Introduction to Ancient Greece

Introduction to Ancient Greece

Geography of Greece • Greece is a small country in the south-east of Europe. • Near the Mediterranean Sea • The main part of Greece is on a peninsula • The rest of Greece is made up of islands

Macedon Mt. Olympus Troy Athens Mycenae Sparta Crete

Geography of Greece (cont.) • Cut off by mountains and the seas and isolated • Led to the formation of city-states • Limited interaction and unity of Ancient Greece • Created fierce rivalries and fighting

Greek City-States • Polis: Greek city-state ruled in its own way • Differences in laws, government, and money • All city-states shared the same language and religion • Most important ones: Athens & Sparta

One Culture • Language: All Greeks used the same language and alphabet • History: Homer’s poems (Iliad and Odyssey) explained their common origin and the achievements of their ancestors. • Religion: Greeks also worshipped the same gods. • Greeks were polytheistic (believed in many gods).

Who the heck is Homer? • We actually know nothing for sure • Greek Poet • Greek Identity! • Credited with Iliad and Odyssey • Looked back to the glorious age, connected past with stories of heroes and gods • Unified the values of courage and honor • Inspired the first Olympic Games

The Homeric Poems • Oral creation of the Homeric poems, Iliad and Odyssey (800-725). Written work (725-675). • “Epos” = poetic utterance = ‘epic.’ • A rhapsode accompanying himself on the lyre sings traditional tales of heroes • Repetition for memory as well as meter and effect

Six Values of The Heroic World 1. Afterlife (timé) 2. Glory (kleos) 3. Shame (aischros) 4. Fate (moira) 5. Pride (hubris) 6. Excellence/virtue (aretê)

Afterlife/honor (timé) • The Greek word for honor can also mean “price” or “value” • The best soldiers would receive the largest share or portion of the spoils of war • The more gifts the hero gains, the more honor he has Ex: An Olympic athlete with the most medals has the most honor.

Glory (kleos) • Occurs mostly after death • When poets can sing of a hero’s immortal deeds • Glory lives on forever in the stories that poets sing Ex: After Tupac’s death, his legend lives on.

Shame (aischros) • Disgrace; the opposite of glory • A shameful act is not necessarily immoral or wrong but “ugly” • When heroes commit disgraceful acts, they feel the loss of face that comes from looking ugly in front of public opinion

Fate (moira) • Comes to everyone • Your ‘portion’ or ‘lot’ or ‘due’ in life • Death for all, or the will of Zeus or another god or goddess

Pride (hubris) • Extreme pride or arrogance • An overconfidence of one’s own skills, abilities, or accomplishments • Great heroes run this risk • Ex: Odysseus in “Cyclops”

Excellence/virtue (aretê) • Great heroes also display particular excellence • This great quality often reveals a weak side as well • Ex: Odysseus is clever; Achilles is the best warrior

Greek Philosophy • “Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning subjects such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.” • Begins in WONDERMENT. In questioning. In activity… • Reason, not faith, not authority! • Asking the fundamental questions about this life of space/time: “Why am I here?” “Who am I?” “How do I live life?” “What is Truth?” • Socrates asks, instead, “How far will reason take us? Can we ever truly know anything?” • “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

Introduction to Ancient Greece