Name _____________________________ Class _______________________ Date ____________

Classical Greece
Lesson 4

Achievements of Greek Culture

Key Terms and People
classical art art in which harmony, order, and balance were emphasized
lyric poetry poems that were often accompanied by lyre music and dealt with
emotions and desires
tragedy serious drama dealing with such themes as love, hate, war, or betrayal
comedy light and amusing play that may poke fun at serious subjects
philosopher thinker who uses logic and reason to explore life’s
important questions
Socrates Greek thinker who explored truth and justice and developed a method
of questioning and answering
Plato Socrates’s student who wrote The Republic, a view of the ideal society
Aristotle Plato’s student who developed a method for testing and organizing ideas

Before You Read

In the last lesson, you read about Athenian democracy and the
Peloponnesian War.
In this lesson, you will read about Greek contributions to classical
art, literature, and philosophy.

As You Read
Use a chart to organize information about artistic and philosophical
achievements in Athens.

GLoRiouS ART And example of classical art. It reflects order,

ARChiTeCTuRe balance, and proportion.
How was Greek art unique? The Parthenon has doors but no
Pericles used money from the Delian windows. Tall, graceful columns were
League to buy gold, ivory, and marble to topped with marble carvings of scenes
beautify Athens. He hired the greatest from myths. Parts of the building were
artists and architects to create magnificent painted in bright colors.
buildings and sculptures to glorify the city. Much artwork inside the temple was
One of the glories of Athens was the created by the sculptor Phidias.
Parthenon. This temple was built to Sculptors at this time wanted to create
honor the goddess Athena. It is a figures that were graceful, strong, and
masterpiece of art. Like other buildings perfectly formed. Their goal was to
and sculptures in Greece, it is an portray ideal human beings.

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Name ______________________________ Class ________________________ Date _____________

Lesson 4, continued

1. Why was the Parthenon built? PHilosoPHers searcH for

trutH
What did philosophers contribute to
Greek culture?
After Athens’s defeat, this city-state
became home to several philosophers.
Poetry, Drama, anD History They were thinkers who tried to
What kinds of literature did Greeks understand human life. One of these
produce? great thinkers was Socrates. He believed
While the epic poems of Homer are deeply in truth and justice. Yet many
the most famous works of Greek people did not trust him. They thought
literature, the Greeks wrote many other his teachings were dangerous. Socrates
types of poetry. The poet Hesiod wrote was brought to trial and condemned
descriptive poetry. Lyric poetry was to death.
often read aloud while a musical His pupil, Plato, recorded many of
instrument called a lyre was played. Socrates’s ideas. Plato became an
These poems do not tell stories, but important thinker in his own right.
instead explore emotions and desires. Plato’s student, Aristotle, wrote books
Athens also became home to a group that summarized the knowledge of the
of very skilled playwrights. Some wrote Greeks. His system of logic became the
tragedies. These plays were about the foundation of scientific thought
pain and suffering of human life. used today.
Other playwrights wrote comedies.
3. Who were three important
These plays made audiences laugh about
Greek philosophers?
important ideas. Some plays were
critical of customs, politics, and people.
Such performances showed that Athens
was a free and open society.
Also, such writers as Herodotus and
Thucydides pioneered the accurate
reporting of events. Their works led to
the development of the subject of
history. Xenophon, another early
historian, focused on describing famous
men. Xenophon’s works survive today
and help us understand life in Greece
during the 300s BC.
2. What was the purpose of
Greek comedies?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

65 Guided Reading Workbook

Name ______________________________ Class ________________________ Date _____________

Lesson 4, continued

As you read this lesson, take notes to answer questions about artistic
achievements in Athens.

The Greeks created masterpieces of classical art.

1. What steps did Pericles take to 2. What ideas were important to

glorify Athens? classical artists?

The Greeks invented drama.

3. What themes were common in 4. What do the themes of Greek

Greek tragedy? comedies suggest about the men and
women of Athens?

Greek philosophers search for truth.

5. What was Plato’s vision of the 6. What is the philosophic legacy

ideal society? of Aristotle?

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66 Guided Reading Workbook