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Classical Greek Civilization

Classical Greek Civilization. The Hellenistic Age. Background. Following Peloponnesian War, first Sparta , then Thebes took over leadership of Greece The period 400-360 BC is extremely messy; essentially, the Greek city-states spend two generations fighting themselves

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Classical Greek Civilization

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  1. Classical Greek Civilization The Hellenistic Age

  2. Background • Following Peloponnesian War, first Sparta, then Thebes took over leadership of Greece • The period 400-360 BC is extremely messy; essentially, theGreek city-states spend two generations fighting themselves • War and civil unrest sap economies across Greece; theGreek world drives itself into poverty

  3. Background • In 359, Philip II becomes king of Macedon; his efforts to rebuild his kingdom lead to conflicts with Greek city states • At Chaeronea (338 BCE) the Greek cities suffered a devastating loss to Philip • Alexander the Great succeeded his father in 336 and ruled until his death in 323 • The period from 323 to 146 BCE is known as the Hellenistic period

  4. New Directions in Art • Chaos had profound impact on peoples’ outlook. Gone are Classical principles of: • Rationality • Order • Perfection • Correctness/formulae • Serene idealism • Replaced by individuality/world of appearances, as opposed to perfect beings/perfect buildings • Internal becomes external

  5. New Directions in Art Praxiteles’ statues, Aphrodite of Knidos and Hermes with the Infant Dionysus demonstrate the humanizing, sensuous approach late Classical sculptors took to their art.

  6. New Directions in Art These statues by Lysippus, another great late-Classical sculptor, the Apoxyomenos and the Weary Hercules, demonstrate changes in proportion, physique, energy level, and perspective; we must walk around these statues to appreciate them fully.

  7. Macedonian Court Art This mosaic from Pompeii is generally believed to be a reasonably faithful copy of a painting of the battle of Issus (where Alexander defeated Darius), which Philoxenus created for King Cassander, one of Alexander’s successors.

  8. Architecture Polykleitos the Younger, Theater, Epidauros, c. 350 BCE.

  9. The Importance of the Period • Greek art/Classical ideals transmitted to Rome through contact with Hellenistic kingdoms • Began tradition of widespread state support for arts and humanities • Artistic legacy is powerful • Influence of schools of philosophy that arose in this period continues to be felt

  10. A Few Generalizations. . . • Dominated by large cities • Interconnected, urban civilization replaces polis-based culture of Classical Greece • Multiracial, multicultural (though Greek influence important) • Strong eastern influence • Divinity of rulers • “Grandiose” aesthetic • Rise of religious cults

  11. The Stages of Hellenistic History • Hellenistic era covers relatively brief (177-year) period: 323-146 BCE • Falls into two basic stages: • The End of the Empire and the Rise of the Successor States (323-215 BCE) • Macedonia/Antigonus • Persia/Seleucus • Egypt/Ptolemy • The Arrival and Triumph of Rome (215-146 BCE)

  12. The Hellenistic World

  13. Cities, Greeks, and theHellenistic World • Alexander’s most enduring legacy was new concept of city • Cities were keystones of empire • Led to rise of “cosmopolitan” ideal • Greek migrants had special impact • Numbers and high-profile presence ensured that Greek culture and values would play significant role across period

  14. Urban Life in the Hellenistic Age • Pergamum Pergamum’s architecture was in the Hellenic style, but the city’s mixed population made it the commercial and political hub of a Hellenistic kingdom. Under Eumenes II the capital and the country reached the height of their power around 160 BCE.

  15. Urban Life in the Hellenistic Age • Alexandria The world’s first universiy –the Museion – was located at Alexandria, as was the greatest library of antiquity. One of the library’s branches, the Serapeion, was open to the public; the rest was reserved for scholars. Designed by Deinocrates of Rhodes, Alexander’s personal architect, Alexandria was layed out in a grid. The two harbors to the north made the city the most vital port in the Mediterranean. The Pharos lighthouse was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

  16. Internal Becomes External

  17. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Drama and Literature • New Comedy: Menander • Alexandrianism: Theocritus; Callimachus • Philosophy and Religion • Cynicism/Diogenes • Skepticism/Carneades • Epicureanism/Epicurus • Stoicism

  18. Cynicism Skepticism Epicureanism Stoicism True freedom arises from realizing that if one wants nothing, then one will never lack anything Nothing can be known for certain; question all ideas Only the atoms and void exist; pleasure is the highest good; death is final in its extinction of consciousness; the gods play no active role in human affairs The world is governed by the divine logos, or reason, or nature; wisdom and freedom consist of living in harmony with the logos Philosophy in the Hellenistic Age

  19. The Mystery Cults • Orpheus and Dionysus • Demeter and Persephone/Eleusinian Mysteries • Serapis • Isis • Cybele • Mithraism

  20. The Mystery Cults • Mithraism Mithraism was an initiatory order, passed from initiate to initiate, like the Eleusinian Mysteries. It was not based on a body of scripture, and hence very little written documentary evidence survives. It seems clear, however, that its rites and rituals track the movement of the soul through the universe, from pre-existence, into the body, and then beyond the physical body into an afterlife. The cult spread through its popularity with Roman soldiers; its iconography and apparent belief in an afterlife, seem to have much in common with Christianity.

  21. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Science and Medicine • Astronomers: Aristarchus of Samos and Eratosthenes • Euclid • Archimedes • Anatomists: Herophilus and Erasistratus of Ceos

  22. Encounter: The Invention of Parchment and the Birth of the Secular Library The Hellenistic kingdom of Pergamum in northwestern Anatolia (modern Turkey) gave birth to an improved technology for writing surfaces—parchment—and a new civic institution—the secular library. Both achievements played a defining role in the heritage of the West.

  23. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Architecture/The Corinthian Temple The Olympeium. Various dates, from late 6th century BCE to 2nd century CE. The 13 standing columns were part of the original architect’s plan. Some unfinished columns were transported to Rome and helped popularize the Corinthian style.

  24. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Architecture/The Altar The Altar of Zeus at Pergamum. Erected in the 170s BCE by Eumenes II, to commemorate victories in Asia Minor. The altar and its giant frieze were meant to recall Greek monuments, notably the Parthenon.

  25. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Sculpture Boy Struggling with a Goose. Roman copy of Greek original, second half of 2nd century BCE. Dying Gaul. Roman marble copy of bronze original, reflecting Pergamene , theatrical style.

  26. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Sculpture Old Market Woman, Roman copy of 2nd-3rd century bronze, refelcting treatment of stock types. Athena Battling with Alkyoneus, from Pergamum altar.

  27. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo). This celebrated statue demonstrates the neoclassical style. The head is purely Hellenic, but the body, with its frank sensuality and rumpled draperies, is clearly in the Hellenistic style. Note the influence of Praxiteles, as shown in Hermes with the infant Dionysus.

  28. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Sculpture Agasias of Ephesus. The Borghese Gladiator, a “pathetic” figure. Horse and Jockey of Artemision.

  29. The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World • Sculpture: Rhodes Scholars often draw parallels between Laocoon’s distorted features and the face of Alkyoneus on the Pergamum frieze, suggesting a relationship between the schools of sculpture at Rhodes and Pergamum.

  30. The Legacy of the Hellenistic World • State support of arts and humanities remains legacy to modern world • Sculpture: realism, individualism, portrayal of female nude • Schools of philosophy • Stoicism • Epicureanism • Skepticism • Cynicism

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