), the skene (A large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their costumes and masks), and the audience. Rising from the circle of the orchestra was the audience. The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand.

The actors were so far away from the audience that without the aid of exaggerated costumes and masks. The masks were made of linen or cork, so none have survived. Tragic masks carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling or leering. The shape of the mask amplified the actor's voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear.

Olympic Games

Believing that healthy bodies made the best use of nature’s gifts, the ancient Greeks stressed athletics. Every four years they held a series of athletic contests for the glory of the chief god Zeus. Athletes came from all over the Greek-speaking world to compete in the Olympics. The Greeks regarded Olympic winners as heroes. They crowned the victors with wreaths of olive leaves and held parades in their honor. Some city-states even excused outstanding athletes from paying taxes. According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia.

Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of "Pelops", the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty. Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it. Due to it’s religious significance, the Olympic games were held on Mt. Olympia to honor the gods. There are several important gods that were the focus of the Olympic games:

Zeus was considered the most important of all the Olympic gods. He was originally worshipped as a god of meteorological change and fertility.

Hera was the sister and wife of Zeus and was worshipped all over Greece, but especially in the region of Argos. Homer depicts Hera in her dual capacity as the most important female deity, but also the official spouse of the father of the gods.

The ancient Greeks believed that Athena was miraculously born out of the head of Zeus. In Homer’s work, she is depicted as a warrior goddess wearing full armour from the prehistoric era.

Apollo was the god of moral order and music, but his main capacity was to protect the art of divination. Apollo is also seen as a pastoral god, protecting his flock from the wolves. He was worshipped by the farmers as the god of the harvest. From Antiquity onwards, he had the reputation of a god of healing.

All free male Greek citizens were entitled to participate in the ancient Olympic Games, regardless of their social status. Orsippos, a general from Megara; Polymnistor, a shepherd; Diagoras, a member of a royal family from Rhodes; Alexander I, son of Amyndas and King of Macedonia; and Democritus, a philosopher, were all participants in the Games.

Married women were not allowed to participate in, or to watch, the ancient Olympic Games. However, unmarried women could attend the competition, and the priestess of Demeter, goddess of fertility, was given a privileged position next to the Stadium altar.

The ancient Olympic Games were initially a one-day event until 684 BC, when they were extended to three days. In the 5th century B.C., the Games were extended again to cover five days. The ancient Games included running, long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankration and equestrian events.

Greek Philosophy

Greek philosophers, or thinkers, believed in the power of reason to explain all things. In their world they laid the foundations for such disciplines as history, political science, biology, and logic, or the science of reasoning.

Who are we? How can we be happy? Does the universe have a purpose? Greek philosophers approached the big questions of life sometimes in a genuine scientific way, sometimes in mystic ways, but always in an imaginative fashion. Pythagoras considered a charlatan for claiming the doctrine of reincarnation, a half-naked Socrates haranguing people in the street with provocative and unanswerable questions, Aristotle tutoring great generals: these are examples of how Greek thinkers dared to question traditional conventions and to challenge the prejudices of their age, sometimes putting their own lives at stake. Greek Philosophy as an independent cultural genre began around 600 BCE, and its insights still persist to our times.

Plato and Aristotle are the two most important Greek philosophers. Their work has been the main focus of interest for students of philosophy and specialists. This is partly because, unlike most of their predecessors, what they wrote survived in an accessible form and partly because Christian thought, which was the dominant thought in the Western world during the Middle Ages and early modern age, contained a high dose of Platonic and Aristotelian influence.

Plato was a student of Socrates who left Athens disgusted by the death of his teacher. After travelling for many years, he returned to Athens and opened his famous Academy. He is the best known Greek philosopher; the triumph of his work has been so complete and influential in western philosophy, that the famous quote from Alfred North Whitehead, although an exaggeration, is not far from the truth: “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”

Plato had many philosophical interests including ethics and politics but he is best known for his metaphysical and epistemological ideas. One of his most influential insights is the Theory of Ideas: to Plato, notions like virtue, justice, beauty, goodness, etc., would not be possible unless we had some direct knowledge of these things in an earlier existence. We are born into this world with an imperfect memory of these Forms. In that ideal world of Ideas, one can experience the real Forms which are perfect and universal. Our world is an imperfect parody of the Platonic flawless and superior world of Ideas. A knowledge of these Forms is possible only through long and arduous study by philosophers but their eventual enlightenment will qualify them, and they alone, to rule society.

Aristotle, a student of Plato for almost 20 years, was the tutor of Alexander the Great. Aristotle’s interests covered a wide scope: ethics, metaphysics, physics, biology, mathematics, meteorology, astronomy, psychology, politics and rhetoric, among other topics. Aristotle was the first thinker who systematically developed the study of logic. Some of the components of Aristotelian logic existed long before Aristotle such as Socrates’ ideas on exact definition, argumentative techniques found in Zeno of Elea, Parmenides and Plato, and many other elements traceable to legal reasoning and mathematical proof. Aristotle’s contribution in logic and science became an authority and remained unchallenged as late as the modern age: we can recall Galileo who, after careful observation during the Renaissance, came to the conclusion that most of the Aristotelian physics and astronomy was not in line with the empirical evidence and yet, Galileo’s ideas were widely rejected by his contemporary Aristotelian scholars. Even during the most obscure

times during the Middle Ages, a copy of the Organon, or maybe fragments of it, could be found in all prestigious libraries.

Greek Historians

The Greeks also used their intellectual skills in writing history. Until the 400s B.C., the Greeks had considered legends as history.

The writing of history in ancient Greece, an activity which occurred over a period of one thousand years (500 BCE–500 CE), is a subject of great interest to modern scholars for a number of reasons. First, the very term “history” derives from the Greek word historiê (“inquiry”) which Herodotus uses to describe his work, and the subject of historical inquiry decided upon by Herodotus and his successor Thucydides—description and explanation of political and military events in the past—remained standard for many centuries. Though the fundamental differences between the activity, methodology, and expectations of the ancient Greek historians and ourselves has been increasingly highlighted in recent years, we are still in many ways the inheritors of their achievement. Secondly, the writings of the Greek historians represent one of the basic sources of our knowledge of what happened in the ancient world. As with any historical document, then, it is important for scholars to examine the nature of this evidence and the circumstances of its production. Finally, Greek historians aimed both to relate the past and to produce works of literary merit.

Herodotus, the first Greek historian, began to separate fact from legend by asking questions, recording answers and checking the reliability of his sources. The Histories of Herodotus is now considered the founding work of history in Western literature. Written in 440 BC in the dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in Western Asia, Northern Africa and Greece at that time. Although not a fully impartial record, it remains one of the West's most important sources regarding these affairs. Moreover, it established the genre and study of history in the Western world (despite the existence of historical records and chronicles beforehand).The Histories also stands as one of the first accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, as well as the events and causes of the Greco-Persian Wars between the Achaemenid Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery (the Persians) on the one hand, and freedom (the Athenians and the confederacy of Greek city-states which united against the invaders) on the other

Another historian, Thucydides, is regarded as the first scientific historian because he carefully examined historical information and refused to accept supernatural explanations for events. Thucydides was an Athenian aristocrat who derived at least part of his wealth from gold mining interests, Thucydides served briefly as a general during the Peloponnesian War. He was exiled from Athens, however, for failing to prevent archrival Sparta from capturing a key city, and thereafter turned his attention to chronicling the devastating conflict, which raged from 431 to 404 B.C. Having interviewed sources from both sides, Thucydides remained relatively objective in his groundbreaking account, titled “History of the Peloponnesian War.” He moreover eschewed the sensationalism of Herodotus, his elder contemporary, and included many fewer references to the gods. Unfortunately, the text ends abruptly in 411 B.C.—possibly due to his death—leaving it to other Greek historians to record the final stages of Sparta’s victory over Athens.

Greek Science and Math

The ancient Greeks passed on a great scientific heritage. They believed that the world is ruled by natural laws and that human beings can discover these laws by using reasons. By careful thinking based upon observation, some ancient Greeks realized that it was possible to find regularities and patterns hidden in nature and that those regularities were the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe. It became evident that even nature had to obey certain rules and by knowing those rules one could predict the behaviour of nature.

Observation was eventually undervalued by the Greeks in favour of the deductive process, where knowledge is built by means of pure thought. This method is key in mathematics and the Greeks put a heavy emphasis on this. Science in Ancient Greece was based on logical thinking and mathematics. It was also based on technology and everyday life. The arts in Ancient Greece were sculptors and painters. The Greeks wanted to know more about the world, the heavens and themselves. People studied about the sky, sun, moon, and the planets. The Greeks found that the earth was round.

Thales of Miletus is regarded by many as the father of science; he was the first Greek philosopher to seek to explain the physical world in terms of natural rather than supernatural causes.

During the 500s B.C., the scientist Pythagoras tried to explain everything in mathematical terms. He explored the nature of numbers, especially whole numbers and their rations. Students of geometry still learn the Pythagorean theorem about the relationship of sides of a right-angled triangle.

Greek scientists also contributed to the field of medicine. Called the “father of medicine,” Hippocrates believed that diseases had natural, not supernatural causes and the body could heal itself. He strongly advocated proper health care, a sound diet, and plenty of rest. According to tradition, Hippocrates drafted a code for ethical medical conduct that has guided the practice of medicine for more than 2,000 years. Many doctors today recite the Hippocratic oath when they receive their medical degree.

Many important people contributed to Greek scientific thought and discoveries. Biology, a very vast and interesting topic, was studied by Hippocrates, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, and Galen. These men were among the main researchers of Greek biology who contributed many ideas, theories, and discoveries to science. Some of their discoveries were observations, descriptions, and classifications of the various forms of plants and animal life. Other discussions in biology were natural selection and zoology. All living things were the basic concern of biology. Greek biologists were interested in how living things began, how they developed, how they functioned, and where they were found.

Earth science is the study of the earth and its origin and development. It deals with the physical makeup and structure of the Earth. The most extensive fields of Earth science, geology, has an ancient history. Ancient Greek philosophers proposed many theories to account for the from and origin of the Earth. Eratosthenes, a scientist of ancient Greece, made the first accurate measurement of the Earth's diameter. The ancient Greek philosophers were amazed by volcanoes and earthquakes. They made many attempts to explain them, but most of these attempts to explain these

phenomena sound very strange to most people today. For example, Aristotle, speculated that earthquakes resulted from winds within the Earth caused by the Earth's own heat and heat from the sun. Volcanoes, he thought, marked the points at which these winds finally escaped from inside the Earth into the atmosphere.