Western Civ Blog 17

Today in class we read pages 134-139 and took notes on the Democracy and Greeces golden age. The main idea of the text was cultural interaction. Democratic principles and classical culture flourished during Greeces golden age. It matters to us today because Greece set lasting standards in art, politics, literature, and philosophy that are still influential today. The Athens wanted a strong democracy. Some important terms were direct democracy, classical art, tragedy, comedy, Peloponnesian war, philosophers, socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Direct democracy is a from of government inn which citizens rule directly and not through representatives. Classical art are values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion. Tragedy is a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, and betrayal. Comedy is contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. The Peloponnesian war was between 2 city states. the Athens had a stronger Navy, Sparta had a stronger Army. The location made it easy to be attacked from the sea. Philosophers means "lovers of wisdom." we also read about Socrates and Plato. Plato was a student of socrates. He wrote down conversations of socrates "as a means of philosophical investigation." Aristotle was a philosopher.