Architecture of the Golden Age of the Athenians
- Key Buildings
- the Acropolis was the main group of buildings in Athens that looked over the city
- sacred area that is one of the most recognizable monuments in the world
- 9 years to build and was completed in 438 BC
- cost $3 billion in today's money
- The Parthenon and other buildings on the acropolis were all built between 460ad-430 BC under the leadership of Pericles
- used for political and cultural
- cost over $3 billion in today's money
- built between 447bc and 432BC
- it was one of the biggest construction projects of the ancient world
- The Porch of Caryatids has six columns holding up the roof are
- all female figures were each sculptured differently and engineered so that their slender necks could take the weight of the roof and; still look in real and elegant
- started building in 421 BC -406 BC
- cost $130 million to build
- Greek art in the Golden age
- the most divine, and complex sculptures of this time are the sculptures of the Athenian Acropolis
- the earliest of these are the Parthenon sculptures. In time soon became a church
- built between 447BC-432BC
Purpose of buildings
- buildings were built to show cultural and political achievements of Athens
- Others were used to honor gods and goddesses such as Athena
- the goddess Nike also had buildings to worship
- Athens has walls that would surround the city for protection and defense
- Buildings were used for many reasons such as praise and worship buy and sell items, drama, educations and law making
The Parathenon
- The famous Parthenon building is to worship the great Goddess Athena
- a temple to honor and praise
- celebrate the ending of the Athens war with Persia
The Agora
- towns people would come here to buy and sell their goods with each other
- marketplace
- food-lettuce onions alive oil wine
- house items furniture...
Theater of Dionysus
- was meant for dramatic plays
- social life
- many big events
- pure comedy
- actor or watched
Gymnasium
- children would go to get education
- 6 or 7 left homes to go to the school
- boys and girls were separate
- parents had to pay for the private schooling
- big all kids went
Pnyx
- Athenians would go to this building to gather around and decide on the laws and rules of the town
Key Players
Pericles' plan for Athens was to get the greatest Greece architects to build things
Socrates
- lived from 470-399BC
- son of a sculptor
- served in the Athenian army during the clash with Sarta
- He was short and stout and not very handsome
- was attracted to a young boy soldier
Plato
- lived from 437-347
- Socrates prized student in philosophy
- Aristocles was his real name
- Pirates captured him and his friends tried to buy him back
Aristotle
- lived from 384-322 BC
- born in small greek colony called Stagira
- he was a teacher of thirteen year old Alexander for 4 years
Military and Delian League
Tactics
- phalanx-formation used in battle of Marathon around 500 BC
- one major downside to it used against cavalry
- the horses in the cavalry could quickly ride around the phalanx and attack the weak side
- Athenians used mountains for natural protection
Naval Warfare
- athens used naval warfare during the Pelopnnesian
War - shipped grain and food into city
- used ships called trireme
- fought by ramming and boarding enemy ships
- major naval force
Key players
Pericles
- politician, democrat
- general
- Athenian
- ruled Athens from 461-429 BC
- led victories in the Peloponnesian and Persian war
Socrates
- philosopher
- Athenian
- 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
- teacher 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 478BC
- under the control of Athens
- HQ was in Delos
Goals
- free Ionian Greeks from Persia
- protect Aegean Sea
- used sea power
- Athens was the leader
- Persia was run out of the Aegean Sea
Famous Battles
Persian War
- Major battles: Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis
- Marathon
- 25,000 Persians met 10,000 Athenians
- Persians fled after hours of fighting
- around 6,000 Persians died while there were very few Athenians
Thermopylae
- 7,000 Greeks and 300 Spartans
- Stood up to the Persians for a long time
- Persians found a way around the mountain
- 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 city
Peloponnesian War
- broke out in 431 and went until 404
- Battle of Pylos
- 425 bc
- Athenian naval forces were out attacking Zacynthus
- Spartan troops decided to attack walled city called pylos
- over 2000 Spartan troops
- tried attacking sea side wall
- Spartans failed to capture Pylos before the Athenian naval fleet could return
- tried blocking
Weaponry and Armor
- Swords
- Iron knives compared to bronze knives
- arrowheads
- sling bullets-steel and clay
- shield-bronze
- archery
- spears
Who participated in the Army
- had to meet a certain requirement
- male
- 18 or older
- own land
- have the mandatory 2 years military training
- this system is much different than the old ways
- Old ways
- rich
- had to buy your weapons
- poor man could not afford to fight in the war
- resulted in rather small army sizes
Soldiers
- from age 18-60 all physically fit men went to the military
- most of the soldiers were the heavily armored infantry called hoplites
- young epheves adolescent males trained for 2 years
- Hoplite attendants light armored men usually poor citizen or trusted slaves
- most of the older wealthier citizens that could raise their own horse were part of the cavalry corps
- Scythian police archers
roles
- if they only needed a small force they would only take the people from 20-24 years old
- but if it was a crisis they would take everyone
- the hoplite attendants carried the hoplite's shields and other supplies of theirs until they fought
Geography
- Greece bordered the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea and the East Mediterranean Sea
- Greeks thought the Sea was a beautiful element
- Gained many things/freedom environment
- shipping people traveled where they could always see land
land
- longest river in greece is the Aliakmon
- riverbeds tend to dry up
- grew barley-the growing of barely was less demanding and more productive
- olive plantations
- grapes were very popular in greece b/c of the rocky soil
- houses on the land were made of wood
- goats and sheep were most common animals in greece
- provided fur, milk, and meat the people
- chicken and geese were grown and eaten
- oxen were on the land but very rare
- donkeys and mules 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 were adjust the climate changes
- winters in the mountains can be rigorous and snowy
trade and Colonazation
- important role as the furthest outpost of greek culture
- bronze, silver and gold vessels olive oil wine and textiles
- luxury items and exotic raw materials
- Mediterranean basin-trade route
- little soil and farmland
- 20% of land
- barely grapes and olives
- grapes bronze age
- grain crops were planted in October and harvested in April or may
agriculture
- diet based on cereals
- barely durum wheat, millet and common wheat
- home to many Olive trees
- provided olive oil
- 20 yr to provide fruit
- every other year
Farming
- small farming villages were set up by people who came from the north
- average holding size was 5.6
mining
- Lavrion mines
- greek word lavra
- means narrow passage or tunnel describing the characteristics of mining galleries
- silver production was so high
- decline of the mines came during the Peliponnesian War
resources
iron
bronze, flax,clay, timber, grain, wheat and barley, animals hare boar deer, leather
Battle of Thermopylae-narrow coastal pass
- the hot gates
- not near the sea
- Phalanx in between the pass
Battle of Salamis
-took place on Salamis island
- located in Saranic Gulf
- Greeks fought with ships
- 366 guarded
- greeks held off well with the help of the gulf
Peloponnesian War
- Athens vs. peloponnesian league led by Sparta
- southern Europe
jobs
- farmers-grew enough to support their families, if they had enough they would sell at local market
- greek blacksmiths-used iron and ore to create swords, plows, axes, and other tools, they would use hammers to shape the metal into weapons or tools
- craftsman-most shops were family owned and small, could specialize in their work depending on size of the city, smaller community in charge of making beds, plows and doorframes, large-in charge of creating one thing
- doctors/medicine-medicine during this time was limited in its ability to cure diseases, they believed sickness was brought on by imbalance in four substances known as humors, blood, yellow bile ,black bile and phlegm
- merchants-traders, owned boats or rented cargo space on their boats, known as metrics were often foreigners, involved a number of risks
- bankers-changed money from other city-states into local currency, often loaned money for trading voyages, rate of their loans varied
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