Chapter 4 Section 5

Greek Culture Left Lasting Legacies Objectives What form of literature did the Greeks invent? Who were the Sophists? What contributions did the Hellenistic scientists give to the world?

II. Ancient Greece Set High Standards in Art and Literature The Greeks produced many magnificent works of art. Athens became the most beautiful city of the ancient world. Building dedicated to religion and art were centered on the Acropolis – hill in the center of Athens

Parthenon was most beautiful of the building with great paintings and sculptures Marble columns to support the roof, which is still used in architecture today. Greek sculptures created many lasting works with some statues being preserved in museums around the world These sculptures are fine examples of the simplicity and beauty of Greek art.

Among the great contributions to literature by the Greeks was drama. Revenge, death, politics and religion were some of the subjects of Greek plays Theaters were open air theaters where the audience sat on stone seats. All the actors in the plays were always men The power that language had to unite the Greek people is best shown by two great works of literature.

Ever since the Achaeans destroyed the city of Troy in 1300 BC the stories of the battles had been past down by word of mouth They were collected and woven together into 2 mighty Epics – long poems which describe the deeds of heroes. A blind poet by the name of Homer is the author of these epics that are called the Iliad and the Odyssey

The Iliad describes the episodes from the 10 th year of the war during which the great Achaean hero, Achilles, defeated the great Trojan hero, Hector The Odyssey deals with the events after the war. It tells of the great hero Odysseus and his adventures on his 10 year journey home. The epics themselves helped to shape all Greek literature and thought Some people called it the Homeric Age.

II. Greeks Explored New Ways of Thinking About the World The Greek thinkers that carefully studied the world around them were called philosophers – which comes form the Greek word meaning lovers of wisdom They believed that through their reasoning, people could understand how the world worked and how they should act in it. Not all Greek philosophers had goals.

The Sophists were a group who worked to develop carefully reasoned cases so they could win political or legal arguments They were more concerned with worldly success than with respect for tradition or moral issues They stressed the art of public speaking and for a fee they would teach their methods to others.

Socrates 469 – 399 BC Cared more about the search for truth than winning arguments He wandered into Athens asking people embarrassing question to tell about the evils and faults in society He never wrote anything down, so everything we know about him comes

from his pupil Plato Socrates believed there was nothing as useful as knowledge He believed that if people had knowledge they could solve all problems they faced. Wanted people to focus on their thinking clearly this method is called the Socratic Method – often used in schools today

Plato 427 – 347 BC Best know for his book The Republic – this is a record of Socrates conversations with the Athenians The book outlines the perfect society with philosophers being the leaders because they are the wisest Plato did not favor democracy

He felt that in a democracy that unqualified people held important positions ( what does this sound like?) He felt the masses could not make the right decisions. In Plato’s ideal society, each person would do the work suited for his or her own ability Society would have 3 classes: the workers, the soldiers, and the ruling philosophers

He believed both men and women should be treated equally He also believed there should be no individual wealth or privately owned property.

Aristotle Student of Plato He studied governments of the past and wrote a book Politics In this book he pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of governments He felt the most stable government was one in which the actions and authority of

one part of government was checked and balanced by another (what does this sound like?) This system of checks and balances is written into the US Constitution Aristotle was a scientist as well as a philosopher He wrote about biology, physics, and botany, and was one of the early scientist who believed the earth was round.

Science/Medicine Pythagoras - helped develop the ideas behind geometry Democritus - said that all things are made up of atoms Hippocrates – made strong advance in the study of medicine He used the scientific method to diagnose and treat diseases

He stated that all diseases were made up of natural causes and were not caused by god Raised the meical standard that set forth rules of conduct This is the basis of the Hippocratic Oath that doctors take when they become certified and graduating form Med. School