70 likes | 87 Views
Explore the rich history of Ancient Greece from the Minoan culture to the Dark Age, Homer's epics, and the diverse city-states. Witness the unique world views, pantheism, and the rise of written language in this captivating journey through the ancient Greek civilization.
E N D
The Minoan Culture • 2nd millennium BCE • The mythical king Minos • The larger land of Crete • The citadel—Mycenae • The palace—Pylos • With centers of wealth and power • Its language the early form of Greek
The Dark Age of Greece • Palaces destroyed by fire in the last century of the millennium BCE • Written language lost and the Greeks were illiterate for the next few hundred of years • Only a body of oral epic poetry left that was the raw material of Homer
Homer and His Epics • 8 century BCE—Greeks learned how to write again • Shaping the oral epic poetry into written form • The Iliad and The Odyssey • The basis of an education and a whole culture
A Completely Different World View • Pantheism • The arbitrary tendencies of gods • The disorder of the world • A ruler of heaven that can be feared, laughed at, cheated, blamed and admired at the same time • Gods’ sublime disregard of humans • The limited power of Zeus
A Completely Different World View • the blind forces of universe which are not necessarily connected with morality • Death is a human fear, just as the courage to face it is a human quality • Our real admiration are not toward gods but toward mortals [vs. The Old Testament]
City-States of Greece • Geographical features: mountain barriers and scattered islands • Differing from each other in custom, political constitution, and even dialect • Rivals and fierce competitors • 8th-7th centuries BCE: age of great expansion—all over the Mediterranean coast • Adapting the Phoenician system of writing