The ancient Greeks made many achievements in philosophy, literature, art, and architecture. In philosophy, Socrates used questioning to discuss concepts like truth and justice, Plato founded the Academy in Athens where philosophers worked and argued for rule by educated philosophers, and Aristotle studied nature and developed logic. In literature, the Greeks created epic poems like the Iliad and Odyssey and also tragedies and comedies. Their architecture like the Parthenon was beautiful and influenced later cultures.

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• How did Greek philosophy influence later thinking?
• What types of literature did the Greeks create?
Main Idea
The ancient Greeks made great achievements in philosophy,
literature, art, and architecture that influenced the development
of later cultures and ideas.
Greek Achievements

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• By working through series of
questions, Socrates thought
people could discover basic
nature of life
• Method of learning through
questions called the Socratic
method
Socratic Method
• Socrates believed philosophers
could learn what made good
people, societies by asking
questions
• Started with basic questions,
like “What is truth?”
• Socrates followed up with more
questions
• Socrates interested in broad
concepts of human life—truth,
justice, virtue
Asking Questions
Philosophy of Socrates

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Theory of Government
• Philosophers most qualified to make good decisions
• Did not support Athenian democracy in which all men could take part
• Plato wanted to make philosopher’s education more formal
• Founded the Academy, which in Plato’s lifetime became most
important site for Greek philosophers to do their work
Plato
• One of Socrates’ students, became great philosopher in own right
• Left behind great number of writings that record ideas on wide variety
of topics, from nature of truth to ideal form of government
• The Republic argues that government should be led by philosophers

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The Third Philosopher
• Aristotle was among students who studied at the Academy
• More concerned with nature of world that surrounded him
• Tried to apply philosophical principles to every kind of knowledge
Inferring New Facts
• Aristotle also helped develop field of logic, process of making inferences
• Example: birds have feathers, lay eggs; owls have feathers, lay eggs;
therefore, owl must be a type of bird
Emphasis on Reason and Logic
• Emphasis on reason, logic
• Reason, clear and ordered thinking; use reason to learn about world
• Observe carefully, think rationally about what one has seen
Aristotle

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These two works became basis for the Greek education system.
Other Greek literature remains, with a great many works still popular
today. Greeks excelled in poetry—both epics and other forms—history,
and drama.
• Most famous works are some of
earliest
• Epic poems of great events and
heroes
• The Iliad and the Odyssey,
attributed to poet Homer, tell
stories of Trojan War
Homer’s Epics
Greek Literature
• Iliad tells story of last year of
war, two heroes—Achilles and
Hector
• Odyssey tells story of heroes
from the war, with Odysseus
who was forced to wander the
sea
Iliad and Odyssey

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Other Forms of Poetry
Greeks wrote many types of poetry besides epics
• Hesiod wrote descriptive poetry about works of gods,
lives of peasants
• Greeks also created lyric poetry
– Named after the lyre, musical instrument often played to
accompany reading of poems
– Lyric poems do not tell stories, but deal with emotions, desires
• Lyric poets
– Sappho, one of few Greek women to gain fame as writer; dealt
with daily life, marriage, love
– Pindar, late 500s, early 400s; poems commemorated public
events, like Olympic Games

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While the Greeks wrote histories to preserve the past, they created a
new form of writing for entertainment—drama, the art of playwriting.
• Earliest dramas part of
festivals
• Dionysus, god of wine and
celebration
• Group of actors called a
chorus
• Recited stories
Athenian Roots
• Dramas became more
complex
• Individual actors took on roles
of specific characters in
stories
• Two distinct forms of dramas
developed, tragedy and
comedy
Development
Drama

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Distinct Forms
• Many comedies were satires,
plays written to expose flaws
of society
• Aristophanes greatest
Greek comedy writer
• Plays poke fun at aspects of
Athenian society, from
government to treatment of
women
Comedies
• Focused on hardships faced
by Greek heroes
• Three great writers
– Aeschylus, Greek myths
– Sophocles, suffering
people brought on selves
– Euripides, tragedy
brought on by chance,
behavior
Tragedies

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• Among fields for which Greeks best known
• Greek authors wrote about and analyzed own past
• First major Greek historian, Herodotus
• Lived in Greece during wars with Persia; described battles and public
debates in The Histories
• Thucydides lived during
Peloponnesian War, wrote about it
• Included primary sources, like
speeches he heard delivered
• Looked at sources critically, ignored
unreliable, irrelevant ones
Primary Sources
• Another early historian, Xenophon
fought in Persia after Persian Wars
• Concentrated less on sources,
debates, more on describing
famous men; had less critical style
• Work has helped us learn what life
was like in 300s BC Greece
Describing Famous Men
History

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Beauty
• Athenians enjoyed beauty, both
written and visual
• Expressed love of written
beauty through literature; visual
beauty through architecture, art
Enhancements
• To enhance appearance of
buildings, added fine works of
art, painted and sculpted
• Grandest buildings built on
acropolis, at city’s center
Architecture
• Athenians wanted their city to
be most beautiful in Greece
• Built magnificent temples,
theatres, public buildings
Parthenon
• Most magnificent on acropolis
• Massive temple to Athena
• Begun by Pericles, 447 BC
• Took 14 years to build
Greek Architecture and Art

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Human Forms
• Greek sculptors among finest world has ever known
• Particularly adept at sculpting human form; studied people at rest, moving
• Tried to re-create what they saw, paid particular attention to muscles
Roman Copies
• Few original works remain; most copies made a few hundred years later
• Roman artists made many copies of greatest Greek statues
• Many copies survived even after original statues destroyed
Lifelike, Not Realistic
• Greeks wanted statues to look lifelike, active, not necessarily realistic
• Portrayed subjects as physically perfect, without blemishes, imperfections
• Greek statues almost all depict figures of great beauty, grace
Sculpture

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Larger Paintings
• Little evidence of larger works; written sources say Greeks created
murals in many public buildings
• Often included scenes from Iliad, Odyssey; showed aftermath of
battles, rather than battle itself
• Themes similar to tragic drama popular with Athenians
Painting
• Only a few original Greek paintings survive
• Best preserved are paintings on vases, plates, other vessels
• Scenes from everyday life, or from myths, legends
• Most use only red, black; still convey movement, depth