Ancient World Ancient Greece 2 Test

Gorgias

Reality = incomprehensible; even if one could comprehend- indescribable

Protagoras

Knowledge can't exceed human opinion- "Man is the measure of all things."

Hippocrates

"Father of medicine," investigated the influence of diet and environment on general health; imbalance in body = disease; relationship of cause and effect in matters of physical illness; Hippocratic Oath (medical ethics)

Sophocles

2nd greatest tragedian, developed plot with characters' actions. Individualizes character, moments of great psychological intimacy.

Plato

A student of Socrates, born in Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars. Founded the world's first school of philosophy, The Academy. Wrote 24 treatises (dialogues). Major philosophical arguments credited to Socrates (who never wrote anything), difficult to distinguish between their ideas.

Parthenon

A temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of battle, patron of arts and crafts, and the personification of wisdom. Name derived from parthenos, "maiden" or "virgin." Commissioned by Pericles; used bronze clamps/dowels to fasten individually cut marble segments. Embodies harmonious proportion in the plan. Uses the Doric order, is the most refined expression. Avoids rigid proportions; primary consideration: aesthetic and functional integrity of the building. Is a ruin now due to mistreatment.

theory of Forms

All sensory objects are imitations of the Forms (unchanging eternal truths; imperishable + forever true). For example, circles and spheres are concepts and are not connected to any particular manifestation. They have always existed and will always exist. A beach ball is an imperfect and transitory copy of the sphere. Even if a beach ball did not exist, spheres would still exist.

Sophists

Argued that truth + justice = relative: it all depends on perspective; charged for teachings

Democritus

Follower of Leucippus, best known of naturalist philosophers; developed atomic theory of matter; mind consists of the same indivisible physical substances as everything else in nature; atoms move constantly and eternally according to chance in infinite time and space.

Socrates

Greatly opposed views of Sophists; insisted on absolute nature of truth and justice; ethical life belongs to larger set of universal truths and an unchanging moral order; virtue not discovered by means of clever but misleading argumentation (sophistry), not relative to individual circumstances; virtue = condition of the psyche (soul/spirit/mind), seat of moral/intellectual faculties of the individual; to know good is to do good. Unexamined life not worth living; employed dialectical method; refused payment for his teachings; wealth ≠ excellency, wealth comes from excellence. Philosophy = lived experiment, ≠ set of doctrines. Had many enemies b/c his religious skepticism + stringent methods of self-examination. Very outspoken; falls into disfavor with the government; Found guilty by an Athens jury for subversive behavior, impiety, and atheism. Knowledge of him comes from students' writings. Loyalty of citizen to polis is a primary obligation. Prefers death to dishonor. Right action crucial to the destiny of both the individual + community. Immortality is achieved through human deeds, which outlast human lives.

Thales

History's first philosopher; water = fundamental substance, source of all things; potential for change + pervasiveness

Ionic order

Originated in Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands; more delicate and ornamental. Slender columns terminate in capitals with paired volutes or scrolls. Used in some of small temples on the Acropolis

The Republic

Plato's most famous treatise, asks "what is the meaning of justice?" and "what is the nature of a just society?" Has a 2-level reality: constantly changing particulars (sense-objects), unchanging eternal truths understood by way of the intellect (Forms) that are distinct from imperfect and transient objects of sensory experience. Uses an allegory to figuratively explain the Forms.

Pythagoras

Proportion = true basis of reality; all universal relationships can be expressed through numbers- eternal and unchanging; Pythagorean thm. Is an unchanging and eternal truth, just like 2+2=4; founding father of pure mathematics; relationship between musical harmony and numbers; number gives order and harmony to the universe.

gadfly

Socrates' nickname for being "annoying" and a "pest" to the citizens of Athens; for questioning them tirelessly.

Naturalists

They reasoned that there is a single, unifying substance that provides the basis for nature. Asked: "what is everything made of?" "how do things come into existence?" and "what permanent substance lies behind the world of appearance?" Unlike the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, they stripped nature of supernatural associations. They make the speculative leap of going from supernatural explanations of natural happenings to more logical, scientific-based speculations about nature.

treasury

The Parthenon was most likely used as a treasury to hold the controversial Delian Funds (which were also used to construct the temple)

Golden Mean

The middle ground between excess and deficiency; relative for everyone.

inductive reasoning

The progress of Socrates' analysis moved from specific examples to general principles, and from particular to universal truths. Demands a process of abstraction: a shift of focus from the individual thing (the city) to all things (cities) and from the individual action (just or unjust) to the idea of justice.

Heraclitus

Universe has no permeance but is in constant process/flux; change = basis of reality; underlying Form/Guiding Force (logos) permeates nature; Force = impersonal, universal, and eternal

Corinthian order

Used in Hellenistic times. Is most ornate; characterized by capitals consisting of acanthus leaves. Found on victory monuments, in circular sanctuaries and shrines, and in some Hellenistic + Roman structures.

catharsis

a cleansing/purification that provokes change in spectator's emotional life.

syllogism

a deductive scheme that presents 2 premises from which a conclusion may be drawn. For example: All men are mortal. a:b. Socrates is a man. c:a. Therefore, Socrates is moral. ∴ c=b.

Allegory of the Cave

a group of ordinary mortals (imprisoned psyche) are chained in an underground chamber. Their position allows them to see the shadows on the walls of the Cave (sense-objects, imitations of the Forms). The prisoners (ignorant) believe the shadows to be real. Only when the philosopher-hero prisoner ascends to the domain of light (true knowledge, knowledge of the Forms) does it become clear that the cave-dweller's Truth is only the shadows of Reality. In this, Plato draws upon the ideas of other philosophers, such as Heraclitus + Pythagoras. Inspired by other religions such as Hinduism. Enlightenment is essential to achieving a just state/healthy society. There is a spiritual "spark" that humans are born from, and must be kindled + cultivated (similar to the Hindu Atman). All-embracing Form is also like Brahman.

empirical method

a method of inquiry dependent on direct experience.

dialectical method

a question-and-answer technique; Socrates' style of cross-examination

arête

excellence, virtue. For example: the excellence of an eye lies in seeing well, the excellence of a racehorse lies in how fast it runs, the excellence of any human creature lies in the exercise of reason.

hubris

excessive pride (such as that of Creon)

realism

faithful to nature

stoicism

finding tranquility of mind in a doctrine of detachment that allows for acceptance of even the worst of life's circumstances. Brings the individual will into complete harmony with the will of nature, which is governed by an impersonal intelligence.

humanism

following fundamental laws derived from the human physique and focuses consistently on human actions. Followed by Greek art.

contrapposto

balanced opposition: natural and graceful

Geometric period

ceramic wares painted with angular figures and complex geometric patterns arranged to enhance shape of vessel.

skepticism

denial of the the possibility of knowing anything with certainty; the suspension of all intellectual judgement.

idealism

effort to achieve a perfection that surpasses nature

Epicureanism

following of the Greek thinker Epicurus. Taught that happiness depended on avoiding all forms of physical excess; value plain living and the perfect union of body and mind. Gods play no part in human life, death = rearrangement of atoms of which the body and all of nature consisted.

speculative leap

going from supernatural explanations of natural happenings to more logical, science-based speculations on nature

protagonist

his/her weakness/tragic flaw brings them into conflict with fate or the antagonist, ultimately to their downfall. Goes through some kind of change, catharsis.

morals

individual sense of right/wrong

Antigone

last phase of history of Thebes. Involves Oedipus' sons + daughters and his brother-in-law, Creon. Antigone (daughter) defies Creon by burying her disgraced brother when he expressly forbid her from doing so. Play deals with many issues: conflict between rights of individual v. rights of state; family dedication v. loyalty to community; personal v. political obligations; female willpower v. male authority; human v. divine law.

Doric order

main order employed by the Parthenon's design. Originated on the Greek mainland, is simple and severe.

Archaic period

more aristocratically-commissioned pieces. Scenes from mythology, literature, and everyday life on vase. Decorative simplicity for simple activities like working, dancing, feasting, fighting, and gaming. Black-figured style in which clarity + order are apparent.

Classical period

more state-commissioned pieces. Human body is the color of clay, ground is black. Human form appears more lifelike, posed naturally. Uses realism + idealism. Ideal form - simplify object matter, free it of incidental detail, impose accepted canon of proportion. Like Plato's Ideal Forms- perfection of the physical world.

comedy

most likely developed out of village revels celebrating seasonal rebirth. Draws ability to provoke laughter from incongruity/unexpected. Involves satires + parodies of sexual things.

tragedy

most likely evolved from fertility rituals surrounding the death + decay of the crops. Deals with human conflicts as told in history, myth, and legend. Events unfold through dialogue and the chorus. Gave formal expression to most awful kinds of human experience. The point is to feel and have a catharsis.

antagonist

one who opposes the protagonist

Vitruvius

said that without proportion there cannot be design, basis for the Vitruvian man, the "ultimate" model. Wrote the Principles of Symmetry. Was a Roman.

cynicism

spiritual satisfaction was only possible if one renounced societal values, conventions, and material wealth.

statue of Athena

the (missing and possibly destroyed) statue that was supposedly the centerpiece of the Parthenon.

ethics

the branch of philosophy that sets forth the principles of human conduct; community codes for what is right/wrong

proportion

the correspondence between the various parts of the whole

Supreme Good

the ending where everything is fulfilled and happiness is achieved.

Hellenism

the form of art that evolved after the Classical Period: Alexander the Great, used Corinthian order, Romans

Golden Ratio

the ratio which governs the proportions of the ground plan of the Parthenon and the Vitruvian canon; represents an aesthetic ideal found in nature and in the human anatomy.

three prominent lives

the sensual (desire), the political (honor), and the speculative (thought and reason).

idealism

the theory that holds that reality lies in the realm of unchanging Forms, rather than sensory objects.

happiness

the ultimate goal in life. In order to achieve it, one must recognize their defining essence, and functioning to fulfill it.

Leucippus

theorized that physical reality consisted of atoms- minute, invisible particles that moved ceaselessly in the void.