Chapter 29 The Golden Age of Athens

• Introduction• A City of Contrasts• Religion: The Temple at Delphi• Architecture: The Acropolis• Architecture is the art of designing buildings• Sculpture: A Marble Workshop• Sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional figures from

such materials as wood, stone, and clay• Drama: The Theater of Dionysus• Philosophy: The Agora• Sports: The Panathenaic Games• Summary

Introduction• Athens left in ruins at the end of the

Persian War• Athens rebuilt by Pericles• Athens entered a "golden age"• Between 479 and 431 BCE Athens was

the artistic and cultural center of Greece

A City of Contrasts• Personal Space

– Small, uncomfortable houses• one story high• made of mud bricks• Wealthy families had larger rooms built around a courtyard• Few windows in homes• Lit by oil lamps• Smoky and cold in winter• Smoky and hot in summer

– Homes located on narrow streets• Streets were narrow, crooked and dirty• Garbage was thrown into the streets

A City of Contrasts• Public Space

– Pride of Athens– Large government buildings around the agora

• Buildings were made of stone– Temples built on the acropolis

• Built temples for the earthly home of their gods and goddesses• Most famous temple was the Parthenon

– Built to honor the goddess Athena– Burnt to the ground during the Persian Wars– Legend

» Athena gave the people a sacred olive tree» After the burning of Athens, the tree appeared to be dead » Someone noticed a tiny leaf growing from the burnt leaf» Athenians took this as a sign from Athena that she had not

abandoned the city and they decided to rebuild

Religion: The Temple at Delphi

• Religion– Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses– Each god and goddess had power over a

particular area of life• Temple

– Dedicated to Apollo– Asked Apollo questions through a priestess called

the oracle of Delphi• Oracle went into a trance• The words she spoke were though to come from Apollo

Turn to pg. 281

Religion: The Temple at Delphi

• Myths http://vimeo.com/24786672– Stories about Greed gods and goddesses are called myths– Mount Olympus, Home of the Olympian gods

• Zeus• Hera• Poseidon• Hestia• Demeter• Ares• Apollo• Artemis• Hephaestus• Aphrodite• Hermes

Architecture: The Acropolis• Temples

– Demonstrated the Greeks' idea of beauty

• Revealed balance and order

• Temples built with rows of tall columns

– Built as a home for the god/goddess not a place of worship

Architecture is the art of designing buildings

Doric column:• Simplest• No base and

got slimmer toward the top

Ionic column:• Thinner than Doric• Sat on a base and had

spirals carved into the top

Corinthian column:• Most

complex • Carvings

that looked like leaves at the top

Turn to pg. 282

Architecture: The Acropolis• Acropolis

– Three temples build on the acropolis

– Parthenon• One of the most beautiful temples in

Greece• Built on a rectangular platform• 8 columns across the front and

back; 17 along each side• Slanting roof created triangles called

pediments at the front and back– The triangle contained a band of

sculptures called a frieze– The sculptures are called metopes

• Contained a main room with a magnificent statue of Athena

– Made of wood– Covered with ivory– Dressed in clothes– Decorated with gold

Architecture is the art of designing buildings

Sculpture: A Marble Workshop• Sculptors

– Set up workshop near site– made a life-size clay model supported by wooden or metal frames– General outline roughed out in marble– Master sculptor added details and finishing touches– Greatest achievement

• Created lifelike statues– Early sculptures influenced by Egyptian art– Later sculptures revealed more realism with detailed muscles, hair, and clothing

• Other artisans– Metalworkers

• added bronze pieces like spears and shields– Painters

• Applied bright colors to hair, lips, clothes, and headdress

Sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional figures from such materials as wood, stone, and clay

Sculpture: A Marble Workshop

• Famous sculptors– Phidias

• Designed the figures that lined the top of the Parthenon

• Sculpted the statue of Athena

Drama: The Theater of Dionysus• Dionysus

– God of theater and wine– Plays grew out of songs and

dances performed at harvest time• Plays began to tell stories

• Actors– A few main characters and a

chorus• No women actors

– Actors wore masks» Masks were made for male

and female» Masks showed it the

character was happy or sad• Chorus

– group of men who recited lines commenting on the actions of the characters

Drama: The Theater of Dionysus

• Open-air Theaters– Built on the side of a hill– Shaped like a bowl so

everyone could hear– Seats rose in a semicircle

around a stage– Scenery painted on canvas

and hung behind actors

Competitionscould last for daysJudges chose winners in 4 categories

tragic playwrightscomic playwrightsLeading tragic actorleading comic actor

Winners crowned with olive leaves and given figs and wine

Agora: Primary or Secondary?

Agora: Primary or Secondary?

Agora: Primary or Secondary?

• The extant sources agree that Socrates was profoundly ugly, resembling a satyr more than a man—and resembling not at all the statues that turned up later in ancient times and now grace Internet sites and the covers of books. He had wide-set, bulging eyes that darted sideways and enabled him, like a crab, to see not only what was straight ahead, but what was beside him as well; a flat, upturned nose with flaring nostrils; and large fleshy lips like an ass. Socrates let his hair grow long, Spartan-style (even while Athens and Sparta were at war), and went about barefoot and unwashed, carrying a stick and looking arrogant. He didn't change his clothes but efficiently wore in the daytime what he covered himself with at night. Something was peculiar about his gait as well, sometimes described as a swagger so intimidating that enemy soldiers kept their distance. He was impervious to the effects of alcohol and cold, but this made him an object of suspicion to his fellow soldiers on campaign. We can safely assume an average height (since no one mentions it at all), and a strong build, given the active life he appears to have led. Against the iconic tradition of a pot-belly, Socrates and his companions are described as going hungry (Aristophanes, Birds 1280–83).

• On his appearance, see Plato's Theaetetus 143e, and Symposium 215a-c, 216c-d, 221d-e; Xenophon's Symposium 4.19, 5.5–7; and Aristophanes's Clouds 362.

Philosophy: The AgoraPhilosophy is the search for wisdom or

knowledge• Discussion

about the meaning of life, justice, truth, and beauty

• Athenians loved to talk and argue

Philosophy: The Agora• Socrates

– Encouraged people to question the things they thought they knew

– He taught by asking questions– Trouble

• Accused of not honoring the gods and leading young people into error and disloyalty

• Brought to trial– Socrates said he was the wisest

man in Greece because he knew that he did not know anything.

• Found guilty– Sentenced to death– Friends encouraged him to

escape– He wanted to honor the law– Drank hemlock, a poisonous plant

Horrible Histories

Sports: The Panathenaic Games• Purpose

– Revealed the Greek's emphasis on a healthy body– Held athletic events to honor gods and goddesses– Panathenaea

• festival to honor Athena• High point was a procession• New robe for Athena was attached to a ship's mast and pulled through the city to the temple

• Events– Horse and chariot races

• one event men jumped on and off a moving chariot– footraces

• One race run in full armor– Combat sports

• boxing • wrestling• pancratium

– men allowed to punch, kick and even choke each other– Event ended when a fighter surrendered, lost consciousness, or died

– Winners• Crowned with laurel leaves• given pots filled with olive oil

• Olympics• Played every four years• Played to honor Zeus• Greeks would call a truce from war for athletes to travel safely to the games

Sports: The Panathenaic Games• Purpose

– Revealed the Greek's emphasis on a healthy body– Held athletic events to honor gods and goddesses– Panathenaea

• festival to honor Athena• High point was a procession• New robe for Athena was attached to a ship's mast and pulled through the city to the temple

• Events– Horse and chariot races

• one event men jumped on and off a moving chariot– footraces

• One race run in full armor– Combat sports

• boxing • wrestling• pancratium

– men allowed to punch, kick and even choke each other– Event ended when a fighter surrendered, lost consciousness, or died

– Winners• Crowned with laurel leaves• given pots filled with olive oil

• Olympics– Played every four years– Played to honor Zeus– Greeks would call a truce from war for athletes to travel safely to the games

Summary• Athens during the 400’s BCE• At the height of its power and glory

– Temple at Delphi– Acropolis– Theater of Dionysus– Socrates– Panathenaic Games

• How did Alexander the Great spread Greek ideas?