The Athen Civilization Of Ancient Greek Culture

The Greeks finished building an exquisite temple to their beloved goddess, Athena in the year 432 BCE. (Sayre 60). The name of this enriched, unique temple was the Parthenon. The Parthenon took the Greeks approximately fifteen years to complete and as Pericles stated, it was built to give gratitude to their goddess Athena for the salvation of their city, Athens and all of Greece in the Persian Wars (Sayre 60). It was also a symbol of their power and superiority among other cultures. It was something the Greeks took great pride in and recognized it to a great extent. The Parthenon was built on the highest point of the city of Athens to look over the precious Greek city. On the exterior walls of the Parthenon there was beautiful artwork that

The ancient Greek civilization contributed many great new ideas and aspects to everyday life that shaped and inspired the modern day society. The Greeks are well known for their construction of temples, acropolis’ and other grand architectural structures. Among these structures stood one of the most famous, the Parthenon. The Parthenon was a symbol of Greek society and culture as it stood as one of Greece’s most important architectural buildings.

In ancient Greece, around 500 B.C.E, the culture was revolving around gods and goddesses. The lifestyles and actions of the people of Greece had an interdependence with the common belief of Hellenism. By understanding that many Greeks looked to their gods and goddesses in most aspects of their life, we can better understand how Greek culture worked as a whole. This can be seen specifically in Athens Greece. In Athens they looked to the Goddess Athena in particular because she was their patron Goddess. During this time a sculptor, named Phidias, sculpted a grand statue called the Athena Parthenos. The Athena Parthenos was viewed as an actual incarnation of the Goddess Athena, and symbolize victory in wars that ultimately create peace and harmony.

1. During the Mycenaean civilization, who was the great poet and what were his two important literary works that influenced the Greeks and formed part of Western literature? Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey

The Parthenon is known for being one of the greatest achievements of the Athenians. The massive building is a work of perfection and beauty. The Parthenon, which took ten years to build was placed on the highest point of the Acropolis that overlooks the Athenian City. Constructed entirely of marble and embellished with sculptures, the Parthenon is one of the finest examples of the Classical style. It has columns that are specific to the Classical style.

The Parthenon is a classical style of ancient Greek architecture and the most important building in the city and it self replaced on older temple of Athena, which called Pre-Parthenon. It was built and completed in 438 B.C buy Iktinos and Kallikrates, after that destroyed by Persian in 480 B.C. The Temple all made form marble and its 20 miles far from Athens. Later

Another important contribution of the ancient Greeks to the modern world is art. In the United States, the Supreme Court, White House, and the Capitol Building are all highly influenced by Greek architecture. Most of the post offices are modeled after the Parthenon. The Parthenon is on top of the Acropolis in Athens, it is known for their grand marble flooring and columns, the Parthenon was a place of worship to the god Athena (doc. 7). Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and military victory, the city of Athens was named in her honor. The Parthenon is a symbol for ancient Greece, allowing for a backdrop of one of the most important cities when it comes to the history of humanity and the development of it. The Greeks were also very involved with sports. Many statues were created to show the beauty and grace of a Greek athlete, Track and Field were the most popular sports. The ancient Greeks were very fascinated with the human body (doc. 8). A great mind was the only thing equivalent to an attractive body. The Olympics first started in ancient Greece, having a similar situation to the Olympics today. Countries, but

The Greeks occupied such a minute space of land compared to the rest of the world, and their existence is a mere flicker in time, yet their influence on civilization today is significant and obvious. So how did they do it? The Ancient Greeks were not perfect by any means; they practiced slavery, sacrificing, forced men to become warriors, confined women to the home, and were sometimes plagued by disease. Despite their pitfalls, the Greeks were still able to rise to become a major influential power due to their feeling of purpose, which was to be the best. It was not religion nor war that propelled them forward, but this feeling of wanting to be the best in everything. Essentially, the Greeks wanted to achieve arete, or excellence of any kind. As a result, the Greeks were excellent philosophers, warriors, artists, architects, actors, and so much more. There are many aspects of Greek life that influence civilization today, and it is all due to the Greek’s belief in achieving arete.

In approximately 450 BC Athens’ premier statesman, Pericles, initiated a program of works designed to embellish his city in order to demonstrate the superiority of the city of Athens3. This crowing achievement of this program was The Parthenon, supervised by Pheidias3. It was built on the Acropolis; a mass of rock sharply rising out of the plain around Athens. The Parthenon is a replacement for an unfinished earlier temple that was destroyed by the Persians; the archaic remains of this were partially used to construct this magnificent building. The construction began in about 447 BC and was completed by 432 BC3. The three major elements forming the sculpted ornament on The Parthenon consists of the metopes, pediments, and the frieze. While

The Athenians built the Parthenon in 447 BC, as a replacement of their first temple and a monument of victory after leading the Greeks to victory against the Persians. Funded by the wealthy members of the society and money appropriated by the recently moved from the Bank of Delian league, the Parthenon stood as political statement of democracy in addition to its religious function. Geographically located at the highest point of the city and within proximity of the acropolis, Athenians and visitors would be able to witness the grandeur of Athenian wealth during their height of power. Being a cultural center for art and the leaders of the other Greek City-States during the war, the Athenian claim to being the most quintessential Greeks. Through

The Athenians began the construction of The Parthenon in 447 BCE. It was eventually burned down by the Persians in 480 BCE, while still under construction. It was known to be dedicated to the goddess Athena, and after its destruction, much of its ruins were made use of in the building of the fortifications at the Acropolis. The temple remains a partial mystery to us, and whether or not it was still under construction when it was destroyed has been argued. Its main foundations were made of limestone, and the columns of Pentelic marble. The main function of the temple was to hold a statue of Athena made by Pheidias out of gold and ivory.

Much can be said about the Greeks and their contribution to Western Civilization greatly and how they paved the way. The Greeks subsidized Western Civilization greatly, contributing areas of architecture, government, and many more. The Greeks built the Parthenon, a temple dedicated the infamous goddess Athena, who they viewed as there patron. The famous temple has columns and groundwork that characterizes Greek architecture. The architects were concerned with conducting a sense of perfect balance to reflect cooperation and order in the universe. They were the first to think of the idea of democracy, a system in which people govern themselves rather than being ruled by a king; they also valued beauty and imagination.

to honor Athena. With this temple built, the Greeks had somewhere to go to place their

The Parthenon in Athens is the most important and characteristic monument of ancient Greek civilization, it is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. It shows the finest point of Greek architecture, history and ancient Greek religious beliefs. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to Athens patron goddess, Athena (Herbert, 2006:3). Athena was the goddess of civilization, wisdom, weaving, crafts and war. She never had a consort or lover, and so she was often known as Athena Parthenos ("Athena the virgin") which is were the Parthenon's name, derives from.

The Parthenon was built to express greatness of their influential society and honor the goddess Athena. The Golden Age of Athens is some times referred to as the Age of Pericles, one of the greatest leaders seen throughout our history.