Week of September 18th - September 22nd - Blogs

Monday and Tuesday -

Testing

Wednesday -

Democracy and Greece's Golden Age
- Direct democracy: people have the power directly without representation
- Classical art: art of ancient Greece and Rome in which harmony, order, and proportion (symmetry) were emphasized
- Tragedy: a play in which something bad happened to main character (usually someone with power)
- Comedy: a humorous play (making fun of themselves or people in power)
- Peloponnesian War: a war between Athens and Sparta (two Greek cities)
- Socrates: a Greek philosopher that founded western philosophy
- Plato: a Greek philosopher that believed that society should be made up of three groups: farmers, warriors, and the ruling class
- Aristotle: a Greek philosopher who was known for questioning the natural world, human belief, thought, and knowledge
Golden Age of Athens
- 477-431 BC
- Came about after Greece defeated the Persians
  - Persians tried to invade several times but Greece prevailed
- Drama, sculpture, poetry, philosophy, architecture, and science flourished
- Known as "Age of Pericles"
  - Pericles was the leader of Athens at this time
  - Led Athens in the Peloponnesian War
  - Skillful politician, inspiring speaker, respected general
Pericles' Plan for Athens (461-429 BC)
- Three goals for Athens
  - 1. Strengthen Athenian democracy
    - Increased the number of paid government jobs which benefited people who were not wealthy. Why would this make democracy stronger? Because before kings were top people and farmers and slaves had no power. If you give them jobs, they have more say in their government.
    - Instituted direct democracy
      - Citizens rule directly and not through elected representatives
  - 2. Hold and strengthen the empire
    - Helped establish and eventually led the Delian League after the Persian Wars
      - Alliance of Greek city-states to protect themselves from further attacks from the Persians
    - Grew Athens navy which would help Athens strengthen the safety of its empire
    - Started dominating other city-states which led to conflicts, especially with Sparta
  - 3. Glorify Athens
    - Used money from Delian League to buy gold, marble, and ivory to make Athens a beautiful city
    - Used money from Delian League to hire artists, architects, and workers to build buildings and sculptures
    - Phidias was hired to build the Parthenon (masterpiece of architectural design and craftsmanship)
      - Goddess Athena statue inside of Parthenon
        Phidias made of gold and ivory
        30 ft tall
        Goddess of wisdom and protector of Athens
    - Greek sculptors focused on beauty, not realism
    - Classical art focused on simplicity and being well proportioned

Thursday -

Greek Drama - Tragedy and Comedy
- A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
  - The hero usually was an important person and often gifted with extraordinary abilities
  - A tragic flaw usually caused the hero's downfall, usually excessive pride
  - Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King, a famous tragedy
- A comedy contained scenes filled with humor
  - Playwrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas of the time
  - Aristophanes was a famous writer of comedies
  - The fact that Athenians could listen to criticism of themselves showed the freedom that existed in democratic Athens
The Start of History
- Herodotus pioneered the accurate reporting of events
- Thucydides believed that certain types of events and political situations recur over time
  - Studying those events and situations would aid in understanding the present
  - The approaches Thucydides used in his work still guide historians today
Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)
- Fought between Athens and Sparta
- Came about as a result of Sparta not liking Athens growth of wealth and power in the area
- Athens was acting like bully - Pericles wanted everything for Athens
- Sparta had a better army, Athens had a better navy
- With the help of a plague that hit Athens, Sparta eventually won

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