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Sculpture of Greece The Greeks were the first to create truly life-like sculpture. Early Greek statues had been more like the Egyptians’, with figures facing forward holding their arms stiffly at their sides. Later Greek sculptors created more realistic statues with natural poses with more detailed hair, muscles, and clothing. Unlike most Greek statues we know today that are made of white marble, Greek statues would have originally been very colorful. Metalworkers would add bronze pieces, like shields or spears, while painters would apply wax and bright colors to the statues’ hair, lips, clothes, and headdresses. Over time, bronze was removed and melted down and the wax and paint wore off, giving the statues the white appearance they have today.
Philosophers A philosopher is a person who pursues wisdom and uses reason to understand the world. Early philosophers would talk about nature, trading ideas about how nature worked, the meaning of life, justice, truth, and beauty. Some of the most famous philosophers were Socrates, his student Plato, and Plato’s student Aristotle (who would later be the teacher of Alexander the Great!)
Socrates One of the greatest philosophers was a man named Socrates, who encouraged people to question the things they thought they knew. He taught others by asking them questions that forced them to think about their beliefs (What is the good life for a person? What is truth? How do you know?) Greeks in power thought this was wrong because they were afraid people would begin to question their beliefs in religion and government, and want to change them. Socrates’ enemies accused him of not honoring the gods and leading young people into error and disloyalty, and brought him to trial in 399 BC. Socrates defended himself, saying that he was the wisest man in Greece because he knew he did not know anything. Socrates was found guilty of disturbing the peace and sentenced to death. Calmly, Socrates drank hemlock, but his students (among them Plato) kept his methods of questioning alive.
The Parthenon The most famous temple standing on the acropolis of Athens was the Parthenon. It was built to honor the goddess Athena, who had fought with Poseidon to be the main god of the city-state. Poseidon had given Athens a saltwater spring, but Athena had given them an olive tree, making her gift more valuable. Still standing partially intact today (destroyed accidentally by war in modern times), the structure was constructed from 447-439 BC under the direction of Pericles, a successful general for Athens. The Parthenon was built on a long rectangular platform with 8 columns across the front and back and 17 along both sides. The roof slated, creating triangles called pediments at the front and back of the building that contained bas relief statues inside the center (bas relief – nearly 3-D statues that seem to rise up from a flat surface). At the top of the temple was a band of sculptures called a frieze. The interior once held a giant statue of Athena, standing 30 feet high. She was made of wood, with ivory to form her skin and clothes and armor of gold designed by Phidias (who also designed the Parthenon’s friezes and pediments). She carried a shield of gold with carvings of two faces – those of Pericles and Phidias himself, and held a smaller figure of Nike, the goddess of victory. Unfortunately, the statue has since vanished. The Parthenon is important to artists and architects because much of the structure was copied and used in other buildings today, such as the different columns (Doric – no base, slimmed toward the top and simple in design, Ionic – thinner with a base and spirals on the top, and Corinthian – most complex with leaves on the top)
ARCHITECTURE • The Greeks built many buildings in a very style unique at the time only to the Greeks. • This Grecian style is still used today on houses and other buildings. • Three different types of columns: • Doric • Ionic • Corinthian
Ionic Column Corinthian Column
The Arts Greek myths have been the inspiration for some of our own literature and art today. These myths also led to the creation of theater and drama. Greece is the birthplace of tragedy (plays about the downfall of a character centered around war, love, or hate) and comedy (plays that make fun of politics, famous people or ideas). Dionysus was the god of theater and wine, so most Greek plays that developed at first were performed around harvest time to honor him. Later playwrights would create other stories that did not necessarily connect with Dionysus himself. There were no women actors in Greece. Men played all of the characters – male and female. For this reason, large masks were needed with eyes for the actors to see and mouths open so they could say their lines without showing their faces. Plays were staged in open-air theaters, usually built into the side of a hill, shaped like a bowl with seats rising in a semi-circle for better hearing and seeing. Scenery was painted on canvas and hung behind the actors. Like today, contests were held to determine the best playwrights and actors with rewards given.
The Sciences Science: • Astronomy • Aristarchus first suggested earth rotating around the sun • Hipparchus named 850 stars, estimated distances from earth to the sun and the moon, and theories for predicting eclipses of the moon • Medicine • Hippocratic Oath: doing all one can in order to preserve health without sharing information about a patient • Hippocrates believed to cure disease, a doctor had to observe patients and write down what they saw, and believed disease had natural causes • Biology • Understanding human organs, circulation of the blood by the heart, brain and the nervous system, understanding plants and animals • Physics Language: • Alphabet lettering Math: • Geometry (measuring areas of land and shapes) Social Studies: • Geography (making maps based on the stars) • Longitude (imaginary lines that measure east-west distances) • Latitude (imaginary lines that measure north-south distances) • Both longitude and latitude form a grid on a map to indicate an area’s absolute location • Ptolemy, a geographer, was the first to show how maps could represent a curved earth on a flat surface The Greeks were the first to make big advances in several academic subjects:
The Olympics One of the most familiar and popular contribution of the Greeks are the Olympic Games. The first Olympic games were held in 776 BC to honor the god Zeus. Male competitors and athletes from all over Greece would compete without clothing in a stadium in the city of Olympia. Events like the foot-races, discus throwing, long jump, javelin throw, and wrestling were important because they tested skills considered valuable by soldiers during war. Held every four years, these games were another way of fanning the flames of the rivalry of Sparta and Athens. Women did not participate in the Olympics. However, to honor the goddess Hera (wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage), unmarried women would hold foot races in three different age categories. Other famous competitive athletic events included the Panathenaic Games, to honor Athena. Some events included horse-and-chariot races (some where men jumped into and out of a moving chariot), foot races in full battle armor (which made men swerve and crash into each other), boxing, and wrestling (were allowed to punch, kick, and choke each other and ended when one fighter surrendered, lost consciousness, or died)
Delphi: Seat of Apollo In ancient times, the Greeks believed that Apollo, god of prophesy, would tell the future to those who sought it at his oracles. Seers were people who were blessed with the ability to tell the future. Delphi was one of the most famous oracles in all ancient Greece. There, a veiled priestess would sit on a stool, and would reveal the future as the winds blew, whispering the words of Apollo to her so she could tell her visitors. Most myths and legends surrounding heroes have at least one prophesy and seer in it to show how the gods manipulated mortals on earth like puppets on strings!
