1 / 27

Ancient Greece: The Classical Spirit

Ancient Greece: The Classical Spirit. Early Greece. Early Greek Poetry. Homeric epics: long narrative poems; heroic deeds; hero who brings pride to country. Iliad and Odyssey: First masterpieces of Western literature. Heroes: Achilles and Odysseus

bart
Download Presentation

Ancient Greece: The Classical Spirit

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Ancient Greece: The Classical Spirit Early Greece

  2. Early Greek Poetry • Homeric epics: long narrative poems; heroic deeds; hero who brings pride to country. Iliad and Odyssey: First masterpieces of Western literature. • Heroes: Achilles and Odysseus • Despite man’s frailties, his life is noble

  3. Sappho’s Lyric Poetry • Lyric poems: brief, expressing feelings, often accompanied by a lyre. • Sappho’s poems expressed her love for her women friends. • Lived her life on the island of Lesbos

  4. Art in Early Greece • The Archaic period: 650-490 B.C. Progression from the Egyptian models • Naturalism: attempt to represent objects as they appear in nature • Vase painting: red-figure technique: figures left unpainted • Greeks’ range of feelings and actions

  5. Sculpture • Kouros: free standing nude male youth. Rigid Egyptian poses • Koré: softer or female version. Clothing softened statue

  6. The Classical Period

  7. The Classical Period • Opens with Greeks’ victory over Persians at Salamis in 490 B.C. • Golden Age: 480 B.C. and 404 B.C., Athens was defeated in the Peloponnesian Wars. Culture lasted until death of Alexander the Great. • Polis life: Human nature dictates life in city • Pericles: Delian League

  8. Women in Classical Athens • Excluded from public affairs • Household duties: organization, supervision and labor. • Hetaera: foreign women who worked as courtesans, entertainers and prostitutes. • Some hetaera highly educated

  9. The Greek Temple • The Parthenon (447 B.C.) Dedicated to Athena • Post-and-lintel form • Entablature: decoration of the vertical column and horizontal beam • Orders: Styles of columns • Cella: enclosed inner room of temple • Refinements

  10. Parthenon Sculptures • Phideas: Athena statue in cella and again on the east and west pediments • Three Goddesses on East Pediment • Frieze • Cella frieze: low relief, noble procession of Athenian citizens depicted during the Pan Athenaic procession.

  11. Other Acropolis Buildings • Propylaea: massive gateway • Erechtheum: Ionic temple with two porches • Caryatids: Porch of the Maidens

  12. Classical Humanism • Belief that “Man is the Measure of All Things” Protagoras. • Nobility of human intelligence and action • Human ability to understand and control the world. • “Secular” humanism controversial today.

  13. The Classical Style • Representing the human figure in motion: turning point for Greek sculptors. • Idealized, yet moving toward naturalism

  14. Greek Sculpture • Kritios Boy: Human figure in motion • Classical Style: naturalism and idealism • Myron’s Discobolus • Riace Warrior Phideas? • Praxiteles’ Aphrodite of Cnidos • Contrapposto: S curve

  15. Hellenistic Style • Emotionally charged realism of later Greek sculpture • Alexander the Great Persia and Egypt • Individuality • Lacoon and his Two Sons

  16. Greek Theater • Athens: Greek Theater • Themes: • Power of the gods • Course of human destiny • Nature of love and justice • Dyonisus patron god: wine, revelry and intoxication. Dyonisian festivals

  17. Greek Tragedy • Open-air theaters or amphitheaters • Wealthy citizens paid playwrights and producers • Yearly competition • Actors in front of the skene • Chorus: actors who danced and chanted on the orchestra, the area surrounded by the theatron

  18. Greek Playwrights • Thespis: One actor • Aeschylus: added a second actor and dialogue. Suffering and guilt led to gods • Sophocles: Golden Age of Athens • Oedipus Rex • Hubris • Catharsis

  19. Playwrights • Euripides: realism, social commentary • Showed people as they were, gripped by violent passions • Medea

  20. Greek Comedy • Humorous portrayal of everyday themes and characters. • Aristophanes: Clouds and Lysistrata

  21. Greek Philosophy • Philosophy: came from Greek’s fascination with rational inquiry. • Materialists: substance of which all matter was composed • Idealists: evidence of a divine and rational plan for cosmos--Pythagoras • Sophists: professional teachers, skeptics—Protagoras. Became cynical.

  22. Socrates • Founded classical Greek philosophy and never wrote a word. • Socratic Method • Gadfly of Athens—Morals worth more than life itself. • “The unexamined life is not worth living.” • Trial and death: Tried for religious and moral offenses.

  23. Plato • Student of Socrates • Wrote Socrates’ dialogues • Apology: Socrates’ trial • Phaedo: Socrates’ last conversation • The Republic: Ideal city-state/ Three parts of soul: reason, moral courage, appetites • The Academy

  24. Aristotle • Challenged Plato’s teachings • Tutor for Alexander of Macedonia • Ethics:Happiness is found in balance between two extremes: Golden Mean • Poetics: Formal pattern of Greek drama. • Lyceum

  25. Greek Music • Music: of the “Muses” Goddesses who inspired creative arts. • Lyre • Aulos • Music could bring about feelings • Music lost forever • Pythagoras’ intervals: octaves

  26. Hellenistic Age • Philip of Macedon subdued Greek city-states. Succeeded by son Alexander • Alexander loved Greek civilization and spread it throughout his empire in Persia and Egypt • Hellenistic: Greek-like

  27. Hellenistic Legacy • Collected great classical manuscripts in libraries. • Artists imitated forms and ideas of the Greeks. • Playwrights copied Greek theater • Euclid: Planets revolve around the sun • Established Greek culture as the standard.

More Related