Study Guide 3 for History of Western Culture
Topic 3 . Greek Civilization 希腊文明
Ancient Greek Timeline and Activities
about 3000 to 1450 B.C. Minoan Civilization
about 1600 to 1200 B.C. Mycenaean Civilization
about 1200 to 800 B.C. Dark Age of this area
about 800 to 500 B.C. Archaic Period
776 B.C. first Olympic games
490 to 479 B.C. Greek city-states join forces to defeat Persia
479 to 431 B.C. great strides in government, mathematics, science, philosophy, and the arts
431 to 404 B.C. Sparta defeats Athens in the Peloponnesian War
334 to 326 B.C. Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire
323 to 146 B.C. Hellenistic Age
146 B.C. Rome conquers Greece
The Palace Civilizations in the Aegean: The Minoans米诺斯
the island of Crete克利特岛(地中海东部)， the city of Knossos克诺索斯城
king Minos---son of Zeus and Europa
Cretan society---matrilineal society母系社会
written language: Linear A（古希腊的）A类线形文字
monumental sculpture — Lion Gate
The Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization迈锡尼文明
the Minoans were conquered by the Myceneans
written language (Linear B) （古希腊的）B类线形文字
the Trojan War特洛伊战争—King Agamemnon阿伽门农, 特洛伊战争中希腊军队的统帅
Cultural Influence of Homer's Iliad《伊利亚特》and Odyssey《奥德赛》
Dorians(古希腊中南部的)多里安人
Cultural Influence of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: the establishment of ‘Greek character’:
collective identity
Greek values and the Greek world view
two very important words repeated throughout the Homeric epics: honor (timé ) ,virtue or greatness (areté )
Dark Age (The Greek dark ages, Homeric Age)
The Rise of the Greek Polis --- the city-state希腊城邦
The City-State: Citizenship within a community
Government政府
Monarchy君主政治, Oligarchy寡头政治, Tyranny专制政治,Democracy民主政治
Sparta 斯巴达----SPARTAN TOTALITARIANISM
Client city-state of Messenia revolted C. 900 BC.
Legendary king Lycurgus
social classes
The descendants of the Dorians---- Spartiates (Citizens).
Descendants of the Ionians 爱奥尼亚人---Free people
Descendents of the Laconians拉哥尼亚人--- Helots (Slaves) , eugenics优生学
early Athenian government---an aristocracy
Ecclesia (Assembly) 市民议会; King; Archons执政官; Judges士师;
Democratic reformers:
Draco德拉古--- harsh laws, "Draconian". Solon梭仑 (594); Pisistratus (560 BC); Cleisthenes (508 BC);
Athens---absolute democracy by the middle of the 5th century BC:
ostracism贝壳流放, 陶片流放
776BC: The beginning of the Olympic Games奥运会的发源
unified national, spiritual and racial beliefs.
competitive -- to be the best is the highest honour
no material rewards--- the winners were presented with a simple olive wreath crown橄榄枝花冠
Poets and writers presented their works to a large audience
members of different city-states met to socialise
The First Persian Campaign (492 BC)
Hellespont (Dardenelles Strait) 达达尼尔海峡
The Second Persian Campaign (491-490 BC).
Battle of Marathon马拉松战役
The Third Persian Campaign (480-479 BC).
Delian League提洛联盟
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)
伯罗奔尼撒战争
The Athenians became the dominant city-state after the Persian wars.
Athens was rebuilt during this time into a beautiful city.
The Peloponnesian War destroyed the Age of Pericles.
The Spartan Hegemony斯巴达称霸404-371 B.C.
The Theban Hegemony底比斯称霸371-362 B.C.
state of anarchy and disunity
urbanism, cosmopolitanism, cultural blending
Alexander the Great(336-323 BC)
The Three Empires
Antignous: the Greek possessions
Ptolemy: Egypt and Palestine (Ptolemaic Kingdom)
Seleucus: the Asiatic possessions (the Seleucid Kingdom )
Ancient Greek Philosophy 585-250 BC
Pre-Socratic Philosophy
585 BC: Thales of Miletus , the "Father of Philosophy".
535-475 BC: Heraclitus of Ephesus 赫拉克利特(纪元前五世纪的希腊哲学家)
Heraclitus's influence --- Stoicism, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
Everything flows and nothing abides. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed. You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters and yet others go ever flowing on.
Confucius孔子 (551-479 BC) Master Confucius standing by a stream, said “ it passes on just like this, not ceasing day or night!”
c. 480-411 BC: Protagoras
c. 483-375 BC: Gorgias
427-347 BC: Plato柏拉图--- "Trial and Death of Socrates", "Republic"
384-322 BC: Aristotle 亚里斯多德
Plato's Contribution to Philosophy: carved out a subject matter for philosophy by formulating and discussing a wide range of metaphysical and ethical questions.
The Analogy of the Ideal Republic理想国的类比
The Allegory of the Cave洞穴说
Socrates: Often mistaken for a Sophist because he was skeptical and interested in human affairs
Questioning, “Socratic method”
Phaedo by Plato,
Charged of corrupting the youth and doubting the gods
Plato: A student of Socrates
The Academy
Attacks Sophist theory of relative truth
The imperfect surface of things conceal perfect, absolute, and eternal order
Doctrine of Ideas
It is in the Ideas that we will discover absolute truths and standards
Plato’s Republic《理想国》
Views on education, literature, arts, social and political thought
Human institutions should aim, not at complete individual freedom and equality, but at social justice and order
The state must be structured according to natural capacities
Aristotle
Student of Plato
Accepted Plato’s notion of the existence of ideas but held that physical matter also is a part of reality
By logical thinking, people can gain knowledge of the purposes of things and their interrelations
Politics: Analysis of major types of political organizations
Monarchy, Oligarchy, Democracy, The Golden Mean
Cynicism犬儒主义（玩世不恭）---Diogenes (400-325 BC) "No, not life itself, but living wrongly is evil"
Stoicism (derived from the Greek word "stoa," referring to a colonnade柱廊), Zeno of Citium(335-270 BC) taught in the stoa poikile in Athens, and his adherents accordingly obtained the name of Stoics.
Epicureanism伊比鸠鲁学说, Epicurus (341-270 BC
"eat, drink and be merry"
Athenian philosophers looked inward to the human mind and there discovered logos, Human Reason. With this discovery, they bequeathed to the centuries which followed a series of profound, important questions:
what is the nature of reality?
what is the nature of illusion?
what is knowledge?
what is the good life?
what is justice?
what is virtue?
why am I here?
what does it all mean?
When the Greeks proposed these questions they at the same time fashioned a world view, that is, a tool with which to understand man and man's place in the cosmos
Greek art reflected the ideals of the Greek culture.
Greek art began as decoration for pottery, also used as architectural decoration and construction.
Greek art reached its height in the mode of sculpture.
Greek Religion
Greek religion reflected Greek ideals.
Gods---Mt.Olympus human characteristics, human desires and weaknesses (Anthropomorphism).
Greeks celebrated their religion through festivals and oracles神谕.
the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
the Olympic Festival
Dionysus (Bacchus) 狄俄尼索斯(酒神, 即罗马神话中的Bacchus)--- The god of wine and of an orgiastic religion celebrating the power and fertility of nature.
Greek Gallery of the Gods was known as the "Pantheon".万神殿
Zeus; The chief god and god of weather.
Hera; Sister/wife of Zeus and protectoress of married women, children and the home.
Poseidon; Brother of Zeus and god of the seas and horses.
Pluto; God of the underworld of Hades.
Athena; Goddess of wisdom, virginity and protectoress of Athens.
Apollo; God of the sun, truth, music and poetry.
Hermes; Messenger of the gods.
Eros; God of love, who shot arrows of love into people.
Dionysus; God of fertility.
Artemis; goddess of the moon and hunters.
Demeter; Goddess of crops and fruits.
Ares; God of war.
Hephaestus; God of fire and artisans.
The Greeks also celebrated heroes who were not totally divine.
Heracles; Greatest of the heroes who had abnormal strength.
Oedipus; Hero who killed his father and married his mother.
Perseus; Hero who killed Medusa and slayed the Gorgon.
Jason; Sailed with the Argonauts in search of the "Golden Fleece".
Theseus; Killed the Minotaur.
Greek scientific thought
Pythagorus (582-504 BC); Pythagorean Theorem毕达哥拉斯定理, 勾股定理
Euclid (335-270 BC); Founder of modern geometry, The Elements of Geometry
Aristotle (384-322 BC); Philosopher-scientists, established the "Scientific Method", founded the disciplines of biology, zoology and botany.
Democritus (460-322 BC); Developed the first "Atomic theory"
Archimedes (287-212 BC) calculated Pi（π）, explained the concept of the lever, invented the compound pulley, theory of displacement as demonstrated by the "Eureka" story, the principle of buoyancy
Hippocrates (460-377 BC); The "Father of Medicine", "Hippocratic Oath"
Aristarchus (310-230 BC); the Heliocentric theory.
Hipparchus (C. 190-?); formed most of the trigometric functions, explained eclipses.
Eratosthenes (275-195 BC); head of the great library of Alexandria, founded the discipline of geography.
Greek Literature
epic poems: Homer "Iliad" and the "Odyssey", Hesiod (700-?) "Days and Works"
love ballads情歌
Sappho (612 -?)萨福(古希腊女诗人); First great woman writer in history, "Seizure" , "Ode to Aphrodite".
Pindar (518-438 BC) 品达（古希腊抒情诗人）; Great lyric poet, "Odes"
historical writing.
Herodotus (484-424 BC); The "Father of History", "History of the Persian Wars"
Thucydides (460-400 BC); "History of the Peloponnesian War"
Drama:
Aeschylus (525-456 BC) 埃斯库罗斯（希腊的悲剧诗人）; Father of Greek tragedy "Orestia Trilogy".
Sophocles (496-406 BC) 索福克勒斯 （古希腊悲剧家）; The greatest of the Greek dramatists, "Oedipus Rex"
Euripides (485-406 BC) 欧里庇得斯(希腊的悲剧诗人); "Trojan Women".
Aristophanes (450-380 BC) 阿里斯托芬（古希腊喜剧作家）; "Frogs" , "Clouds"