Classical Greece

1. Classical Greece Classical Greece is the name given to the period of Greek history from around 500 B.C. to the conquest of Greece.

2. The challenge of Persia • Greeks spread throughout the Mediterranean. • The Greeks and Persian Empire came in contact with each other. • Because the Athenian navy had helped the Ionian Greek cities in Western Asia Minor with a revolt against the Persians, the Persian ruler Darius seeked revenge against the Athenians. • 490 B.C. Persians landed on the plain of Marathon • The Persians were outnumbered by the Athenians. • The Athenians attacked and defeated the Persians. The battle was called the “Battle of Marathon”. • Darius died and Xerxes became the new Persian monarch. • Xerxes led a massive invasion force into Greece. • Athenians and Spartans joined forces in order to defeat Persian invaders, the Greeks won.

3. The Athenian empire • Athens took over the leadership of the entire Greek world. • Formed a defensive alliance against the Persians known as Delian League. • Pericles a dominant figure in Athenian politics. • Expanded empire abroad, democracy flourished at home. • Classical Athenian and Greek history, AKA :the Age of Pericles”

4. The great Peloponnesian war • Greeks were divided into two camps: the Athenian Empire and Sparta and its supporters. • Athens and Sparta built two very different societies. • Sparta feared the growing Athenian Empire: a series of disputes led to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 B.C. • 2nd year of the war a plague broke out in Athens killing over 1/3 of the people. • The Athenian Empire was destroyed in 405 B.C. • The Great Peloponnesian war weakened the major Greek states.

5. The culture of classical Greece • Classical Greece, especially Athens under Pericles rule, witnessed a period of remarkable intellectual and cultural growth that became the main source of western culture. • Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato established the foundations of western philosophy.

6. Classical Greek Arts and Literature • Greece produced groundbreaking art and literature that is still considered relevant. • ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE • Most important form the temple • Columns that were once made of wood and then marble • Famous building in Athens the Parthenon example of a classical Greek temple, dedicated to Athena. • Greek sculptures: lifelike statues of the male nude having a related attitudes, their bodies smothered and muscled.

7. drama • Drama we know today was create by the Greeks • Outdoor theaters • 1st dramas were tragedies • Sophocles a great Athenian playwright and Euripides.

8. The Writing of history • Herodotus wrote “History of the Persian Wars” often seen as the first real history in Western Civilizations. • Thucydides – the greatest historian of the ancient world. • Pythagoras – the Pythagorean theorem, he taught the essence of the universe could be found in music and numbers.

9. socrates • Philosopher, sculptor • Believed the goal of education was only to improve the individual. • Socratic method of teaching, uses a question-and-answer format to lead pupils to see things for themselves by using their own reason. • Socrates questioned authority, this got him in trouble. • He was accused and convicted of corrupting the youth. • Sentenced to death by drinking hemlock, a poison

10. Plato • Student of Socrates • Considered by many as the greatest philosopher of western civilization • Fascinated with reality, How do we know what is real? • Looked for truth beyond the appearance of everyday objects.

11. Aristotle • Student of Plato • Didn’t accept Plato’s theory of ideal forms • Thought that by examining individual objects (trees), we could perceive their form (treeness). • Believed people happiness was tied to their behavior • Studied natural science by making and recording observations.