The Rise of Athens

1
The Rise of Athens

• Athens was the center of politics culture in
  Greece during the 1st half of the Classical
  period.
• Athens role in defeating the Persians in 480 BC
  led to its emergence as such a power.
• their democratic government (established 6th
  cent. BC) was both effective stable.
• all male citizens required to participate in
  running the state
• (either in the General Assembly or its directing
  council)
• Delian League a defensive organization of
  city-states formed to guard against future
  attacks from outside.
• old rivalries between cities still existed, even
  with unity
• rival city-states suspected Athens of using the
  League to strengthen their position in Greece
• 454 BC suspicions were confirmed when funds
  were transferred to Athens from League treasuries
  
• (some of the money was used to build the
  Parthenon)

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• This dispute led to the beginning of the
  Peloponnesian War.
• Athens was guilty of stealing money, but couldnt
  admit to it
• Sparta led an alliance against Athens, war began
  in 431 BC continued until 404 BC when Athens
  surrendered.
• The most famous account of the war was written by
  Thucydides (History of the Peloponnesian War)
• Intended to describe the entire course of the
  war, but he died in 411 BC
• he managed to be accurate impartial in his
  writing
• Attempted to analyze motives reactions so
  future generations would know how and why the
  conflict occurred

3

• most famous leader in Athens before the war was
  Pericles
• great general in Persian Wars before becoming a
  politician
• began his political career after the Delian
  League scandal
• 443 BC, he unofficially assumed leadership of
  Athens
• devoted to making visible the glory of Athens
• died of bubonic plague in 429 BC
• Pericles commissioned the building of the
  Acropolis
• on a hill in the center of Athens
• name means highest city
• it is a collection of temples dedicated to the
  Greek gods
• most famous temple in the Acropolis is the
  Parthenon

4
Drama Philosophy in Classical Greece

• Drama (most common forms tragedy comedy)
• Plays that have survived from the classical
  period were written for performance in the
  theater of Dionysus at Athens (2 festivals held a
  year)
• The entire city attended the festivals it was
  considered a religious event
• Each author invited to compete would submit 4
  plays to be performed in a single day (a trilogy
  of tragedies one lighthearted play)
• 2 types of trilogies
• 3 plays that narrated different parts of a story
• 3 different stories with a common theme
• Plots for these plays were usually drawn from
  mythology
• At the end of each festival, the plays were
  judged a prize was awarded to the winning
  author

5

• 3 major Dramatists in classical Greece
• Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
• Aeschylus (525 456 BC)
• considered father of Greek tragedy
• works show an awareness of human weakness
  dangers of power
• retained belief that right would triumph in the
  end
• characters in his plays had to suffer to learn
  from their mistakes
• most famous works Oresteia trilogy
• (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Oresteia)
• Sophocles (496 406 BC)
• most prosperous successful of the 3 poets
• much less positive outlook on life than Aeschylus
• many of his plays warn against too great a belief
  in self-reliance
• wrote over 120 plays, but only 7 have survived
• most famous play Oedipus the King
• Euripides (484 406 BC)
• expresses weariness disillusionment of war-torn
  years at the end of 5th century BC
• accused of impiety because of how he portrayed
  the gods
• deepest hatred reserved for war its senseless
  misery