The Golden Age

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Take out your Pericles Questions Homework.

Question 1

Explain the opening quote: “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.”

Answer

Pericles is explaining how his laws are his own; they do not imitate the laws of other city-states. Instead, his laws set the example for other city-states to follow.

Question 2

Cite the text to explain how Pericles’ government was a direct democracy. What characteristics did his government make up?

Answer

A direct democracy is a system in which all citizens make decisions about their government. According to the text, Pericles believed that citizens should participate in and take an interest in the democratic process. Under his leadership, the assembly became the central power of the city-state of Athens. All free-born male citizens had the right – and the responsibility – to serve in the assembly. In this matter, Pericles set up the first direct democracy in Greece.

Question 3

Why do you think the Golden Age of Athens is sometimes called the Age of Pericles? Cite the text to explain your response.

Answer

According to the text, Pericles led Athens for 40 years. Under his leadership, Athens grew to be a great city-state. He had many new buildings constructed, including the Parthenon, a temple of the city-state’s patron goddess, Athena. Theaters, baths, and other buildings were built and opened to the public. Pericles also hired artists to tell Athens’s history in paintings, statues, plays, and poetry. This period included a flowering of culture and building. Because Pericles was the leader throughout all of this process, it is sometimes referred to as the Age of Pericles.

Golden Age

Architects designed:

1. Government buildings2. Schools 3. Temples 4. Theaters

Artists decorated with murals Athenian playwrights considered best in

Greece

Mythology

Temples built to honor godsStatues of gods createdScenes from Greek mythology painted

Pericles

Directed architects and builders to create beautiful structures

Parthenon

Supreme Court

Acropolis

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial (Continued)

Greek Columns

Discobolus

Pericles Sculpture

Remember…

Hesiod

Greek poet and author, wrote down the myths and legends that had long been told in Greek mythology

Homer

Greek poet and author of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Much of what we know about the Mycenaeans comes from his stories.

Aesop’s Fables

The Shepherd Boy and the WolfThe Hare and the TortoiseThe Ant and the Grasshopper

Atlas

Greek Theatre

Sophocles

Ancient Greek writer of tragedies, or serious plays

Aristophanes

Ancient Greek writer of comedies, or humorous plays

Activity

Turn to pages 326 and 327 of your textbook.

Science, Mathematics, and History

Pythagoras

Greek philosopher and mathematician; the inventor of geometry

Pythagorean theorem

Hippocrates

Greek physician known as the Father of Medicine

Democritus

Greek scientist and philosopher

Herodotus

Greek historian who traveled throughout most of the world known to the Greeks during his time

Thucydides

Greek teacher who is considered the greatest historian of ancient times

Socrates

Greek philosopher who taught by asking questions

Plato

Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and teacher of Aristotle

Aristotle

Greek philosopher and tutor of Alexander the Great. He is considered one of the greatest thinkers of all time.

Wrap Up

Who was your favorite person of the Golden Age of Athens? Why?