Classical Greece

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Slide 1

Classical Greece

Slide 2

Classical Period 500-339 BC

"Classical" means:

Standard against which others are judged or evaluated

Greatest

Enduring

Stylistic form (music, art, etc)

Stylistic period (e.g. after Baroque)

Golden age of a civilization

Slide 3

Classical Period or The Golden Age of Greece

Centered in Athens

Began

Revolt of Greeks in Ionia (coast of Asia) against the Persians

Eventual defeat of the Persians

Battles of Thermopylae and Marathon

Athens expansionism and colonization

Delian League

Peloponnesian War

Between Athens and Sparta/Corinth

Lasted 27 years and was won by Sparta/Corinth

Pericles

"Ideal" ruler of Athens

Builder of Acropolis

Used money from the Delian League for city improvements

Is creativity adversely affected by war?

Slide 4

Daily Life

Population:300,000

Adult Males: 50,000

Women:

Not able to participate in government

Protected by law

Seemed to be "generic"

Slaves:

Did menial work

Foreigners

Slide 5

Daily Life

Greeks had few material possessions

Houses were simple

Food was simple

Religion was important

Common temple rituals

Seeking favor of the gods

Loyalty in worshiping gods of the polis

Belief in a single God was advocated by a few (disloyal?)

Slide 6

Drama

Festivals of Dionysus (God of Wine)

Playwrights submit 4 plays for competition

Method of presentation

Actors with masks

Chorus

Acoustics

Reserved seats

Dry seats

Mechanics

Themes

Trojan war characters and their descendents

Ethics from Heroic period

Slide 7

Drama

Tragedy

Genre invented by Thespis (543 BC)

The most common of the genrés

Of about 1000 written, only 31 remain – all by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

The change that occurs due to difficulty

Not about a person dying

Aristotle’s Poetics describes ideal tragedy

Tragic defect—weakness in character that leads to the difficulties or that must be overcome

Slide 8

Drama

Aeschylus (525-456 BC)

Aware of human weakness

Discusses pain and suffering