Ancient Athens: A Traveler

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Ancient Athens A Travelers Guide
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Home Page
Introduction
The Task
The Process
Evaluation Rubric
Conclusion
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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.

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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?

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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.

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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!
  

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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)

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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.

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The Process
Home Page
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• 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.

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• 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.
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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).
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Doric Order
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Lysikrates Monument
The Acropolis
The Kerameikos
The Agora
The Pnyx
The Arch of Hadrian
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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.
Monuments
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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.
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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.
Monuments
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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.
Monuments
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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.
Monuments
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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.
Monuments
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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".
Monuments
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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.
Monuments
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Conclusion
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!
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Travel Brochure Rubric
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Exemplary 3 Accomplished 2 Developing 1 Unacceptable 0
Titles and Introduction 15 Contains both the Title and Introductory sections, in which a thorough explanation of the importance of Athens is given. (15pts) Contains both the Title and Introductory sections, in which an explanation of the importance of Athens is given. (10pts) Contains both the Title and Introductory sections, but doesnt have an explanation of the importance of Athens. (5pts) Lacking either a Title or Introductory section. (0pts)
Geographical Explanation 15 Thoroughly explains the Physical Description, Location, and Weather of Athens. (15pts) Explains the Physical Description, Location, and Weather of Athens. (10pts) Explains 2 of the areas Physical Description, Location, and Weather of Athens. (5pts) Explains only 1 of the areas Physical Description, Location, and Weather of Athens. (0pts)
Points of Interests 15 Contains at least 5 Points of Interests and gives a detailed explanation of each. (15pts) Contains at least 5 Points of Interests and gives an explanation of each. (10pts) Contains at least 4 Points of Interests and gives an explanation of each. (5pts) Contains less than 4 Points of Interests and/or does not give an explanation of each. (0pts)
Theatre 15 Contains a thorough explanation of Greek Theatre and the differences between Tragedy and Comedy. (15pts) Contains an explanation of Greek Theatre and the differences between Tragedy and Comedy. (10pts) Contains an explanation of only one areas Greek Theatre and the differences between Tragedy and Comedy (5pts) Lacking an explanation of Greek Theatre and the differences between Tragedy and Comedy (0pts)
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) Explains the Evolution of Architecture in Greece and the differences between Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian without examples. (5pts) Lacking an explanation of the Evolution of Architecture in Greece or the differences between Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. (0pts)
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)
Neatness 10 Information was provided in a neat and orderly fashion where great detail in art and format was evident. (10pts) Information was provided in a neat and orderly fashion where detail in art and format was evident. (7pts) Information was provided in a sloppy and disorderly fashion where detailed in art and format was not evident. (0pts)