Chapter 6 Greeces Golden and Hellenistic Ages

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Chapter 6 Greeces Golden and Hellenistic Ages

• Section 2 Philosophers and Writers of the Golden
  Age

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Section 2 Philosophers and Writers of the Golden
Age

• As Greece entered its golden age, philosophers
  (lovers of wisdom) and writers began to think
  about the nature of the universe and of human
  life. While the Greeks still honored the old
  gods, they took pride in human accomplishments.
  As the playwright Sophocles wrote, Many are the
  wonders, none is more wonderful than what is man.

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I. The Rise of Philosophy

• One of the Greeks greatest achievements
• was philosophy, the study of basic
• questions of reality and human existence.
• Philosophers believed the world is based
• on natural laws, or truths, which can be
• discovered through reason

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A. Socrates

• One important philosopher was Socrates, who
• challenged students to test their own values
• and ideas

Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)
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A. Socrates

• Accused of denying the existence of the gods
• and corrupting Athenian youth, Socrates was
• found guilty and executed

Death ofSocrates by Jacques-Louis David (French,
1748-1825)
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B. Plato

• A student of Socrates was Plato, a young
• aristocrat who founded the Academy for
• teaching philosophy

Plato (427-347 BCE)
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B. Plato

• Plato believed all things were imperfect
• expressions of perfect universal forms.
• Human beings consisted of two parts, the body
• and the soul

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C. Aristotle

• One of Platos students, Aristotle, founded his
• own school

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
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C. Aristotle

• Aristotle collected facts and organized them
• into systems, establishing the foundations for
• anatomy, botany, and zoology

Aristotle's Scheme of Matter
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II. Mathematics, Medicine, and Science

• The Greeks explained the world in terms of
• natural laws that could be observed and
• defined rather than as the work of gods

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A. Pythagoras

• Pythagoras was a philosopher who believed
• that everything could be explained in terms of
• mathematics

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B. Hippocrates

• Hippocrates, the founder of medical science,
• wrote medical studies based on observation,
• experiment, and experience

Hippocrates c.460 BC - 377 BC
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B. Hippocrates

• He taught that disease comes from natural
• causes, not as punishment from the gods, and
• advocated rest, fresh air, and a proper diet

Walking is man's best medicine. As to
diseases make a habit of two things - to help, or
at least, to do no harm. There are in fact two
things, science and opinion the former begets
knowledge, the latter ignorance. Healing is
a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a
matter of opportunity. Prayer indeed is
good, but while calling on the gods a man should
himself lend a hand. A wise man should consider
that health is the greatest of human blessings,
and learn how by his own thought to derive
benefit from his illnesses.
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C. Herodotus

• Herodotus was the Father of History
• Thucydides believed that studying the past
• helps us understand human nature

Herodotus 484 BC-ca. 425 BC
Thucydides 460 - 404 BC
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III. Greek Theater

• Greek writers produced great works of
• literature and developed many of the literary
• styles in use today

The Large Theater in Pompeii was built in the
usual Greek fashion which utilized the natural
slopes of a hillside. The theater could
accommodate 5,000 people. An enormous cloth
canopy was used to protect the audience from the
sun and wind.
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A. Drama

• Athenian writers were the first to write
• dramas - plays containing action, dialogue and
• involving conflict and emotion

Greek Chorus
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B. Tragedies

• Sophocles defended traditional Greek values
• while Euripides questioned many old beliefs
• and ideas

Sophocles   496-406
B.C.E.
Euripides c. 480
406 BC
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C. Comedies

• Aristophanes poked fun at Socrates and used
• comedy to make Athenians think about the
• causes and effects of war

Aristophanes c. 448 BC-380 BC