Zara Mahmood Professor Belkin AR100 June 17 2013 Lecture 14 Notes Golden Age of Greece Archaeology of the Athenian Democracy End of the Bronze Age 1200 1000 BC Collapse of Bronze Age o Greece enters period of Dark Age 1125 900 BCE o Small communities living in impermanent structures Regressing towards Neolithic tribal way of living o 900 800 BCE recovery begins and they flourish once again Classical Greek World 5th 4th century BC o Body of citizens citizenship o Greek city state polis Community forged within citizenship is based on residence Not based on kinship o 3 different public areas The Agora bustling area of political activity Sanctuary calm representations of timelessness and nature of God Cemetery provided Greek citizens a reminder of honoring the past and those that came before Athens and Attica Athens became capital of larger area Political unification of Attica 700 BC o Loosely associated city states Athenian Democracy in the 5th Century BC Known for its democracy first in the world o Power to the people o Direct democracy no elected representatives people vote themselves Only male Athenian military men could vote Assembly open to all citizens 20 yrs old and older met 40 times per year Council 500 members chosen by lot annually prepared business for Archons 9 annually elected executives officers with judicial administrative Assembly and other officials religious and military duties Generals 10 elected annually to command the army and navy Jurors Citizen pool of 6 000 chosen by lot to serve on trial juries of 201 401 or more jurors Zara Mahmood Professor Belkin AR100 June 17 2013 The Persian Empire 525 BC Threat to Athens empire The Persian Wars o Marathon 490 BC Organized troops in a long line and mad rushed Persians Athenian Naval Power Trireme Delian League League formed between Athens and allies United against Persian Empire League among equals over time Athens declared itself head of League Stole treasury Athens slowly taking power with Greece o Thermopylae 480 BC Between Persia and Greek city states Hoplite troops spear men Traveled on foot bore shield on left hand provided their own armor Greece in the Peloponnesian War 431 404 BC Greek civil war o Athens and her allies against Sparta and her allies o Angry at Athens exploitation of power won by Sparta Left Athens in ruins and marked end of Golden Age of Greece The City of Athens Golden Age The Agora excavated 1931 by American School of Classical Study at Athens Led by Homer A Thompson and John Camp Marketplace that was central to the lives of Ancient Greece Pausanias Guidebook 150 AD Can enter from two gates Dipylon Gate Sacred Gate Agora Boundary Stone mark edges of Agora o I am the boundary of the Agora Agora NW Corner Royal Stoa Painted Stoa Stoa of Zeus o Painted Stoa paintings done on wooden panels by famous artists Paintings were contrast between historical and mythical events o Royal Stoa earliest and most important building in Athens Served as headquarters for second in command general Inscribed copies of law codes were on display inside stoa Popular place for philosophers to gather Socrates indicted 399 BC o Stoa of Zeus dedicated to Zeus Eleutherios Cult of freedom Zara Mahmood Professor Belkin AR100 June 17 2013 Made of marbel and was 2 stories with different projecting rooms Decoarated with paintings of the gods and battle scenes Used as a meeting place not a temple mostly civic meetings Greek architecture defined by 3 orders Different time periods Pericles Temple o Rectangular structure interior cella cult statue located o Worshipping place for cult statue Tholos connected to Council Building o Place for politicians and council men to gather o 50 Members of the 10 tribes of Greece Law Courts final verdict for all crimes o Ballot boxes ballots water clocks o Process once litigant made presentation jury proceeded to cast ballot No formal deliberation Ballot for defendant solid axel for plaintiff hollow axel Stoa of Attalos 2nd century BCE o after Golden Age much larger than other stoa s o Commercial building and shopping center o Reconstructed today Panathenaic Way o Principle way through the Agora o Festival celebrated here for Goddess Athena The Pnyx Official meeting place of Athenian democratic assembly Any male 20 from army could cast vote o Needed large gathering place to meet demands Created an artificial terrace and massive speaker s platform Evidence of Ostracism political exile for 10 years o Written casts for people who should be ostracized o Meant these individuals would be forced to live away from Attica for 10 years The Acropolis Zara Mahmood Professor Belkin AR100 June 17 2013 Plateau that stands above the Agora citadel of Athens o Older Parthenon under construction when destroyed by Persians Never completed past lower column drums Athens and other city states formed Delian League o Able to gain spoils of war lavish attention upon Athens and 480 BC Acropolis o Athenian tribute list lists all city states that give tribute to Athens Allowed them to build infrastructure Periclean Building Program 440s and 430s BC o Pericles Elder statesman o Did a lot to improve Athens for the people who resided there o Wanted to rebuild Acropolis after Persian War to show how might they were Column drums from the Older Parthenon built into the north Tangible remains to show people and remind them of Persian wall of the Acropolis War Propyla Made of white marble Entranceway Temple of Athena Nike In the ionic style entrance lined with 4 monolithic ionic columns o Support a shallow porch Has survived and was completed in 420 BCe Dedicated to Athena Nike victory o Statue of Athena Nike would have been in cella of temple o No wings on statue acteros Nike wingless victory Remnant of Mycenaean Wall Implies that mycenaen people were living there as well Erechtheion Intricate temple built in 420 BC Designed to balance on the uneven ground of the time Unusual temple that incorporates two different porches o Porches are at an angle to each other o South supported by 6 female statues careatids Porch of maidens Zara Mahmood Professor Belkin AR100 June 17 2013 Built as a replacement for old temple o Used to house all shrines and rituals that took place o Dedicated for Athena that protects earth and provides fertility Theater of Dionysus Open air theater used for festival in order of god Dionysus Many different plays were performed o Aeschylus o Sophocles o Euripides o Aristophanes The Parthenon Partially still