SS.6.G.4.1

1. SS.6.G.4.1 The Golden Age of Athens

2. Athens’ Golden Age • From about 479-431 B.C.E., Athens experienced a period of great peace and wealth. • The threat from Persia was over, and Athens became the artistic and cultural center of Greece. • Educated citizens would help to create new advances in architecture, sculpture, drama, philosophy, and sports.

3. A City of Contrasts • Even though the public places in Athens were beautiful and impressive, the people of Athens lived in small, uncomfortable houses that lined narrow streets. • People threw their garbage into the streets, so neighborhoods often smelled bad. • Even the homes of the rich were plain and often uncomfortable.

4. The Pride of Athens • To the Athenians, city life was much more important than private life, so their public places were the real pride of the city. • On the acropolis, the hill above the city, the Athenians built magnificent temples which were believed to serve as homes for the gods and goddesses. • The most famous temple was the Parthenon, built to honor Athena.

5. The Temple at Delphi • Another famous temple was located in Delphi and dedicated to the god Apollo. • Here, people could ask Apollo questions through a priestess called the oracle. • To answer a question, she would go into a trance, and the words she spoke were thought to come from Apollo himself.

6. Architecture • Temples were built with rows of tall columns. • The Greeks used 3 kinds of columns. • Doric: the simplest, no base, slimmer toward the top • Ionic: thinner, sat on a base, spirals carved into the top • Corinthian: most complex, usually had carvings of leaves at the top

7. Sculpture • Creating lifelike statues was one of the greatest achievements of Greek sculptors. • Figures held natural poses with much more detailed muscles, hair, and clothing than in earlier Greek or Egyptian sculptures. • Greek sculptures were colorful with bronze, wax, or bright paint used to accent hair, lips, and clothes. • The colors on surviving statues, of course, have faded.

8. Drama • Going to the theater was a regular part of Athenian life. • Plays were staged in open-air theaters built into the side of a hill. • The theater was shaped like a bowl, and seats rose in a semicircle around the stage at the bottom so everyone could hear and see. • The Athenians even had contests for best playwrights and actors, although only men were allowed to perform on stage.

9. Philosophy • The ancient Athenians loved to talk and argue, especially about things they couldn’t see such as the meaning of life, justice, truth, and beauty. • They called this kind of thinking philosophy, which means “the love of wisdom.”

10. Socrates • One of the greatest philosophers in Athens was Socrates who always encouraged people to question the things they thought they knew. • He taught others by asking them questions that forced them to think about their beliefs. • Socrates once said he was the wisest man in Greece because he knew that he did not know anything!

11. Trouble for Socrates • Many disagreed with Socrates’ methods saying he led young people to disobey their elders by questioning their beliefs. • In 399 B.C.E., Socrates stood trial and was found guilty of crimes against Athens. • Although his friends urged him to escape, Socrates said he would honor the law and drank the poison hemlock. • His message continued, though, with his most famous student, Plato, who would later teach another great philosopher, Aristotle.

12. Athens…Athletes…Get it?? • The Greeks’ interest in philosophy shows how much they valued the mind, but their love of sports shows that they also prized a healthy body. • The Greeks often held athletic events to honor gods and goddesses. • To Athenians, the most important of these competitions was the Panathenaea which honored Athena. • The most famous throughout Greece, though, were the Olympics, a set of games played every 4 years at Olympia to honor Zeus. • These games were so important, the Greeks would call a truce from all wars so that athletes could travel safely to the games.