Greece’s Cultural Contributions

1. Mythology, Olympics, Culture, and Philosophy Greece’s Cultural Contributions

2. Objectives: • Student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greece in terms of its impact on Western civilization by: • Describing Greek Mythology and religion • Citing contributions in drama, poetry, history, sculpture, architecture, science and mathematics • Essential Questions: • How did mythology help the early Greek civilization explain the natural world and the human condition? • What impact did Greek mythology have on later civilizations and the contemporary world? • What were some important contributions of Greek culture to Western civilization?

3. What is Mythology? • A term that shows emphasis on exciting stories rather than precise moral laws • Morals come from philosophies • Greek Mythology is polytheistic

4. Greek Gods • Zeus: Chief ruler of the gods • God of the sky, lightening and thunder • Hera • wife of Zeus and protector of marriage • Athena • goddess of wisdom and crafts • Apollo • God of the sun and poetry • Aphrodite • Goddess of love • Poseidon • God of the Seas • Hades • God of the Underworld • Artemis • Goddess of the Hunt, Apollo’s twin sister

5. Part of life • Each city-state had a special guardian • Guardian was celebrated with special prayers , gifts, rituals, and festivals. • Helpful to keep Gods in good moods • No moral guidance or hope of happy afterlife • Oracles: • Locations where you could ask the Gods questions • Answers were interpreted by Priests

6. A different religion • Greek mythology differed from other religions in that it was more an attempt to understand human qualities than divine ones. • The gods and goddesses represented human strengths and weaknesses • Moral issues were left for the humans to solve themselves. • No single source of written scripture such as the Qur’an or the Bible

7. Mythology • Myths gave the Greeks explanations to questions they couldn’t answer • Greek mythology still continues to influence the Western world in literature, art, architecture, and politics

8. A way to honor to Gods: The Olympics • Athletic contests • Several games: • Isthmos games held every two years at the Gulf of Corinth • Pythian games held every four years at Delphi • Most Famous: held at Olympia, took place every four years • The Ancient Olympics started roughly around 700 B.C.E to honor Zeus

9. The Ancient Olympics • No women allowed • Not even to watch • Only Greek nationals could perform • Performed nude • Inside temple at Olympia was Phidias's statue of Zeus, an Ancient wonder of the World • Originally a one-day festival of athletics and wrestling • By 472 B.C.E it had expanded to five day and many more events • One the “middle day” or third day of the festival 100 oxen were sacrificed to Zeus

10. Events • Races • The Stadion (oldest) • A sprint one length of the stadium (192 m) • 2- Stade Race’ • Long distance • Between 7-24 stades • Race in full armor • 2-4 stades • Wrestling • Had to throw opponent on the ground three times • No biting or genital holds • Boxing • Vicious and brutal • Leather and sometimes metal strapped over hands • Continued until one opponent acknowledged defeat • Horse-racing • Confined to wealthy • Had to own horse • 6 laps of track • Also had Chariot races • Pentathlon • A series of five events • Sprinting • Long-jumping • Used stone weights to increase the length of their jump • Javelin • Long wooden stick with spear head • Usually height of thrower • Discus • Circle-shaped stone, iron, bronze or lead • wrestling

11. Greek styles in Art • Traditional style • Parthenon • Used for 200 years • Set standards for future artists • Sculpture • Phidias • Sculpture of Athena • Figures that were graceful, strong, and perfectly formed • Faces only showed serenity • Classical Art • Valued order, balance, and proportion

12. Architecture • Balance, Harmony • Parthenon: simple rectangle, tall columns, gently sloping roof • Columns: • Doric • Ionic • Corinthian

13. Art • By 450 B.C. Greek Sculptors feature natural poses • Carved gods, goddesses, men, women to most perfect and graceful form.

15. Poetry • Epic poems • The oldest known Greek literary sources, the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on events surrounding the Trojan War. • Both written by Homer • In these stories the Greeks interacted with the Gods • Humans were differentiated by their lack of miraculous powers • The stories of the Gods explained the sorrows and surprises of human life as the whims and actions of the Gods

16. Greek Drama • Greeks invented it • Productions in Athens were both an expression of civic pride and tribute to the gods • Actors used colorful costumes, masks, and sets to dramatize stories about leadership, justice, and the duties owed to the gods. • Two kinds of plays: • Tragedy • Comedy

17. Greek Drama • 1st plays out of religious festivals • Performed in large outdoor theaters • Chorus sang or chanted comments on the action • Explored the relationships between people and the gods

19. Tragedy • Tragedies: told stories of human suffering that usually ended in disaster • Purpose to stir emotions of pity and fear

20. Greek Tragedies • Serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal • Featured: • Main character, or tragic hero • Often had extraordinary talents and a tragic flaw • Flaw led to hero’s downfall • Three famous dramatists: • Aeschylus • The Oresteia • Wrote more than 80 plays • Sophocles • Oedipus, Antigone • Wrote more than 100 plays • Euripides • Medea • Sympathetic to women

21. Oresteia • Powerful family torn apart by betrayal, murder, and revenge • Saw how pride could cause horrifying misfortune and how gods could bring down even the greatest heroes

22. Antigone • Explored what happens when an individuals’ moral duty conflicts with the laws of the state • Young women whose brother killed in rebellion • King forbids her to bury him, she does anyways • She is sentenced to death • Duty to gods is greater than human law

23. Greek Comedies • Contained scenes filled with slap-stick and crude humor • Often satires • Works that poked fun at the subject • Customs, politics, respected people • Aristophanes • The Birds • Lysistrata • Allowed for free discussion and criticism

24. Writing of History • Herodotus • “father of history” • Visited lands, chronicled information • Thucydides • wrote about Peloponnesian war • Lived through the war • Vividly described savagery • Set standards for future historians

25. Revisit Objectives: • Student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greece in terms of its impact on Western civilization by: • Describing Greek Mythology and religion • Citing contributions in drama, poetry, history, sculpture, architecture, science and mathematics • Essential Questions: • How did mythology help the early Greek civilization explain the natural world and the human condition? • What impact did Greek mythology have on later civilizations and the contemporary world? • What were some important contributions of Greek culture to Western civilization?