The Legacies of Ancient
Greece
What is a legacy?
Traditions, skills and knowledge of a
culture that get passed on to people in
the future
Something a culture is known for
A gift from the past
What will
they write
of your legacy?
The Legacies of Ancient Greece
scientific
method
theater
democracy
epics
architecture
Socratic
Method
trial by
jury
classification
Olympics
Greek
mythology
tragedy
comedy
philosophy
Hippocratic
Oath
marathon
The Arts and Architecture
 What new
elements did
Greek art and
architecture
introduce?
 Drama
 Actors
 Tragedy and
Comedy
 Sculpture
 Architecture
Drama
 Greeks invented drama (which was the
written work performed by actors).
 Drama contests were part of religious
festivals.
Actors
 Men played all parts, including female
roles; wore costumes, masks.
Tragedy and Comedy
 Serious drama
showing
downfall of
important
character
 Themes
included love,
hate, and war.
 Less serious
drama; often
made fun of
politics, people,
and ideas.
Sculpture
 Greek sculptors
aimed to
capture ideal in
work:
 Tried to show
objects, humans
as perfectly as
possible.
 Tried to create
order, beauty,
harmony.
Sculpture
 Art works were
large, outdoors;
statues of gods
placed in
temples.
 Sculptor Phidias
worked on
Parthenon;
created statue of
Athena.
 Statue was
made of gold,
ivory; over 30
feet tall.
Architecture
 Designed
temples,
theaters,
meeting places.
History, Philosophy, and
Democracy
 How did the
Greek love of
reason and
logic influence
the
development of
Western
thought?
Democracy
A government where the people have the right to
make decisions about leaders and laws
Greek word meaning “power
of the people”
Athens developed the first
democracy
The U.S. government is based
on Athenian democracy.
Democratic Roots
Athens had the first democratic
constitution (a set of rules for how
the government should run)
All men over 20 years old could
participate in the Assembly (the
lawmaking group)
Each year 500 names of citizens
were drawn to be on the Council of
Five Hundred who ran the daily
business of Athens
Trial By Jury
When a group of citizens decides if a person is
innocent or guilty of a crime
Serving on a jury was a citizen’s duty
About 500 jurors for a trial
Jurors were paid for service
Herodotus and
Thucydides
 One of the first
civilizations to
write history,
examine facts of
past.
 Herodotus: “Father
of History”- wrote
Persian Wars.
 Thucydides: Wrote
about Peloponnesian
War- set writing
standard using
documents,
eyewitness accounts.
The Search For Truth
 After the
Peloponnesian
War, Greek
thinkers
developed
philosophy:
 Study of basic
truths, ideas
about universe.
Greek Philosophers
 Universe is
ordered and
controlled by
laws of nature.
 People can
understand
these laws.
Socrates
 Encouraged
young students
to examine
beliefs through
questions.
 Question-andanswer style of
teaching called
Socratic method.
Socratic Method
Teaching through step-by-step questions that are
designed to lead the student to the truth
Socrates was a Greek
philosopher who wanted
people to question and think
for themselves
Athenians were afraid and
threatened by his ideas, so he
was tried and put to death.
Plato
 One of
Socrates’ best
students.
 Started school
of higher
learning called
the Academy.
Aristotle
 Devised debate
method based on
logic; applied
logic to science.
 Tutored
Alexander the
Great.
Science and Technology
Classification of Living
Things
A system of grouping plants and animals that
have similar characteristics
Developed by Aristotle
Helps scientists to handle a lot of info.
Still used today
Scientific Method
Process used by scientists to study something
1
Collect
Info
2
Form
Hypothesis
3
Test
Hypothesis
Hippocratic Oath
A list of rules about practicing medicine
that doctors today still promise to follow
Hippocrates
was the “Father of
Scientific
Medicine”
460-370 BCE
1. Honor your teachers
2. Do your best for the sick
3. Never give poisons
4. Keep the secrets of patients
Believed that
disease came from
natural
causes not evil
spirits
Astronomy
 Eratosthenesestimated
circumferencedistance around
Earth
 Aristarchusstudied sun ,
moon, Earth;
estimated size of
sun.
Astronomy
 Ptolemy:
studied
universe,
incorrectly
putting Earth
at the center.
Mathematics and Physics
 Euclid’s
geometry text
with proofs of
work is basis of
geometry.
Mathematics and Physics
 Archimedes
explained levers,
invented
compound
pulley.
 Ideas were later
used to build
pumps, and
steam engines.
Summary
 Greek writers,
artists, and
architects
invented new
and beautiful
styles.
Summary
 Greek
Philosophy and
history set
standards of
logic, reason,
and record
keeping.
Why does it Matter Now?
 The Greek culture set enduring
standards in art, philosophy, and
science.