Ancient Athens: A
Traveler’s Guide
Introduction
Greece was once home to some of the most
beautiful architectural wonders of the ancient
world. Its city of Athens was filled with public
buildings, temples, and marketplaces that made
Greece a showplace among early nations.
Ancient Greece was renowned as a center for
literature, the arts, architecture, and exciting new
theories and ideas. At this time, Greece enjoyed
a reputation for being a powerful and culturally
rich nation. Around 480 B.C., Greece was
entering its “Golden Age”.
Introduction
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to
travel back in time to Athens when it was a
cultural and political leader among nations?
What must life have been like in ancient Athens
during “the Golden Age”? What did the homes of
the people look like? Where did people meet and
worship? What must their buildings and temples
have looked like when they were first
constructed? Why did they create Theatre?
The Task
For this project, you will be researching Athens
during its Golden Age.
You will research information about the land
itself, the weather, the climate, travel and any
points of interest that existed during the Golden
Age of Ancient Greece using this WebQuest.
The Task
For this assignment, you will take the information that
you have gathered and create a Travel Brochure for
someone who is interested in visiting Ancient Athens.
The Travel Brochure should advertise this part of the
ancient world and grab your “tourists” attention!
For each section of the Brochure, use the research data
you have gathered. Remember to have fun with this
and let your imagination soar!
The Process
The brochure MUST include all of the research
data, as well as the following categories:
– Title
– Introductory section (Explanation of the importance of
Athens
– Physical description of the area (Where is this place?)
– Weather/Climate conditions
– Points of interest (What is there to see and do?)
– Theatre (Difference between Tragedy and Comedy)
– Architecture (Explain the evolution of architecture in Greece
and the differences between Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian;
with examples)
The Process
You will determine the layout and presentation of
the brochure. Select the text fonts, style, and
illustrations for your brochure. You do not need to
use a computer to create it. Remember to be
creative and use your own, original work. Simply
cutting and pasting the work and words of others
will not be acceptable.
Listed on the next page is all of the information
needed to complete the assignment. May sure you
click on all Hyperlinks. Do not access any website
for information. Use only the information you
learned in class and provided here.
Art &
Architecture
Theatre
Geography
Sites to
See
Athens is the symbol of freedom, art, and democracy in
the conscience of the civilized world. The capital of
Greece took its name from the goddess Athena, the
goddess of wisdom and knowledge.
In Athens memory never fades. Wherever you stand,
wherever you turn, the city's long and rich history will be
alive in front of you. This is where that marvel of
architecture, the Parthenon, was created. This is where
art became inseparable from life, and this is where
Pericles gave the funerary speech, that monument of
the spoken word. In the centre of town are two hills, the
Acropolis with the monuments from the Age of Pericles,
and Lycabettus with the picturesque chapel of Ai Giorgis.
Ancient ruins provide a vivid testimony to the glory of
Athens, hailed by many people as the cradle of western
civilization.
Greece, unlike Egypt or Mesopotamia, is not a
place that is easy to live in.
The soil is not very good for
growing things, there are a lot
of mountains that make it
hard to walk from one place to
another, and there is never
enough fresh water. Because
of this, people did not settle in
Greece as early as they moved
to Egypt and the Fertile
Crescent.
On the other hand, what Greece does have is a lot of coastline (beaches). No
part of Greece is more than about forty miles from the sea: a couple of days
walking. Plus there are a lot of small islands as well. So when people did come
to live in Greece, they were sailors, and the Greeks have always spent a lot of
time sailing on the ocean.
The combination of good sailing and lousy farming tends to make Greeks try to
get a living from the sea. This can take several forms. First, Greeks fish a good
deal. Second, they sail trade routes from one city to another, both Greek cities
and elsewhere, all over the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and make a
living buying and selling things. Third, Greeks hire themselves out as soldiers to
fight for other people around the Mediterranean, especially in Western Asia and
Egypt (where there is money to pay them).
Another important aspect of the Greek environment is that it is
very unstable. Greece is smack-dab in the middle of a very active
volcanic zone, where the Europe tectonic plate meets the Africa
tectonic plate. There are several active volcanoes, and
earthquakes are also very common. There is a nervous feeling
that there could be a natural disaster at any time. This got the
Greeks interested in a particular kind of religion which we call
oracles. Oracles are the gods speaking to people, often in the
form of minor earthquakes, and the gods tell the people what is
going to happen in the future.
Greece is the southeastern most region on the European
continent. It is defined by a series of mountains,
surrounded on all sides except the north by water, and
endowed with countless large and small islands. The
Ionian and Aegean seas and the many deep bays and
natural harbors along the coastlines allowed the Greeks
to prosper in maritime commerce and to develop a
culture which drew inspiration from many sources, both
foreign and indigenous. The Greek world eventually
spread far beyond Greece itself, encompassing many
settlements around the Mediterranean and Black seas
and, during the Hellenistic period, reaching as far east
as India. Map
The mountains, which served as natural barriers and boundaries,
dictated the political character of Greece. From early times the
Greeks lived in independent communities isolated from one
another by the landscape. Later these communities were
organized into poleis or city-states. The mountains prevented
large-scale farming and impelled the Greeks to look beyond their
borders to new lands where fertile soil was more abundant.
Natural resources of gold and silver were available in the
mountains of Thrace in northern Greece and on the island of
Siphnos, while silver was mined from Laurion in Attica.
The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece's climate, cooling the
air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months.
Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are moderate and
rainy in coastal regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas.
The earliest buildings that were built in Greece, in the New Stone Age, are
small houses or huts, and wooden walls around them for protection. Later
there are bigger houses, and stone walls around the villages.
By the Early Bronze Age, we find one bigger house in the middle of the
village, and fancier, bigger stone walls.
In the Late Bronze Age, under the influence of Western Asia, and the
Minoans on Crete, there are palaces and big stone tombs, as well as paved
roads and bridges, and dams (and more stone walls).
During the Greek Dark Ages the palaces were burned, and the roads and
bridges and dams mostly fell apart. But at the end of the Dark Ages, with the
beginning of the Iron Age and the Archaic period in Greece, we see a new
type of building: the temple for the gods. These earliest temples are built in
the Doric style. There are houses, but no more palaces. But roads and
bridges and stone walls begin to be built again.
In the Classical period, there are more temples, bigger and with new design ideas:
the Parthenon is built in the 440's BC. People begin to build in the Ionic style.
Democracy prevents the Greeks from building palaces or big tombs, because
politically all men are supposed to be equal, and so it would look bad to have a big
palace even if you could afford it. Instead, the Greeks build public buildings:
gymnasia, and stoas, where men can meet and talk.
By the 300's BC, in the Hellenistic period, there are some new architectural types.
Less time is spent on temples. The new form is the theater, and many theaters are
built all over the Greek world. Also, there is new interest in town planning at this
time: streets begin to be laid out in straight lines, instead of just developing
naturally.
With the conquests of Alexander the Great, architecture becomes an important way
to spread Greek culture and show who is in charge in the conquered countries.
Greek life was dominated by religion and so it is not surprising that the temples of
ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful.They also had a political
purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer
thanksgiving to the patron deity of a city for success in war.
The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their
own distinctive proportions and detailing. The Greek orders are: Doric, Ionic, and
Corinthian.
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
The Doric style is rather
sturdy and its top (the
capital), is plain. This
style was used in
mainland Greece and the
colonies in southern Italy
and Sicily.
The Ionic style is thinner
and more elegant. Its
capital is decorated with a
scroll-like design (a
volute). This style was
found in eastern Greece
and the islands.
The Corinthian style is
seldom used in the Greek
world, but often seen on
Roman temples. Its
capital is very elaborate
and decorated with
acanthus leaves.
Doric Order:
Parthenon- temple of Athena
Parthenos ("Virgin"), Greek
goddess of wisdom, on the
Acropolis in Athens. The
Parthenon was built in the 5th
century BC, and despite the
enormous damage it has
sustained over the centuries, it
still communicates the ideals of
order and harmony for which
Greek architecture is known.
Ionic Order:
The Temple of Athena Nike - part
of the Acropolis in the city of Athens.
The Greeks built the Temple of Apollo
at Didyma, Turkey (about 300 BC). The
design of the temple was known as
dipteral, a term that refers to the two
sets of columns surrounding the
interior section. These columns
surrounded a small chamber that
housed the statue of Apollo. With Ionic
columns reaching 19.5 m (64 ft) high,
these ruins suggest the former
grandeur of the ancient temple.
Corinthian Order:
The Temple of Apollo - most
ornate of the classic orders of
architecture. It was also the latest, not
arriving at full development until the
middle of the 4th cent. B.C. The oldest
known example, however, is found in the
temple of Apollo at Bassae (c.420 B.C.).
The Greeks made little use of the order;
the chief example is the circular structure
at Athens known as the choragic
monument of Lysicrates ( 335 B.C.). The
temple of Zeus at Athens (started in the
2d cent. B.C. and completed by Emperor
Hadrian in the 2d cent. A.D.) was perhaps
the most notable of the Corinthian
temples.
The Greek theatre history began with festivals honoring their gods. A god,
Dionysus, was honored with a festival called by "City Dionysia". In Athens,
during this festival, men used to perform songs to welcome Dionysus. Plays
were only presented at City Dionysia festival. Athens was the main center for
these theatrical traditions. Athenians spread these festivals to its numerous
allies in order to promote a common identity.
At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the
same person. After some time, only three actors were allowed to perform in
each play. Later few non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Due
to limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very
active part of Greek theatre. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery
of its lines.
Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres.
Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject in comic manner.
Aristotle's Poetics sets out a thesis about the perfect structure for
tragedy.
Tragedy plays
Thespis is considered to be the first Greek "actor" and originator of tragedy
(which means "goat song", perhaps referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus
before performances, or to goat-skins worn by the performers.) However, his
importance is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as late as sixteenth in
the chronological order of Greek tragedians.
Aristotle's Poetics contain the earliest known theory about the origins of Greek
theatre. He says that tragedy evolved from dithyrambs, songs sung in praise of
Dionysus at the Dionysia each year. The dithyrambs may have begun as
frenzied improvisations but in the 600s BC, the poet Arion is credited with
developing the dithyramb into a formalized narrative sung by a chorus.
Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights of the fifth century are Sophocles,
Euripides and Aeschylus.
Comedy plays
Comedy was also an important part of ancient Greek theatre. Comedy plays
were derived from imitation; there are no traces of its origin. Aristophanes
wrote most of the comedy plays. Out of these 11 plays survived - Lysistrata, a
humorous tale about a strong woman who leads a female coalition to end war
in Greece.
The Acropolis was both the fortified citadel and state sanctuary of the
ancient city of Athens. Although the great building programs of the 5th
century B.C. have disturbed or covered many of the earlier remains, there is
still a great deal of archaeological evidence attesting to the importance of the
Acropolis in all periods of time.
In the Late Bronze Age, the Acropolis was surrounded by a massive
fortification wall like those at Mycenae and Tiryns in southern Greece. This
wall remained in use long after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization, and
functioned as the fortifications of the Acropolis for several centuries. By the
middle of the 8th century B.C., if not earlier, at least part of the Acropolis had
developed into the sanctuary of the goddess Athena, the patron divinity of the
city. It is likely that the first temple of Athena Polias was constructed in this
period in order to house a wooden cult statue of the goddess.
The Acropolis: In the 2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C., probably in
association with the re-organization of the Panathenaic festival in 566 B.C.,
there was a burst of architectural and sculptural activity, and the first
monumental, stone, Doric temple of Athena is built on the Acropolis. Another
monumental temple was built towards the end of the 6th century, and yet
another was begun after the Athenian victory over the Persians at Marathon in
490 B.C. However, the Acropolis was captured and destroyed by the Persians 10
years later (in 480 B.C.). Although the Athenians and other Greeks were
eventually victorious over their eastern enemies, the Acropolis lay in ruins. In
the mid-5th century, the Athenians were persuaded by the statesman Perikles
to rebuild the temples on the Acropolis on a grand scale, and it is during the
second half of the 5th century B.C. that the most famous buildings on the
Acropolis -- the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the temple of
Athena Nike, were constructed.
The Acropolis: In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many elaborate
dedications were set up on the Acropolis by foreign (non-Athenian) rulers,
general, and statesmen. While still functioning as a religious center, the
Acropolis, in a sense, became a kind of "museum" or "theater of memory"
linking the "glory days" of Athens with the new powers of the Hellenistic and,
later, Roman world.
The Agora, the marketplace and civic center, was one of the most important
parts of an ancient city of Athens. In addition to being a place where people
gathered to buy and sell all kinds of commodities, it was also a place where
people assembled to discuss all kinds of topics: business, politics, current
events, or the nature of the universe and the divine. The Agora of Athens,
where ancient Greek democracy first came to life, provides a wonderful
opportunity to examine the commercial, political, religious, and cultural life of
one of the great cities of the ancient world.
The earliest archaeological excavations in the Athenian Agora were conducted
by the Greek Archaeological Society in the 19th century. Since 1931 and
continuing to the present day, the excavations have been conducted by the
American School of Classical Studies in Athens.
The Arch of Hadrian was erected in honor of the Roman emperor Hadrian in
the 2nd century A.D (and probably a little before 131/132 A.D. when we know
Hadrian visited Athens). The arch was built over the line of an ancient road that
led from the area of the Acropolis and the Athenian Agora to the Olympieion
and southeast Athens. (It was never an actual gate in a wall). An inscription
(IG II2 5185) on the western side of the arch (facing the Acropolis) states: This
is Athens, the ancient [or former?] city of Theseus." An inscription on the
eastern side of the arch (facing the Olympieion) states: "This is the city of
Hadrian and not of Theseus". Scholars have traditionally interpreted the
inscriptions as meaning that the arch stood at the boundaries of "old Athens"
(to the west) and "new Athens" or "Hadrianoupolis" (to the southeast). Another
interpretation sees the inscriptions as honoring Hadrian as the new founder
(what the ancient Greeks called a ktistes) of all of Athens, replacing even the
hero Theseus in the hearts of the Athenians.
The Lysikrates Monument is the best preserved example of a choregic
monument. Wealthy Athenian citizens financed the training and outfitting of
choruses for competitive dramatical and musical performances. The producer
(called the "choregos") assumed this expense as part of his civic and religious
duty (an ancient "liturgy" called the "choregia"). The winning producer was
awarded a bronze tripod. These tripods were displayed either in or near the
sanctuary of Dionysos on the South Slope of the Acropolis or along the Street
of the Tripods, an ancient road that led from the sanctuary of Dionysos
around the east and northeast sides of the Acropolis. The tripods were set up
on bases and other small structures inscribed with the names of the
producer/choregos, the victorious Athenian tribe, the musician who
accompanied the performance, the poet who "taught" the chorus, and the
name of the Athenian magistrate at the time. The Lysikrates Monument was
constructed on the western side of the Street of the Tripods in order to
commemorate a choral victory in 335/334 B.C.
The Pnyx was the official meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly
(ekklesia). In the earliest days of Athenian democracy (after the reforms of
Kleisthenes in 508 B.C.), the ekklesia met in the Agora. Sometime in the early
5th century, the meeting place was moved to a hill south and west of the
Acropolis. This new meeting place came to be called "Pnyx" (from the Greek
word meaning "tightly packed together".
The Kerameikos was the name of the deme or section of Athens northwest of
the Acropolis. Technically, it includes an extensive area both within and outside
of the city walls. The "inner Kerameikos" (from the Greek Agora to the Dipylon
and Sacred Gates) was the "potter's quarter" of the city. The "outer
Kerameikos" (from the city walls towards the Academy), included the famous
cemetery and the "demosion sema" (public burial monument) where Perikles
delivered his funeral oration in 431 B.C.
When you have completed this activity, you will have created a Travel Brochure
that accurately describes the land, the climate, and some of the important
historical buildings and sites of Athens during the Golden Age of Greece.
From your research, you will have a very detailed idea of the daily life of the
people of Ancient Greece during this time in its remarkable history. In addition,
you will reveal exactly why Ancient Greece was such an important destination
for so many people during this period in time!
Travel Brochure Rubric
Exemplary
3
Accomplished
2
Developing
1
Contains both the Title and
Introductory sections, in which a
thorough explanation of the
importance of Athens is given.
(15pts)
Thoroughly explains the Physical
Description, Location, and
Weather of Athens.
(15pts)
Contains at least 5 Points of
Interests and gives a detailed
explanation of each.
(15pts)
Contains a thorough explanation of
Greek Theatre and the differences
between Tragedy and Comedy.
(15pts)
Contains both the Title and
Introductory sections, in which an
explanation of the importance of
Athens is given.
(10pts)
Explains the Physical Description,
Location, and Weather of Athens.
(10pts)
Architecture
15%
Thoroughly explains the Evolution
of Architecture in Greece and the
differences between Doric, Ionic,
and Corinthian; with examples.
(15pts)
Explains the Evolution of
Architecture in Greece and the
differences between Doric, Ionic,
and Corinthian; with examples.
(10pts)
Factual Accuracy
15%
Information provided was accurate
and only included the information
in the WebQuest.
(15pts)
Information provided was
inaccurate or included information
not in the WebQuest.
(0pts)
Information was provided in a neat Information was provided in a neat
and orderly fashion; where great
and orderly fashion; where detail
detail in art and format was
in art and format was evident.
evident.
(7pts)
(10pts)
Information was provided in a
sloppy and disorderly fashion;
where detailed in art and format
was not evident.
(0pts)
Titles and Introduction
15%
Geographical
Explanation
15%
Points of Interests
15%
Theatre
15%
Neatness
10%
Contains at least 5 Points of
Interests and gives an explanation
of each.
(10pts)
Contains an explanation of Greek
Theatre and the differences
between Tragedy and Comedy.
(10pts)
Contains both the Title and
Introductory sections, but doesn’t
have an explanation of the
importance of Athens.
(5pts)
Explains 2 of the areas: Physical
Description, Location, and
Weather of Athens.
(5pts)
Contains at least 4 Points of
Interests and gives an explanation
of each.
(5pts)
Contains an explanation of only
one areas: Greek Theatre and the
differences between Tragedy and
Comedy
(5pts)
Explains the Evolution of
Architecture in Greece and the
differences between Doric, Ionic,
and Corinthian; without examples.
(5pts)
Unacceptable
0
Lacking either a Title or
Introductory section.
(0pts)
Explains only 1 of the areas:
Physical Description, Location, and
Weather of Athens.
(0pts)
Contains less than 4 Points of
Interests and/or does not give an
explanation of each.
(0pts)
Lacking an explanation of Greek
Theatre and the differences
between Tragedy and Comedy
(0pts)
Lacking an explanation of the
Evolution of Architecture in Greece
or the differences between Doric,
Ionic, and Corinthian.
(0pts)