1. An Introduction to The Greek World

2. Primary Sources: works produced within a culture: art and architecture literature and written records of other sorts (business lists etc.) Secondary Sources: Commentary by modern authors on the ancient cultures: textbooks and other modern writings Internet Resources: can be primary sources (if they reproduce texts or images from the original culture) or secondary sources (if they are modern commentary) Sources

3. Greece in the Mediterranean

4. The Greek Environment

5. http://www.ancient-greece.org/map.html The Greek Landscape

6. First settlers: c. 50,000 BCE Agriculture develops: c. 7000 BCE Bronze appears: c. 3000 BCE Prehistoric Greece Abbreviations: BCE= Before the common era CE= common era c. = circa (about)

7. The Bronze Age (c. 3000 BCE – c. 1200 BCE) Three civilizations develop in three different parts of the Greek world: Mycenaean culture develops in the mainland of Greece The Minoans lived on the Island of Crete The culture of the Cyclades (Cycladic Islands) Prehistoric Greece

8. The Cycladic culture is known for its figurines (also called “idols”) which were found in tombs and could be objects of personal devotion (like icons in modern Greece). Cycladic culture was closely allied with the Minoan civilization. “Idol”: Vroma Flying fish: R. Basic Cycladic Culture

9. Minoan culture was characterized by: palaces, built on an open plan, with a great many rooms, but without fortifications an apparent focus on the ocean, including seafaring and trade Thera Freso, R. Basic Minoan Culture

10. Sacred images often focused on the mysterious labrys (double ax), and on bulls, including the enigmatic representations of bull-leaping There are many images of women, often portrayed in positions of authority Minoan civilization may have been more egalitarian with worship oriented toward female deities Fresco, R. Basic Priestess, Thera fresco, R. Basic Minoan Culture

11. Minoan figurine faience (quality workmqnship, highly specialized technique) what are the figure’s attributes (iconography)? what did she represent within her society? Minoan Culture

12. Detail of a sacrifice from Minoan Crete, 1450- 1400 BCE. Minoan Culture

13. In contrast, Mycenaean palaces are fortified with huge walls and built to withstand siege. Mycenaean art tends to emphasize hunting and warfare, while other indicators (i.e. grave goods) argue for a warrior-dominated society. Mycenae’s Lion Gate, R. Basic “Mask of Agamemnon,” Artchive Mycenaean Culture

14. Fresco fragment depicting Mycenaean woman; 13th century BCE Mycenaean Culture

15. In about 1400 BCE, the volcanic island of Thera exploded in a disaster whose atmospheric effects were felt around the world. Probably, ashfall ruined agriculture for years. Possibly, a tidal wave destroyed the Cretan navy and led to the fall of Minoan culture. Thera fresco, R Basic Upheavals...

16. Minoan civilization suffers a major setback. Soon, the local writing system, Linear A, disappears. Linear B, a form of Greek, used by the Mycenaeans, appears in Crete. Minoan civilization is dead, but Mycenae flourishes. Linear B tablets reveal a complex economic and religious world. Many of the names of classical Greek gods appear on these early bronze age tablets. Warrior Vase, R. Basic Mycenaean Dominance

17. By about 1200 BCE, nearly all of the Bronze Age power centers had been destroyed or fallen into disuse. Greece entered a “dark age” in which monumental building and art were not practiced. But the culture continued to develop and expand. The “Dark Age”

18. Some cities lost prominence, others became more important. Greeks colonized the coast of Asia Minor and Southern Italy. By 750 BCE, national sanctuaries at Delphi and Olympia were formed. Agriculture intensified and population grew. The first poets whose works are preserved in writing, Homer and Hesiod, were composing their epic works. Archaic Greece

19. Classical Greece: The Polis Individual city-states (polis, pl. poleis) developed Each had its own governmental system, laws, and religious festivals All shared language, literature, and the same divine pantheon Most shared similar ideas about gender roles, division of labor, sexuality, education, and family identity.

20. Polis and Community Shared Government Shared laws Shared religious festivals Shared myths

21. Agriculture

22. Family Groups

23. Men’s Social Roles Social Roles varied from society to society; some widespread phenomena: Farming work or overseeing farming work on one’s own land Service in the military Participation in government to the extent allowed by the state’s constitution Participation in rituals of one’s state Education of one’s children

24. Women’s Social Roles To marry and bear citizen children To care for the household resources To spin and weave To participate in the state’s religious rituals

25. Daily Life Drawing water at a fountain – onerous duty but also social time

26. Spinning and Weaving Daily Life

27. Woman at a laver (wash basin) having filled it with a water jar Daily Life

28. Woman sacrificing

29. Daily Life Caring for children

30. Sexuality Sexuality was not a matter of the partner’s gender (male vs. female) but concerned active vs. passive roles. Active roles were appropriate for grown men, whether the partner was male or female Passive roles were appropriate for women and to some extent, teenaged men, but not for adult males How far did the reality match the ideal? Public vs. private? Hard to say …

31. The Greek gods were a family, led by Zeus, whose authority commanded his two brothers, three sisters and eight children. In myth, the family squabbled and fought, a macrocosm of real families; the goddesses, while under paternal authority, often pursued their own agendas. Zeus, a sky god, and was seen as a moral and ethical force. On the other hand, myth abounded with stories of his seduction of mortal women. The Greek Gods

32. Hera, Zeus’s sister, was his wife and queen. Zeus and Hera’s marriage was portrayed as rocky and contentious in myth, but in cult and art it represented the ultimate divine marriage as a model for humans. Hera was a beautiful, desirable bride, Zeus a manly, welcoming husband. Zeus and Hera

33. Zeus’s brother Poseidon was god of the sea, while his brother Hades ruled the underworld with his wife, Persephone Poseidon and Hades

34. Demeter is the grain god, and Persephone, her daughter by Zeus, is the queen of the underworld. Their mother-daughter relationship represents the life-affirming process of yearly cycles and crop fertility, where death is transformed into life. Demeter and Persephone

35. Athena, born from her father Zeus’s head, was goddess of warfare, but also of intelligence and women’s crafts, especially weaving. Athena

36. Artemis, the huntress, remained forever a virgin, roaming the wilderness, a liminal and often threatening figure Yet her other aspect was to promote the fertility of animals, aid in childbirth, and oversee the transition of virgins into brides Artemis

37. Apollo, Artemis’ twin brother, was the beautiful, unapproachable god of music, poetry and prophecy Hermes, another youthful god, was both divine messenger and trickster Apollo and Hermes

38. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, symbolizing intoxicating sexuality and beauty. In myth she is often portrayed as a willful “girly-girl,” but she is elsewhere portrayed as a powerful, personally- accessible goddess. Aphrodite

39. Hephaestus, the lame god of the forge and craftsmanship, was married to Aphrodite – the ugliest god married to the most beautiful. Ares, god of war, was Aphrodite’s lover. Hephaestus and Ares

40. Dionysus was the god of wine. His celebration could involve loss of self and ecstasy, and was particularly appealing to women. Dionysus

41. finis