Chapter 3 The Greeks From Myth to Reason

1. Chapter 3 The Greeks From Myth to Reason

3. Compare the date ranges for significant events: Greeks and Hebrews Greek Dark age coincides with the Reign of Saul – David and then Solomon. 750 - 550 Greek Age of Colonization: 722 BC Kingdom of Israel falls to Assyrians (who soon go to war with the Greeks). 594 Greek Democratic Reforms begin: 586 Kingdom of Judah falls to Chaldeans (Assyrians from area of Babylon). 586 - 539 Babylonian Exile and enslavement of Hebrews by Chaldeans. This is the same time that Solon is beginning Democratic reforms in Athens. 538 Cyrus of Persia allow the Hebrews to return home, ending the Babylonian Exile at same time as Greek Democratic Reforms are expanded to include more people.

4. Early Aegean Civilizations Greek (or Hellenic) • A Greek contribution to Western Civilization was to understand “The Meaning of Life” • Humans have capacity for: • Rational thought • Need for freedom • Worth as individuals German Businessman Heinrich Schleiman (1822-1890)began research based on Homers Greek Poet writings. • He discovered the Mycenaean city • He discovered tombs, pottery, ornaments; a lost civilization.

5. After 800BC, classical Greece borrowed all the following from the Near East • Phoenician writing system • Craft skills • Artist imagery • Religious practice Classical Greece reached their height from 1700BC to 1450BC.

6. Evolution of the City-States (1 of 2) Homer: Shaper of the Greek Spirit • Homer lived during the 8th century BC just after the dark ages • The Greek Dark Age or Ages (ca. 1200 BC–800 BC) are terms which have regularly been used to refer to the period of Greek History from the around 1200 BC, to the first signs of the Greek City States in the 9th century BC because there was very little archaeological evidence to explain the period of time. Recent discoveries tell us much more, shedding light on that period in history.

7. Homer • Created great Epic Novels The Illiad and The Odyssey (if it is has ever been translated into Chinese as an audio book, I recommend listening to it) • Poetic Genius who could capture humans thoughts, feelings and conflicts in a few lines • Western writers are inspired today with his writings of wrath, vengeance, guilt, remorse compassion and love. The Break with Theocratic Politics • Mycenaean civilization(small states) thrived from 1400 – 1230 BC

9. Greek speaking culture moved south and molded together and fashioned Mycenaean Civilization • Constant warfare eventually caused their destruction • The dark ages for Greece – 100 – 800BC as they were between the dead Mycenaean and unborn Hellenic Civilization • The Greeks moved into the fertile valleys • They were plagued with insecurity, warfare, poverty and isolation • Arate in Greek means Excellence • Defined by Home as bravery and skill in battle • A man of true worth is both speaker of words and doer of deeds • Homers fictional Mt. Olympus is where Greek Gods resided with Zeus as chief Diety • Sparta: A Garrison State • Athens: The Rise of Democracy • Solon, the Reformer • Pisistratus, the Tyrant • Cleisthenes, the Democrat

10. Map 3-1, p. 43

11. Polis (or a form of community politics) • Was the avenue for Greek good life • Self governing • Expressed will of citizens • Rejected desire of gods • Hereditary kings or priests • Law were not derived from gods but from consensus in the human community • Equality among citizens was yet established E.g.) Today, a person can be poor but educated (self or formally) and be heard in the public forum, but not then. • Sparta: A Garrison State (stronghold) • Skillfully conquered its neighbors • Mycenaean were a casualty and were owned byt the state instead of individual Spartans. • They were called Helots and the earliest inhabitants of Sparta

12. 300 – The Movie • They tried to regain freedom after bloody uprisings • Sparta, fearing for another revolt as Mycenaean's outnumbered them 10-1, Spartans created most disciplined army in this time • Transformed to armed camps • Concept of excellence • Coming home on their sheild • Age 7 recruited • Most physically fit of all Greeks

13. Spartans did not embrace the full Athenian concept of Excellence of enriched, philosophical life. • Athens: The Rise of Democracy • Athenian Democracy achieved its peak in the middle of the 5th Century under Pericles. • Greek city states moved through four stages: • Rule by king (monarchy) • Rule by land owning aristocrats (oligarchy) • Rule by one man who seized power (tyranny) • Rule by the people (democracy) • In Athens the embittered and lower class were beginning to form a civil war against the Oligarchy

14. Map 3-1, p. 43

15. Solon the Reformer 594BC • Solon the traveler and poet came on the scene and was elected chief executive • Accused the wealthy landowners of pushing Athens to the brink of civil war. • He canceled debt, freed prisoners, and brought back those sold abroad, but would not confiscate the land. • He opened up political offices to all and thus transformed Greece from aristocratic oligarchy into democracy. • He altered the trade to wine and pottery transforming the regions.

16. Pisistratus, the Tyrant • Took land from other aristocrats and sold it back to the peasant farmers with state loans. Robin Hood? • He opened the theatre for all civilians, not just aristocrats • This act created the capital of cultural arts to be Athens Greece Cleisthenes, the Democrat • Created the system called Ostracon • Inscribe a name on pottery of an enemy of the state • The top vote getter would be ostracized from the state for 10 years. • Storms were looming in the background for the great Persian Wars…….

17. Evolution of the City-States (2 of 2) • The Persian Wars • 499BC the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor rebelled against the Persians. • Sympathetic, the Athenians sent 20 ships to aid. • King Darius I of Persia sent a small detachment to Attica where the Marathon man ran to Athens to warn the city. • The Athenians defeated Them in one of the finest battles in their history. • 10 years later, Darius assembled 250,000 troops and was defeated once again by the Greeks, Spartans and Athenians… the end to one of the most powerful military powers in the Mediterranean world

18. The Mature Athenian Democracy • The Mature Athenian Democracy • Athenian Imperialism was a consequence of the Persian wars • Gathered in the Assembly to carry out Democracy Rule 40 times a year. Members included all classes of Citizens from society • By the middle of the 5th Century, the will of the people was supreme • The people of the community took the responsibility of running government seriously but earned the reputation of running the government by amateurs.

19. Athenian Citizen - defined Only adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training had the right to vote in Athens. The percentage of the population (of males) that actually participated in the government was about 20%. This excluded a majority of the population, namely slaves, freed slaves, children, women and resident aliens (Like Mr. Silver in China). The women had limited rights and privileges and were not really considered citizens. Their movement in public was restricted and they were very segregated from the men. Also disallowed from being a citizen were citizens whose rights were under suspension (typically for failure to pay a debt to the city. This usually amounted to permanent (and in fact inheritable) disqualification.

20. The Decline of the City-States The Peloponnesian War (Summarized) Sparta was uncomfortable with Athens Imperialistic rule and wanted to separate. Sparta and the Peloponnesian states went to war against Athens from 431 BC to 404BC. Sparta defeated the Greeks and the Delian League, destroying their city states (fortresses). This war shattered the spiritual heart of the Hellenic (Greek) civilization. Chaos and anarchy were rampant. Democracy was died.

21. A Close Look at the War that ended Greek Democracy The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases. Phase 1: Sparta launched repeated invasions of Attica. Sparta sent spies to Athens to undermine them at home. Athens took advantage of its naval supremacy to raid the coast of the Peloponnese, attempting to suppress signs of unrest in its empire.

22. Phase 2: A peace treaty was signed in 421 BC but fighting started again, in the Peloponnese, in 415 BC. Athens sent a very big military force to attack Syracuse in Sicily, but was easily defeated. Phase 3: Sparta was now receiving support from Persia in the Aegean Sea and Ionia, destroying Athens' fleet at Aegospotami and ending the war. Athens surrendered in the following year.

23. The Peloponnesian War reshaped the Ancient Greek world. • Sparta became the leading power of Greece. • The cost of the wars led to widespread poverty in the Peloponnese. • Athens was no longer a power and never regained its pre-war prosperity. • After affects of the war included: • Conflict between former allies of Athens (democratic) and Sparta (oligarchic), led to civil war throughout the remainder of the Greek world.

24. Consequences of the Violent War • The war became an all-out struggle (to the death) between the city states. • Atrocities on a large scale shattered what had previously been rules that would never be broken (religious and cultural taboos) • Large areas of the countryside and entire cities were destroyed. • The Peloponnesian War marked the end to the fifth century BC and the golden age of Greece.

25. The next few decades. Summarized. • Professionals took over Greek governments and mercenaries (hired soldiers) took over the army. • Macedonia rose up with King Phillip in 338 BC and defeated the Greek army and took over Greece. • This was the end of city states.

26. Socrates (469 BC–399 BC) was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy and credited by later writers. Plato’s writings are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. He known for his great contributions to field of ethics, the concepts of Socratic iron and Socratic Method. The Socratic Method of teaching is as a series of questions which are asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage insight into the issue at hand. Socrates contributed to the field of logic and much of western philosophy.

27. The Socratic Method Socrates was obsessed with truth and the correct way to stumble into it. He placed value not just on knowledge, but on how we know knowledge, and his curious teaching style reflected it. He never lectured. He asked questions on top of questions (a teaching method still used to this day). The more his students answered, the more they knew or, more accurately, learned what they didn’t know. For example, when you ask yourself, “Do I hate school because I’m bad at it, or am I awful at school because I hate it?” you’re being Socratic in your search

28. Socrates He was accused of altering young minds with his freedom of thought. Socrates was condemned to death at age 70 by the Athenian court where he proudly drank poison as his punishment.

29. Plato: The Rational Society A devout Student of Socrates. Theory of Ideas – Truth resides in the world of forms not in the world of senses. A person can NEVER draw a perfect square, but one does exist in the world of forms. The Just State: Plato theory and great book was called, “The Republic” and argued that too much liberty can intoxicate and destroy a city. His philosophy was aimed at improving morality.

30. Plato 424 BC – 348BC (continued) Founder of the Academy in Athens, THE FIRST INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING IN THE WESTERN WORLD. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western Philosophy and Science.

31. Mr. Silver’s favorite quote from Plato “The greatest penalty for failing to engage in politics is to be ruled by one inferior to thyself” What does this quote mean to you?

32. Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)[was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theatre, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Aristotle's writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics.Aristotle's views shaped medieval scholarship, and their influence extended well into the Renaissance.In the zoological sciences, some of his observations were confirmed to be accurate only in the 19th century. His ideas have shaped Christian theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.

33. Aristotle Summarized • Surrendering to desire meant becoming like beasts • Denying passions was a rejection of human nature • Extravagance is bad and is the key to Aristotle's ethics • Tyranny and revolution can threaten the rule of law and the health and well being of the citizen • The State must maintain obedience to law according to the rule of the constitution, for it is their salvation.

34. Alexander III of Macedon 356 – 323 BC Alexander the Greatwas a king of Macedon (MACEDONIA) a state in northern Greece. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires in ancient history, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by the famed philosopher Aristotle. In 336 BC he succeeded his father Philip ll of Macedon to the throne after Philip was assassinated. Philip had brought most of the city-states of mainland Greece under Macedonian control, using both military and diplomatic means.

35. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He succeeded in being awarded the General-ship of Greece and, with his authority firmly established, launched the military plans for expansion left by his father. In 334 BC he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns lasting ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles. Subsequently he overthrew the Persian king Darius llland conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. The Macedonian Empire at that point stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

36. Following his desire to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back by the near-mutiny of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without realizing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following Alexander's death a series of civil wars tore his empire apart which resulted in the formation of a number of states ruled by the Diadochi – Alexander's surviving generals.

37. Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. Alexander founded some twenty cities that bore his name. His settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic Civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire until the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the moldof Achilles, and features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which generals, even to this day, compare themselves and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactical exploits.

38. The Hellenistic Age: The Second Stage of Greek Civilization • Alexander took a Persian Bride and arranged for 80 officers and 10,000 soldiers to marry Near Eastern woman, forever changing the make up of the continent with Greek style cities in Asia, mixing with native populations.

39. The Competing Dynasties • Cosmopolitanism

40. Art • Greek art spans years from 479BC to the death of Alexander the Great 323 BC and would dominate Western art until the late nineteenth century. • Greek art carefully observed nature. • Human beings sought to achieve an exact knowledge of the human anatomy.

41. Art

42. Philosophy in the Hellenic Age • The Cosmologists: A Rational Inquiry into Nature • Pythagoras found mathematical relationship in musical notes • Democritus: Empty Space and infinite Atoms • Parmenides: The world can be viewed in two ways, as a Reality or as we choose to interpret the Appearance. • Disease has explainable causes, not super natural causes • The Sophists: A Rational Investigation of Human Culture • Socrates: Shaping the Rational Individual • Dialectics • Condemned to Death

43. Poetry and Drama • Earliest and greatest poets, Sappho, she lived around 600 BC on island of Lesbos. • Pindar, 518-438 BC view of excellence in athletes • Greek Tragedy and Comedy of struggle against cosmic forces and insurmountable odds: • Sophocles • Euripides • Aeschylus

44. History • Herodotus • Often known as the father of History because he wrote about the Persian wars. • Thucydides • No room for Myths, Legends or the fabulous…Clash of the Titans etc…. • Astute and political thinker, warned against extremism and greed for statesman territory

45. REVIEW BC = Before Christ (BC is a term used by Christians and refers to their savior, also referred to in the Hebrew scripture as the Messiah) Christ = Savior = Messiah BCE = Before Common Era (used by those who are not Christians and refer to the calendar we use as the common era, when we started counting from the year 0) AD = After Death (after the death of the Christian savior) ACE = After Common Era (used by those who are not Christians) Question. When did we start counting from the year 0 and who said that we should do it?

46. Before Ancient Greece Minoan (Cretans). Not Greeks, cities without walls, no war like art. 2600-1250 BCE Mycenaean. War like. Attacked Minoans. 1400-1230 BCE Not much record of happenings between 1100-800 BCE but there are records of migration from the barren mountainous regions to the fertile plains and from the mainland to the Aegean islands and the coast of Asia Minor. 800 BCE saw the early revival of community life in villages and rural communities. 750-550 BC. This was the beginning of Hellenic Greece. • Increase in trade and commercial activity, use of metals and urban living. • Expansion to settlements on the islands of the Aegean, along the coast of Asia Minor and the Black Sea and to the west in Sicily and southern Italy (later Rome). These colonies were established out of necessity to deal with overpopulation. These new cities were all self governing, leading to the beginning of what we now refer to as City States.

47. Ancient Greek Beliefs The Greeks: • Conceived of nature as following general rules, not acting according to the whims of gods or demons. • Believed that human beings have a capacity for rational thought. • Saw human beings as having a need for freedom, and a worth as individuals. • Never dispensed with the gods, but did increasingly stress the importance of human reason and human decisions; they came to assert that reason is the avenue to knowledge and that people, not the gods are responsible for their own behaviour. • Broke with the “Myth Making” orientation of the Near East and created the rational humanist outlook. Question. What is the rational humanist outlook?

48. The ancient Greeks (mainly the Athenians) believed that individuals should be free as long as they acted within the laws of Greece. This allowed them the opportunity to excel in any direction they chose. Individuality, as the Greeks viewed it, was the basis of their society. The ability to strive for excellence, no matter what the challenge, was the method from which they achieved such phenomenal accomplishments, including the balance of mind and body. Many strove to become soldiers and athletes while others ventured into philosophy, drama, pottery and the arts.

49. Two important concepts which the ancient Greeks followed were found inscribed on the great shrine of Delphi, which read, “Nothing in excess” and “Know thyself” This philosophy greatly impacted the Western civilization. Question. What do these two concepts mean to you?

50. Rational Humanist Outlook Humanism is an approach in the study of philosophy, world views and other sciences that focuses on the things that are important to humans. Question. Did the Greeks invent the Humanism? If you were asked to describe how the Hebrew view of humans may have led to the Greeks Rational Humanist Outlook, what would you say?