Ancient Greek Life

Ancient Greek Politics

- pioneers of philosophy and ethics.

- many famous greek philosophers included: aristotle, plato, and sophocles

• government

- independent city states

- invented democracy

- oligarchy: small group of people with power

- monarchy: power is held by royal family

Ancient Greek Lifestyle

• Social Norms

- only rich men were traditionally educated

- schooling focused on military, math, science, and poetry

- women, children, and slaves were not considered citizens

- women had no rights; could not vote, go to school, or own land

• Religious Foundations

- polytheistic; believed in multiple gods

- high respect for the dead; in order to pass onto the afterlife, they had to be buried

Ancient Greek Theater

- based on religious beliefs

- purpose of mythology: to explain the natural world and human behaviors

• Ritual to Art

dionysus - god of wine; into theater and entertainment

aeschylus - playwright; thought to be the 1st

- theater never showed violence, only implied

- always men actors

Aristotle and Greek Tragedy

• Sophocles

- surviving ancient playwright

- 7 plays survived throughout the years

The Oedipus Myth

• oedipus

- mythical king of thebes

- prophecy was to marry his mother and kill his father

- four children: eteocles, polyneices, antigone, and ismene

• riddle of the sphinx

- “what has 4 legs in the morning, 3 in the evening, and 2 at noon?” (human)

- oedipus was upset when he had gotten the correct answer, and blinds and exiles himself

• after his death, the 2 brothers fight during the rotation of thebes and both die. eteocles gets an honorable burial, while polyneices does not.