Ancient Greece culture, religion and art

3. • Most important economic activity
Agriculture.
• Mediterranean trilogy: wheat,
vineyards and olive.
• Other activities: livestock farming
and crafts (pottery, fabrics and
metal objects).
• Trade, above all in the Mediterranean
Sea.
• In trade, Athens outstanded, with its
important dock in El Pireo.
• They exported: oil, wine, pottery
and metals.
• They imported: wheat, Wood and
slaves.

5. • Two social groups:
• Free people
Citizens (with political rights, they participated in
the government, paid taxes and went to the
Army).
Non-citizens (without political rights, they paid
taxes and men went to the Army).
Women
Foreigners (metics in Athens; periecos in
Sparta).
• Slaves (domestic service and the hardest tasks; war
prisoners or people who couldn’t pay their debts.
They were called helots –ilotas- in Sparta.

6. SOCIETY IN
ANCIENT GREECE
FREE PEOPLE
CITIZENS
Characteristics
Political rights
They paid taxes
They had to serve in
the Army
Groups
Aristocracy
Merchants
Artisans and
peasants
NON-CITIZENS
Characteristics
Without political
rights.
They paid taxes.
Men should serve in
the Army
Groups
Foreigners
Metics in Athens
Periecos in Sparta
Women
SLAVES Characteristics
Without political
rights
Hardest tasks
War prisoners or
people with unpaid
debts

10. • Society organized in patriarchal families.
• Function of the wife  to take care of children and
domestic slaves.
• The wife had a reserved space in the house: the
gynoecium (GINECEO).
• In the gynoecium the children also lived and received
their education.

11. • The daughters were educated in the house until
they got married.
• The sons were educated by a pedagogue or they
went to school from 6 years of age.
• They were taught letters, arithmetic, music and
gymnastics.
• Starting at 18:
• They were prepared for military life and politics.

13. • Men controlled political, economic and family life.
• The andron (andrón in Spanish) was the space of
the house reserved for men. There they held
meetings and banquets called symposia.
Simposio en el andrón

14. • The Athenian men were engaged in their business.
During their free time they carried out public
activities: attending baths and gyms, sports and
artistic celebrations.
• They participated in citizen assemblies, to debate
and govern the polis.

17. ATHENIAN ASSEMBLIES
• It was the system of government in Athens and the
cities of the Delian League
• They were celebrated in the agora.

18. ASSEMBLY
• The speaker expressed his opinion on the issue
from the rostrum or stand.
• It had an intervention time marked by a water clock
(the clepsydra).
• All citizens could speak in the Assembly.
• Decisions were made by voting by show of hands.

21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdGY7aTpknI

24. • The culture and sciences had a great development,
due to:
Economic and political development  They
had individuals dedicated to artistic and
intellectual activities.
Commercial contact with Egypt and
Mesopotamia, where they learned Mathematics
and Astronomy.
Religion without priests who had political power

25. • The Greeks created a brilliant culture that
still survives in our days.
• They are considered the parents of
Philosophy (philo, love and sofia, to
know) and the first scientists.
• They tried to give rational explanations to
natural phenomena instead of resorting
to religion or magic.
• They gave great importance to education,
especially in Athens.

27. PHILOSOPHY
• Think about the origin and nature
of the universe.
• They also focused on the human
being and society.
• The most important philosophers:
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

29. SCIENCE
• In Mathematics,
Pythagoras, Thales and
Euclid excelled.
Pitágoras

30. SCIENCES
• In Physics, Archimedes,
established the theory of
the weight of solids in
liquids, and created
machines that had a
practical application
(Archimedes screw).

31. SCIENCES
• In Medicine  contributions to
physiology and anatomy,
differentiating the causes and
symptoms of diseases.
• Hippocrates was considered the
father of Medicine.
• Author of an oath (the Hippocratic)
that established the rules by which
doctors should be governed in the
performance of their work.

32. • We can highlight Thucydides, Xenophon and
Herodotus in History.
• Strabo in Geography.
• Aristarchus in Astronomy (determined that the
center of the Universe is the Sun and not the Earth).

34. LITERATURE
• The Greek culture will be the origin of several
literary genres: the epic, the lyric and the theater.

35. THE EPIC
• They are stories that reflect the past of a people and
their heroes. At the beginning, they were oral; later,
written.
• Most important writer: Homer
• Iliad, about the Trojan War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx0tQojZNIU
• Odyssey, about the return of Ulysses (Odysseus) home
after the Trojan War.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBGO0T-
JE8A&t=4s

36. Odiseo cegando a Polifemo, el cíclope

37. POETRY
• It wasn’t so popular.
• It dealt with the feelings of
poets.
• Sappho of Lesbos and Pindar
were very important poets.

38. THEATRE
• It was a very popular genre. They standed out two
types of works:
• TRAGEDIES  Which reflected the intervention of
the gods in the destiny of men. Authors: Aeschylus,
Sophocles, Euripides.
• COMEDIAS  More freedom of social and political
criticism. Highlighted Aristophanes
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjLrMxO4cys

42. • Polytheistic religion.
• The gods were anthropomorphic (they had human appearance,
behavior and defects), but they were immortal.
• The Greek religion had no moral requirement, except to perform
some sacrifice of animals in honor of the gods and to celebrate
some festivals.
• The narration of its history receives the name of "mythology".

43. THE GODS OF OLYMPUS
• The gods lived on Mount Olympus. Some of these
gods were:
Zeus was the most important, god of lightning.
Cronos was his father, god of time.
Rhea was his mother, goddess of fertility.
Poseidon was his brother, god of the sea.
Hades was also his brother, god of hell.
Hera, wife of Zeus, goddess of the family.

45. LOS GRIEGOS ERAN POLITEÍSTAS , LOS DIOSES IMITABAN EL COMPORTAMIENTO
DE LOS HOMBRES. ODIABAN , SE ENAMORABAN , SE ENGAÑABAN. VIVÍAN EN EL
MONTE OLIMPO.

46. THE GREEK GODS
► On Olympus there were
many gods. Zeus and
Hera, husband and wife,
will be the most
important.
► Zeus: king of gods, ruled
on Olympus. God of
heaven and thunder.
(Lightning, eagle, scepter
or golden sceptre).
► Hera: queen of gods.
Goddess of marriage and
family. (Crown,
pomegranate, peacock).
Zeus y Hera, eran hijos de Crono y Gea, por lo
tanto hermanos. Pese a ello, fueron también pareja
y tuvieron hijos que dieron lugar a una segunda
generación de dioses.

47. NAME GOD OF SYMBOLS
Zeus Heaven Lightning
Hera Marriage and family Peacock, pomegranate, Crown
Poseidón The sea Trident, horse
Artemis Hunting and virginity Deer, bow and arrow
Hermes Trade. Messenger of the Gods Winged helmet, sandals
Athena Wisdom Owl and olive
Ares War Spear, shield, dog
Aphrodite Love, beauty. Shell, rose, appel
Afrodita Amor, belleza y deseo Concha, rosa, manzana
Deméter Fertility, agricultura Wheet, poppy, torch
Apolo Sun, music, poetry Sun, lyre, bow
Hades Underworld, hell and wealthness Horn, Cerberus

48.  Father of Gods and men.
 He is a sky god who controls
lightning (often using it as a
weapon) and thunder
 Zeus is king of Mount Olympus,
the home of Greek gods
 Zeus is represented as a bearded
man with a lightning or an eagle.
The most famous of all was the
colossal statue of ivory and gold,
by the sculptor Phidias, who was
in Olympia.
ZEUS

49.  Hera is the queen of the GODS and
is the wife and sister of ZEUS in
the olympian pantheon.
Goddess of marriage & birth.
She was known to be jealous and
vengeful towards the many lovers
of her husband Zeus.
In images and statues, Hera is
portrayed solemn, crowned with
the polos – a high cylindrical
crown and sometimes with a
peacock.
HERA

50. Goddess of wisdom.
Athena was born from ZEUS after he
experienced an enormous headache and
she sprang fully grown and in armour from
his forehead.
Her attributes were: the helmet, the spear
and the shield; the owl and the olive tree
She was the patron goddess of Athens
ATHENA / ATENEA

51. Aphrodite is the goddess
of love and beauty .
She was born from the
foam in the waters.
Aphrodite had many
lovers. Her lovers include
both gods and men –
including the god Ares.
She was married to
Hephestus.
Her son is Eros.
APHRODITE

52.  Artemis is the goddess of the
hunt.
 She was also known as the
goddess of wild animals,
wilderness, childbirth and
virginity.
 She was the daughter of the
god Zeus and Leto and twin
sister of the god Apollo.
 She was depicted as a
huntress carrying a bow and
arrow.
ARTEMIS

53. HERMES
 Hermes was one of the 12
Olympian Gods and was
god of trade, thieves,
travelers, sports, athletes,
and border crossings,
guide to the Underworld.
 He was the messenger of
the gods.
 He is represented as a
young man with wings on
his feet and with a
winged helmet.
HERMES

54. Poseidon was god of the sea,
earthquakes, storms, and horses
and is considered one of the most
bad-tempered, moody and greedy
olympian gods.
He was Zeus’ brother.
He is depicted with a trident.
He and Athena competed for
possession of the city of Athens.
POSEIDON

55. Greek God of the Dead and King of the
Underworld
Hades and his brothers ZEUS and POSEIDON
defeated their father and the TITANS to
end their reign, claiming rulership over
the cosmos. They agreed to split their
rule with Zeus becoming god of the
skies, Poseidon god of the sea and
Hades god of the underworld.
The god of the underworld was married to
PERSEPHONE.
HADES

56. EL MITO DE HADES Y PERSEFONE
Perséfone (Proserpina) era la hija de Zeus (Júpiter) y de Deméter (Ceres), la diosa de
la tierra y la agricultura. Hades (Plutón), el dios de los infiernos, la vio y se enamoró
de ella. Un día estaba Perséfone paseando y recogiendo flores cuando la raptó y se la
llevó a su reino para hacerla su esposa.
Cuando Deméter se enteró de su desaparición, se puso muy triste, comenzó a
buscarla, descuidó la tierra y las plantas se secaron. Una ninfa que fue testigo del
rapto, le contó lo que había pasado y entonces Deméter fue a pedirle ayuda a Zeus y
a decirle que si Hades no se la devolvía no se volvería a ocupar de la tierra.
Zeus accedió a ayudarla, pero Hades consiguió que Perséfone comiera un grano de
granada, el alimento de los muertos, con ello se veía atada a su reino y no podía
abandonarlo para siempre, pero al final llegaron a un acuerdo, Perséfone pasaría 6
meses arriba con su madre y otros 6 meses tendría que regresar al Tártaro con
Hades.
Así que cuando está arriba su madre está contenta, llega la primavera, la tierra florece
y da sus frutos, y cuando le llega la hora de descender, sobreviene el otoño y el
invierno, las hojas se caen y la tierra se hiela, que no es otra cosa que la
manifestación anual del dolor de Deméter al perder a su hija.
Documento:

57. • Greek God of Fire and
Metalworking
• He was the son of ZEUS
and HERA and married
to APHRODITE.
• He was a smithing god,
making all of the weapons
for Olympus and acting as
a blacksmith for the gods.
• Hephaestus was the only
ugly god among perfectly
beautiful immortals.
HEPHAESTUS

58. ARES
Greek god of War.
He is well known as the lover of
APHRODITE, who was married to
HEPHAESTUS.
Eros (more commonly known as
Cupid) was also the child of Ares and
Aphrodite.
In art, Ares is generally depicted
wearing a spear and a helmet.

59. • Greek Goddess of
Agriculture, Fertility and the
Harvest.
• She had one daughter,
Persephone.
DEMETER

60. DIONYSUS
Greek God of Wine & the Grape Harvest
Dionysus depict him as a mature male,
bearded and robed holding a fennel staff
tipped with a pine-cone. However, in later
images the god is show to be a beardless,
sensuous, naked or semi-naked androgynous
youth.
He was also referred to as Bacchus.

61. APOLLO
God of the Sun, the Light, the Music and
Prophecy.
The god HERMES create the lyre for Apollo
and this instrument became a known attribute
for him.
He and his twin sister Artemis shared an
aptitude for archery.
The nine Muses were companions of his; they
were goddesses known for inspiring art and
music.

62. EROS OR CUPID
God of Love.
Eros was portrayed as a little
boy with wings.
Cupid always had a bow and
arrow which he used to shoot
the power of love wherever he
wanted it to go.
Cupid had a girlfriend named
Psyche

63. • HEROES  They were born of the loves of the
gods with mortals.
• Heracles (son of Zeus and Alcmena). It stands
out for its strength.
• Achilles (son of the goddess Tethys and Peleus).
• THE MUSES  Protectors of the sciences and the
arts.
• THE NYMPHS  spirits of nature.
• THE FAUNS  gods of the forests.
THE LESSER DIVINITIES

64. LOS HÉROES , ERAN SEMIDIOSES MITAD HOMBRES Y MITAD
DIOS. LOS MÁS IMPORTANTES : HÉRCULES, PERSEO, AQUILES
Hércules. Perseo Aquiles

65. The cult of the gods
The greeks communicated
with the gods through
sacrifices with animals.
The temples were the
dwelling place of the gods.
Each temple kept the
image of one in its interior
and its possessions.
His worship included
prayers, offerings, songs,
sacrifices, and public
holidays.

66. THE GODS COMMUNICATED THEIR
DESIRES TO MEN, THROUGH
ORACLES. THE BEST KNOWN WAS IN
THE CITY OF DELPHI, IN THE TEMPLE
DEDICATED TO THE GOD APOLLO,
WHERE A WOMAN, CALLED PYTHIA,
INTERMEDIATED BETWEEN GODS AND
MEN.

67. • The cities were placed under the protection of a
god.
• The goddess of Athens was Athena, goddess of
wisdom.
• The Greek poleis organised common cults, which
they called panhellenic, all Greek cities
participated.
Atenea Partenos. Acrópolis de Atenas

68. THE OLYMPIC GAMES
• They were held every four
years in the sanctuary of
Olympia.
• The Greek cities sent their
best athletes to compete in
races and fights.
• Wars were forbidden while
they lasted.

69. • In the old Olympic Games the
sport modalities were the
Pentathlon, Chariot racing,
Wrestling, Running, Boxing and
Pankration that was a mixture of
boxing and fighting.
• The last test of the Games,
considered the most important,
was called "end of the stadium"
and consisted of running a
stadium (192.27 meters).
• The winners of the Games received
as the only prize a crown made
with olive branches

70. FACTS ABOUT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
• All athletes competed naked
• Wrestlers and pankration (a sort of
mixed martial art which combined
boxing and wrestling) competitors
fought covered in oil
• Corporal punishment awaited those
guilty of a false start on the track
• There were only two rules in the
pankration – no biting and no gouging

71. FACTS ABOUT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
• Boxers were urged to avoid attacking the on-
display male genitals
• There were no points, no time limits and no
weight classifications in the boxing
• Athletes in the combat sports had to indicate
their surrender by raising their index fingers
– at times they died before they could do this
• Boxers who could not be separated could opt
for klimax, a system whereby one fighter was
granted a free hit and then vice-versa – a toss
of a coin decided who went first

72. D. 49.

74. • It is an art that seeks proportion,
balance and perfection.
• Architecture and sculpture will stand
out.
• Greek paintings hasn’t been
preserved.

76. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Search for beauty: proportion, balance, serenity,
correct measures.
• In function and according to the human being. They
were not colossal or gigantic buildings, like in
Egypt.
• It is flat or architrave (flat ceilings), they did not use
the arch or the vault.
• The ceilings are supported by columns.

77. ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
• Architectural order: norm that imposed conditions
for the decoration and construction of temples.
• There were three orders: Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian.

79. THE DORIC ORDER
• La columna no tenía basa.
• Fuste grueso y con aristas.
• Capitel sencillo: collarino,
equino y ábaco.
• En el entablamento:
• Arquitrabe liso.
• Friso.
• Triglifos (tres bandas
verticales)
• Metopas (zona lisa con
bajorrelieves)
• Cornisa.
• Column without a base
• The columns are fluted and are of
sturdy, if not stocky, proportions.
• Plain, unadorned column capital
• In the entablature:
• Plain Lise architrave.
• Frieze.
• trigylphs—vertical plaques
with three divisions
• metopes—square spaces
for either painted or
sculpted decoration
• Cornis.

83. THE IONIC ORDER
• A base supports the column.
• The column was more slender, with basa.
• Thinner and ribbed shaft.
• Volutes, scroll-like ornaments, characterize the
Ionic capital
• Entablature:
• Architrave  divided in three horizontal
bands.
• Frieze.
• Undivided, smooth or with reliefs.
• Cornis.

84. THE IONIC ORDER
• La columna era más esbelta, con basa.
• Fuste más fino y acanalado.
• Capitel formado por dos volutas.
• En el entablamento:
• Arquitrabe dividido en tres bandas
horizontales.
• Friso.
• Sin dividir, liso o con relieves.
• Cornisa.

85. Ionic capital, north porch of the Erechtheion, 421-407 BCE, marble,
Acropolis, Athens

87. ORDEN CORINTIO
• La columna era más esbelta, con basa.
• Fuste más fino y acanalado.
• Capitel formado por hojas de acanto
(motivo vegetal)
• En el entablamento:
• Arquitrabe dividido en tres bandas
horizontales.
• Friso.
• Sin dividir, liso o con relieves.
• Cornisa.

88. Corinthian capital

89. THE CORINTHIAN ORDER
• The column was more slender, with basa.
• Thinner and ribbed shaft.
• Capitel formed by acanthus leaves
(vegetal motif)
• In the entablature:
• Architrave divided in thre horizontal
bands.
• Frieze.
• Undivided, plain or with reliefs.
• Cornis.

91. D.53.

92. D.63.

93. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=nrRJkzXl4a4

94. LOS TEMPLOS
• Eran las construcciones más importantes. Albergaban la
estatua de un dios.
• Sólo accedían las personas relacionadas con el culto.
• Las celebraciones religiosas se hacían al aire libre.
• Eran muy proporcionados.
• Planta: rectangular.
• Se levantaban sobre tres gradas.
• Los frontones (triángulo bajo el ángulo del tejado) estaban
decorados con esculturas.
• Partes: pronaos (o vestíbulo), naos o cella (estancia
principal) y opistódomos (almacén).
• Si están rodeados por columnas: peristilo.

96. Templo de Hefesto, en Atenas.

97. Templo Griego, ¿orden?

98. Templo del
Erecteion en Atenas

99. TEMPLO DE ZEUS EN OLIMPIA.

100. El Partenón de Atenas dedicado a la diosa Atenea
protectora de la ciudad

101. Templos Griegos de Orden Jónico

102. Templo Griego de Orden Corintio.

103. Estructura de un templo Griego.

104. TEMPLO CIRCULAR LLAMADO THOLOS.

106. THE SANCTUARIES
• Larger sacred precincts: they had temples,
stadiums, commemorative buildings, buildings to
store treasures.
• The most important was that of Delphi or the
Acropolis of Athens, where the Parthenon was.

108. THE GREEK THEATRES
• They were civil constructions, but with a religious origin.
• They were very important.
• The slope of the mountains was used for the grandstand.
• It had three parts:
• Grandstands (gradas).
• Orchestra.
• Scene.

109. Teatro de Epidauro.

111. • It was used to represent the gods and decorate the
temples.
• Materials: marble and bronze
• They represent the human body. Beauty is sought for
the perfection of forms and the harmony of
proportions.
• Canon of proportions: model of beauty, groups of
proportion and ratios that the body should have, for
example, the head should represent 1/7 of the body.
• Three stages:
• Archaic
• Classical
• Hellenistic

112. THE ARCHAIC SCUPTURE
• Influenced by Egyptian and oriental
art.
• Kuroi (male, kuros in the singular)
and Korai (female, koré in the
singular).
• Frontal, rigid, almond-shaped eyes,
little expressive smile.
• Leg forward, arms attached to the
body.

113. CLASSICAL SCULPTURE
• They take care of the proportions and the canon.
• They are not frontal.
• They transmit serenity and balance.
• Technique of wet cloths to represent the clothes,
with many folds and glued to the body.
• The most important sculptors were: Polícleto (fixed
canon), Fidias, Mirón, Praxíteles and Lisipo.

117. HELLENISTIC SCULPTURE
• More movement
• More realistic
• Dramatic tension and exaggerated movement.
• New themes: children, the elderly and the dying.