1. Greece’s Golden Age
Architecture
Acropolis= hill, center of the original city-state/polis
•Place for artistic creations, temples, citadel
Parthenon = white marble temple built in honor of
Athena
•Finest of Greek architecture, balanced proportions
statue of Athena inside
Columns = 3 orders. Doric -Ionic -Corinthian

2. History
•Herodotus = 1st historian of Western
world. Traveled to Babylonia, Phoenicia,
Egypt. Writer and storyteller. Wrote
about people and their countries. Told if
he heard about it (2nd) or saw it (primary
source) We still look at his work for
answers. “Father of History”
•Thucydides = Wrote “History of the
Peloponnesian War”. Believed history
was cyclical  studying the past helps
to understand human nature and not
repeat mistakes. Worked to make
history accurate and fair.

3. Art
•Glorified human beings God/ Goddesses
are ideal beauty, Human qualities and actions
•Pride in the city-state Glory to the Polis
•Beliefs in harmony, balance, order, & moderations 
search for clarity, calmness, freedom from details not
necessary.
•Belief in combining beauty and usefulness
functional and beauty defined purpose and shapes
Painting
•Most are lost and damaged. Best are on vases. Red
and Black figure pottery Mythological and everyday
events

4. Sculpture – Two of history’s greatest sculptors…
Myron = The Discus Thrower
Phidias = Statues of Athena Acropolis
/Parthenon. Zeus at the temple of Olympia (1 of
the 7 Wonders of Ancient World)

5. Greek Theater
Drama = Plays containing action or dialogue and
involving conflict and emotion  poetic form
Tragedies = main characters struggled against fate or
events. Outside forces, defeat main character, heroes
punished for displaying “hubris” = the sin of pride
Sophocles = Defended many traditional Greek Values.
•Perfect example of tragedy = Oedipus Rex (kills dad,
marries mom, stabs out own eyes)
Euripides=Realist, questioned old beliefs and ideas.
•Trojan Women showed pain of war, unlike earlier
accounts that showed war to be adventurous, full of
honor, courage, + heroes.
•Medea= Tragedy of revenge. Medea seeks revenge on
her unfaithful husband Jason.

6. Aeschylus = writes 80+plays
•Oresteia – about Agamemnon’s family during the
Trojan War
Comedies = made fun of ideas and people
Aristophanes = Finest writer of Greek Comedy.
Sharp wit. Clouds – makes fun of Socrates and
Education

7. Philosophy= Study of basic human questions and
existence
Socrates = Believed education was key to personal
growth. No memorizing. Trained students to think for
themselves question everything= “Socratic
Method”. Public officials did not like him questioning
gov’t during a time of war, so he was accused of
“corrupting young minds”. Sentenced to death. Drinks
hemlock to die.

8. Plato= Student of Socrates. Wealthy aristocrat.
Recorded Socrates’ ideas. Founded the
Academy in Athens to teach philosophy. Wrote
dialogues called “Forms” and “Perfection” also
“The Republic” which describes his idea of a
perfect society and gov’t. People should be
ruled by a small group of intelligent and
educated people.

9. Aristotle= Founded school in 335bc. Was a
student of Plato- taught Alexander the Great.
Believed everything had to be studied logically.
Collected facts, organized and categorized
plants and animals. Believed all gov’ts could be
good. (M, A, O, T, D), but it depended on the
value of the leaders in power. Wrote the Ethics
and Poetics analyzed Greek Drama.

10. Math, Medicine, and Science
Eratosthenes= calculated distance around earth.
(Used sun rays angle to earth) Greek Mathematician
Pythagoras = Philosopher. Explained
everything w/ math.
Pythagorean Theorem
Euclid = Geometric theories and statements. Father of
Geometry. Writes Elements basis for many of
today’s geometry textbooks

11. Medicine = began embalming bodies (Egypt)
Hippocrates= Father of Medical Science. Wrote 60-
70 medical studies. Observation, experiment,
experience. Believed diseases NOT punishments
from gods. Best cures = fresh air and proper diet.
Hippocratic Oath = code of ethics for doctors.

12. Aristarchus = Planets moved around sun. Looked at
sun and moon to calculate length of year. Failed to
convince others.
Archimedes = Calculates Pi  ratio of circumference
of a circle to diameter. Invented the compound
pulley, created Archimedes water screw. Used math
and physics for practical use.

13. Archimedes
Screw…