Architecture of the Golden Age of the Athenians
Key Buildings
- Acropolis was the main group of buildings in Athens that looked over the city - it is a sacred area - one of the most recognizable monuments in the world
- Cost and time - $3 billion in today's money - took 9 years to build and was completed in 438 BC
- The Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis were all built between 460 and 430 BC under the leadership of Pericles - used for political and cultural achievements
- Cost and time - $3 billion - built between 447 BC - 432 BC - one of the biggest construction projects of the ancient world
- The Porch of Caryatids had six columns holding up the roof
- All female figures were each sculptured differently and engineered so that their slender necks could take the weight of the roof and still look real and elegant
- Cost and time - $130 million - started building in 421 BC and was completed in 406 BC
Greek Art in the Golden Age
- The most divine and complex structures of this time are the sculptures of the Athenian Acropolis
- The earliest of these are the Parthenon sculptures
Purpose of Buildings
- Buildings were build to show cultural and political achievements of Athens
- Others were used to honor gods and goddesses such as Athena and Nike
- Athens had walls that would surround the city for protection and defense
- Used for many reasons such as praise and worship, buy and sell items, drama, education and law making
- The famous Parthenon building is to worship the goddess, Athena
- A temple to honor and praise
- Celebrate the ending of the war against Persia
- Agora - towns people would come here to buy and sell their goods with each other
- Marketplace
- Food - lettuce, onions, olive oil and wine
- House items - furniture, pottery, chairs and sofas
- Theater of Dionysus - meant for dramatic plays, social life, big events and pure comedy
- Gymnasium - children would go their to be educated - left home at the age of 6 or 7 to go to school - boys and girls were separated - parents had to pay for private schooling
- Pnyx - Athenians would go to this building to gather around and decide on the laws and rules of the town
Key Players
- Perciles' plan for Athens was to get the greatest Greek architects to build things like the Parthenon - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
- Socrates - lived from 470 -399 BC - son of a sculptor - served in the Athenian army during the clash of Sarta - short and stout - not very handsome - attracted to a young boy soldier names Alcibiades
- Plato - lived from 437 to 347 BC - prized student in philosophy - Aristocles was his real name - pirates captures him and his friends tried to buy him back
- Aristotle - lived from 384 BC to 322 BC - born in a small Greek colony called Stagira - was a teacher of thirteen year old named Alexander for four years
Questions
- 3 Key Players - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
- Why did they build the Acropolis? Political and cultural purposes
Military and Delian League
Tactics
- Phalanx
- Used in battle of Marathon around 500 BC
- One major downside to the phalanx is its use against cavalry
- The horses in the cavalry could quickly ride around the phalanx and attack the weak side
- Athenians used mountains and natural habitat to protect the weak side
- Naval Warfare
- Athens used it during the Peloponnesian War
- Shipped grain and food into the city - used ships called trireme - fought by ramming and boarding enemy ships - major naval force
Key Players
- Pericles
- Politician - democrat - Athenian general - ruled Athens from 461 to 429 BC - led victories in the Peloponnesian and Persian War
- Socrates
- Athenian philosopher - scrutinized
- Athens - praised Sparta - not well liked for that reason
- Plato
- Student of Socrates - wrote the dialogues that contain most of Socrates ideas
- Aristotle
- Student of Plato - teach to Alexander the Great later in life
- Archemides
- Well known mathematician - first to calculate pi
- Pythagoras
- Developed the Pythagorean Theorem
Delian League
- Coalition of Greek states and Athenians
- Founded in 478 BC
- Under the control of Athens
- Headquarters was in Delos
What did it do?
- Goals: Free Ionian Greeks from Persia and protect Aegean Sea
- Used sea power
- Athens was the leader
- Persia was run out of the Aegean Sea
Famous Battles
- Major battles of the Persian War: Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis
- Marathon - 25,000 Persians met 10,000 Athenians - Persians fled after hours of fighting - around 6,000 Persians died
- Thermopylae - 7,000 Greeks and 300 Spartans - stood up to the Persians for a long time - Persians found a way around mountains - Spartans let Greeks flee and stayed to fight - All 300 died
- Salamis - Greeks abandoned Athens - fought with their naval forces - Destroyed most of Persian fleet - Formed the Delian League to protect Greece
- Famous Battles of Peloponnesian War
- Broke out in 431 BC and went until 404 BC
- Battle of Pylos - 425 BC - Athenian naval forces were out attacking Zacynthus - over 2,000 Spartan troops - tried attacking sea side wall - Spartans failed to capture Pylos before the Athenian naval fleet could return
Weaponry and Armor
- Swords, iron knives, arrowheads, sling bullets (steel and clay), bronze shields, archery and spears
Who participated in the army?
- Certain requirements: male, 18 or older, land owner and two years of military training
- This system is much different than the old ways: rich and had to buy your weapons
- Poor men could not afford to fight in the war which resulted in rather small army
Different Kinds of Soldiers
- From 18 to 60 years old, all physically fit men went to the military
- Most of the soldiers were the heavily armored infantry called hoplites
- Young adolescent males (ephebes) trained for 2 years in a barracks
- Hoplite attendants: light armored men usually poor citizens or trusted slaves
- Most of the other wealthier citizens that could raise their own horse were part of the cavalry corps
- Scythian police archers
- Peltast
What were their roles?
- If they only needed a small force, they would take the people from 20 to 24 years old
- But if it was a crisis, they would summon everyone, even elderly
- The hoplite attendants carried the hoplite's shields (aspis) and other supplies of theirs until they fought
- The Peltasts were lightly armored and had javelins and a small shield (pelte)
Questions:
- Who was the leader of Athens during much of its golden age? Pericles
- Name two famous battles of the Persian War. Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis
Geography of Athens
Sea
- Greece borders the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea and the East Mediterranean Sea
- Greeks that the sea was a beautiful element
- Gained many things/a freedom environment
- Shipping people traveled where they could always see land
Land
- The longest river in Greece is the Aliakmon
- Riverbeds tend to dry up
- Grew barley - the growing of barley was less demanding and more productive
- Olive plantations
- Grapes were very popular in Greece because of the rocky soil
- Houses on the land were made of wood
- Goats and sheep were the most common animal which provided fur, milk and meat
- Chicken and geese
- Oxen were rare
- Donkeys and mules were used for traveling, they were called "dry animals"
Climate
- Mild, rainy winters
- Relatively warm and dry summers
- Lots of sunshine all through the year
- The mountains adjusted to the climate changes
- Winters in the mountains can be rigorous and snowy
Ancient Greek Trade and Colonization
- Important role as the furthest outposts of Greek culture
- Bronze, silver and gold vessels
Farming
- Little soil and farmland
- 20% of land
- Barley, grapes and olives
- Small farming villages were set up by people who came from the north
Ancient Greek Agriculture
- Diet - based on cereals
- Home to many olive trees
- Augmented vegetable hardens and orchards
Mining
- Lavrion Mines
- Means narrow passage or tunnel describing the characteristics of mining galleries
- Decline of mines came during the Peloponnesian War
Natural Resources
- Iron, bronze, flax, clay, timber
Different Jobs
- Farmers, blacksmiths, craftsmen, doctors, merchants and bankers
Questions
- What part of geography helped the Greeks during the Battle of Salamis? Aegean Sea
- What was the main crop and when were they planted and harvested? Barley, grapes and olives. Planted in April and harvested in October
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