Democracy and Greece’s Golden Age Notes
Pgs. 134-
A. Pericles’ Plan for Athens
a. Stronger Democracy
i. Pericles was an honest and fair politician and general. Ruled Greece during most of the Golden Age
ii. Increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries. Earlier the positions were unpaid.
iii. Introduction to Direct democracy
1. A form of democracy where the people rule directly on laws, not through representatives.
b. Athenian Empire
i. After the defeat of the Persians Athens made the Delian League.
1. A lot of money was spent on building a strong army and navy for protection.
c. Glorifying Athens
i. Bought lots of marble, and gold
1. Paid artists to make statues glorifying the city
B. Glorious Art and Architecture
a. Architecture and Sculpture
i. The Parthenon was built on the style that had been used to create Greek temples for 200 years.
ii. Built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and protector of Athens.
C. Drama and History
a. Tragedy and Comedy
i. The Greeks wrote two kinds of drama–tragedy and comedy. A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal.
ii. A comedy contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. Playwrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas of the time.
b. History
i. The epic poems of Homer recount stories, but are not accurate recordings of what took place.
1. Herodotus, a Greek who lived in Athens for a time, pioneered the accurate reporting of events.
a. His book on the Persian Wars is considered the first work of history.
2. Thucydides believed that certain types of events and political situations recur over time.
a. Studying those events and situations, he felt, would aid in understanding the present.
i. The approaches Thucydi...
