Greek Religion and Culture in the Classical Age

quiz 10/6

religion

polytheism and ritualism

polytheism

worship of many gods and goddesses

ritualism

worshipping the gods through correct public worship

homer

who shaped what greeks thought of diety

Hesiod

poet—theogony

theogony

genealogy of the gods: understood the gods through human terms

Mt. Olympus

northern Greece

largest mountain—awe of things in nature

Zeus

god of the sky, weather, king of the gods, depicted in human form

poseidon

god of the sea

hades

god of the underworld and death

brothers

zeus, hades, poseidon

Hera

goddess of women and marriage; zeus’ wife

Hestia

goddess of hearth—fireplace in every home; sacred: family and home

ares

goddess of war

aphrodite

goddess of love

war and love

powerful forces among humans

hermes

messenger, travel, and transition

hephaestus

god of blacksmith(making order out of chaos); fire

apollo

god of the sun, healing, music, prophecy

artemis

goddess of the moon, wildlife, hunting

twins

apollo and artemisia

athena

goddess of wisdom—patron of Athens in war

patron diety

each polis had one to protect them

arete

concept: excellence in battle—take challenges as opportunities and rewarded by the gods

justice

concerned about fairness

hubris

arrogant/excessive pride—like you’re setting yourself up to be a god

nemesis

the distributor of due proportion, righteous retribution, and the divine counter-force to human arrogance

oracle of Apollo at Delphi

places where a god was said to speak through a human

culture

humanism and rationalism

humanism

conscious celebration of human achievement

rationalism

celebration of human mind and what it is capable of

Herodotus

the father of history; from mythical to rational

Thucydides

more of a rationalist

science

natural philosophy—rational way of looking at the natural world

cosmos

seeing universe as an orderly system understood through reason

chaos

randomness; irrational

medicine

seeking rational causes of disease rather than referring to the gods

Hippocrates

use of clinical observation and experience to treat disease

temples

• most massive structures in Greek Polis

• centers of rituals

• highly decorated on the outside bc most ceremonies were held outside

colonnade

columns that go around

types of columns

doric, ionic, corinthian

doric

most massive, simple, strength

ionic

decorative

corinthian

leaf shaped, slender

parthenon

most important temple in Athens for Athena

five ideals

what do temples represent

reason, moderation, symmetry, balance, harmony

five ideals

reason

reflect rationalism, intelligence, good judgement: monuments, govt buildings, libraries

moderation

not excessive or extreme; within rational limits

symmetry

uniformity, consistency

balance

stability, solidity, reliability

harmony

peaceful as a whole

symmetry, balance, harmony

3 ideals used together

sculpture

reflect the 5 ideals

philosophy

invented as a specific discipline; love of wisdom; studying and improving human character; search for virtue

socrates

only fufilled reason; wandered streets of Athens questioning himself and others searching for virtue

plato

virtue is perfect and can only be found through contemplation—bc our world is imperfect

Aristotle

pupil of plato—believed opposite of him; rigorous examination of the world we live in and then look at the other world

polymath: first collect data then draw conclusions

tragedy and comedy

2 types of drama

dionysus

party god: wine, passion, freedom—drama grew out of a religious festival to him

chorus

group of 15 men who perform in the middle and interact with actors on stage

has group identity

major focus was humans

Sophocles

greatest of Athenian playwrights

won at festival

Antigone

what did Sophocles write

Thebes

where did Antigone take place

7

how many of the 120 plays of Sophocles survived

442 BC in the Golden Age

when was Antigone first performed

hero

antigone

villian

creon

tragic heros

what kind of hero were Antigone and Creon

creon

guarding the needs of many

antigone

guarding the needs of the few—family

the wonders of man

speech by chorus

pro creon speech

what was the wonders of man considered

Edipus

Antigone’s father

his mother

who was Edipus’ wife and baby momma

themes of antigone

• individual freedom vs. welfare/security of the polis

• loyalty to family vs. loyalty to polis

• loyalty to gods vs. loyalty to the polis

• female agency/initiative vs. patriarchy

• standing up for one’s beliefs vs. moderation/compromise

• most important: Hubris—>Nemesis