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    D 11 - Ancient Greece

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    Mohasin Niloy Ahmed 2121497642
    The document discusses ancient Greece from the Aegean civilizations to the Hellenistic period. It covers topics like the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, Athenian democracy, important Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Greek religion, and the spread of Greek culture and Hellenization under Alexander the Great and in the Hellenistic period.

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    D 11 - Ancient Greece

    Uploaded by

    Mohasin Niloy Ahmed 2121497642
    35 views32 pages
    The document discusses ancient Greece from the Aegean civilizations to the Hellenistic period. It covers topics like the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, Athenian democracy, important Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Greek religion, and the spread of Greek culture and Hellenization under Alexander the Great and in the Hellenistic period.

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    The document discusses ancient Greece from the Aegean civilizations to the Hellenistic period. It covers topics like the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, Athenian democracy, important Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Greek religion, and the spread of Greek culture and Hellenization under Alexander the Great and in the Hellenistic period.

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    35 views32 pages

    D 11 - Ancient Greece

    Uploaded by

    Mohasin Niloy Ahmed 2121497642
    The document discusses ancient Greece from the Aegean civilizations to the Hellenistic period. It covers topics like the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, Athenian democracy, important Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Greek religion, and the spread of Greek culture and Hellenization under Alexander the Great and in the Hellenistic period.

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    D 11: Ancient Greece

    M A Kawser, mohammad.kawser@northsouth.edu
    Timeline
    • Aegean Civilizations: Minoan (c. 2000-1600
    BCE) and Mycenaean (c. 1600– c. 1200 BCE) –
    emergence and decline of early Bronze Age
    civilizations
    • Dark Age (c.1200 – c. 800 BCE)
    • Archaic Period (c. 800 – c. 500 BCE)
    • Classical (Hellenic) – (c. 500 – 323 BCE)
    • Hellenistic (323–146 BCE)
    Minoan Fresco: “Bull Leaping”
    The Lion Gate, the main entrance of the citadel of
    Mycenae, 13th century BC.
    Greek Polis
    • Polis – Greek city states
    • Different forms of governance in Polis –
    ‘Tyrannis’ (rule by „Tyrants‟ or popularly
    approved political heads) – ‘Oligarchy’ (rule by
    small number of rich and powerful citizens) –
    „Democracy’ (rulers elected by all free adult male
    citizens)
    • Many city states – Athens, Sparta, Thebes,
    Corinth and others – frequent conflicts among the
    Polis
    Athens
    • Strong middle class - birthplace of Democracy
    • Direct democracy – not representative – limitation:
    only for male citizens
    • Peak of Athenian democracy under Pericles (c. 495-429
    BCE)
    • Centre of excellence in philosophy, literature, art,
    sciences
    • Centre of Classical civilization
    Greek Philosophy

    • Philosophia (love of wisdom) seeking purpose of


    human life – their place in society – based on
    secular rather than religious thinking
    • Search for an ideal state – free from corruption
    and political chaos - new ideas about nature,
    politics, human relations and values
    •Three great philosophers – Socrates, Plato and
    Aristotle
    Socrates

    Plato Aristotle

    9
    Socrates (469-399 BCE)
    • Focused on ethics and morality - no one would
    knowingly do a bad thing – knowledge resulted in good
    behavior – idealist philosopher
    • Honor and integrity more important than wealth and
    power
    • Dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic
    method - a problem broken down into a series of
    questions to find the desired solution
    •Claimed that he only knew that he knew nothing
    • Condemned to drink poisonous Hemlock for „corrupting
    the minds of the Athenian youth‟
    The Death of Socrates
    by Jacques-Louis David (1787)
    Plato (428- 348 BCE)
    • Idealist philosopher
    • Republic - most famous work
    • Everything that can be observed is only a
    distorted copy of the „real thing‟ - true knowledge
    can not be acquired through observation of the
    material world but through dialectic and
    intellectual exploration of the world of "ideas“
    •A philosopher-king should rule society
    • Founded the Academy, where he taught
    illustrious students like Aristotle
    Aristotle (384 -322 BCE)
    • Understanding something possible only after
    examining all relevant facts – knowledge based on
    evidence – Materialism
    • ‘The Politics’ – codes of moral conduct for
    citizens to improve the management of city states
    • Founded the Lyceum
    • Tutored Alexander, then Prince of Macedonia
    Other achievements

    In addition to philosophy, Hellenic Greece


    made immense contributions to different
    branches of knowledge including
    mathematics, architecture, sculpture, history,
    natural sciences, poetry, drama
    Religion
    • Polytheistic and Anthropomorphic
    • Main deities: Zeus : god of sky and the leader of
    gods - Apollo: God of sun – Athena: goddess of
    war and wisdom – Aphrodite: goddess of love
    and beauty
    • Little concern for after life
    • Faith in Oracle
    • Supreme emphasis on man
    Greek deities

    Zeus Athena Aphrodite


    Acropolis, Athens
    Parthenon, Athens
    Agora: space for open assembly and market
    T 13:The Hellenistic World
    Hellenistic meaning

    • Literally means “Greek-like”


    • Evolved as a consequence of the conquests
    by Alexander the Great
    • Syncretism (blending) of Hellenic (Greek)
    culture with cultures from Asia and Africa –
    predominance of Greek language and culture
    Background

    • Death of Alexander in 323 BCE – split of his


    conquered territories among his generals: Seleucus
    (Seleucid Empire from Syria to Afghanistan),
    Ptolemy (Ptolemaic Empire –Egypt), Antigonus
    (Macedonia) and others
    • Formation of large kingdoms under the Greeks –
    spread of Greek culture in Afro-Asia –
    Hellenization – predominance of Greek culture
    Alexander the Great
    The Hellenistic World
    Main features
    • Uniform cosmopolitan culture
    • High Culture – development of philosophy,
    political ideas, history, art and sciences
    • A simplified and standardized Greek
    language acting as the vehicle for spreading
    Hellenism (Hellenistic culture & civilization)
    • Economic development through trade and
    commerce
    Cosmopolitanism

    • Broadening of world view - Individuals became


    „citizens of the world‟ instead of individual states
    • Integration of Greek culture with local cultures –
    influenced each other – fusion of occidental
    (Western) and oriental cultures
    • Hellenistic Cosmopolitan way of life attracted the
    elites as well as business people – common people
    remained less affected
    Hellenistic Economy
    • A new era in world trade and commerce opened
    by Alexander‟s conquests
    • Unprecedented economic development due to
    stability and security, standardized currency and
    common language
    • Use of gold and silver bullions seized from Persia
    for financing public works – boosted trade and
    commerce
    Legacy

    • Preserved Hellenic traditions and spread them to the


    East
    • Introduced relatively „modern‟ ideas in the oriental
    regions
    • New cities – new cultural and trade centers
    (Alexandria to Kandahar) - development of science,
    medicine and mathematics (Euclid, Archimedes)
    • Facilitated spread of Christianity later on
    • Hellenistic influence mostly limited to the cities
    Lighthouse of Alexandria
    Suggested Topics
    • Minoan Civilization
    • Mycenaean Civilization
    • Minoan Fresco
    • Athenian democracy
    • Socratic Method
    • Greek religion
    • Acropolis
    • Parthenon
    • Agora
    • Hellenistic World
    • High culture
    Thank You

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