WHI.05, pt.2: Ancient Greece:
Golden Age to Hellenism
Objectives
p. 069
WHI.05: The student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greece in terms of its impact on
Western civilization by
a. evaluating the significance of the Peloponnesian War;
b. characterizing life in Athens during the golden Age of Pericles;
c. citing contributions in drama, poetry, history, sculpture, architecture, science, mathematics,
and philosophy, with emphasis on Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle;
d. explaining the conquest of Greece by Macedonia and the spread of Hellenistic culture by
Alexander the Great
Essential Understandings
p. 70
1. Competition between Sparta and Athens for control of Greece helped cause the
Peloponnesian War
2. Athenian culture during the Classic Era, became one of the foundation stones of Western
civilization
3. The Macedonian conquest of Greece followed the weakening of Greek defenses during the
Peloponnesian Wars
4. Alexander the Great adopted Greek culture and spread Hellenistic influences throughout his
vast empire
Essential Questions
p. 70
1. Why was the Peloponnesian War important to the spread of Greek culture?
2. Why was the leadership of Pericles important to the development of Athenian life and Greek
culture?
3. What were some important contributions of Greek culture to Western civilization?
4. How did the empire of Alexander the Great establish a basis for the spread of Hellenistic
culture?
Why do I need to know this?
p. 70
1. At its height, Greece set lasting standards in art, politics, literature, and philosophy that are
still adhered to today.
2. Alexander’s empire extended across three continents that today consist of many nations and
diverse cultures.
3. Western civilization today continues to be influenced by Greek and Hellenistic cultures.
Democracy and Greece’s
Golden Age
p. 071
Pericles’ Three Goals for Athens
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1. create a stronger democracy – increased the number of paid public officials, so more poor people were
able to participate
a. direct democracy – a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through
representatives
b. made Athens one of the most democratic governments in history
2. hold and strengthen the Athenian empire – used money from the Delian League’s treasury to build
Athens’ 200-ship navy into the strongest in the Mediterranean
3. glorify Athens – used the money from the Delian League to rebuild and beautify Athens
a. took 15 years to build the Parthenon – temple dedicated to Athena
Delian League
Parthenon
Statue of
Athena
Greek Sculpture
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1. classical art – values order, balance, and proportion
2. within the Parthenon stood a giant statue of Athena (over 38 feet tall), sculpted by Phidias
3. sculptors created figures that were graceful, strong, and perfectly formed – did not show laughter or
anger, only serenity
4. tried to capture the grace of the idealized human body in motion
Greek Columns
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1. Doric – the simplest of the Greek columns, has 20 sides and no base
2. Ionic – a little more decorative and taller than Doric; has 24 flutes – carved lines from the top to the
bottom; has two scrolls (swirls) at the top and it has a base; isn’t straight – it’s narrower at the top and
bottom and swells a little in the middle
3. Corinthian – most decorative of the columns; has 24 flutes and a base like the Ionic; has four scrolls and
two rows of leaves at the top; roofs are usually flat
Greek Drama
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1. invented drama built the first theaters in the west
2. Tragedy – a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
a. famous tragedians – Aeschylus (The Oresteia), Sophocles (Oedipus Rex) and Euripedes (Medea)
3. Comedy – contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor
a. famous comedian – Aristophanes (The Birds and Lysistrata)
Peloponnesian Wars
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Sparta v. Athens
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1. Sparta declared war against Athens in 431 B.C.
2. Athens had the strongest sea power in Greece, Sparta had the advantage on land
3. Pericles’s strategy was to avoid land battles and wait behind the city walls for an opportunity to strike
Sparta’s allies from the sea
4. grain boats carried in the plague and it killed roughly one-third to one-half of Athens’s population,
including Pericles
5. Athens suffered a huge defeat at Syracuse (one of Sparta’s allies)
6. Athens surrendered in 404 B.C.
7. Athens lost its empire and general confidence in democratic government began to falter
Delian League
Peloponnesian War
Philosophers Search for
Truth
p. 073
Socrates
p. 073
1. believed that absolute standards did exist for truth and justice
2. encouraged Greeks to go further and question themselves and their moral character
3. when he was 70 years old, he was brought to trial for “corrupting the youth of Athens” and “neglecting
the city’s gods.”
4. condemned to death
Plato
p. 073
1. one of Socrates’ students
2. wrote The Republic – sets forth his vision of the perfectly governed society, an oligarchy and that society
should be ruled by a philosopher king
3. founded a school called The Academy
Aristotle
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1.
2.
3.
4.
one of Plato’s students
invented a method for arguing according to the rules of logic
worked in the fields of psychology, physics and biology
his most famous pupil will be Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great
p. 075
Philip II
p. 075
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ruled a Greek speaking country to the north of Greece called Macedonia
dreamed of taking control of Greece and taking revenge on the Persians for invading Greece
the Athenian orator Demosthenes tried to warn the Greeks of the Macedonian threat
Philip conquered Greece in 338 BC
never got the chance to invade Persia (assassinated at his daughter’s wedding)
Alexander the Great
p. 075
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
became king at 20 years old; studied under Aristotle
excellent military leader
invaded Persia and smashed the Persian army at every battle; Persians led by Darius III
marched into Egypt where he was welcomed as a liberator and crowned a pharaoh
a. founded the city of Alexandria
Alexander’s victory at Gaugamela ended Persia’s power
a. found Darius III dead, assassinated by one of his own governors
Alexander’s empire reached all the way to India
Alexander’s army refused to go any further, so they returned to Babylon
in 323 B.C., Alexander died and his top three generals divided up the empire
Alexander the Great
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Son of Philip II and his 4th wife Olympia (she was not
Macedonian, she was from the small Greek city Epirus)
One eye was blue, one was brown
A horse trader from Thessaly brought a wild horse for
King Philip to buy. The horse was too wild for anyone to
mount, but the 10-year-old Alexander calmed it and rode
him.
Led his first battle at 16 years old.
Never lost a battle
Megalomaniac - believed he was the son of Zeus
Alcoholic
Died just before his 33rd birthday
Siege of Tyre
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Alexander wanted to worship at the Temple of Hercules. Tried negotiating with the Tyrians twice..
Tyrians threw his messengers from the walls (200 feet high).
Built land bridge (half mile long). Had no navy at first, but defeated the Persians and used their ships.
7 month siege
All males of fighting age – about 5,000 – crucified.
All else, about 30,000 women and children, were sold into slavery
•
•
Roughly 3000 miles wide
His empire was 5.2 million square kilometers – the US is 9.8 million square kilometers
Alexander’s Legacy
p. 075
1.
2.
3.
4.
thousands of Greek artists, merchants, and officials followed him during his conquests
Alexander adopted Persian dress and customs and married a Persian woman
included Persians and people from other lands in his army
a new culture emerged from the blend of Greek, Egyptian and Eastern customs
Spread of Hellenistic
Culture
p. 077-79
Hellenistic Culture in Alexandria
p. 077
1. Hellenistic culture – blending of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian cultures
2. Location – occupied a strategic site on the western edge of the Nile delta
a. population exceeded over half million; Greeks, Jews, Egyptian mingled with visitors from the rest
of Africa, Persia and India
3. Attractions
a. broad avenues were lined with statues of Greek gods
b. magnificent royal palaces overlooked the harbor
c. an enormous stone lighthouse called the Pharos
d. a museum that contained art galleries, a zoo, botanical gardens and even a dining hall
e. the library – contained over half a million papyrus scrolls and was the first true research library in
the world
Library and
Pharos Lighthouse
Astronomy
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1. Aristarchus estimated that the sun was 300 times larger than the earth (1,300,000 times the size of the
earth
a. proposed the earth and other planets revolved around the sun
2. Ptolemy incorrectly place the earth at the center of the solar system and his view will be accepted for 14
centuries
Math and Science
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1. Euclid – highly regarded mathematician who opened a school of geometry in Alexandria
2. Pythagoras - philosopher, musician, and mathematician who is credited with the formulation of the
Pythagorean theorem (a2 + b2 =c2)
3. Archimedes – explained the law of the lever and invented the compound pulley to lift heavy object
a. also invented the Archimedes screw, a device that raised water from the ground, and a catapult
4. Hippocrates - known as the father of Western medicine; founded a school of medicine; made medicine
its own distinct field (earlier it was part of religion); attributed with establishing an ethical code in
practicing medicine
Archimedes
The Archimedes Claw
Historians
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1. Herodotus - father of history; first historian to systematically collect data and test materials for accuracy
a. wrote The Histories, which tells about the Persian Wars
2. Thucydides - wrote about the Peloponnesian War; father of political realism which describes the
relations between countries as based on military strength rather than ethics and morals
Sculpture
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1. Colossus of Rhodes – bronze statue that stood over 100 feet tall
2. created realistic and emotional works; also created more natural works
3. carved ordinary people such as an old, wrinkled peasant woman
Hellenic vs. Hellenistic Art
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Hellenistic Sculpture
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