Greek%20Religion,%20Philosophy,%20and%20Literature

1
Greek Religion, Philosophy, and Literature

• Pericles was the leader of Athens
• Athens adopted democracy as their form of
  government
• The arts, literature, drama flourished in Athens

2
I. The Golden Age of Athens

• From 479 B.C. to 431 B.C. marked the Golden Age
  of Athens when Athens grew rich from trade and
  silver mined by slaves
• Tribute or payment was paid to Athens by other
  city-states for protection
• Pericles was the leader of Athens during this
  time and oversaw some of Greeces amazing
  achievements in the arts, philosophy and
  literature
• Pericles came from an aristocratic family and was
  well educated
• Pericles instituted an important reform that
  allowed people to be paid for service to the
  government which meant that poor people could
  hold public office

3
Sculpture of Greek goddesses
Greek Philosophers
Greek Drama
Greek Architecture
4
II. The Flourishing Arts

• After the Acropolis was destroyed in 480B.C.
  Pericles had it rebuilt along with other new
  buildings
• The Parthenon, a temple to the goddess Athena was
  made of fine marble with rows of columns
  surrounding it
• A statue of Athena stood in the center which
  stood 4 stories high made of wood, ivory and gold

5
(No Transcript)
6
Lifelike Sculpture

• The great statue of Athena disappeared long ago
  although the inside and outside sculpture still
  exists
• Greek statues always showed their subjects in
  full action, showed balance and were lifelike and
  accurate
• The gods and goddesses were shown as perfect
  views of humans and animals
• Sculptures did not represent any flaws

7
Greek Sculpture of their Gods
8
III. The Search for Knowledge

• Greeks worshipped a family of gods and goddesses
  called the Twelve Olympians
• The gods were immortal meaning that they lived
  forever
• In addition to the 12 gods, the Greeks worshipped
  lesser gods and heroes like Achilles from the
  Trojan War

9
Greek Science and Philosophy

• Philosophers were people who figured out new ways
  to understand their world
• Thales believed that water was the basic material
  of the world
• Democritus thought that everything was made of
  tiny particles called atoms
• Socrates wanted people to consider the true
  meaning of justice and courage
• Socrates was brought to trial and eventually
  committed suicide with poison

10
Socrates
Thales
Democritus
11
IV. Greek Drama

• The Athenians were the first people to write
  drama
• Tragedy is a serious story that ends in disaster
  for the main character
• Comedy were stories that made fun of well-known
  citizens and politicians and the customs of the
  day

12
Greek Dramas