CLAS 1000 1st Edition Lecture 24Outline of Last Lecture IV. The Rise and Fall of Athens: Classical Period (500-400BC)A. Persian Warsa. Act I: Dariusi. Battle of Marathon (490BC)b. Intermezzo: Persian delays and Athenian silverc. Act II: Xerxesi. Marching to Greece (Hellespont, Hellenic League, evacuation)ii. Battle of Thermopylai (480BC)iii. Battle of Salamis (480BC)iv. On the run: Battle of Plataia and Mykale (479BC)d. Code: Delian League (477BC)B. Intellectual Revolutiona. Two quotesCurrent LectureIV. The Rise and Fall of Athens (500-400BC)B. Intellectual Revolution | Science/PhilosophyThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Pre-Socratics (6th/5th century) – any philosopher before Socrates; shares concerns and characteristics with each othero Wanted to know what the causes are and where everything came from; metaphysics Non-mythological answers; sought natural causes Used observations and inferences to draw conclusions Early stages of science; no methodology or rationality- Assumed the laws were universal and would hold true for everything and forever- Idea of elegance: answers should be simple yet profoundo Kosmos: Original meaning: beauty and order/structure Current meaning: universe Influence of the polis on science: organization and specialization- Eastern influence too (Asia Minor, Babylon)- Sophists – more of a phenomenon than a group; sophists didn’t like each other, competed for business with each othero Sophists- “wisdomers,” expert, learned person They were “experts” in various fields Travelled around Greece to teach, “wandering lectures”- Often charged money for teaching- Became of high demand- Wealthy men began to pay Sophists to live with them and teach there children/relatives (education as a status symbol) Athens was a hotspot for Sophists because it was a wealthy area and Sophists were drawn here to make money; Athens became the intellectual meeting placeo Spreading of ideas Low literacy rates in Greece meant that publishing books wasn’t the best way to spread the knowledge Public speaking and intellect spread through word of mouth was best Aristophanes and comedy; Plato- Didn’t like Sophists because they charged money and because they didn’t agree with the things that they taughto What did they teach? – Popular topics Arete- they believed that arête could be taught and that it was not an inborn skill- A very democratic idea Moral relativism- ethics are relative depending on the persona and place; different poleis had different ethics, laws, and morals- There was no absolute good or evil, not even for gods Rhetoric/ public speaking- Sophists claimed expertise in this subject- Taught people to be more persuasive and create a better argument- The art of speech was more important than the actual content of the speecho People became distrustful of public speeches because of this- Herodotuso Often called the first historiano Old-school and new-school Writing from after 450BC, originally from Asia Minor, but workings in Athens Cutting edge- rational accounts of things/ puts aside mythological ideas- Cultural relativism Persistence of archaic attitudes- Believed that gods still played a role in human affairso Purpose- trace and relate with Persian Wars Trojan war was the first cause of troubles A battle between the East and the West- Trojan war, Solon/Kroises – who was the wealthiest (each society has their won definition of wealthy)o Method: hearsay Still and oral culture Calls his work historia – “inquiry”, question and answer- He was a great story tellero The most important theme in all of Herodotus’ work: the only constant in life is change Things are always changing; human life is full of ups and downs Human error is the cause of change: misunderstanding/disrespecting the gods causes change- Nemesis (“retribution”) – the goddess who causes bad things to happen to people who make mistakes Says the human situation is a tragedy; it is a war between other people- Thucydideso Very much influenced by Herodotuso Methodology: personal experience His stories and lectures are about his own experiences as a strategos as well as through others’ experienceso Interested in the objective truth Used critical analysis of the “facts” he received from other people to extract only the objective truthso Believed in human, not divine, cause; said gods don’t have any role in history He doesn’t see the human situation as tragic, but thinks that humans are horrible in nature - “Nothing more than animals concerned with their own interests”o “Possessions for all time” – wants people to understand why humans are horribleand what makes them that