Friday 9.14

Athenian Religion

were polytheistic
- the believe in more than one god
Gods of the Greeks in Athens
- Zeus
  - was the king of all the gods
  - he was the ruler of the sky, thunder, and lighting
  - he ate his pregnant wife that was going to have Athena because he didn't want to get overruled by his offspring
  - Athena broke out of this skull
  - Zeus had two brothers named Poseidon and Hades
- Athena
  - she was one of the most important goddesses in Athens
  - she was the goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, defense, and strategic warfare
  - daughter of Zeus and Hera
  - she was fierce and brave in battle but only fought to protect her homeland
- Hera
  - was the goddess of the gods
  - she was also the goddess of women and marriage
  - was Zeus's wife
  - her mother Rhea and her father Cronos
- Hades
  - was the god of the underworld and dead
  - brother of Zeus and Poseidon
  - he was very greedy and was always trying to increase his numbers
- Poseidon
  - was the god of the sea
  - his weapon was the trident and it could sake the earth and shatter any object
  - his brother were Zeus and Hades
  - he was second in power for the gods only behind Zeus
- Hermes
  - main role was to be a messenger for the gods
  - he had winged shoes and a winged hate that is what he is most known for
- Ares
  - was the god of war
  - he was very aggressive and unpopular with the gods and humans
  - he personified the brutalness of war
  - Ares was immortal but when he was ever hurt in battle he would run back to his father Zeus and be healed again
- Hephaestus
  - was the god of metalwork and fire
  - was born lame and weak and was an outcast of Olympus
  - made the gods weapons and artifacts
- Apollo
  - was the god of prophecy
  - he is the patron of healing
  - was very popular with the mortals
  - was a master archer and fleet footer
  - it's said he won the first Olympic games
- Aphrodite
  - was the goddess of love and beauty
  - she was loved by all the gods and humans
  - she married Hephaestus and had many children
- Dionysus
  - was the god of win, wine making ecstasy, and celebrations
  - Zeus was his father
- Demeter
  - was the goddess of fertility of the earth, crops, nature, and season
  - many humans praised her so that they could have a good harvest
  - she is the sister of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades
- Artemis
  - was the virgin goddess of the hunt, moon, animals, archery, and childbirth
  - was a aster archer and practiced
  - is well known for the 6 golden horned deer to pull her chariot
  - is the daughter of Zeus, sister of Apollo
Why did they pray?
- the Greeks believed that they had to worship and please the Gods in order to have good fortune
- the Greeks participated in a number of rituals, rite, ceremonies and sacrifices in order to impress and placate the Gods
- Greek religion was ritual based, practicing a flexible set of beliefs, it made no claims of universality, they did not proselytize, they had no hierarchical system, or sacred texts.
Where did religion take place?
- temples, shrines and statues were erected as a designated place to offer sacrifices to the Gods
- the altar, usually located in front of the temple, was the most important part of a Greek sanctuary, not the temple. This is where people gathered to worship
How the Athenian religion compares to other Civilizations at the times
- Greek religion was a predominant form of early Paganism
- Their religion reflected many central ideas and concepts of earlier forms of Paganism, such as Druidism, both ancient and Modern and Witchcraft and Wicca
- the origins of Greek history has been lost in pre-history, the only knowledge that has remained is that the Greeks assimilated cults of pre-Greek inhabitants of the Peninsula
Athenian myths
- Daughter of Zeus
  - now Zeus, king of all the gods made his daughter with his bright-eyed Tritogeneia. Zeus put his daughter in his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil
- Contest of Poseidon and Athena
  - there was a half snake half man named Cecrops that had to find a patron for the city state of Athens
  - two gods were interested Poseidon and Athena
  - Cecrops asked from them to offer a fight truly valuable for Athens.
- the Minotaur
  - is a mythical creature that is part man part bull
  - lives in the center of the Labyrinth

Geography of Athens

Land
- located in Greece in Southern Europe
- includes thousands of islands
- mountains covered 70-80% of Greece
  - made of marble or limestone
  - limestone was in the hills that the city was located on
- surrounded by mountains:
  - Aigaleo - west
  - Parnes - North
  - Pentelikon - Northeast
  - Hymettus - East
Sea
- The Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Crete
- Peninsula that jets out into the Mediterranean Sea
- Southern Tip of Greece is called Peloponnesus
  - the isthmus, which is a narrow strip of land, connects the Peloponnesus to the rest of Greece
- Fish were a part of their diet
- used for trading and transportation
Climate
- Mild, wet winters
  - about 50 degrees
  - a lot of rain
  - mountains get snow
- hot, dry summers
  - about 80 degrees
- climate allows for a lot of outdoor activities
How did the geography hurt/help
- trade was easier and more common since the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea bordered Greece
- there was no harsh weather
- land was covered in mountains, therefore transportation was very difficult
- crops could be grown easily,, but farmland was scarce
Natural Resources
- lignite
- petroleum
- iron ore
- bauxite
- lead
- zinc
- nickel
- magnetite
- marble
- salt
- limestone
Trade
- sea trade was common in :
  - Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean Sea
- the most common ship in Greece was the cargo ship then the war ship
  - transported goods and made Athens prosperous
- the Athenians reached markets all over the Mediterranean as well as the far east as Egypt and Lydia
  - traded with many different kinds of people
  - expanded imports to new levels
- Athens economy soared
Farming
- farming was hard due to limited amounts of good soil and cropland
- 20% of land was for growing crops
- main crops:
  - barley, grapes, and olives
- grain crops were planted in October and Harvested between April and may
- olives harvest between November and February
- grapes picked in September
- Barley was the main cereal crop and was used to make bread, porridge, and flour
- farms 4-5 acres of land
- Athens just grew enough crops to provide for family and if they had extra then they would take it to the local market
- some very large farms were run by overseers
- one farmer made 20,000 drachmas in a year on a large farm
- average worker made 2 drachmas a day
Mining
- ore was common in Athens
- best known mine was the silver mines of Laurium
- their profits helped the growth of Athens
- slaves worked in the mines
- they made weapons, money, tools, and armor with the metal
Jobs
- did metal work because of the silver mines of Laurium
- druggists were usually female and they collected herbs to use them for medicine
- manual labor was performed by slaves
- people with artistic abilities created images of deities and sold them to believer
- farming
- only free citizens could sign up for the military

Ancient Athens Architecture and Art

Ancient Agora of Athens
- marketplace for social, commercial and religious events
Temple of Zeus at Olympia
- Ancient Greek Temple in Olympia dedicated to the chief of the Gods Zeus
- built between 472 and 456 BC
- Very model of fully developed classical Greek Temple of the Doric Order
Segesta's Temple
- political temple for the Elymian people
Delphi Treasury
- built to protect valuables
- such as gold or silver from representatives from city-states
Parthenon
- temple dedicated to Athena
- made of pentelic marble
- one of the most monumental representatives symbols of the culture
Athena
- the Parthenon was the temple of Athena and stayed intact until 1687
- there were two statues of Athena, one inside the Parthenon and one outside
- both statues of Athena are gone, but a temple from 400 BC remains that honors her
Acropolis
- mean the highest point of the town
- a home to kings, several temples, shrines, and sanctuaries
Arch of Hadrian
- monumental gateway across an ancient road in the center of Athens, leading to a complex of buildings and structure
Temple of Athena Nike
- made to worship the Greek Goddess of Athens
Greek Parliament
- palace for Kings Otto and George I
- also served as parliament and senate building
Ancient Agora
- marketplace for social, commercial, and religious events
Theatre of Dionysus
- where songs and dances were performed to honor Dionysus
Panathenaic Stadium
- where males compete in events similar to track and field
Library of Hadrian
- consists of lecture halls, studies, and a library
Art
- One of the things that survived to our day from the golden age is the Minoan art
- it provides insight into the culture that flourished in Crete
- not much art survived from the Prepalaial period
- the art in Athens is some of the most unique in the world
- their Artistic abilities were shown through sculptures, pottery, and jewelry
Theater
- the Athenians had great theater art in the golden age
- Arion created chorus singing and the chorus became part of plays
- one actor played multiple roles by wearing different mask and costumes
- the theater in itself was a semi - circle, the high class people like the, government officials and judges, mayors sons and then commoners sat in the middle to the back of the theater
- they had 3 different types of plays they performed: comical, tragedies, and satyr
Architecture
- the Greeks developed 3 architectural designs:
  - Doric is plain and sturdy
  - Ionic is thinner and more decorated
  - Corinthian is fancy

Greek Military

Delian League
- the Delian League was founded by the Athenians after the Persian Wars
- the name "Delian League" derived from the official meeting place of the League: Delos
- the league was sort of confederacy dividing Greece into 5 districts: Thrace, Hellespont, Ionia, Caria, and the islands
- it was a military organizations whose purpose was basically to keep pushing the Persian our of Greece
- over time, Athens stared turning the league into an empire
- the Pelopennisian War started as a result of the League making Athens too powerful - the League went up against Sparta and its allies
- the first member of the League that attempted to secede was Naxos
- after the rebellion was put down, they had to tear down their walls, give up their naval fleet, and lose their vote in the League
- other purposes of the League besides driving our Persia was to prepare for future invasions and organize a means of dividing the spoils of war
- the League, and thus the "Athenian Empire' ended in 404 BC when Spartans captured Athens
Grecian Warriors
- the ancient Greece roles in the war were to protect their country
- the warriors fought for their own personal glory instead of a n organized formation
- the soldier farmers had tended to their farms before battles
- death in war was the most glorious way to die
- outside of being the warriors they lived normal lives like picking crops and families
- the down side to being a warrior was you were almost a slave and you were supposed to fight whenever they called you to fight
Key Players
- Themistoles leader of the Greeks Perrsian War Spartans attempted to hold the pas of Thermopylae
- the Greek fleet was made of 300 ships, 200 of which were Athenian
- Themistocles wanted to stay at Salamis he began a fight by sending a servant to Xerxes saying Athenians wanted to switch sides
- Darius said his son Xerxes was associated with the Persian Wars
- Leonidas was a 5th century BC Spartan military king
- Archidamus II was king of Sparta from 469 to 427 BC. one of his conflicts was called the Archidamian War
- Phormio - most important Athenian commander during the Peloponnesian War
- all key players - Archidamus II, Themistocles, King Darius, King Leonidas, Xerxes, Demosthenes, Brasidas, Phormio, and Pericles

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Friday 9.14

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