Golden Age of GreeceMadnick/Global History 9

Golden Age of Greece• After the Persian Wars Greece had its

Golden Age (460-330BCE) --a period when a culture has wealth, peace, and

great achievements

• The Golden Age of Greece took place in Athens

ArchitectureThe Parthenon

• 447 BCE• Architects: Ictinus and Callicrates • rectangular floor--101 ft. by 228 ft • 46 columns--8 front and back/17 on sides• Steps on all sides• White marble• Post and beam architecture—verticals support

horizontals• Mathematical Ratio of 9:4

ArchitectureThe Parthenon

ArchitectureThe Parthenon

• Contained a 40 ft. statue of Athena ParthenosGreek goddess of universal wisdomsymbol of human intelligence No straight line or right anglesColumns taper and bend inwardCorner columns are largerBase has a 12-cm. curveBuilt on the Acropolis-highest area of Athens• Meant to blend in with curve of the hill and horizon

Art

• The Scraper• By Lysippos• 330 BCE• 6’9” White marble• Contrapposto the leaning position of a

human figure in sculpture or painting; weight shift at the hip

Art

• Discus Thrower• By Myron• 450 BCE• Human figure looks real• Nude human figure

considered beautiful

Which one has realism?

What was beautiful to the Greeks?

• Wisdom and intelligence

• Realism-showing things as they really are

• Individualism-the importance of individual people

• Reason—logical, scientific thinking that focuses on facts

• Order• Balance

Literature

The world’s first comedies and tragedies were written by Greek playwrights:

• Sophocles wrote comedies that mocked religion and the gods

• Euripides wrote tragedies about humans with problems

beyond their control

Philosophy

Philosophy = thinking about truth and wisdom

Socratesquestioned students until they found

their own answers; AKA “Socratic Method”

Platodescribed the perfect government in a

book called The RepublicAristotleused reason to describe nature; father

of physics and biology

Science

Eratosthenesmeasured the Earth’s circumference

AristarchusHeliocentric Theory- Earth revolves

around the sun

Euclid—Geometry

Pythagorus--Pythagorean theorum