Democracy and Greece’s Golden Age Democratic principles and classical culture flourish during Greece’s golden age

477-431 BC Intellectual and artistic learning Golden Age of Athens 477-431 BC Intellectual and artistic learning

Pericles Skillful politician Inspiring speaker Respected general Came from a rich and high-ranking noble family Dominates life in Athens from 461-429 BC (Age of Pericles)

One historian wrote: “(He) no doubt, was a lonely man…He had no friend…(and) he only went out (of his home) for official business.”

Pericles had three goals for Athens 1. Stronger Democracy Increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries Creates direct democracy (citizens rule directly, not through representatives)

2. Strengthen the empire Takes over Delian League Uses money to strengthen Athenian navy Expands overseas trade Sparta and other cities resent Athenian power

3. Glorifies Athens Uses money from Delian League to beautify Athens Buys gold, ivory, marble; hires artisans to create works of classical art

Why would Pericles not have been satisfied with securing Athens’ political and economic strength? Why did he also demand the city-state’s artistic glorification? It was a way for Pericles to honor and win favor with the Greek gods; Athenians thought surrounding themselves with beauty was valuable in itself.

Art and Architecture Pericles builds the Parthenon-a large temple to honor goddess Athena Within temple, sculptor Phidias crafts 30 foot statue of Athena Sculptors create graceful, strong, perfectly formed figures

Statues from the Parthenon

Classical Art Harmony Order Balance Proportion Beauty Idealized human body in motion NOT realism No emotion

Drama Greeks invent drama as an art form; includes chorus, dance, and poetry Two forms of drama; tragedy and comedy Actors wore theatrical masks that exaggerated human expressions Performed outdoors

Greek Theater in Athens

Tragedy Tells story of heroes’ downfall; themes of love, hate, war, betrayal Aeschylus Euripides Sophocles (Oedipus and Antigone) “Many are the wonders of the world, but none is more wonderful than man.”

Comedy Makes fun of politics and respected people Slapstick humor Aristophanes

History Herodotus-pioneered the accurate reporting of events (Father of History) Thucydides-believed that certain types of events and political situations recur over time (see picture at right) Do you think that Thucydides was right in his assertion that history sometimes repeats itself?

Athenians and Spartans Go to War Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 BC WHY? Hostility and ill-will as Athens grew in wealth and prestige Called the Peloponnesian War

Peloponnesian War Sparta had better army and inland location meant that it could not be attacked by sea Athens had better navy Pericles wanted to avoid land battles Who held the advantage during the Peloponnesian War?

Plague in Athens Sparta marched into Athenian territory, burning the food supply Pericles brought people inside the city walls. Plague strikes Athens in 430 BC Kills 1/3 of population including Pericles Athens and allies surrender in 404 BC Sparta wins

Philosophers After the war, rise of philosophers-thinkers or “lovers of wisdom” Began to question their values Believed universe is subject to absolute and unchanging laws People could understand these laws through logic, reason Sophist philosopher Protagoras questions the existence of Greek gods and said there was no universal standard of truth

Why might the ideas of Protagoras have troubled Athenians? Athenians named their city-state for a goddess and built her a lavish temple, so they may have found Protagoras’ ideas insulting.

Socrates Believed in questioning, self-examination of values, actions Believed there were universal truths Used question-and-answer approach (Socratic method) Left behind no writings-accounts of his life were written by contemporaries like Plato

Death of Socrates Convicted of corrupting young people; sentenced to death in 399 BC “The unexamined life is not worth living.” “There is only one good, knowledge and one evil, ignorance.”

How does the trial of Socrates reflect on Athenian democracy? It suggests that Athenians set limits on freedom of speech when controversial opinions were expressed.

Plato Student of Socrates and founder of The Academy Wrote The Republic about an ideal society ruled by a philosopher-king Society would be divided into three groups- Farmers and artisans, Warriors Ruling class. The person in the ruling class with the greatest insight and intellect would be a philosopher-king.

Plato “Philosophy begins in wonder.” 387 BC established Athens school, the Academy, lasts for 900 years Plato “gave thanks to nature, first that he was born a human being rather than a dumb animal; second that he was a man rather than a woman; then that he was a Greek not a foreigner; finally that he was Athenian born in the time of Socrates.”

Aristotle Student of Plato and founder of The Lyceum Close to summarizing all of the knowledge up to his time Biology, physics, psychology Uses rules of logic for argument His work provides the basis for scientific method (still used today) Tutor of Alexander the Great