Ancient Greek Literature

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Ancient GreekLiterature

• Exploring the Classical Period
• 480-400 BC

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Victory, Prosperity Defeat

• Athenians founded a massive naval empire in 478.
  This accomplishment replaced the Spartans as the
  leaders of Greece. Their power continued to grow
  and eventually led to war with Persia. Greatly
  out-numbered they managed to defeat the Persians
  in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. This is the
  start of what historians refer to the Classical
  Period.
• During this era a great leader came into power.
  Pericles was an aristocrat-his father an admiral
  and his mother a member of the Alcmaeonidae clan.
  While Pericles was in power, he dedicated money
  to the advancement of literature, philosophy and
  the arts. Socrates, Plato, Euripides and
  Aristophanes are just a few of the great men that
  molded the Golden Age.
• With the death of Pericles and the loss to
  Sparta in the Peloponesian War (431-404), Athens
  would decline. However, the Athenians
  degeneration would only be temporary. Late
  classicism and the Hellenistic age would bring us
  such achievers as Alexander the Great, Aristotle
  and Archimedes, just to name a few.

3
Culture

• An unusual balance was held during this time
  between the rights of the individual and the
  welfare of the Athenenias as a society. They
  cherished freedom, beauty, truth and justice.
  Civilized living was their goal and the optimism
  that lived in this time period made greatness
  possible.
• A general fascination with the world prompted
  enthusiastic artists to work like never before.
  Philosophy, art, architecture, literature and
  theatre were taken to a higher level during in
  the Golden Age. They were competitive, proud and
  eager to leave a legacy.

Classical Greece
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Philosophy Science

• Plato
• (427-347)
• Socrates
• (469-399)
• Protagoras (481-411)

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Plato

• Plato was a student of Socrates. His influence
  on philosophy is illustrated in his written work
  and through his foundation of the Academy at
  Athens.
• Plato's writings were in dialogue form.
  Philosophical ideas are in the context of a
  conversation or debate involving two or more
  people. The earliest collection of Plato's work
  includes 35 dialogues and 13 letters.
• Apology gives the substance of the defense made
  by Socrates at his trial. It was a bold
  justification of his life. He was condemned to
  die, although the vote was carried by only a
  small majority. When Socrates made an ironic
  counter-proposition to the court's death
  sentence, proposing only to pay a small fine, the
  jury was so angered that it voted by an increased
  majority for the death penalty.

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Plato continued....

• Republic is an attempt to unite rational,
  ethical, and religious principles. It is meant
  to be a detailed presentation of the rigorous
  intellectual training of future rulers.
  Criticizing the doctrines of atheism and
  materialism, Plato reaffirmed his idealistic
  position and asserted his belief in the moral
  government of the universe and the immortality of
  the soul.
• Other works from Plato
• Charmides - an attempt to define temperance
• Lysis - a discussion of friendship
• Meno - a discussion of the nature of
  knowledge
• Laches - a pursuit of the meaning of
  courage
• Platos influence on philosophy is immeasurable.
  After witnessing Socrates death, he left to
  travel Italy, Sicily and Egypt. He spent the
  later part of his years lecturing at the Academy
  and writing. He died at about the age of 80, in
  Athens.

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Socrates
Socrates believed in the superiority of argument
over writing and spent the greater part of his
life in the marketplace and public places of
Athens. He engaged in dialogue and argument with
anyone who would listen or who would submit to
interrogation. What we know of him is only
through Platos work, Socrates didnt write
anything down. His rhetoric inspired Athenians
to examine their lives and their presumed virtue.
He was popular with the young intellects who
shared his views and despise of the self-serving
politicians. This attitude would lead to his
death . He was sentenced to death via hemlock.,
and his legend is narrated by Plato in Phaedo.
The Death of Socrates
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Protagoras

• Protagoras was a friend of Pericles and won
  great fame as a teacher and philosopher. He was
  the first thinker to call himself a Sophist and
  to teach for pay, receiving large sums from his
  pupils. He gave instruction in grammar, rhetoric,
  and the interpretation of poetry. His chief
  works, of which only a few fragments have
  survived, were entitled Truth and On the Gods.
  The basis of his speculation was the idea that
  nothing is absolutely good or bad or true or
  false. Each individual is his or her own final
  authority. He is quoted as saying "man is the
  measure of all things." He is said to have been
  the first to make the grammatical distinctions of
  moods in verse and of genders in nouns.
  Protagoras died at about the age of seventy .
  Charged with impiety, Protagoras fled into exile
  he drowned on his way to Sicily.

man is the measure of all things...
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Literature Drama

• Sophocles 496-406
• Euripides 480-406
• Aristophanes 450-380

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Epidauros at Athens14,000-seat amphitheater in
which a festival of ancient Greek drama was held.
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Sophocles

• Sophocles was a general, a priest and the most
  popular dramatist in Athenian history. He was
  the son of Sophillus, a wealthy armor-maker.
  Sophocles was provided with the best traditional
  aristocratic education. As a young man in a
  dramatic competition, he defeated Aeschylus,
  whose preeminence as a tragic poet had long been
  undisputed.
• Sophocles won first prize about 20 times and
  never placed below second. His most popular work
  is Oedipus the King. He was not politically
  active or militarily inclined, but the Athenians
  twice elected him to high military office.
• He too, was an associate of Pericles. In 406
  BC, he died at about the age of 90.

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Select Work from Sophocles

• Antigone is a lyrical drama. It is based on the
  struggle of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, and
  her feelings of morality against the repression
  of her uncle Creon. When Oedipus dies there is a
  struggle for power between his two sons. The two
  brothers kill each other and Oedipus'
  brother-in-law Creon becomes king. Once he is
  king he decrees that Eteocles will be given a
  noble burial and Polynices will be left to rot.
  He also decrees that anyone trying give Polynices
  a religious burial will be sentenced to death.
  Creon discovers that Antigone has buried her
  brother. Antigone would rather die then live in
  the oppressive world of Creon.
• Oedipus the King is a tale of murder, incest and
  suicide. This drama is a quest for truth.
  Oedipus marries Jocasta, the widowed queen. He
  has to find his way through difficulties. His
  final triumph is solving the riddle of the sphinx
  and saving Thebes. After his return, he fathers
  four children with Jocasta. 

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Euripides

Euripides was born about 480 BC, the day of the
great naval battle between the Greeks and the
Persians. Historians argue about his parentage.
Some say he belonged to nobility, others say he
was of humble origin. In any case he received a
thorough education. He won first prize in 442
BC. Despite his prolific talent, Euripides won
this distinction again only four times. Aside
from his writings, his chief interests were
philosophy and science. Euripides' plays were
criticized for their unconventionality and their
natural dialogue. His heroes and princes spoke
the language of everyday life and of their
independence from traditional religious and moral
values. Sophocles had said I portray men as
they ought to be, but Euripides portrays them as
they are. In the latter part of his life
Euripides left Athens for Macedonia.
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EuripidesThe gifts of a bad man bring no good
with them. Medea

• Medea, a violent barbarian sorceress, takes
  revenge on her husband Jason who has re-married
  and deserted her in a foreign land. Her fury
  manifests itself initially in calm tones and
  controlled speeches, but ends in the killing of
  her own children.
• Electra is the portrayal of Orestes homecoming.
  He and his sister, Electra, kill their mother and
  her new lover. Electra is driven by her devotion
  to her dead father and revenge is what motivates
  her. Orestes will be pursued by the Furies for
  his part in the avenging of their fathers
  untimely death.

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Aristophanes

• Aristophanes wrote more than 40 plays, of which
  11 still exist. He was a satirist. He is
  referred to as the founder of old comedy. He
  used the stage to fight hypocrisy, greed,
  corruption and war.
• As earlier stated, Athens went through a
  period of cultural and social change which
  allowed him many targets to write about.
  Favorites included politicians, poets, and
  philosophers.
• His works were written in a form related to that
  of contemporary tragedy. They include dialogue
  scenes, choral commentary, lyric passages, and a
  great deal of music and dance.

These are Aristophanes marvelous plays, so
often crowned with ivey from his deme. What
Dionysian pages, and how clear That ringing
voice of comedy edges with charm- Heroic
dramatist fit to take on Greece, Hating the bad
and making fun of it. Alistair Elliot,
translator
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Aristophanes

• The Clouds satirizes Socrates, whose
  penetrating analysis of established values
  Aristophanes considered opposed to the interests
  of the state. He depicted Socrates as a Sophist
  that taught logic, right or wrong and for a fee.
  It was general opinion that this drama damaged
  Socrates trial.
• Lysistrata is a satire on war, in which women
  strike for peace by practicing celibacy. It is
  his most famous work. It illustrated the
  futility of war. The warriors, when forced to
  choose, decide peace and love is better than war.
  
• The Frogs include attacks on Euripides and
  Aeschylus. The two contend for the throne of
  poetry in the underworld.
• Knights is the first of the plays of
  Aristophanes to be presented under his own name.
  It is a satire about Athenian politician and
  military leader Cleon. He specifies the bad
  characteristics of politicians a horrible voice,
  bad breeding and vulgar mannerisms.

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Works Cited

• Beye, Charles Rowan. Ancient Greek Literature
  and Society. Anchor Press, 1975.
• Chodowiecki, Daniel Nicholas. The Death of
  Socrates. 18th - 19th century
• 9 November 1999. Fine Arts Museums of San
  Francisco. lthttp//socrates.clarke.edugt
• Dover, K.J. Ancient Greek Literature. Oxford
  University Press, 1980.
• Greuter, Johann Friedrich. Socrates and His
  Students. 17th century
• 9 November 1999. Fine Arts Museums of San
  Francisco. lthttp//socrates.clarke.edugt
• Lamm, Robert C. The Humanities in Western
  Cultures. Fourth Edition. Arizona State
  University, Retired, 1996.
• Morkot, Robert. The Penguin Historical Atlas of
  Ancient Greece. Penguin Book, 1996.
• The Oxford History of the Classical World.
  Oxford Univeristy Press, 1986.
• The Theatre of Ancient Epidauros. 1997. 10
  November 1999
• lthttp//www.cs-net.br/argolis/theatre.htmlgt
• Thomas, Lowell. The Vital Spark. Doubleday and
  Company, 1959.