2. The Golden Age of Athens
Aka: The Age of Pericles

3. Politics and Govt Philosophy
Math & 5th c. BCE Athens
Science The Golden Age Poetry
The Age of Pericles
Art, Sculpture History
Architecture
Drama/Theatre

4. The Persian Wars ( BCE) were decisive in the history of the West. Had the Greeks been defeated, the cultural and political vitality we associate and inherit from the Greeks would never have evolved.
The confidence and pride from these victories propelled Greece and Athens, in particular, to its “Golden Age.”

5. Pericles was the central figure in Athens during its golden age
Pericles, BC
Pericles was the central figure in Athens during its golden age
Pericles was the central figure in Athens during its golden age. Although he was extremely influential, and had tremendous influence with the masses, he thought it wise to spend much of his extraordinary career as a "behind the scenes" influence. Athens was notorious for its fickle treatment of leaders who became to powerful, and ostracization was best avoided by maintaining a quiet demeanor. None the less, Pericles effectively controlled the democratic party, and in this position is much credited for making Athens a great cultural center. He was very influential in the development of public works, including the famous Parthenon, and the strategically important Long Walls that enclosed the entire city, and ran all the way to the port of Athens. It was under Pericles that Athens became the cultural center of the Mediterranean, and produced much of the artistic and literary masterpieces for which it is still renowned.

7. The Panathenaia represented by Pheidias on the Parthenon frieze was the most important Athenian festival celebrated every four years in the month of Hekatombaion (July-August) in honor of the goddess Athena. The festival was established in prehistoric times (according to the myth by Erichthonios and later reorganized by Theseus). The tyrant Peisistratos (566 BC) modified it again to The Great Panathenaia so that in the period from the 6th to the 4th century BC it become a Panhellenic festival. The Lesser Panathenaia was held annually locally. The festival included athletic and music contests which lasted up to 12 days. The festival reached its peak at the birthday of Athena (28th Hektatocombaion). Up to 100 bulls were sacrificed (Hekatocomb). A peplos (a dress) was woven with thread of gold by the Arrephoroi and the Ergastinai, maidens from prominent families. In a procession from the Kerameikos to the Acropolis it was carried like a sail on a wheeled ship as far as the Eleusinion and thereafter by hand. On the Acropolis the peplos was handed over to priests, who dressed the xoanon (the venerable wooden statue) of the goddess, initially in the archaios naos (most ancient temple), later in the Erechtheion (Athena was the inventor and patron of working in wool). Around 250 animal sculptures (mainly horses) and 360 human figures were shown in the Parthenon.

9. Architecture:
The many public buildings and temples were constructed with marble and featured slender, well-proportioned columns.
Many modern public buildings imitate the three great styles of Greek columns:

11. Doric Column

12. Ionic Style Column

13. Corinthian Column

14. In Sculpture:
Sculptors reflected the ideals of the city-state, emphasizing simplicity, dignity and restraint.
Subjects were gods, goddesses, athletes and men of achievement
They realistically depicted the human body utilizing various materials such as marble, bronze, ivory and gold in 3-dimension.

15. Myron, c. 450 BC
The discabolus portrays strength, motion and ideal serenity, while honoring Olympic athletes.

16. A Dying Warrior
Dying Warrior, sculpture from the left corner of the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. c. 480 BCE. Marble, length 6' (1.83 m). Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich.

17. Hermes Praxiteles-
“The Praxitelian curve ”-

18. Artemis – Praxiteles

19. The statue is unlike others of the time
The statue is unlike others of the time. Praxiteles depicted Dionysos not as a fun- loving Olympian god of wine but as the ancient Thracian god of vegetation and fertility. Although the two gods were essentially the same, representing the more ancient, earthy and sensuous deity was the artist’s way of focusing on humanity rather than remote Mount Olympus. The trademark Praxiteles pose can be seen even under the heavy cloak, giving the figure a more flexible, human appearance.
Dionysus –
Praxiteles

20. Aphrodite - Praxiteles the illusion of life through light, shadow, polished marble and contraposto
bc - In contrast to the grandiose monuments of Phidias, sculptures by Praxiteles achieve a human dimension never before seen. Praxiteles used novel techniques to make his artwork ripple with life. The first thing we saw upon entering the exhibit was a Roman copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos – the most renowned sculpture by Praxiteles. It was one of the first nude female statues in the history of Western art. The goddess is shown dropping her clothes onto a hydria (water jug) as she steps into her bath. It is so realistic that a 4th century writer has Aphrodite herself remark, “Where did Praxiteles see me naked?”
Praxiteles lived and worked from the end of the Hellenic Period into the Hellenistic Period (during the 4th century BCE). He created some of the most beautiful sculptures ever conceived by the human mind and started a whole new approach to art. His work was extensively copied during the Roman era and also influenced the work of great Renaissance sculptors, such as Michelangelo and Raphael, and modern artists as well.
To understand the originality of Praxiteles, you have to appreciate what came before. A generation earlier, the genius of the “Golden Age” was the Athenian sculptor Phidias. Chief artist for the Parthenon itself, he was most celebrated for two colossal gold and ivory statues – of Athena, inside the Parthenon, and of Zeus in the temple dedicated to the god at Olympia. The Athena statue, which was about 40 feet tall, is known through several (much smaller) copies.

21. Hermes Praxiteles- “The Praxitelian curve ”-

22. Philosophy
“the search for truth”- the first thinkers to suggest that the forces of nature were not controlled by supernatural forces, personified by gods and goddesses, but could be understood through the use of observation and reason.
This new, natural outlook suggests the emergence of scientific thought.

23. Socrates, 469-399 BC Advocated the maxim: “Know Thyself”
“…there are universal truths not based on the laws of the gods but rather, based on reason-rational analysis to do what is right.”
He sought truth by persistent questioning.(The Socratic Method)
Left no written work, his philosophy is contained in the writings of his students, especially Plato.
Many of the teachers of his day taught that a man should consider the consequences of his actions before making a decision. Socrates taught that the consequences did not matter. What was most important was that you always did what was right. He believed that if something was right, it did not matter what would happen to you, you should do it.
Socrates also taught his students to think for themselves. He created a teaching method known today as the Socratic Method, which helped students think clearly, and question their currently accepted way of thinking.
Socrates was eventually accused of corrupting the young. After being convicted by a jury he was sentenced to death. Socrates somehow developed a set of values and beliefs that would put him at odds with most of his fellow Athenians.  Socrates was not a democrat or an egalitarian.  To him, the people should not be self- governing; they were like a herd of sheep that needed the direction of a wise shepherd.  He denied that citizens had basic virtue necessary to nurture a good society, instead equating virtue with a knowledge unattainable by ordinary people.  Striking at the heart of Athenian democracy, he contemptuously criticized the right of every citizen to speak in the Athenian assembly.
Writing in the third-century C.E. in his The Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius reported that Socrates "discussed moral questions in the workshops and the marketplace." Often his unpopular views, expressed disdainfully and with an air of condescension, provoked his listeners to anger.  Laertius wrote that "men set upon him with their fists or tore his hair out," but that Socrates "bore all this ill-usage patiently."

24. The Death of Socrates, Jacques-Louis David, 1790

25. Plato, BC
His philosophy is reflected in a series of Dialogues with Socrates and a student as the speakers.
These discussions cover ethics, religion, beauty, logic and government, among others.
Theory of ideas: there is a higher reality than just experience- a perfect form of everything exists.
Most famous student was Aristotle

26. His extensive works influenced European thinking for 2,000 years…
Aristotle, BC
Wrote on philosophy, science, government, logic, ethics and literature….
His extensive works influenced European thinking for 2,000 years…
>“nothing in excess” >“moderation in all things” >“what is reasonable?”

27. Aristotle tutoring Alexander J. L. Ferris, 1895
As his teacher, Aristotle stimulated the young Alexander’s interest in Greek culture
Aristotle tutoring Alexander J. L. Ferris, 1895

28. Theatre of Dionysus, Acropolis
Plays were produced in outdoor ampitheaters, employed little scenery and used a chorus to help tell the story…
Playwrights wove moral themes into their tragedies…
Not all theatre was tragic- comedies were also presented.

29. Aeschylus, 525- 456 BC The Father of Tragedy
>Employed a dialog between one actor and the chorus
>Introduced the Trilogy
>Wrote 90? Plays, 7 survive Won 13 first prizes
Aeschylus, called "the father of tragedy," was one of the three greatest tragic dramatists of the ancient world, along with Euripides and Sophocles. Born at Eleusis in 525 B.C.E. to a noble family, Aeschylus fought at Marathon and other battles of the Persian war. He introduced the concept of the dramatic trilogy (so he could also be called the "father of the sequel"). The Oresteia is the only trilogy of his that we still have intact; for instance, the Persians is part of a lost trilogy about the Persian war. Aeschylus employed dialog rather than the chorus to move the narrative along, which was a key step towards modern drama. He spent most of his career in Athens but exiled himself to Sicily after writing the Eumenides. He died in 456 B.C.E.
> Agamemnon
>The Choephori (Libation Bearers)
>Eumenides
> Prometheus Bound
> Seven Against Thebes
> The Suppliants
> The Persians

30. Sophocles, BC
Dramatic plays added a 3rd actor, dealt with the conflict between a person’s will and his fate; include Oedipus Rex, Antigone and Electra,
120 plays, with 18 first prizes, but only 7 survive

31. Euripides, BC
Examined political and social ideas and vigorously criticized war, prejudice, hypocrisy and greed
“Aeschylus and Sophocles showed how men ought to be, Euripides showed men as they are.”
Ahead of his time, felt unappreciated-left Athens for Macedonia.

32. Aristophanes, BC
Satirized the political and cultural leadership of Athens in his plays Lysistrata and The Frogs
Shrines! Shrines! Surely you don't believe in the gods. What's your argument? Where's your proof? Aristophanes (c. 446 – c. 388 B.C.) is one of our sources for the philosopher Socrates, mocking him as a humorous pedant and sophist, in the comedy The Clouds. Aristophanes also wrote a still popular anti-war play called Lysistrata about the women's sex strike to protest the Peloponnesian War. In Aristophanes' Frogs, the wine god Dionysus goes to the Underworld to bring back the playwright Euripides.

33. Herodotus, 484 – 424 BC The “Father of History”
Described the Persian invasions of Greece…
He embellished facts with fable, superstition and hearsay but was the first to try and “recount the past so that future generations can benefit.”

34. Thucydides, BC
The “first scientific historian” – he wrote an accurate and impartial account of the Peloponnesian Wars ( BC)

35. Pythagoras, BC
Philosopher and mathematician discovered important mathematical principles: Pythagorean Theorem

36. Hippocrates, BC
“Father of Medicine”- attributed disease to natural, not supernatural causes.
The “Hippocratic Oath” to uphold medical standards is still taken by medical students upon graduation.

37. Democritus ( BC)
Philosopher and scientist, advanced the theory that all matter is composed of small, invisible atoms
The Greek natural philosopher Democritus ( BC) promulgated the atomic theory, which asserted that the universe is composed of two elements: the atoms and the void in which they exist and move.
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Democritus was born in Abdera, the leading Greek city on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. Although the ancient accounts of Democritus's career differ widely, they all agree that he lived to a ripe old age, 90 being the lowest figure. During that long career Democritus wrote many books. Little Cosmology, a veritable encyclopedia, has perished because its contents displeased those, such as the philosopher Plato, whose decisions determined which works should be preserved. Of all of Democritus's many- sided interests, his espousal of the atomic theory accounts for his renown and also for the disappearance of the treatises which won him that renown.

38. Greek pottery

41. Any Questions?