Contributions of Greek Culture to Western Civilization

Aristophanes – Great play writer of COMEDY Drama Aristophanes – Great play writer of COMEDY Aeschylus and Sophocles – Great play writers of TRAGEDY

Poetry Homer: The great blind story teller of Greece His stories later were written in two epics: 1. Iliad 2. Odyssey

history Herodotus – Greek historian who is known as the “father of history” He wrote Histories which was about the conflict between Persia and Greece Thucydides – A Greek historian who wrote History of the Peloponnesian War. He wrote about the conflict between Athens and Sparta

sculpture Phidias – He is known as the Greatest Greek Sculptor He designed the Parthenon (the temple of the Goddess Athena) Sculpted the huge Statue of Zeus at Olympus

*Famous Statue leading into Trading City Colossus of Rhodes *Famous Statue leading into Trading City

architecture

Doric Column Very plain and simple Has no base

Ionic Column Capital has scrolls Has a base More decorative

The most decorative capital Corinthian Column The most decorative capital Roofs are flat

science Archimedes – Considered the greatest mathematician Discovered the principles of density and buoyancy Hippocrates – is the founder of medicine and the greatest physician of his time

mathematics Euclid – the father of geometry Pythagoras – the father of numbers, he founded the Pythagorean theory

philosophy

POLITICS (ATHENS) Draco – Introduced 1st code of Laws Solon – Outlawed “debt slavery” in Athens Cleisthenes – Introduced the idea of DEMOCRACY