How did democracy develop in
Athens?
• 508 BCE Kleisthenes established the first democratic
government in Athens
• He diminished the influential families by dividing the
citizenry into demes and tribes
• Citizens were selected by their demes to serve on
juries, engaging in this first direct democracy
• Democracy threatened by the Persians under Darius
and his son Xerxes
• Darius “king of the Earth” invaded Greece but was
routed by Miltiades at Marathon
• At the battle of Salamis, the Greeks routed the much
larger Persian contingent of 800 ships
Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, detail of a relief,
Persepolis, Iran.
Darius’ subjects bring gifts -23 subject nations in all –each culture is
recognizable by its beards and costumes.
Golden Age
• After the battle of Salamis, Pericles urged
Athenians to rebuild the city in honor of
Athena who saved the city
• Pericles - dominant figure in Athenian
democracy
• Principles of freedom and civic responsibility
• Individuals are free under the law and
distinguish themselves by their service to the
community
The Partheon
In the clarity of its parts, the harmony among them, it represents the epitome of classical architecture
It appears symmetrical though it is built without any straight verticals or horizontals, adjusting for the
distortions of the spectator’s gaze. By using entasis, it appears symmetrical.
It commemorates the warrior maiden goddess Athena.
Kritios Boy, kouros, Acropolis, Athens, 480 BCE.
The emphasis is on naturalistic explanation over divine explanation.
Contrapposto (counterpoised position)
Doryphoros, or Spear Bearer
Contrapposto pose
The weight falls on the forward right leg.
Riace Warrior A, found in the sea off Riace,
Italy, perhaps the work of Phidias, 450 BCE.
It might represent Miltiades
Lapith Overcoming a Centaur, south metope 27,
Partheon
It represents the clash between the forces of civilization – the Greeks –
and their barbarian opponents.
The Philosophical Tradition in Athens
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Pre-Socratic: What is the nature of reality?
Sophists: itinerate teachers who claimed to teach arete
“Man is the measure”
Socrates opposed relativism and skepticism
Developed the dialectical method
Plato’s Republic – delineates the futures of a perfectly just society
Society will be governed by philosopher rulers who are actuated by
a love of the good and not money or honor
• Plato – idealist who sees an unchanging world of perfect forms as
providing the exemplars for their terrestrial manifestations
• Aristotle – the essence of things can be abstracted from the
material objects which are perceivable through empirical study
Alexander the Great, 4th c. BCE.
Aristotle’s pupil Alexander the Great unified Greece after the Peloponnesian
Wars, and went on to conquer Persia, Egypt, Babylon, reaching as far as India.
Cross-fertilization of eastern and western cultures
Alexander’s empire as of his death in 323 BCE and the
route of his conquests.
He founded over 70 cities throughout his empire, naming many after
himself
Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos, 350 BCE.
The sculpture is a frank celebration of the body – reflecting in the female
form the humanistic appreciation for the dignity of the human body.
The Theater of the People
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Three types of drama:
Satyr plays, farce
Comedy
Tragedy
Drama developed from festivals in honor of the god of
Dionysus, the god of wine
The theme of tragedies is death, and tragedies were tied to
Dionysus’ function as the god of death and rebirth
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides