European Culture

European Culture -- AnIntroduction

d. Contending Schools of Thoughts • Sophists, who were teachers of the art of arguing. The most eminent of them was Protagoras, born about 500 B.C., who wrote a book On the Gods. He is chiefly noted for his doctrine that “ man is the measure of all the things.” • In the 4th century B.C., four schools of philosophers often argued with each other. They were the Cynics, the Sceptics, the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Cynics, leader named Diogenes, he rejected all the conventions, and advocated self-sufficiency

and extreme simplicity in life. He lived by begg- Ing. He proclaimed his brotherhood, not only with the whole human race, but also with animals. On the other hand, he had no patience with the rich and powerful. The Sceptics followed Pyrrhon , who held that not all knowledge was attainable. He and his followers doubted the truth of what others accepted as true. The Epicureans were disciples of Epicurus, who believed pleasure to be the highest good in life, but by pleasure he meant, not sensual

enjoyment, but freedom from pain and emotion- al upheaval. Epicurus was a materialist, he believed the world consisted of atoms. Opposed to the Epicureans were the Stoics. To them, the most important thing in life was not “pleasure”, but “duty”. This developed into the theory that one should endure hardship and misfortune with courage. The chief Stoic was Zeno.

e. Science • We have seen that many Greek philosophers were at the same time scientists. Thus Plato was a mathematician and Aristotle contribut- ed to Zoology. Two men may be mentioned for what they did to push science forward. They are Euclid and Archimedes. Euclid is well-known for his Elements, a textbook of geometry. Archimedes did important work not only in geometry, but also in arithmetic, mechanics, and hydrostatics.

8.Art, Architecture, Sculpture and poetry • a. Art Greek art is a visual proof of Greek civiliza- tion. b. Architecture The most important temple is Parthenon. Greek architecture can be grouped into three types: the Doric style which is also called the masculine style; the Ionic style which is also called the feminine style; and a later style that is called the Corinthian.

c. Sculpture The earliest Greek sculptures were those of Gods. Stiff, lifeless---- the beauty of internal structure. Famous sculptures: i. Discus Thrower ii.Venus de Milo iii.Laocoon group d. Pottery The flourishing of the Greek pottery was a result of domestic needs, needs for foreign trade. Black-figure and red-figure paintings. 9. Impact a. Spirit of Innovation b. Supreme Achievement c. Lasting Effect

Roman Culture 1.Romans and Greeks The Romans had a lot in common with the Greeks. Both peoples had traditions rooted in the idea of the citizen-assembly, hostile to monarchy and to servility. Their regions were alike enough for most of their deities to be readily identified. Their languages worked in similar ways, and were ultimately related, both being members of Indo-European language family which stretches from Bangladesh to Iceland.

There was one big difference. The Romans built up a vast empire, the Greeks didn’t. 2.Roman History Pax Romana: The year 27B.C. divided the history of Rome into two periods: before then, Rome had been a republic; in that year, Octavius took supreme power as emperor with the title of Augustus. Two centuries later, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent, encircling the Mediterranean, reaching Scotland in the north and spreading into Armenia and Mesopotamia in the east. The emperors

relied on a strong army--the famous Roman legions -– and an efficient bureaucracy to exert their rule, which was facilitated by a well-developed system of roads. Thus the Romans enjoyed a long period of peace lasting two hundred years, a remarkable phenomenon in history known as the Pax Romana. 3. Latin Literature a.Prose • Marcus Tullius Cicero (马库斯 . 塔利 .西塞罗） • Julius Caesar (朱利叶斯 .凯撒）

b. Poetry (物性论） • Lucretius (卢克莱修On the Nature of Things • Virgil (维吉尔） Aeneid (埃涅伊德） 4. Architecture, Painting and Sculpture • Architecture • The Pantheon • Pont du Gard • The Colosseum b. Painting c. Sculpture i. Constantine the Great (about AD 274-337), Roman emperor (306-37), the first Roman ruler to be converted to Christianity. He was the founder of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), which remained the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire until 1453.

ii. Spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem iii. She-wolf

Division TwoThe Bible and Christianity • I. The Old Testament 《圣经》是妇孺皆知的基督教经典著作，分为《旧约全书》和《新约全书》两部。《旧约》共39卷，是基督教从古犹太教那里继承而来的。所谓“约”意思是上帝与人定的契约，主要内容有四部分：其一，是关于上帝造世和人类始祖的神话，比如亚当和夏娃的故事，诺亚方舟的故事等；其二，是古犹太人的历史，讲述从希伯莱人定居巴勒斯坦（1200 B.C.）至公元一世纪犹太人的历史，例如《约书亚书》就是讲述约书亚率领以色列人攻占巴勒斯坦并把它分给各部落的经过；其三，是诗歌及其他形式的宗教文学作品，例如《约伯书》和《诗篇》；其四，是关于先知的预言和宗教、政治评论，比如《阿摩司书》、《耶利米书》和《但以理书》等。《旧约全书》大致在公元前五世纪至公元前二世纪陆续出现，并在公元一世纪末大致定型。

Focus In ♦Among all the religions by which people seek to worship, Christianity is by far the most influential in the West. ♦Both Judaism and Christianity originated in Palestine—the hub of migration and trade routes, which led to exchange of ideas over wide areas. ♦Some 3800 years ago the ancestors of the Jews– the Hebrews– wandered through the deserts of the Middle East.

♦About 1300 B.C., the Hebrews came to settle in Palestine, known as Canaan at that time, and formed small kingdoms. ♦The king of the Hebrews was handed down orally from one generation to another in the form of folktales and stories, which were recorded later in the Old Testament. ♦The Bible is a collection of religious writings comprising two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. ♦The Old Testament consists of 39 books, the oldest and most important of which are the first five books, called Pentateuch.

♦When the Hebrews left the desert and entered the mountainous Sinai, Moses climbed to the top of the mountain to receive God message from, which came to be known as Adam, Eve, the Ten Commandments. ♦Chronologically Amos is the earliest prophet in the Old Testament. ♦In Babylon in the 6th century B.C., the Hebrews, now known as Jews, formed synagogues to practise their religion.

European Culture