below are my notes ...
Gods & Goddesses
- What is unique about the Greeks' relationship with their gods is the interactions with humans
- Poseidon (god of sea) interfered with Odysseus trying to return home
- Aphrodite (god of love) had lovers of both Gods & men
- Dionysus (god of wine) son of Zeus (a god) & of semele (a human princess)
Who's who in the Pantheon
- Zeus - ruler of heaven and earth; father of Athena; god of sky, weather, thunder, lighting, law, order, justice
- Had a temper, was known to hurl thunderbolts
Athena
- Athena - goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare (and peace), intelligence, battle, strategy, and handicrafts
- She was born from Zeus' head fully formed & armed
- Special patron of heroes - such as odysseus
- She was patron of Athens
- city named after her
Apollo
- god of music, arts, knowledge, healing
- Zeus was his father, Artemis was his twin sister
- he associated the sun, his sister with the moon
Poseidon
- god of sea, rivers, flood, earthquakes
- brother os Zeus, king of seas & water
Aphrodite
- god of love, beauty, desire, sexuality
- had many lovers - Ares (god of war), Adonis (demi - god of desire), and Arichises (mortal - fathered a baby)
Demeter
- god of grain, harvest, agriculture
- Zeus's sister
The fighting Sparta
- Greeks were certainly warlike people - especially the Spartans
- Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on land
- Spartan boys trained from the time thy were seven
- Real Spartans were much more fearsome than those oily gym rats in the movie 300 (MHO)
A Naval power
- Athens had a great infantry too, but nothing could compare with their navy
- their most effective weapon was the trirme:
- a technological marvel
- fastest ship in the world at the time
- rowed by up too 170 men on three levels
- could be used as a battering ram
- agile, fast
The Phalanx
- close - rank, dense grouping of warriors
- armed with long spears and interlocking shields
- soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy, until they broke through their ranks
Philosopherlapalooza - Socrates
- looked to science and logic (not the mythological gods) for explanations of how the world worked
- the Socratic Method fostered critical thinking
- "the unexamined life is not worth living"
- Socrates was charged with crimes
- impiety (disrespecting gods)
- corrupting the youth
- At his trial, he described himself as a stinging gadfly, Athens as a lazy old horse
- didn't deny what he did, he asked for free dinners
- found guilty by jury, sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock
- could've gotten out of jail - but he followed the rules and stayed
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