Chapter3presentation

Chapter Three:

Classical Greece and the

Hellenistic Period

Culture and Values, 6th Ed.Cunningham and Reich

The Classical IdealClassical period (479-323 B.C.E.)

– AKA Golden Age of Greece – unparalleled richness in artistic & intellectual achievement

Contributions of “pioneers”– Diverse subjects: drama, medicine, math,

painting, sculpture, government

Search for order and control– “Nothing too much” – perfect balance in

life; everything in proportion, nothing in excess

The Classical IdealGreek cultural life no longer dominated

by Athens– Individual artists followed their own

personal visions

Value of human potential, capability– Individuals can achieve order by

understanding human actions and motives

Central principle of Classical Ideal: existence can be ordered and controlled

The Classical Ideal

Parthenon honor human achievement and Athens as much as to honor goddess Athena

Athenians existed in a world of tension and violence– Tragic inability to put into practice

their own noble ideas and live in peace with other Greeks

– Led to Peloponnesian War– Greek search for order is significant

AthensPolitical and cultural center of

Greece during first half of Classical period– Most powerful people in the Greek

world

Exemplar of human achievement– Defeat of Persians (479 B.C.E. )

Athens

Democratic Government– First established in late 6th century– Male citizens were required to

participate in government• Ecclesia – General Assembly • Boule – directing council• Magistracies – individual • Also eligible to serve on juries

AthensDelian League – defensive

organization of Greek city-states– Guard against future attacks– Money collected was kept on the

politically neutral island, Delos– Suspicions arose the Athens was

looking to strengthen its power rather than protect all of Greece

– Funds were moved to Athens, and some was used to pay for Athenian building projects, including the Parthenon

Athens– Peloponnesian War (431- 404 B.C.E.)

• League members warred against the Athenians (Thebes, Sparta, Corinth)

– Spartans led an alliance against Athens

Thucydides – History of the Peloponnesian War– Describes course of the war

• Accurate and impartial

– Not meant to entertain, but to search out truth

– Died before its completion

AthensPericles – Athenian leader

– Hero of History of Peloponnesian War– Began his career after transfer of

Delian League funds– Constructed Acropolis during few

remaining years of peace• Made the glory of Athens visible

– Pericles died in 429 B.C.E.– No successor could be found who was

capable of winning respect and support

Athens

404 B.C.E. – Athens surrendered unconditionally to Spartans and their allies.

Drama Festivals of DionysusTheater = was a religious ritual

– Evolved from choral hymns sung in honor of the god Dionysus

– Theaters were regarded as sacred ground; participation in religious ritual

Surviving plays were performed at one of two annual festival sacred to Dionysus before an audience of the entire city’s population.

Drama Festivals of DionysusAuthors submitted 4 plays:3 Tragedies (trilogy) + Satyr Play

– Satyr play – lighthearted play; comedy– Plots – often drawn from mythology

• Dealt with relationship between human and divine

– Actors and props• Wore masks, elaborate costumes, and

raised shoes

Drama Festivals of Dionysus

– Function of Chorus• Forms a group centrally involved in the

action• Represents the point of view of the

spectator• Divided action into separate episodes by

singing lyric odes

Surviving texts of the plays represent only a small part of the total experience of the original performances– Music, action, choreography missing

Drama Festivals of DionysusAthenian Tragic Dramatists – differing

world views of the authors illustrate changing fate of 5th-century Athens

Aeschylus• Earliest of the playwrights (525-456 B.C.E.)

– Works show:• Optimistic philosophy/themes• Deep awareness of human weakness• Dangers of power• In the end, right will triumph• Process of being able to recognize what is

right is painful


Aeschylus– Orestia trilogy: Agamemnon, The

Libation Bearers, The Eumenides• Won 1st prize in festival of 458 B.C.E. at

Athens• Subject of the trilogy: Growth of

civilization represented by the gradual transition from primitive law (vendetta -blood for blood) to rational society of civilized human beings


Agamemnon – King Agamemnon led Greeks to victory at Troy and returns home to Argos. He killed (sacrificed) his daughter Iphigenia to have an easy passage through a war campaign. His wife, Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus murder him when he returns. – She murders him for two reasons:

• 1. Vengeance for her daughter’s death• 2. Replace Agamemnon with Aegisthus


Libation Bearers – Orestes, Agamemnon’s exiled son, returns to Argos to avenge his father’s death by killing his mother. – Primitive law of vendetta requires him

to act even though this act will transfer guilt to him

– The Furies drive him mad and force him from his home


The Eumenides – (The Kindly Ones)– Violence can only be brought to an

end by the power of reason and persuasion

Orestes comes to Athens and stands trial for the murder of his mother. Athena presides over the trial. The Furies demand condemnation, but Apollo defends Orestes and he is acquitted.

Drama Festivals of DionysusSophocles

– Most prosperous and successful of the three dramatists

– Plays express less positive vision of life than that of Aeschylus

– Explores and develops individual characters rather than expound on a point of view

– Combines an awareness of tragic consequences of individual mistakes with a belief in the collective ability and dignity of the human race

Drama Festivals of DionysusWrote Antigone, & Oedipus the KingAntigone - Antigone’s brother, Polynices

attacks his home city of Thebes and is killed. His uncle Creon, king of Thebes, forbids anyone to give him proper burial. Antigone disobeys, claiming that her religious and family obligations are more important than the state. Antigone, Antigone’s fiancee (Creon’s son), and Creon’s wife all commit suicide.

Drama Festivals of DionysusAntigone

– Creon’s stubbornness and bad judgement result in tragedy for him and Antigone

– Sophocles emphasizes how much lies outside human control; destiny or gods control what happens

– We should respect and revere forces we cannot see or understand

– Makes him the most traditional religious tragedian

Drama Festivals of DionysusOedipus the King – Oedipus is doomed or

fated before his birth to marry his mother and kill his father. He attempts to avoid his fate, and finally discovers that he has failed. – Aristotle says that the downfall of a tragic

figure is the result of hamartia (character flaw)

– Oedipus’ pride and stubbornness is his flaw.

– Flaws in character overcome his good points and destroy him.

Drama Festivals of DionysusEuripides

– Expresses weariness and disillusion of war-torn years at the end of the fifth century

– Concern for realism, and rationality– Determination to expose social,

political, and religious injustices– Did not regard the gods as worthy of

respect and worship• Charged with impiety

Drama Festivals of Dionysus– Exhibits profound sympathy and

understanding for the problems of women who live in male-dominated society

– Deepest hatred reserved for war its senseless misery

– The Suppliant Women – Mothers beg Theseus, ruler of Athens, to recover the bodies of 7 chiefs killed in war

• Reminded of the grief of wives and mothers , and war that was happening

– Expressed wide range of emotions

[Image 3.5]

The ancient theater at Delphi

Aristophanes (450-385 B.C.E.)

Athenian comic poet– Greatest comic poet of 5th century

B.C.E.

Combines political satire and fantasy– The Birds – Two Athenians leave to find

a better place to live. Join with birds and build Cloudcuckooland in midair. Cuts off communication between gods and humans. Zeus hands over authority to the birds.

Aristophanes (450-385 B.C.E.)

– Lysistrata – deals with how to prevent war

– Women refused to make love with their husbands until peace was negotiated between Athens and Sparta. Women also seize the Acropolis. Men make peace.

The Fall of Athens

Athens was removed as dominating force in Greece and no successor arose.

Philip of Macedon (359 B.C.E. )– Northern kingdom of Macedon exerted

unifying influence.– Macedonian Empire

• 338 B.C.E., Battle of Chaeronaea• Defeated Athenian and Theban forces and

unified all the cities of Greece, with the exception of Sparta

The Fall of Athens

Alexander the Great – Philip’s son– Carried out the plans of his father after

his assassination in 336 B.C.E.– Enlarged the empire and destroyed

the Persian empire

Philosophy in the Late Classical Period

SocratesIn 399 B.C.E., he was found guilty of impiety and

leading youth to question authority; he was executed

Socratic Ideas:– Fate of the individual– Questioning traditional values

Socrates wrote nothing, and did not start a school– We know about his ideas from the writing of his

disciples

Philosophy in the Late Classical PeriodTaught in public places and private

gatherings; questioning & testing ideas– Unlike Sophists, he did not take money

for teaching or start a school

After his trial and sentencing, his friends urged him to escape from prison.– Strength of his own morality and

reverence for the laws stopped him.

Philosophy in the Late Classical PeriodXenophon – Greek historian

– Account of life and teachings of Socrates

– Apology, Symposium, Memorabilia

Philosophy in the Late Classical PeriodPlato

– Dialogues – claim to record the teaching of Socrates

– Socratic Problem – questions how much of the work is historical truth or Plato’s own ideas/inventions.

• Early works preserve Socrates’ views and methods, but later works may use Socrates as the spokesman for Plato’s ideas


Plato– Disciple of Socrates

• Apology – describes Socrates’ last days• Crito – explanation for why Socrates

refused to escape from prison • Phaedo – last days discussing death and

immortality with friends• Plato left Athens and traveled


– Returned to Athens in 387 B.C.E.– Established The Academy – first

permanent institution in Western civilization devoted to education and research

• Forerunner of universities

Philosophy in the Late Classical Period– Academy – Curriculum

• Mathematics, law, and political theory

• Purpose was to produce experts for the service of the state

• Plato taught and died in Athens, 347 B.C.E.

– Work deals with political theory / ideal society

• Theory of Forms – perfect forms in a higher dimension of existence; phenomena in the world is a pale reflection of the perfect forms

– Careful breeding of children; censorship of music and poetry, abolition of private property


Aristotle– Pupil of Plato, developed his master’s

doctrines, then looked at them critically – Founded The Lyceum – school founded in

competition with the Academy• Cut ties with Plato, introduced rival

philosophy

– Platonist vs. Aristotelian


– Mornings: Aristotle lectured to full-time students

– Afternoons: students study and research in library ; general lecture for public

He wrote on every topic of serious study at the time


– Metaphysics – most complex of Aristotle’s works

• Deals with Plato’s Theory of Forms - forms were actually present in the objects we see around us, not 2 realities

• Nature of God – “Thought thinking itself”

– Physics - elements that compose the universe and the laws by which they operate; physical world ruled by supreme being

– Rhetoric – ideal model of oratory


– Poetics – ideal model of poetry and definition of tragedy

• Formula for tragedy: Tragic hero must be noble; possesses a tragic flaw that leads to a bad end: reversal or fortune or death

• Catharsis – The audience experiences a “cleansing” of the soul through emotional and intellectual relations with this tragic figure

– “Master of those who know.” – great creative and intellectual range

Music in the Classical PeriodPopularity of instrumental music

– No longer mere accompaniment to dramatic performances and poetry

Doctrine of Ethos – music had the power to influence human behavior– Study of music in education – Plato: participation in musical activities

molded character for better or worse• Ban on certain kinds of music with the

“wrong” ethos

Music in the Classical Period– Aristotle: music had more practical value in

the attainment of virtue• Numerical relationships in music allowed the

musician to compose works that imitated highest state of reason and virtue

Pythagorean principals– Octaves – series of 8 notes– Fourths – represents the space between the

lowest note and the fourth note up the octave

– Combination of tetrachords formed a mode

Music in the Classical PeriodHarmony – “Joining together” – in

musical context Greeks used it to describe various kinds of scales

Rhythmic instrumentation: tied to words or dance steps

Musical notation: probably borrowed from the Phoenicians

Fifth Century B.C.E.:

Sculpture and Vase PaintingArtists were concerned with ideas

of balance and orderNew interest in naturalism, realism

– Representing human body in motion– Myron’s (Discobolus) Discus Thrower

(Fig. 3.6)– Realistic treatment of action with

idealized portrayal of the athlete


Sculpture and Vase PaintingNew standard of human beauty

– Controlling human form according to proportion, symmetry, and balance

– Riace Bronzes (Fig. 3.7) represent warriors


Sculpture and Vase PaintingPolykleitos of Argos, The Canon

Devised a mathematical formula for representing the perfect male body, ideal canon of proportion

Ideal beauty consisted of a precise relationship between the various parts of the body

Doryphoros (Fig. 3.8)Bronze statue that illustrated his theory

Power of human intellect produced ideal beauty


Sculpture and Vase PaintingBegan to focus on individual rather

than a generalized ideal– Shift occurred due to the

Peloponnesian War– Artists began to depict emotional

responses of ordinary people to life and death

– Death and mourning became common subjects (Figs. 3.9 & 3.10)

• Scenes on oil flasks used for funerary offerings


ArchitectureDesigners were concerned with proportion and interrelationship

of various parts the make up the whole structureTemple of Zeus at Olympia (Fig. 3.11)

– First great artistic achievement after Persian Wars• Begun 470 B.C.E., Finished 456 B.C.E.• Largest Doric temple on mainland Greece

– Proportion and interrelationships• Distances were equal and proportionate • Theme of order


ArchitectureSculptures from Olympia express

conviction that justice will triumph and gods will enforce it

Art of second half of 5th century – more concerned with human achievement than divine will.

Fifth Century B.C.E.: Architecture The AcropolisPericles’ building program –

represents supreme expression in visual terms of Classical ideal– Entire program was meant to

perpetuate the memory of Athens’ glorious achievements

– Built with Delian League funds– Phidias– work done under his

direction began in 449 B.C.E.

Fifth Century B.C.E.: Architecture The AcropolisParthenon (Fig. 3.14) – first building

constructed– Temple to Athena (Parthenos)– Combines Doric columns with Ionic

features• Ionic feature: continuous running frieze in

side the outer colonnade• Doric feature: entasis of columns

– Perfection of the architectural execution required mathematical precision

• Tribute to Classical search for order

Fifth Century B.C.E.: Architecture The Acropolis3 techniques of carving

– Pediments – freestanding figures– Frieze – Low relief carvings– Metopes – High relief carvings;

illustrate mythological battles• (Fig. 3.15, 3.16)

Preoccupation with proportion and balance– Ideal beauty represented in realistic

terms

Fifth Century B.C.E.: Architecture The AcropolisPropylaea – entrance to the Acropolis (Fig. 3.18)– Begun in 437 B.C.E. – Doric and Ionic columns are used

Erechtheum – Ionic temple of complex design– Chief technical problem: Entrances on

different levels due to the uneven ground level

– Commemorated a whole series of religious events and honored several different deities

Fifth Century B.C.E.: Architecture The AcropolisElaborate and delicate decorationBest known feature: Porch of the

Maidens or South Porch (caryatids – female statues used in place of

columns) (Fig. 3.19)Conceal the structural functions of a column

behind its form

[Image 3.19]

Porch of the Maidens

Fourth Century B.C.E.:

The Visual ArtsIdealism and herioc characters of

High Classical art were replaced with interest in realism and emotion– Fate of the individual (paralleled

Plato’s ideas)– More emotional facial expressions

• Mood of dreamy tenderness

Three dominant sculptors: Praxiteles, Scopas, Lysippus

Fourth Century B.C.E.: The Visual ArtsPraxiteles

– Immense influence on his contemporaries

– Gentle melancholy – style

Hermes with Infant Dionysus (3.21)Aphrodite of Cyrene (3.22)

– Female body = object of beauty– One of the first attempts in Western art

to introduce the element of sensuality

Hermes with Infant Dionysus

-Praxiteles

Aphrodite of Cyrene

- Praxiteles

Fourth Century B.C.E.:

The Visual ArtsScopas

– Emphasis on emotion and intensity in his artwork

• Pothos (Desire) (Fig. 3.23) – Roman copies

Lysippus– Official portraitist of Alexander the Great– Focused on Individual characteristics,

proportion, large scale works, and concern for realism

• Apoxyomenos (The Scraper) (Fig. 3.24)

Pothos - Scopas

Fourth Century B.C.E.:The Visual Arts

Sanctuaries at Delphi and Olympia were expanded

New cities were laid out at Rhodes, Cnidus, & Priene using Classical principles

Invention of building forms new to Greek architecture, including the tholos (circular building)

Fourth Century B.C.E.:The Visual Arts

– Tholos of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, Delphi(Fig. 3.25)

– Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; most grandiose

End of Classical Greece– Alexander died in the summer of 323

B.C.E.; the division of his empire into separate independent kingdoms spread Greek culture even more widely.

• Even as far away as India (Gandharan)

The Hellenistic Period

Alexander’s general’s inability to agree on a successor led to the division of Macedonian Empire– 4 most important kingdoms that split

off: Syria, Egypt, Pergamum, Macedonia

– Spread of Greek influence• Greek verb “to Hellenize”

Alexandria, Egypt was the greatest of all centers of Greek learning


The Museum or Temple of the Muses– Planned by King Ptolemy– Library contained everything of

importance written in Greek, up to 700,000 separate works

– Destroyed by fire when Julius Caesar besieged the city in 47 B.C.E.

The Hellenistic PeriodTo maintain importance of Greek

culture (and fend off foreign influence), rulers turned to visual arts– Inspired by Alexander’s spirit of

adventure and experiment, artists began to discover new subjects and invent new techniques

– (Fig. 3.26)

Alexander the Great


Artistic freedom vs. Classical order– Classical: clarity and balance; order;

calm and restrained• Most of Classical work had been created

for the state

– New style (Hellenistic Art): emotional; expressive; perpetual motion and reality (i.e., riotous confusion)

– Development of realistic portraiture


New patrons = new artistic roles– Rulers and wealthy businessmen

commissioned works for lavish decoration for cities or adorn private palaces and villas

Architects began to design marketplaces, theaters, scientific and technical buildings– Fig. 3.27 – Lighthouse at Alexandria

The Hellenistic PeriodPergamum – wealthy city ruled by

dynasty of kings known as the Attalids– Layout of the city represents a rejection

of Classical concepts of order and balance (Fig. 3.28)

Altar of Zeus at Pergamum– Chief religious shrine erected by

Eumenes II– (Fig. 3.29) – frieze decoration depicts

battle of gods and giants


– Altar represents the most complete illustration of the principles and practice of Hellenistic art

• Rich, elaborate, detailed,

Laocoön (fig. 3.30)– freestanding piece of sculpture


Return to Classic principles – artists and public were weary of the richness and elaboration of Hellenistic style

Roman conquest brought an end to Hellenistic Greece

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