Ancient Greece 3 Themes Individualism, Heroism, Rationalism 3 Philosophers Socrates, Plato Aristotle
Announcements Welcome to our first “virtual” class! Please print/download/view either the PDF or the PPT slides to accompany the audio portion of the lecture (MP3). The lecture is about 40 minutes long, and there are about slides. We may have a brief pop quiz on Tue, Feb.19 on this lecture and on the movie you saw on Wed.
Legacy of Greece (Classroom summary) Language Fraternity names; beta version; Alpha Omega watches Mathematics Pythagorean theorem; Euclid’s geometry Architecture Neo-classical; columns Drama Tragedy & Comedy; Oedipus Rex, Aristophanes, Sophocles Epic literature Iliad, Odyssey Astronomy Zodiac signs Democracy Assembly; citizens; referendum; ostracism Athletics Olympics; heptathlon; 26.2 miles Cuisine Spanakopita; baklava; gyros Philosophy Plato, Aristotle, rational
Vocabulary to Know Polis Phalanx Oligarchy Agora Hoplite Philosophy Acropolis Helot Tyrant ostracism mkatz.web.wesleyan.edu/.../greek_numerals.html
3 Themes in Classical Greece Public Life: –Agora; Assembly; Chorus; Male Space Rationalism –Emphasis upon logic, balance –Aristotle and scientific analysis; Thucydides and historical analysis; Individualism/Heroism –Homeric heroes; geographic determinism; Sophocles on individual vs. community
Philosophy Rational > spiritual Natural science and humankind = focus Socratic, Platonist, Aristotelian, Epicurean, Hedonist, Cynic, Stoic, etc.
Philosophy in Ancient Greece Abstract > divine explanations Archaic (natural) vs. Classical (human) Philosopher = one who seeks knowledge; scholar, thinker –“philo” = strong attraction to something (e.g., philharmonic, bibliophile) –“sophia” = knowledge (e.g., sophomore, sophisticated)
Socrates ( BC) “Socratic method” of teaching Gadfly Teacher of Plato & other young men Poisoned by hemlock
Plato ( BC) Ideal > real; “forms” The Republic = utopia –Communal property –No nuclear family –Guardians = philosophers “platonic relationships” The Academy Aristotle’s teacher
Aristotle ( BC) Systematic thinker in range of fields Physics, metaphysics, biology, botany, zoology, rhetoric, politics, logic, music, astronomy, chemistry, geology… Analytical, empirical Favors hierarchy & function Tutor of Alexander the Great Founder of Lyceum Influences Aquinas, Dante, Machiavelli, Copernicus, Galileo, John Locke, et al. Still relevant today….
“School of Athens”
Plato & Aristotle
Socrates w/ Xenophon & Alcibiades Heraclitus/Michelangelo