World History Chapter Four Section four

Greek Philosophers Challenged belief that everything was caused by the gods Philosophers – lovers of wisdom Used observation and tried to find causes for events By using reason and observation we could discover the laws of the universe

Morality and Ethics What is the best kind of government? What standards should rule human behavior? Sophists – questioned accepted ideas – not really philosophers – taught subjects in demand First to charge for their teachings – looked at as a disgrace for doing so Developed the art of rhetoric – skillful speaking Believed they could make a person think black was white If you learned how to use rhetoric effectively one could advance their status or career Some followed the Sophists and others accused them of ruining Greek values – would argue for the sake of arguing

Socrates Philosopher Was a critic of the Sophists Wrote no books – spent his time talking to people about their beliefs Used the “Socratic Method” – asking a series of questions to lead a person to an answer Helped people seek truth and self knowledge Many people saw him as challenging the Greek ways of life

Death of Socrates At age 70 he was put on trial for corrupting the youth of Athens and not respecting the gods Jury of 501 people Defended himself but the jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death He was loyal to Athens and drank a cup of poison hemlock to kill himself

Plato Plato – philosopher and student of Socrates Set up a school in Athens called the Academy He taught his own ideas there Emphasized reason and believed that through rational thoughts we could realize ethical values, see perfect beauty and learn how to best organize society Wrote The Republic – describes ideal state

Plato Rejected Athenian democracy because it condemned his teacher, Socrates Believed the state should respect a citizens rights Ideal society in three classes: 1.Workers – produce necessities 2.Soldiers – defend state 3.Philosophers – to rule the state

Plato The wisest philosopher-king would rule the state and have ultimate authority Believed that for the most part men were superior to women in both mental and physical tasks – but some women were superior to men These women he thought should be educated and serve the state Both men and women would have military training and raise their children in a communal center – for the good of the republic

Aristotle Philosopher and student of Plato Tutored Alexander the Great Developed own ideas about government Analyzed all governments that existed at the time and found good parts of each Thought democracy could lead to mob rule so he favored rule by one single person – they had to be smart and virtuous

Aristotle The “golden mean” – how people ought to live – a moderate course between two extremes Reason should be the guiding force in our lives Set up his own school, the Lyceum in which all subjects were studied The first universities were based on Aristotle's ideas and the Lyceum

Architecture Balance, harmony and order Parthenon – temple dedicated to Athena exemplifies the above qualities Early Greek styles copied Egyptian style of rigid figures – as time went on they developed their own style and created more life-like and idealistic figures Only Greek paintings are on pottery – portray Greek life – war, daily chores, athletics

Literature Included Homer and Iliad Tragic Drama – plays – first created for religious worship of goddess Dionysus Performed outside with little scenery Actors wore elaborate costumes Chorus chanted or sang to go along with what was on stage

Plays Greatest Athenian playwrights – Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides All wrote tragedies – human suffering normally ending with disaster Purpose of a tragedy was to stir up emotions of pity and fear Comedies – humorous plays that mocked people and their customs Aristophanes – wrote most of the surviving Greek comedies we have today – much like today's political cartoons

Historians Herodotus – “father of history” – went beyond just reporting names and dates – he actively went to collect information from people who remembered events to get an accurate portrayal of what happened He noted bias and conflicting accounts in his works His writings did show a bias of hatred of the Persians

Historians Thucydides – wrote about the Peloponnesian War He lived through the war and described it thoroughly describing how brutal and violent it was He was Athenian but tried to be non-biased in his writings Herodotus showed how research was important and Thucydides showed the importance of bias