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Explore the rich history of Greece, from the Aegean culture and the Minoans to the rise of Athens as a democratic city-state during its golden age. Discover the famous figures, events, and philosophical ideas that shaped Greek civilization.
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Greece “We are all Greeks.” -Shelley
Pre-“Greek”—Aegean Culture • (Bronze age—3000-1200 BCE) • Cycladic 3000-1600—marble statues • Minoan 2000-1400 King Minos--Knossos: Goddess with Snakes, Bull Jumper (Arthur Evans discovered Knossos) • Mycenaean 1600-1200—mainland Greece. Schliemann discovered Troy and the Mycenaean culture. They built great palaces and were preoccupied with death.
Cycladic Period 3000-1600 BCE
Minoan 2000-1400 • Seafaring kingdom • Seemingly safe and secure society • Human sacrifice • Minotaur was the child of the queen and a sacred bull • 1700 BCE the great earthquake
Mycenaean 1600-1200 • Aggressive and militant • Cyclops legend • 1200 BCE Mycenaean attacked Troy (in present-day Turkey). Hence, the basis for the Iliad and Odyssey.
“Maskof Agamemnon” Mycenaeanca. 1500
GREEK CULTURAL PERIODS Heroic Age—1200-750 BCE Greek City-State/Persian Wars—750-480 BCE Athens/Golden Age 480-430 BCE
Heroic Age—1200-750 BCE • Dorians (see map) destroyed the Mycenaean empire—ca. 1200 • Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (NB the individualism of these epics)
Greek City-State/Persian Wars—750-480 BCE • 200 City-State reflected the terrain of Greece • Competitive among themselves, but unified against Persians • Marathon 490 BCE—land defeat for Persians • Salamis 489 BCE—navel defeat for Persians • Herodotus—sociologist and historian
Athens/Golden Age 480-430 BCE • Athens was the big winner in the wars with Persia • The result was Camelot for a half-century • 508 BCE—Athens becomes first democracy (people- power) • NB the power structure of Athenian society • Athens vs. Sparta • Pericles’ contributions to democracy and to the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 BCE) • Olympic games 776 BCE—naked athletes
Greek Philosophy • Practical explanation of the natural order • Objective, logical vs. subjective, intuitive • Naturalism and its philosophies—pre-Socrates • Sophists—concerned about the “Hows” • Socrates • Plato • Aristotle
Socrates (ca. 470-399 BCE) • Examine ones life by questioning everything, which resulted in his questioning of the Greek Assembly. • The Assembly claimed that he was corrupting the minds of young people and not believing in the gods.
Quotes from Socrates: “By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get bad one, you'll become a philosopher.” “Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.” “Envy is the ulcer of the soul.” “Remember what is unbecoming to do is also unbecoming to speak of.” “Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.”
Plato ca. 427-347 BCE • Academy—precursor to the university • Plato discussed and examined various theories of government • Rejected democracy • Plato believed that the best form of government (“polis” or state) • Government in three parts: (1) the “philosopher kings” (2) the warriors (3) the masses • Cosmic Forms
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a resident alien in Athens. Unlike Socrates and Plato, he was not a citizen of Athens. Aristotle was the best student of Plato, but he did not believe in everything that Plato preached. Plato believed in absolute knowledge, which he believed philosophers could have if they kept pure and practiced philosophy. According to Plato, a person can reach absolute knowledge by attending his university and practicing philosophy and mathematics. Unlike Plato, Aristotle did not believe in absolutes. He believed that the ultimate goal or reality (“telos”) of all things is determined by their function. For instance, a chair’s ultimate reality (“telos”) is determined by its creator (“cratftsman”). From the very beginning, the creator of the chair has an idea of the ultimate goal (“telos”) of the chair when he was gathering the wooden materials (“matter”) to create the chair. For Aristotle, therefore, the ultimate reality of things is determined by the design that their creator had in mind when he created the thing. Thus, instead of having a philosopher-king rule society, Aristotle believed that it depends who are the best people available. If there is only one person with the skills and knowledge of ruling, then the correct government (“polis”) is a monarchy (“one ruler”). If there is more than one person—for instance, there are three or four good rulers—then the correct government is an aristocracy (“best rules”). Still, like his mentor Plato, Aristotle also though that a democracy (“rule of many”) was the worst type of government. Aristotle also started a school called the Lyceum, and, like Plato’s Academy, it formed the basis of our university education. Many scholars believe that Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are among the best thinkers in Western history. To this day, many of our ideas find their origins in these Greek philosophers. For example, our concepts like form and matter, psychology, political science, physics, biology, logic, ethics, and the transmigration of souls all find their origins in Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. These Greek philosophers analyzed and traced the concept and evolution how individuals, families, friends, and communities form basic building blocks for our governments and its institutions. Aristotle—384-322 BCE • Student of Plato at the Academy • Aristotle was said to have been the last person on earth that understood everything that was known at the time • Peripatetic philosopher • Unmoved mover • NB his philosophy regarding the sexes • Golden Mean • State over the individual
Greek Horizontal Ever-changing Experimental This worldly Democratic Chaotic Egyptian Pyramidal Static Traditional Other worldly Autocratic Unity/continuity • Greek Culture and Art:
For an interesting world timeline: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hm/04/hm04.htm
