WH6.4.4 Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliadand Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables.

Greek MythologyThe Greeks believed that gods and

goddesses controlled nature and shaped their lives.Reading Connection Have you ever wondered whycrops grow or why the sun rises and sets? To get theanswer, you would read a science book. Read to learnhow the Greeks used religion to explain nature.

Myths (MIHTHS) are traditional storiesabout gods and heroes. Greek mythologyexpressed the Greek people’s religious beliefs.The Greeks believed in many gods and god-desses. They believed gods and goddessesaffected people’s lives and shaped events.That is why the most impressive buildings inGreek cities were religious temples.

Greek Gods and Goddesses The Greeksbelieved that the gods and goddesses controlled nature. According to Greekmyth, the god Zeus ruled the sky andthrew lightning bolts, the goddessDemeter made the crops grow, and thegod Poseidon caused earthquakes.

The 12 most important gods and goddesses lived on Mount Olympus(uh • LIHM • puhs), the highest mountain in Greece. Among the 12 were Zeus, who was the chief god; Athena, thegoddess of wisdom and crafts; Apollo, the god of the sun and poetry; Ares, thegod of war; Aphrodite, the goddess oflove; and Poseidon, the god of the seas and earthquakes.

The Greeks believed their gods and goddesseswere a large family—all related in some way.1. Who was the twin sister of Apollo?2. Explain How were Ares and Zeus related?

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But Greek gods and goddesses were notthought to be all-powerful. According toGreek myths, even though gods had specialpowers, they looked like human beings andacted like them. They married, had children,quarreled, played tricks on each other, andfought wars.

Because Greeks sought their gods’ favor,they followed many rituals. A ritual is a set ofactions carried out in a fixed way. As part oftheir rituals, the Greeks prayed to their godsand also gave them gifts. In return, theyhoped that the gods would grant good fortune to them. Many Greek festivals hon-ored the gods and goddesses. Festivals dedi-cated to Zeus were held at Olympia.

The Greeks also believed in an afterlife.When people died, the Greeks believed theirspirits went to a gloomy world beneath theearth ruled by a god named Hades.

What Was a Greek Oracle? The Greeksbelieved that each person had a fate or des-tiny. They believed that certain events weregoing to happen no matter what they did.They also believed in prophecy. A prophecyis a prediction about the future. The Greeksbelieved that the gods gave prophecies topeople to warn them about the future intime to change it.

To find out about the future, manyGreeks visited an oracle (AWR • uh • kuhl).This was a sacred shrine where a priest or priestess spoke for a god or goddess. Themost famous was the oracle at the Templeof Apollo at Delphi (DEHL • FY). The oraclechamber was deep inside the temple. Theroom had an opening in the floor where vol-canic smoke hissed from a crack in the earth.

A priestess sat on a tripod—a three-legged stool—in the oracle chamber and lis-tened to questions. The priests translatedher answers. State leaders or their messen-gers traveled to Delphi to ask advice fromthe oracle of Apollo.

The priestess in the oracle often gaveanswers in riddles. When one king, namedCroesus (KREE • suhs), sent messengers to theoracle at Delphi, they asked if the kingshould go to war with the Persians. The ora-cle replied that if Croesus attacked thePersians, he would destroy a mighty empire.Overjoyed to hear these words, Croesusdeclared war on the Persians. The Persianarmy crushed his army. The mighty empireKing Croesus had destroyed was his own!

Explain Why did theGreeks have rituals and festivals for their godsand goddesses?

378 CHAPTER 8 • Greek Civilization

This painting shows a Greek man at the oracleat Delphi receiving a prophecy. Why were theseprophecies often confusing?

Mary Evans Picture Library

WH6.4.4 Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliadand Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables.

Greek Poetry and FablesGreek poetry and fables taught Greek

values.Reading Connection Do you have favorite stories?Are the characters in the stories brave and clever? Read aboutthe characters of the best-loved stories in early Greece.

Greek poems and stories are some ofthe oldest in Europe. For hundreds ofyears, Europeans and Americans haveused these early works as models for theirown poems and stories. Shakespeare, forexample, borrowed many Greek plots andsettings.

The earliest Greek stories were epics(EH • pihks). These long poems told about

heroic deeds. The first great epics of earlyGreece were the Iliad and the Odyssey. Thepoet Homer (HOH •muhr) wrote these epicsduring the 700s B.C. He based them on sto-ries of a war between Greece and the city ofTroy, which once existed in the region thatis today northwestern Turkey.

In the Iliad, a prince of Troy kidnaps thewife of the king of Sparta. The kidnappingoutrages the Greeks. The king of Mycenaeand the brother of the king of Sparta leadthe Greeks in an attack on Troy.

The battle for Troy drags on for 10 years. Finally, the Greeks come up witha plan to capture the city. They build ahuge, hollow, wooden horse. The best My-cenaean warriors hide inside the horse.

The Trojan HorseThe Trojan Horse

After building the Trojanhorse, the Greeks returnedto their ships and pretendedto retreat. Despite warnings,the Trojans brought thehorse within their city as a war trophy. The Greeksinside the horse opened thecity gates for their fellowsoldiers and captured thecity. What epic included thestory of the Trojan horse?

Clay carving of the Trojan horse

James L. Stanfield/National Geographic Society Image Collection

The Trojans, thinking the horse was agift from the Greeks, celebrate and roll thegiant horse into the city. That night, theGreek warriors quietly climb from thehorse and capture the city.

The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus,another Greek hero. It describes his journeyhome from the Trojan War. Odysseus facesstorms, witches, and giants before return-ing to his wife. Because it took Odysseus 10years to get home, we use the word odysseytoday to mean a long journey with manyadventures.

Greeks believed the Iliad and theOdyssey were more than stories. Theylooked on the epics as real history. Thesepoems gave the Greeks an ideal past witha cast of heroes. Generations of Greeksread Homer’s works. One Athenian wrote,“My father was anxious to see me develop

into a good man . . . [so] he compelled meto memorize all of Homer.”

Homer’s stories promoted courage andhonor. They also taught that it was impor-tant to be loyal to your friends and to valuethe relationship between husband andwife. The stories showed heroes striving tobe the best they could be. Heroes fought toprotect their own honor and their family’shonor. Homer’s heroes became role modelsfor Greek boys.

Who Was Aesop? About 550 B.C., a Greekslave named Aesop (EE • SAHP) made up hisnow famous fables. A fable (FAY •buhl) is ashort tale that teaches a lesson. In most ofAesop’s fables, animals talk and act likepeople. These often funny stories exposehuman flaws as well as strengths. Eachfable ends with a message, or moral.

One of the best-known fables is “TheTortoise and the Hare.” In this fable, a tor-toise and a hare decide to race. More thanhalfway into the race, the hare is way ahead.He stops to rest and falls asleep. Meanwhile,the tortoise keeps going at a slow but steadypace and finally wins the race.

The moral of the story is “slow andsteady wins the race.” Some of the phraseswe hear today came from Aesop’s fables.“Sour grapes,” “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,”and “appearances often are deceiving” areexamples.

For about 200 years, Aesop’s fableswere a part of Greece’s oral tradition. Thismeans they were passed from person toperson by word of mouth long before theywere ever written down. Since then, count-less writers have retold the stories in manydifferent languages.

Describe What are thecharacteristics of a fable?

380 CHAPTER 8 • Greek Civilization

AesopAesop

According to legend, Aesop was freedfrom slavery and became an adviser toGreek rulers. What is a fable?

Alinari/Art Resource, NY

6.4.6. Compare and contrast life in Athensand Sparta, with emphasis on their rules inthe Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.

HOMERc. 750 B.C.Homer’s epic poems—the Iliad and the

Odyssey—are famous, but until the 1900s, historiansbelieved that Homer never existed. Historians nowknow Homer was a real person, but they still debatewhether he wrote his poems alone or with the helpof other poets.

Many historians have speculated, or madeeducated guesses, about Homer’s personal life.Some say that Homer came from Ionia and sevencities claim to be his birthplace. Some believe thathe was blind. Others believe that he wanderedfrom town to town.

Legends tell of Homer’s strong influence on hisreaders. For example, as a young child, Alexanderthe Great is said to have slept with a copy of theIliad under his pillow.

Homer used the term aoidos for a poet. Thisword means “singer,” which tells us that the poetrycreated during Homer’s time was memorized andrecited, not written down. Usually, short, simplepoems that were easy to remember were told toan audience as entertainment.

Homer created a different style of poetry thatinfluenced all Western literature that followed. Hisepics are long and involve complex characters,dramatic action, and interesting events. Becauseeach section of the Iliad and the Odyssey has thesecharacteristics, most historians today think thatonly one poet could have created bothepics. Whoever Homer was, his twoepics have influenced readers for nearly3,000 years.

WH6.4.4 Explain the significance of Greekmythology to the everyday life of people inthe region and how Greek literaturecontinues to permeate our literature andlanguage today, drawing from Greekmythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliadand Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables.

381

Homer

Review the characteristics of an epic. Then doresearch to identify a modern epic.

“I hate as I hate [Hades’]own gate that man whohides one thought withinhim while he speaksanother.”

——Homer, the Iliad

Scala/Art Resource, NY

WH6.4.4 Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliadand Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables. WH6.4.8 Describe the enduring contributions of important Greek figures in the arts andsciences (e.g., Hypatia, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Thucydides).

Actors today includeboth men and women—and evenchildren and animals. Special effects

and makeup have replaced handheldmasks. Music in modern theater is

sometimes just as important as the actors’words. If you watched a Greek play, what might

it tell you about life in ancient Greece?Ruins of a Greek theater

The TheaterA modern-day play

Greek DramaGreek drama still shapes entertain-

ment today.Reading Connection Think about your favoritemovie. How would you describe it? Is it a tragedy? Isit a comedy? Read to find out how Greek plays stillinfluence our entertainment.

What is drama (DRAH •muh)? Drama is astory told by actors who pretend to becharacters in the story. In a drama, actorsspeak, show emotion, and imitate theactions of the characters they represent.

Today’s movies, plays, and televisionshows are all examples of drama.

Tragedies and Comedies The Greeks per-formed plays in outdoor theaters as part oftheir religious festivals. They developed twokinds of dramas—comedies and tragedies.

In a tragedy (TRA • juh • dee), a personstruggles to overcome difficulties but fails.As a result, the story has an unhappy end-ing. Early Greek tragedies presented peoplein a struggle against their fate. Later Greektragedies showed how a person’s characterflaws caused him or her to fail.

Tragedies and comedies were staged at atheater on the slopes of the Acropolis in Athens.The plays included music and dance. Greekactors wore costumes and held large masks.The masks told the audience who theactor was supposed to be—a king, asoldier, or a god. All the actors weremen, even those playing female parts.

382 CHAPTER 8 • Greek Civilization(l)SuperStock, (r)Eric Robert/CORBIS

In a comedy (KAH •muh • dee), the storyends happily. Today we use the word comedyto mean a story filled with humor. The wordactually means any drama that has a happyending.

Greek stories dealt with big questions,such as:

• What is the nature of good and evil?• What rights should people have?• What role do gods play in our lives?

The three best-known writers of Greektragedies were Aeschylus (EHS • kuh • luhs),Sophocles (SAH • fuh • KLEEZ), and Euripides(yu •RIH •puh •DEEZ). The best-known writerof Greek comedies was Aristophanes (ar •uh •STAH • fuh •NEEZ).

Early Greek tragedies had only one actorwho gave speeches and a chorus that sangsongs describing the events. Aeschylus wasthe first to introduce the idea of having twoactors. This let the writer tell a story involvingconflict between the two people. Aeschylusalso introduced costumes, props, and stagedecorations—all items we still use today.

One of Aeschylus’s best-known plays is a group of three plays called the Oresteia(ohr • eh • STY • uh). Aeschylus wrote theplays in 458 B.C. They describe what hap-pens when the king of Mycenae returnshome from the Trojan War. The Oresteiateaches that evil acts cause more evil actsand suffering. In the end, however, reasontriumphs over evil. The moral of theseplays is that people should not seekrevenge.

Sophocles, a general and a writer of plays,developed drama even further. He usedthree actors in his stories instead of one ortwo. He also placed painted scenes behindthe stage as a backdrop to the action. Two ofSophocles’ most famous plays are OedipusRex (EH • duh • puhs REHKS) and Antigone (an • TIH • guh • nee) In Antigone, Sophocles

asks the question “Is it better to followorders or to do what is right?”

Euripides, a later playwright, tried totake Greek drama beyond heroes and gods.His characters were more down-to-earth.Euripides’ plots show a great interest inreal-life situations. He questioned tradi-tional thinking, especially about war. Heshowed war as cruel and women and chil-dren as its victims.

The works of Aristophanes are goodexamples of comedies. They make fun ofleading politicians and scholars. Theyencourage the audience to think as well asto laugh. Many of Aristophanes’ playsincluded jokes, just like popular televisioncomedies do today.

Summarize What twotypes of drama did the Greeks create?

CHAPTER 8 • Greek Civilization 383

This artwork showsactors preparing fora play. When andwhere were Greekplays performed?

Comedy andtragedy masks

(t)Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, (b)Mary Evans Picture Library

WH6.4.8 Describe the enduring contributions of important Greek figures in the arts and sciences (e.g., Hypatia, Socrates, Plato,Aristotle, Euclid, Thucydides).

Greek Art and ArchitectureGreek art and architecture expressed

Greek ideas of beauty and harmony.Reading Connection Do you consider any buildingin your neighborhood a work of art? Read on to findout about buildings that people have admired as artfor centuries.

Artists in ancient Greece believed in cer-tain ideas and tried to show those ideas intheir work. These ideas have never goneout of style. Greek artists wanted people to

see reason, moderation, balance, and har-mony in their work. They hoped their artwould inspire people to base their lives onthese same ideas.

We know that the Greeks paintedmurals, but none of them have survived.However, we can still see examples ofGreek painting on Greek pottery. The pic-tures on most Greek pottery are either redon a black background or black on a redbackground. Large vases often had scenesfrom Greek myths. Small drinking cupsshowed scenes from everyday life.

384 CHAPTER 8 • Greek Civilization

Treasure RoomHeld the city's gold

FestivalAthenians came to honorAthena every four years.

AthenaThe statue of Athena,

covered in ivory and gold,was about 43 feet high.

Today the Parthenon stillrises above Athens.

The ParthenonThe Parthenon

Doric

The Greeks used three different styles of columnsin their buildings.

Ionic Corinthian

Standing at almost 230 feet long and 100 feet wide,the Parthenon was the glory of ancient Athens. It wasbuilt between 447 and 432 B.C. What was the purposeof the Parthenon?

(tl)Joel W. Rogers/CORBIS, (tc)Dave Bartruff/CORBIS, (tr)Vanni Archive/CORBIS, (b)Charles O’Rear/CORBIS

CHAPTER 8 • Greek Civilization 385

In addition to making pottery, theGreeks were skilled architects. Architectureis the art of designing and building struc-tures. In Greece, the most important archi-tecture was the temple dedicated to a god orgoddess. The best-known example is theParthenon. Temples, such as the Parthenon,had a walled room in their centers. Statuesof gods and goddesses and the gifts offeredto them were kept in these central rooms.

Large columns supported many Greekbuildings. The first Greek columns werecarved from wood. Then, in 500 B.C., theGreeks began to use marble. Marblecolumns were built in sections. Largeblocks of marble were chiseled from stonequarries and brought by oxen-drawnwagon to the building site. The sections

were stacked on top of each other. To keepthem from toppling, the column’s sectionswere joined with wooden pegs. Today,marble columns are common features ofchurches and government buildings.Some of the best-known buildings in ournation’s capital, such as the White Houseand the Capitol, have Greek columns.

Many Greek temples were decoratedwith sculpture. Greek sculpture, like Greekarchitecture, was used to express Greekideas. The favorite subject of Greek artistswas the human body. Greek sculptors didnot copy their subjects exactly, flaws andall. Instead, they tried to show their idealversion of perfection and beauty.

Identify What was the most important type of building in Greece?

Reading SummaryReview the • The Greeks believed gods and

goddesses influenced their lives.They believed oracles spoke forthe gods and goddesses.

• The Greeks wrote long poems,called epics, and short tales, calledfables, to pass on Greek values.

• The Greeks created the ideas oftragedy and comedy that are stillused in drama today.

• Greek art forms, such as painting,architecture, and sculpture,expressed Greek ideas of beauty,harmony, and moderation.

1. How and why did the Greekshonor their gods?

2. What values did the epic poemsof Homer teach Greeks?

Critical Thinking3. What are the

main themes of Euripedes’plays? Would they be populartoday?

4. Summarizing InformationDraw a table like the onebelow to describe the charac-teristics of Greek architectureand pottery.

5. Contrast How do Greektragedies and comedies differ?

6. Evaluate Why did Greekartists include the ideas of rea-son, moderation, balance, andharmony in their works?

7. Expository Writing Greek lit-erature tells us about Greeksociety. Choose a modern bookor movie.Write a paragraph toexplain what it would tell othersabout our society.

8. VisualizingWrite a description of Greekarchitecture. Give details soreaders can visualize them.

CA 6RC2.4

CA 6WA2.2

CA 6RC2.3

CA 6RL3.1

Greek Architecture

Greek Pottery

CA 6RC2.4

CA 6RL3.6

What Did You Learn?

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