Greek Lecture Notes

Greek Introduction (Standard 6)

1800's poet Shelly said, " We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have roots in Greece. But for Greece… we might still have been savages."


Contribution to our culture:

Alphabet
Words
Way of teaching
(Socratic Method, teacher asks questions, students work out the answers)
Public buildings have columns
Government/politics/voting
Art - shape of our paintings, proportions
Understanding of nature
sun = burning rock, not a god
medicine = Hippocratic oath


Greek Geography

Where was Ancient Greece located?

Entire Mediterranean
Southern Europe, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Northern Africa


Where is Modern Greece located?

Southern edge of Europe
Large peninsula
Size of Alabama or England
In 1990, had 10,000,000 people


What is the legend of Greece's creation?

God used sieve to strain soil to surrounding countries, the stones that were left in the sieve were dumped into the sea. Those extra rocks were what became Greece.


What is the land like of Ancient Greece prior to expanding to entire Mediterranean?

80% mountainous mainland
20% islands (437 islands)
tallest mountain = Mount Olympus (9,500') = home of gods
no major rivers or lakes
many good harbors (every point of land is within 85 miles of the coast)
little farm land (soil = sand and pebbles)
little fresh water during growing season (couldn't irrigate much)
few natural resources


What impact did the terrain have on Greece's development?

Little contact between villages
Overland travel difficult
Overland trade impossible
Sea trade routes lead to colonies
Sea trade was source of natural resources (food, metals, fiber) and ideas
(alphabet, Egyptian art, Eastern technologies)


What was the climate like?

mild Mediterranean climate (dry summers, mild temperatures)


Greek Economy



What crops did the Greek's grow?

Little else grew (local fresh vegetables),
Some fishing
Trade crops = olive oil (cooking, lighting), wine
(concentrated value, nonperishable)
Olive oil = gift of Athena
Still have small family run farms since olives must be hand picked, large machines damage them


How did the Greeks survive?

Had to trade since no local resources
Never could feed all their people

Greek Religion





What were the core beliefs of the Ancient Greeks?

Polytheists
Gods lived on Mount Olympus
No books or rules written down (no articles of faith)
gods controlled weather and world events
gods could become animals and people to visit the world
gods had personality flaws
(jealous, tricksters, angry, meddling, cheated, fought)
(acted like spoiled children that were never told no)


How did the Ancient Greeks live their faith?

Religion influenced every aspect of daily life
Gods provided assistance in day-to-day living
Worship was mainly giving offerings in exchange for guidance for life and healing for body
Unconcerned about afterlife, immortality came from life's achievements and glory
Olympics = religious celebration to honor gods, started 776 BCE
Sacred truce
Basis of calendar (e.g., time of Christ called 3 year of the 97th Olympiad)


Who were some of the major Gods?

Zeus - father of gods, thunder
Hera - Zeus' wife
Poseidon = sea
Apollo = sun
Aoleus = wind
Hermes = messenger
Aphrodite = love, wisdom


Greek Social Structure


If Greece if physically scattered, how was it united as a country?

Had a cultural identity
Common ancestor = Helen (lone survivor of ancient flood, not Helen of Troy)
Language = alphabet can still read 2,000 year old books, oldest spoken language in Europe
Religion = same gods
Activities = Olympics, story telling, epic poems


Why do we study the Ancient Greeks?

Western civilization is based on Greek's framework
Socrates - spent life seeking truth, angered authorities, sentenced to (poison hemlock)
"The unexamined life is not worth living.", now seen as of nobility and courage
Hippocrates - 40-377 BCE Great Physicians. doctors still pledge oath to respect life
Homer = storyteller, Iliad, Odessa
Plato = Socrates' student
Each individual has three capacities: reason (philosopher), spirit (warrior), appetite (middle class)
One predominates and determines our personality


What was family life like? (Compare two major, and competing, cities)

Athens: boys 7-18 went to school (reading, math, history, music)
s - no school
men = must never loose face in public, always defend and never disgrace family, very strong family loyalty
men spent time at agora (center of social life, politics, market, shrine, debate, sports)
women = "a woman should be everything inside the home and nothing outside"
marriage = grooms about 30 years old, brides about 16 years old
spouses had little in common (age difference, education level, worldly experiences)
1/3 of population were slaves (could earn their freedom)

Sparta: boys - 8 years old into army, learned war skills, beaten to learn
"Spartan existence" = harsh housing, meager meals, slept outside, comforts made men soft
women - ran everyday activities, had economic power
dominated by war and fear of rebellion because there were 10 slaves for every 1 citizen


What are the architectural influences we still see?

3 styles of columns
Doric - oldest, plain, geometric, simple, strong

Ionic - scroll top, slender, graceful

Corinthian - acanthus leaves

Greek Politics

How did Greek politics change over time?

1100 BCE conquered by Dorians with iron tools (Greeks had bronze)
Dark ages, little writing, unorganized politics
800-500 BCE small villages and nearby farms grew into city/states
Walled forts (acropolis = high city) for defense, became religious centers
Market surrounded acropolis
Banded together for defense from Persians
Originally ruled by king or tyrant (took by force, ruled alone)

500 BCE = Athenian Golden Age = Classical Period
400 BCE birth of democracy
Democracy = rule by the people
Every free male over 20 had one vote and full rights and participated in assembly
Decision by majority vote, (no representatives like USA version of democracy)
Athens still capital of Modern Greece
146 BCE conquered by Rome
Parthenon - temple from 500 BCE
Christian Church from 400 AD
Muslim Mosque from 600 AD
Blew up when Turks used it to store ammunition
(1895 full sized copy built in Nashville Tennessee)

Who was Alexander the Great?

Taught by Aristotle
Wanted to fulfill his dad (Philip II of Macedonia) to ruler entire world

135,000 soldiers attacked Persia
Freed Greek colonies from Persian control set up democracies
Alexander was ruler
Set up learning and Greek culture
Spread Greek language and religion
Center of learning became Alexandria Egypt, 500,000-scroll library
Adopted local customs
Control broke up after his
No one strong leader available as replacement so generals fought for control
Didn't groom anyone like Alexander had been groomed

What was the Trojan War?

Probably happened about 1200 BCE
May be more legend that true, written in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey,
(also Virgil's Aeneid, Aeschylu's Agamemnon, Sophocles' Ajax, and Euripides' The Trojan Women)\

At wedding of Peleus (King of Thessaly) and Thetis (a sea goddess)
All gods and goddesses are invited except Eris (goddess of discord)
In anger, Eris sends a golden apple inscribed, "For the most beautiful."
Hera (Zeus' wife), Athena (Goddess of wisdom), and Aphrodite (Goddess of love) fight over apple
Paris (son of King Priam of Troy) judges the dispute
He gave it to Aphrodite because she promises him "the beautiful woman in the world"
Unfortunately, the most beautiful woman in world is Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta
Paris takes Helen to Troy

Menelaus, and his brother, King Agamemnon, organize Greece to fight Troy and recover Helen
Greek army includes heroes Achilles, Ajax the Greater, Nestor and Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin)
to rescue Helen "whose beauty launched a thousand ships"
Zeus favors Trojans
Hera (Zeus' wife) favors Greeks

Greek army lays siege to Troy for 10 years
War turns against Greeks when Achilles refuses to fight
Achilles was insulted by Agamemnon (army's commander)
Insult was Agamemnon claims for himself a woman that had been Achilles' war prize
Troy's best fighter, Hector, drives the battle all the way to Greek's ships on the beach
Achilles pouts in his tent until Hector kills his best friend
Patroclus had been trying to rally Greek troops by wearing Achilles' armor in battle,
this had made his a special target to Hector
Achilles returns to battle and kills Hector
Achilles insults the gods by being disrespectful of Hector's body
(Achilles drags it behind his chariot around city for several days)
Paris (with help of god Apollo) shoots arrow into Achilles' heel, him

Greeks build Trojan horse and leave it outside walls of Troy
Greeks pretend to leave back to Greece
Really, Odysseus and warriors hiding in horse and ships hide behind a nearby island
Cassandra and other Trojans warn against taking horse into Troy
Cassandra had been blessed/cursed with prophesies that no one would listen to
Trojans take horse into walled city and celebrate their victory
That night, Greeks creep out of horse, open the city gates and slaughter the Trojans

Greeks take back Helen
Odysseus insults the gods by taking claim for victory
Gods curse King Odysseus so it takes him ten years to return to home to Ithaca






What was the Peloponnesian War?

Started in 431 BCE
29 years long
Ended the Golden Age of Greece
Athens = strong navy
Leader = Pericles (1 of 20 leaders, annually elected for 20 years)
Farmers etc fled into walled city
Plague killed 25% of citizens, soldiers, and Pericles
successors quarreled
Sparta = strong army
Got old enemy Persia to lend money to build navy
Won by destroying Athens's navy
Tossed out Greek's democracy
Replaced it with oligarchy
Athens rebelled and brought back democracy

Weakened all of Greece
Lead to invasion from North by dad of Alexander the Great (King Philip II of Macedonia)
This led to Greek culture traveling with Alex to Egypt, Persia and India



Midas and the Golden Touch

Midas, king of Phrygia, helped a friend of Dionysius (god of wine making)
In return for his kindness, Dionysisus granted Midas one gift, anything he wanted
Midas was a greedy king who loved gold
Midas wished that whatever he touched would turn into gold

Midas went into his garden and touched a rose, a bee, etc
His daughter came to him to see what he was doing
"Look daughter at my new gift! Do you like it?" Midas asked, holding a gold rose up to his daughter's face
"It looks ugly and there is no perfume. I want the old rose back!" his daughter said

Midas tried to comfort his daughter, but touching her, she turned to gold
"What have I done?" he cried in horror for he really loved his daughter more than gold
Dinner was a disaster, everything, bread, meat and wine turned to gold

"Oh lord, Dionysius! My wish was a foolish one! Please, please undo it!"
Dionysius heard him and told him to wash in the nearby river to cleans himself
Afterwards, Midas touched everything he had turned into gold to return it to its original form
Midas learned that wealth is useless unless you can put it to good use

Rivers still show the result of Midas' cleansing bath
Fool's gold is found along their banks (pyrite)


Hercules (Heracles)

Son of Zeus and a mortal woman
Hera (ever jealous) cursed him with fits of rage
Hercules born with super human qualities
Example: strangled a poisonous serpent while still a baby
Hercules kills his wife and children in a rage
Goes to oracle at Delphi and is told his punishment was to perform ten labors assigned by his cowardly cousin
King Eurystheus (Hera was guiding Eurytheus)

1. Kill Nemean Lion
skin like armor, arrow and spears useless
Hercules strangles it with his arms
Skin of lion made into helmet and cape he wears the rest of his life
2. Kill Hydra = crocodile with hundred dragon heads, each head with 100 poisonous teeth
got there (with cousin Iolaus) finds the crocodile with one head
cuts off head and and 2 grow, cut of two and 4 grow…
Hercules cuts off head and Iolaus touches stump with torch so no new head grows

3. Kill Ceryneian Hind (white deer with grass hooves and golden horns)
chases deer for entire year

4. Kill Erymanthean Boar - arrow proof skin, tusks like and elephant
chases into deep mountain snow

5. Clean out Stable of Augena
had to finish in one day
diverted a river by making river god jealous
(kissed his wife and ran with her to the stables)

6. Chase off brass-feathered, man-eating birds from Styphalian marsh
couldn't enter marsh or would sink in the mud
Athena gives his a rattle to scare the birds away

7. Fetch full of Crete
chased over mountains
overcame it using his hands
carried it back to Greece

8. Capture four carnivorous horses
(King Diomedes fed strangers to horses)
chased them to sea shore
fought king and army and fed them to the horses, captured horses

9. Steal golden belt from Queen of Amazons
queen fell in love with Hercules
Hera jealous, and spreads word that Hercules was there to kidnap queen
Amazon army rises up to battle Hercules, queen killed in battle
Hercules takes belt and runs

10. Steal cattle from King Geryon (3 bodies, 1 set of legs)
has 99-month time limit
Hercules shoots one arrow through all three bodies
Hercules goes over mountains with heard
Hera's messenger gives Hercules wrong directions (toward Italy)
Hera send stinging flies, cattle stampeded way to France
Hercules gets back just in time

Plus two more tasks since gods helped Hercules on two tasks

11. Steal three golden apples
kills guarding vultures
had to get immortal to pick 9humans would die if they picked apples)
gets Atlas 9who holds up the world) to do it
Hercules has to hold up the world while Atlas picking apples

12. Capture dog Cerberus - three headed dog guarding gates to underworld
Hercules goes to the world of the
Strangles dog until it passes out
Drags it back to King Eurystheus (who is so afraid he's hiding in a large jar)

Aftermath
Hera jealous of Hercules' success
As Hercules approaches home, his new wife was weaving a cape as a homecoming gift
Hera disguises herself and gives cream to wife saying it will protect Hercules
Wife smears it on the inside of the cape
Hercules puts on the cape but it burns him
It burns even worse if he takes it off
Hercules directs his friends to make his funeral pyre
Climes onto his own burning funeral pyre
Zeus takes pity at the last moment of lie and take Hercules up to Mount Olympus