Athens golden age

Architecton

The master architect/builder (originally "master carpenter") overseeing construction and infrastructure.

Stages of Greek Architecture

Archaic (800–479 BCE), First stone temples; functional and sturdy. Classical/Hellenic (479–323 BCE), Refined, balanced, and elegant. Hellenistic (323–146 BCE), Highly ornate and dramatic.

Doric

(9th–6th Century BCE) Simple, squat, sturdy, and functional columns with no base.

Ionic

(6th–4th Century BCE) Thinner, elegant columns featuring a base and scrolled volutes (spirals) on the capital.

Corinthian

(4th–2nd Century BCE) Highly ornate, very thin columns with an acanthus leaf capital.

Capital

The decorated top piece of a column that varies by order.

Flute

The vertical grooves carved into a column shaft.

Architrave

The main beam resting across the tops of columns; the lowest part of the entablature.

Pediment

The triangular upper part of a building, usually containing narrative sculptures.

Cornice

The decorative molding projecting out along the top of the building/roof.

Metope

Part of the frieze; the square space between triglyphs often decorated with relief sculpture.

Triglyph

Part of the frieze; a tablet with three vertical grooves (inspired by original wooden beam ends).

Coffered

Recessed square stone panels in a ceiling to reduce weight and create an airy feel.

Amphitheater

Open-air structure built into hillsides for optimized seating and acoustics.

Arches

Structures allowing for elegance and weight support via the keystone (later perfected by Romans).

Archaic Smile

The stiff, "creepy" facial expression on Archaic statues intended to suggest life/well-being.

Kouros / Korai

Kouros (nude male) and Korai (clothed female); stiff, unnatural Archaic statues.

Weight Shift (Contrapposto)

A relaxed, naturalistic pose where weight is shifted onto one leg.

Kritian Boy

An early Classical statue; the first known example of contrapposto.

Platonic Canon of Proportions

The philosophical idea that beauty is found in perfect mathematical ratios and balance.

Phidias

Master sculptor of the Golden Age; oversaw the Parthenon and created the Athena Parthenos.

Doryphoros

"The Spear Bearer"; a statue demonstrating the perfect "canon" of proportions.

Apoxyomenos

"The Scraper"; a sculpture showing an athlete cleaning himself, representing the highs/lows of existence.

Theatron

"The seeing place"; the semi-circular seating area.

Orchestra

"The dancing place"; the circular stage area for the chorus.

Skene

The structure behind the stage used for scenery and costume changes.

Dionysus

God of wine/revelry; honored by festivals that birthed Greek theater.

Satyr

The oldest form of theater featuring "goatmen"; used lowbrow humor and debauchery to mock power.

Satire

Literary work using mockery, exaggeration, and parody to speak truth to power.

Tragedy

Grappled with heavy themes (love, justice, pride) and Hubris; cleanses the heart through Catharsis (pity and terror).

Comedy

Developed from Komos (drunken processions); evolved from political mockery (Aristophanes) to situational "sit-coms" (Menander).

Maenads

Female worshippers of Dionysus; used as a symbol of volatile human emotions.

The Trinity of Tragedians

Aeschylus, Earliest great tragedian; focused on divine retribution (Oresteia). Sophocles, Aristocrat/General; explored human law vs. divine law (Antigone). Euripides, Created human/relatable characters; viewed gods as projections of human lust (The Bacchae).

Masks

Used by actors to differentiate parts and amplify sound.

Protagonist / Antagonist

The main actor versus the opposing character.

Chorus

Narrators acting as the "moral compass" and providing commentary.

Tragic Flaw

(Hubris) Excessive pride or arrogance leading to a character's downfall.

Panathenaic Festival

Major Athenian festival featuring music, art, and athletic competitions.

Philosophers

"Lovers of wisdom"; used reason to understand the world.

Sophists

"Workers of wisdom"; professional teachers of rhetoric who used Sophistry (clever but fallacious logic) for personal gain.

Pre-Socratics

Thinkers before Socrates (e.g., Milesian School) who focused on the Archē (the origin/nature) rather than the gods.

Socrates

Focused on ethics and human conduct; wrote nothing down; creator of the Socratic Method (cooperative dialogue/questioning).

Plato

Student of Socrates; founder of the Academy and writer of The Dialogues.

Aristotle

Student of Plato; focused on empirical logic and the "Golden Mean."

The Cynics

Advocated for virtue by living in agreement with nature and rejecting all possessions.

Delian League

A naval alliance headed by Athens; intended for defense against Persia but became a tool for Athenian Empire.

Thalassocracy

A state with a seaborne empire based on naval supremacy and commerce.

Cleruchies

Athenian colonies in disloyal states; inhabitants kept citizenship and acted as garrisons.

Pericles

Golden Age leader and Strategos; used Delian funds for the building program (Parthenon, Propylaea, Erechtheum).

Cimon

Pro-Sparta military leader; ostracized after Sparta rejected Athenian help during the Helot revolt.

Ephialtes

Successor to Cimon; restricted the power of the Areopagus and shifted power to the Ecclesia; his assassination paved the way for Pericles.

Megabyzus

Persian tactician who defeated Athens in Egypt by draining the Nile tributaries.

Peloponnesian League

Spartan-led alliance; the "anti-Delian League."

Thirty Years Peace

445 BCE treaty stating leagues could not interfere with one another; disputes had to be settled by arbitration.

Ecclesia

The Popular Assembly of all citizens; voted on laws, finance, and foreign policy.

Boule

Council of 500 (50 from each tribe); prepared the agenda for the Ecclesia and managed daily affairs.

Ostracism

Constitutional right to exile a citizen for 10 years via names written on pottery shards (Ostracon).

Civil Magistrates

Includes the Archon (chief magistrate/civil cases), Archon Basileus (religious matters), and Polemarch (military/foreign affairs).

Areopagus

150 retired citizens; served as jurors for homicide cases.

Thesmothetai

Six judges who organized the courts and selected juries.