Ancient Greeks World Cultures 7

Ancient Greeks Many people from different countries met and co-existed in the Greek Islands Some of these people were from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and even Africa We have many things today because of the ancient Greeks – even our alphabet! TV, underwear, computers, and the list goes on and on and on and on and on!

Where Did the Ancient Greeks Live? The west coast of Turkey and the Levant Sicily and South Italy Spain and Egypt Crete and the Aegean Islands Mainland Greece The different groups of ancient Greeks founded cities, colonies, and trading outposts in what is now Turkey and the Levant, Sicily, South Italy, Spain, and Egypt. Crete and the other islands in the Aegean Sea were the site of the first major Greek culture. A thousand years later, another major Greek culture developed on the mainland. The ancient Greeks were a culturally and geographically diverse group. ©2008 TeachersBrunch.com

What Made the Greeks Greek? Shared language: Greeks vs. “barbarians” Shared religion Geography encouraged maritime (sea-faring) cultures Common agricultural (farming) strategies If the ancient Greeks were so diverse, what made them all Greeks? The people grouped themselves together because they all spoke Greek. Anyone who spoke Greek was Greek. People who spoke other languages were called “barbarians.” The ancient Greeks worshipped all the same gods, were excellent sailors, and raised grapes, olives, wheat, barley, cattle, sheep, and goats. They sailed because the mountains made it hard to travel by land, and they practiced agriculture that adapted well to Greece’s rocky landscape. ©2008 TeachersBrunch.com

When Did the Ancient Greeks Live? Bronze Age Dark Age Archaic Period Classical Period Hellenistic Period Greece in the Roman Empire Think about how long 3,500 years is. The United States hasn’t even been around for 350 years! The many different cultures we call the ancient Greeks existed over a period of 3,500 years. Because this is more than three millennia, the ancient Greek cultures are divided into periods, starting with the Bronze Age and ending when Greece became part of the Roman Empire. ©2008 TeachersBrunch.com

Life in the Bronze Age King Officials Priests and priestesses Artisans Workers and farmers Slaves Each palace had its own king, who was at the top of the hierarchy. Below the king were his primary officials and important people like priestesses, priests, and artisans who made fine pottery, jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and weaponry for the rich and powerful. The majority of people were workers, farmers, and slaves. These people grew grain, processed wool into yarn and then wove it into clothing, and built houses and towns. They did not have access to art and other luxuries, and their lives were much more difficult than the lives of the rich. The palace at Knossos may have had running water, but it is very unlikely that the palace would have been your home! Life in the Bronze Age was very hierarchical. ©2008 TeachersBrunch.com

Bronze Age Art Frescoes Metal work Jewelry Sculpture Oral literature Minoan artists depicted a variety of people engaged in activities such as gathering flowers, fishing, watching performances, and worshipping goddesses. One of the most important art forms in the Bronze Age was the fresco, which was painted on plaster while the plaster was still wet. Beautiful frescoes were painted all over the Minoan palaces and in important houses on other Mediterranean islands. One of the most famous frescoes is a painting of young people jumping over a bull. The Minoans tended to paint peaceful natural scenes, but the Mycenaean frescoes often depicted war. The Minoans and Mycenaeans also produced gold jewelry and made detailed sculptures out of clay and carved ivory. Bronze Age Greeks kept records of economic transactions but did not use their system of writing for literature or poetry, which they memorized and passed down by word of mouth. This kind of literature is called oral literature, and it remained the standard form in ancient Greece until the end of the Dark Age. ©2008 TeachersBrunch.com

Classical Art Idealization The perfect human body Lack of expression The “idea” of the perfect body The perfect human body Not just one person’s body Lack of expression Faces aren’t of individuals/basic Blank and serene Strongly influenced later art The Greeks were great creators and destroyers. The fundamental principle of Classical art is the idealization of the human body, particularly the male body. Classical sculptures are generally not meant to represent specific individuals but are instead supposed to show what the perfect human looks like. Because they do not represent individuals, the faces of Classical sculptures appear blank and serene, without expression. Classical art is the period of Greek art most familiar to us, and it is the source for many later Western standards of beauty. Although the ideals of Greek art were forgotten after the fall of the Roman Empire, they were rediscovered during the European Renaissance and strongly influenced works of Renaissance and later art. ©2008 TeachersBrunch.com

The Universal Ideal of Beauty The ancient Greeks believed there was a reason for things to be beautiful. These reasons included: Logic – does it make sense? Order – is nice and neat/orderly? Reason – does it have a reason to exist? Don’t write this!  Greek music also had to follow these rules! If it wasn’t logical, orderly, or had a reason, then it wasn’t a good song!

The Universal Ideal of Beauty Do the following pictures show whether or not the Greeks adhered to their ideals of beauty?

The Parthenon in Athens

Scaled Model of the Parthenon

Parthenon in TN

42 ft tall Athena

Replicas of other artwork found in/on the Parthenon

Greek Columns There are 3 main columns associated with the Greeks. Doric columns – these have a flat base at the top. They are the “plain” columns Ionic columns – these have a “scroll” pattern at the top. They are somewhat decorative. Corinthian columns – these have “leaf” designs at the top. They are very decorative!

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Greek Columns Go through these pictures and identify which columns are on the buildings.

American Architecture

KY Capital Building

Lincoln Memorial

Greek Alphabet

Alpha

Beta

Gamma

Delta

Epsilon

Zeta

Eta

Theta

Iota

Kappa

Lambda

Mu

Nu

Xi

Omicron

Pi

Rho

Sigma

Tau

Upsilon

Phi

Chi

Psi

Omega