Chapter 5, Section 3 notes
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480-430 BCE Athens had a golden Age
Pericles’ three Goals for Athens
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Able statesman held power from 461-429 BCE
3 goals
o Strengthen democracy
o Hold and strengthen the empire
o Glorify Athens
Stronger Democracy
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Increased the number of paid political officials
But participation still depended on citizenship
Introduction of direct democracy- citizens rule directly (not through representatives)
Male citizens in the assembly established government policies
Athenian Empire
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Used money from the Delian league to enhance Athens’ navy
Glorifying Athens
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Used Delian League’s money to beautify Athens
Built the Parthenon (447-432 BCE)
Greek Styles in Art
Greek Sculpture
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Statue of Athena in the center of the Parthenon
o 38 feet tall
o Made of ivory and gold among other materials
o Made by Phidias
Captured the grace of the human body
Order, balance, proportion = classical art
Greek Drama
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Invented drama and built the first theaters in the west
Tragedies
o Serious drama about love, hate, war, or betrayal
Notable dramatists
o Aeschylus – trilogy Oresteia
o Sophocles- 100 plays, including Oedipus the King and Antigone
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o Euripides - play Medea
Comedies
o Mostly satire to make fun of a subject
o Aristophanes – The Birds and Lysistrata
Spartans and Athens go to War
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Tensions for a long time but worsened with Athens built a powerful navy
Peloponnesian War
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Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 BCE
Athens had an advantage on seas but Sparta on land, so Pericles tried to avoid land battles
Spartans eventually marched on Athens’ territory
Sparta Gains the Edge
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2 bad events for Athens
o Plague killed 1/3- 2/3 of the population
o 415 BCE Athens suffered huge naval defeat
404 BCE Athens and her allies surrendered
Athens lost her empire
Philosophers Search for Truth
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Philosophers- lovers of wisdom
2 underlying assumptions of the philosophers
o The universe is put together in an orderly way and subject to absolute and unchanging
laws
o People can understand these laws through logic and reason
Sophists – questioned people’s unexamined beliefs and ideas about justice and other traditional
values
Socrates
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Criticized the sophists
Believed that there were absolute standards for truth and justice
Wanted Greeks to question themselves and their moral character
Brought to trial at age 70 for corrupting the youth of Athens
Condemned to death
Plato
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Student of Socrates
Wrote The Republic, where he described his vision of a perfectly governed society
o 3 classes of people
o Philosopher-king would rule
Aristotle
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Plato’s pupil
Questioned the nature of the world and human belief, thought and knowledge
Invented a method for arguing according to the rules of logic
Basis for scientific method today
Alexander- son of Macedonian king Philip, was his student
** Persian war activity
** golden age activity
** explain the Peloponnesian wars