Chapter Objectives

2. Greek Civilization Chapter Objectives • Describe important Greek developments in the arts. • Discuss Greek achievements in history, politics, biology, and logic. • Summarize how Alexander the Great created an empire. • Describe how Hellenistic kingdoms became centers of learning and culture.

3. The Culture of Ancient Greece Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas • The Greeks believed that gods and goddesses controlled nature and shaped their lives. • Greek poetry and fables taught Greek values. • Greek drama still shapes entertainment today. • Greek art and architecture expressed Greek ideas of beauty and harmony.

4. The Culture of Ancient Greece Get Ready to Read (cont.) Building Your Vocabulary • myth (MIHTH) • oracle (AWR·uh·kuhl) • epic (EH·pihk) • fable (FAY·buhl) • drama (DRAH·muh) • tragedy (TRA·juh·dee) • comedy (KAH·muh·dee)

5. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Mythology • The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses. • They thought these deities affected people’s lives and shaped events. • The Greeks believed the 12 most important gods lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. • Greek myths were stories about gods and heroes. (pages 155–156)

6. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Mythology (cont.) • In these stories, gods had special powers but looked and acted like humans. • The Greeks followed rituals to win the gods’ favor. • They hoped that the gods would grant good fortune to them in return. • The Greeks believed in prophecy, or predictions about the future. (pages 155–156)

7. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Mythology (cont.) • Many Greeks visited an oracle to receive a prophecy. • An oracle was a sacred shrine where a priest or priestess spoke for a god or goddess. • The most famous oracle was at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. (pages 155–156)

8. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Poetry and Fables • Greek poems and stories are the oldest in the Western world and serve as models for European and American poems and stories. • An epic is a long poem about heroic deeds. • The first great epics were the Iliad and the Odyssey, written by a poet named Homer. (pages 157–158)

9. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.) • The Iliad is about a battle for the city of Troy. • The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus, a Greek hero. • Greeks believed these two epics were real history. (pages 157–158)

10. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.) • A slave named Aesop wrote many fables. • A fable is a short tale that teaches a lesson. • Fables were passed from person to person by oral tradition. (pages 157–158)

11. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Drama • Drama is a story told by actors who pretend to be characters in the story. • The Greeks used drama as part of their religious festivals. • The Greeks developed two types of drama— tragedies and comedies. (pages 160–161)

12. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Drama (cont.) • A tragedy is the story of a person who tries to overcome difficulties but fails. • A comedy is a story with a happy ending. • Aeschylus was a writer who wrote a group of three plays called Oresteia. • These plays teach that evil acts cause more evil and suffering. (pages 160–161)

13. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Drama (cont.) • The Writer Sophocles wrote the plays Oedipus and Antigone. • Euripides wrote plays about real-life people instead of gods. • Aristophanes wrote comedies that made fun of leading politicians and scholars. (pages 160–161)

14. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Art and Architecture • Greek artists believed in the ideas of reason, balance, harmony, and moderation and tried to show these ideas in their work. • Although Greek murals have not survived, examples of Greek paintings still exist on decorated pottery. • The most important architecture in Greece was the temple dedicated to a god or goddess. (pages 162–163)

15. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Art and Architecture (cont.) • The most famous temple is the Parthenon. • Greek architecture included columns, which were first made from wood. (pages 162–163)

16. The Culture of Ancient Greece Greek Art and Architecture (cont.) • Later, the Greeks began using marble. • Many of today’s churches and government buildings have columns. • Greek sculpture expressed Greek ideas. (pages 162–163)

17. Greek Philosophy and History Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas • Greek philosophers developed ideas that are still used today. • Greeks wrote the first real histories in Western civilization.

18. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers • The word philosophy comes from the Greek word for “love of wisdom.” • Greek thinkers, called philosophers, believed the human mind could understand everything. (pages 169–171)

19. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) • Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher who taught that the universe followed the same laws that governed music and numbers. • He developed many ideas about mathematics. • Sophists were professional teachers who traveled from city to city, teaching others. • They did not believe that gods and goddesses influenced people. (pages 169–171)

20. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) • They also did not believe in absolute right or wrong. • Socrates was a philosopher who believed that an absolute truth existed and that all real knowledge was within each person. • Leaders did not trust Socrates, and accused him of teaching young Athenians to rebel. (pages 169–171)

21. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) • Socrates was tried and sentenced to death. • The Socratic method is a form of teaching that uses questions to lead students to discover things for themselves. • Plato was one of Socrates’ best students. • In his book the Republic, Plato described the ideal government. (pages 169–171)

22. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) • At the top were rulers and philosophers, in the middle were warriors, and at the bottom were all others. • Aristotle was one of Plato’s students. • He opened his own school called the Lyceum. • Aristotle helped advance science and government. (pages 169–171)

23. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Philosophers (cont.) • Many of his ideas shaped the way European and American founders thought about government. • The “golden mean,” one of Aristotle’s ideas, states that a person should do nothing to excess. (pages 169–171)

24. Greek Philosophy and History Greek Historians • Many historians consider Herodotus the “father of history” because he wrote the history of the Persian Wars. • The Greek Thucydides is considered the greatest historian of the ancient world. • He wrote History of the PeloponnesianWar. (page 173)

25. Alexander the Great Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas • Phillip II of Macedonia united the Greek states. • Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and spread Greek culture throughout southwest Asia.

26. Alexander the Great Macedonia Attacks Greece • Macedonia was a powerful kingdom that lay north of Greece. • Philip II needed to unite Greece with Macedonia to defeat the Persian Empire. • After training a vast army, Philip began taking over the Greek city-states. (pages 175–176)

27. Alexander the Great Macedonia Attacks Greece (cont.) • A lawyer named Demosthenes tried to warn the Athenians about Philip, but it was too late. • The Macedonians defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea. • After this battle, Philip controlled all of Greece. (pages 175–176)

28. Alexander the Great Alexander Builds an Empire • Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia after his father, Philip, died. • Alexander began his conquest of the Persian Empire in 334 B.C. with the Battle of Granicus. • Alexander’s forces destroyed the Persian forces. • A year later, Alexander defeated the Persian army at Issus and freed the Greek cities in Asia Minor. (pages 176–179)

29. Alexander the Great Alexander Builds an Empire (cont.) • He then captured Syria and Egypt. • Alexander built the city of Alexandria as the center of business. • It became one of the most important cities in the ancient world. • Alexander continued his conquest of the Persian Empire by fighting in modern Pakistan, India, and Iran. (pages 176–179)

30. Alexander the Great Alexander Builds an Empire (cont.) • In 323 B.C., Alexander planned to invade southern Arabia, but he became ill and died. • A legacy is what a person leaves behind when he or she dies. • Alexander’s legacy is his skill and daring. • Alexander’s conquests marked the beginning of the Hellenistic Era. (pages 176–179)

31. Alexander the Great Alexander Builds an Empire (cont.) The lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A fire in its tall tower guided ships into harbor. (pages 176–179)

32. Alexander the Great Alexander Builds an Empire (cont.) • This was a time when Greek language and ideas spread to non Greek areas of southwest Asia. • After Alexander’s death, his generals fought for power, and Alexander’s empire ended. • Four kingdoms emerged in its place. • Government business in the four kingdoms was conducted in the Greek language. (pages 176–179)

33. Alexander the Great Alexander Builds an Empire (cont.) • People who did not speak Greek could not hold government jobs. • This helped the Greeks maintain control. • New cities were created in the Hellenistic Era, and these cities needed architects, engineers, and philosophers. • The rulers of the four kingdoms sent Greek colonists to southwest Asia to help build the cities. In this way, Greek culture spread. (pages 176–179)

34. The Spread of Greek Culture Get Ready to Read (cont.) Focusing on the Main Ideas • Hellenistic cities became centers of learning and culture. • Epicurus and Zeno showed the world different ways to look at happiness. • Hellenistic scientists made major discoveries in math and astronomy.

35. The Spread of Greek Culture Greek Culture Spreads • Philosophers, poets, scientists, and writers moved to the new Greek cities in southwest Asia, particularly Alexandria, during the Hellenistic Era . • Hellenistic kings wanted to make their cities like those in Greece, so they hired Greek architects and sculptors. • The writers of the Hellenistic Era produced a large body of literature. (page 183)

36. The Spread of Greek Culture Greek Culture Spreads (cont.) • Appolonius wrote the epic poem Argonautica, recounting the legend of Jason and his band of heroes. • Theocritus wrote short poems about beauty and nature. • Athenians still created plays, but the plays of the Hellenistic Era were about love and relationships. (page 183)

37. The Spread of Greek Culture Philosophy • Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism, taught that happiness was the goal of life. • Stoicism was developed by a Phoenician named Zeno. • This philosophy believes that happiness comes from reason, not emotions. (page 184)

38. The Spread of Greek Culture Greek Science and Math • Astronomers study the stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies. • Aristarchus was an astronomer who claimed that the sun was at the center of the universe and that Earth revolved around the sun. • Eratosthenes was an astronomer who believed that the earth was round and measured Earth’s circumference. (pages 185–186)

39. The Spread of Greek Culture Greek Science and Math (cont.) • Euclid, one of the most famous Greek mathematicians, described plane geometry. • Plane geometry is the study of points, lines, angles, and surfaces. • Archimedes was the most famous scientist of the Hellenistic Era. (pages 185–186)

40. The Spread of Greek Culture Greek Science and Math (cont.) • He worked on solid geometry—the study of spheres and cylinders. • He also determined the value of pi, a number used to measure the area of circles. • Archimedes invented the catapult, among other weapons. (pages 185–186)

41. Greek Civilization Review Vocabulary Define Match the vocabulary word that completes each sentence. A. epic B. fable C. myth B __ 1. a short tale that teaches a lesson __ 2. traditional story about gods and heroes __ 3. long poems told about heroic deeds C A

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