GREECE’S GOLDEN AGE

9TH ANCIENT WORLD HISTORY

MR. MELVIN RODRÍGUEZ-RODRÍGUEZ

WHAT DO ALL THESE
HAVE IN COMMON?
CLASSICS
WHAT IS A
CLASSIC?
• A classic serves as a standard of
excellence 
• Classics are traditional and
enduring
• Classics are historically
memorable
• A classic often works as a
template or inspiration for
future works
WHY DO WE CALL THIS PERIOD
IN ATHENS’ FLOURISHING
“CLASSICAL GREECE”?
GREECE’S GOLDEN AGE

• We call this period Classical Greece, because for around 50 years, Athens and the cities it
influence saw a period of growth in intellectual and artistic learning
• The legacy of this period continues to inspire, instruct and set the template for Western
Civilization to this day
OBJECTIVES

• Explain Athens’ progress from a limited democracy to a direct democracy

• Define the word classic
• Describe examples of classical art
• Explain the meaning behind Greek tragedy and comedy
PERICLES’ PLAN

• Pericles was a popular leader

• He led Athens for 32 years
• The period of 461 to 429 BCE is often called the
Age of Pericles
• Son of an aristocrat that fought in the Battle of
Salamis and the niece of Cleisthenes, he
continued his family’s legacy of strengthening
and reforming Athens
PERICLES’ STRENGTHENS
DEMOCRACY
• Pericles increased the number of public officials
who were paid salaries
• This made holding public office more accessible
to any citizen
• This led to Athens having more citizens involved
in self-government than any other polis
• Citizens could vote and propose laws in the
assembly
COMPARISON
GLORIFYING ATHENS

• Pericles used money from the Delian League to make the Athenian navy the strongest in
the Mediterranean
• The Athenian military allowed Pericles to have more control over other members of the
Delian League
• Without the League’s approval, Pericles used money from the treasury to invest in art and
architecture in order to beautify Athens
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
FOR THOSE WHO MAY HAVE MISSED THE
VIDEOS…
• Doric column – very simple and
geometric
• Ionic column -
INFLUENCE
ON TODAY
INFLUENCE
ON TODAY
THE PARTHENON

• Built in honor of Athena, it set the

standard for future generations of art
and architecture
• Pericles entrusted much of the
artworks to Phidias
• Phidias crafted a giant statue of
Athena that contained gold and ivory
and stood over 30 feet tall (it is now
lost)
GREEK SCULPTURE: FROM ARCHAIC TO
CLASSICAL
• Greek sculpture has three periods: Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic
• During Athens’ Golden Age Greek sculpture transitioned from the Archaic to the
Classical
GREEK SCULPTURE: THE
ARCHAIC

• Archaic Greek sculpture tends

to be front facing
• While it has more movement
than Egyptian sculptures, they
still present humans in a very
stiff manner
• Resemblance to humans and
artistic technique are not as
advanced
GREEK SCULPTURE:
THE CLASSICAL

• Classical sculpture is made of

marble or bronze
• It presents figure at more ease
and with more natural poses
• As time progressed classical
sculpture figures become
more idealized
GREEK SCULPTURE:
THE CLASSICAL

• Sculptors captured the grace of the

idealized body
• The faces present serenity
• The values of harmony, order,
balance, and proportion would
become the standards of classical art
• These principles were then taken to
greatest heights during the
Hellenistic Period
FROM
ARCHAIC TO
CLASSICAL
SCULPTURES’
APPEARANCE
• It is wrongly believed that Greek
sculptures were white, and that
whiteness represents a classical ideal
• Greeks painted their sculptures
GREEK THEATER

• Greeks invented drama as an art form

and built the first theaters
• Plays were an expression of civic
pride and a tribute to the gods
• Drama was performed in outside
theaters, on a stagefloor surrounded
by a semicircular seating area
• Theaters were built integrated with
nature, so the wind could carry the
voice of the actors
GREEK THEATER

• Plays were about leadership, justice,

and the duties owed to the gods
• Two kind of dramas existed: tragedy
and comedy
• Actors wore masks that exaggerated
human expressions and provided
visual representation
GREEK MASKS
GREEK CHORUS

• The Greek chorus was a

group of people who
provided:
• Dance
• Song
• Poetry
• Commentary about the
events portrayed
GREEK CHORUS TODAY
TRAGEDY
TRAGEDY

• Tragedy was a serious drama about

love, hate, war, and betrayal
• Protagonists were often heroes with a
tragic flaw that would determine their
downfall
• Hubris or excessive pride were
common flaws
• The main character would not end
well
TRAGEDY DRAMATISTS

• Aeschylus – wrote more than 80 plays, among them the trilogy named the Oresteia, based
on Agamemnon, the Mycenean king that commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War
• Euripides – author of Medea, often featured strong women in his plays
• Sophocles – wrote more than 100 plays, among them the famous Oedipus Rex
TRAGEDY EXAMPLE:
OEDIPUS REX, BY SOPHOCLES
COMEDY
 • Comedy contained scenes filled with slapstick and
crude humor
• Playwrights often made fun of politics, respected
people and ideas of the time
COMEDY • Aristophanes – wrote many important comedies,
among them Lysistrata
• The fact that Athenians could listen to criticism
through comedy showed the freedom and openness of
public discussion that existed in democratic Athens
COMEDY EXAMPLE:
LYSISTRATA
 • Herodotus – A Greek man who lived in Athens for a
time, pioneered the accurate reporting of events
• His book on the Persian Wars is considered the first
work of history
HISTORY • Thucydides – The greatest historian of the classical age
• Thucydides believed that certain types of events and
political situations recur over time
• Having this knowledge would help us understand the
present
ATHENIANS AND SPARTANS GO TO WAR

• As Athens grew in wealth, prestige and power, other polis saw it with hostility
• Rivalry between Athens and Sparta grew
• Eventually Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 BCE
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

• Athens’ strategy was to avoid land battles and attack by sea

• Spartans eventually marched into Athenian territory and burned the Athenian food supply
• Pericles brought residents from the surrounding regions and with supplies from Athenian
colonies managed to keep the city safe
• A plague weakened Athens on the second year of the war
• In 421 BCE, the two sides signed a truce
SPARTA BECOMES VICTORIOUS

• In 415 BCE, Athens engaged in war with Syracuse, a city in the island of Sicily, allied
with the Spartans
• This ended with a crushing defeat in 413 BCE
• Athens fended off Spartan attacks for nine years, until they surrendered in 404 BCE
• Athens lost its status as empire and its wealth