Athens as the Center of Greek Culture in the Classical Period Flashcards
the Classical era
period between 480-338 BC, the heyday of the Greek civilization.
Athens as the center
the city attracted talented artists and scholars; in Athens everyone was allowed to say, write, produce whatever they liked as long as certain religious taboos were respected. it was a wealthy city which hosted many big religious festivals. the flocking of many talented individuals led to a fruitful exchange of ideas before a wider public. many people in Athens could read to some extent.
Attic drama
included tragedy and comedy. most likely evolved from the traditional alternate singing of a choir and its leader. tragedies focused mostly on the relations between mortals and the gods; they were derived from the myths that inspired the epic poems. comedies were presented in the form of a play and depicted political cabaret. in the 4th century the political elements was gradually lost add it evolved into an entertainment for the bourgeois. choir was present in all dramas.
Best known tragedians of the time
Aeschylus (525-455BC), Sophocles (495-406BC), Euripides (480-407/’06)
best known comedians of the time
Aristophanes (460/50-shortly before 386BC), Menander
the Sophists
paid lessons in rhetoric. the itinerant teachers that did this were called sophists. in addition to the lessons in rhetoric, they also reflected on the state and society, language and standards of human behaviour. they applied the logical and rational way of thinking.
rhetorical lessons
in the 4th century, it adopted a firm system. children of the elite between the ages 8 to 12 were taught to read, write and figure. they learned about the literature of classical Greek authors. lessons were taught in schools; the teachers did not travel around. as they were payed lessons, they were only available to the elite; they developed their own cultured, elitist spoken and written language. this teaching had influence on the writings, including drama and prose; inspiration was received from education, human behaviour and other aspects of bourgeois ethics.
Socrates
469-399 BC. opposer of the sophists. believed that laws were rooted in absolute moral standards. attempted to discover them by asking people to define and give the exact meaning to some terms such as wisdom and piety. he died because he was condemned to drink poison in 399 BC. taught Plato
Plato
429-347 BC. believed that all things on earth are imperfect approximations of prototypes that exist in a higher sphere. wrote down a lot of Socrates teachings. founded the Academy in 390 BC. his followers were later referred to as academics.
Aristotle
384-322 BC. Plato’s pupil. believed that all things on earth could be logically grouped into species and categories by analyzing their inherent properties and qualities. He was a universal academic and the founder of Western logic. established a school called the Lyceum.
Herodotus
c. 480-425 BC. he is thought of as the father of history. wrote a lenghty prose account of the Greco-Persian War but also about the events leading up to them (the rise of the Persian Empire). recorder many customs, traditions and histories of different peoples and states in Asia. claimed that his work is based on research and on critical assessment of the information.
Thucydides
c. 460-400 BC. wrote the unfinished history of the Peloponnesian War. he narrowed the scope of study to politics and warfare. he came close to distinguishing between cause and occasion.
historical writings after Herodotus and Thucydides
from the 5th century onwards the history writing diversified. histories of individual poleis were also written. in the 4th century universal history emerged as a sub-genre. some works focused on the extraordinary individuals. at the same time, the rhetorical teachings started to influence this writing style as well. the history of Sicilian Greeks was also dabbled.
