THE CULTURE OF CLASSICAL GREECE

RELIGION

• Worshipped 12 gods and goddesses, higher beings were considered gods.
• They gathered and preformed rituals to honor them and to keep in good terms.
• Greeks behaved well because they thought the gods would help them if they lived a good and healthy life.
• If they had a sick child they would pray for them to get healthier. Though they believed that this required a sacrifice.

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• Women and men wore sandals, slippers, soft shoes, or boots, although at home they usually went barefoot.
• Different types of jewelry were produced in the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greece-Necklaces, earrings, pendants, pins, bracelets, armbands, thigh bands, finger rings, wreaths, diadems, and other elaborate hair ornaments.

LITERATURE AND ARTS

• The most famous piece of architecture is the Parthenon
• It was damaged by an explosion in 1687 but has been partially restored
• Drama was created in the Greek culture in the theaters
• The most famous drama was tragedy

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• The Greeks were the first people to record and document history as a past event
• Thucydides (Famous Historian) was a General who fought in war
• He wrote about the war in detail and is considered to be one of the greatest historians ever.

GREEK PHILOSOPHY

• Philosophy refers to an organized system of thought
• "love of wisdom"
• Critical or rational thought about the nature of the universe

Greek philosophers would explain the universe based on principleS

• Pythagoras - essence of the universe can be found in music and numbers
• Sophists (teachers) believed that you couldn't understand the universe and it was more important to improve themselves
• Socrates - code of ethics
• Plato was fascinated by the question of reality.