ANCIENT GREECE: CULTURE

María Jesús Campos

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GREEK CULTURE

The Greek civilization

developed in the eastern part

of the Mediterranean Sea, in

the Balkan Peninsula, the

islands of the Aegean Sea

and the coast of Asia Minor.

Greece was not a unified

country as it was

geographically and politically

fragmented

However, it is considered a civilization as all the

people living in that area had the same language,

religion and they considered themselves as

members of the same culture.

The culture of Ancient

Greek combined with

the legacy of the

Romans is the basis of

our western culture.

The Greeks reflected

about the world that

surrounded them, about

man itself, about the

organization of society,

etc.

PHILOSOPHY

Invented by the Greeks

Purpose: use reason to examine

the nature of human beigns and

their interaction with the world.

Rational thought: use human

reason and not only religion to

explain complex phenomena.

Important philosophers:

Socrates

Plato

Aristotle

SCIENCE

Use rational thought to explain the

world around them. Hypothesis-

Antythesis-Thesis.

Important scientists:

Algebra and geometry: Thales of

Miletus, Pythagoras and Euclid.

Physics: Archimedes

Astronomy: Aristarchus of Samos

(proved that the Earht was spherical

and orbited the Sun); Anaxagoras (the

Moon received light from the Sun)

Medicine: Hippocrates

Geography: Eratosthenes (calculated

the circumference of the Earth)

History: Herodotus and Thucydides.

LITERATURE

Theatre:

Invented by the Greeks

Competitions and prizes every year

2 genres: tragedy and comedy

Tragedy showed human sufferings

and had sad endings. Important

authors: Aeschylus, Sophocles and

Euripides

Comedy: a satirical view of different

aspects of everyday life. Importatn

authors: Plautus and Aristophanes,

The cast was formed by man who

played all the roles. A chorus of

singers and dancers would provide

commentaries on the action.

Poetry: Epic poems: told the story

of heroes. Homer was the

most famous author. He

wrote the Iliad and the

Odyssey.

Odes: celebrated events or

people.

Lyrical poems: short poems

about nature and pleasure

like the ones written by

Sappho (a woman).

Developed by María Jesús CamposChusteacher

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