Democracy and Greece's Golden Age

Culture Interaction:
 - Democratic principles and classical culture flourished during Greece's golden age.

Setting the stage
 - 477 - 431 B.C.
 - Athens experience a growth in intellectual and artistic learning.
 - the Golden Age of Athens.

Pericles Plan for Athens
Pericles led Athens during much of its golden age. From 461-429 B.C. is called the Age of Pericles. He had three goals: 1. to strengthen Athenian democracy, 2. to hold and strengthen the empire, 3. to glorify Athens.
 - Stronger Democracy
  - Pericles increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries. So Athens had more citizens engaging in self-government than any other city-state in Greece, this reform made Athens one of the most democracy government in history.
  - Direct democracy is a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives.
 - Athenian Empire
  - after the defeat of the Persians, Athens helped organized the Delian League. They use the money to make Athenian navy the strongest in the Mediterranean. Strong navy was important because it helped Athens strengthen the safety of its empire.
 - Glorifying Athens
  - Pericles also used the money to beautify Athens.

Glorious Art and Architecture
Pericles' goal was to have the greatest Greek artists and architects create magnificent sculptures and buildings to glorify Athens. One of architecture's novelist works - the Parthenon
 - Architecture and Sculpture
  - the Parthenon, a masterpiece of architectural design and craftsmanship, was not unique in style.Phidias crafted a giant statue of Athena that only contained such precious materials as gold and ivory, but also stood over 30 feet tall.
  - They wanted to portray ideal beauty, not realism. Their values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion became the standard of what is called classical art.

Drama and History
The Greeks invented drama as an art form and built the first theaters in the West.
 - Tragedy and Comedy
  - They wrote two kinds of drama - tragedy and comedy. A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal. They have a main character, or tragic hero.
  - Aeschylus wrote more than 80 plays. Sophocles wrote more than 100 plays, Euripides, author of the play Medea, often featured strong women in his works.
  - a comedy contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. Play wrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas of the time.
 - History
  - Herodotus, a Greek who lived in Athens for a time, pioneered the accurate reporting of events. He wrote the first book of history.