欧洲文化简明教程_Classic Age Greek Culture and Roman Culture.doc

Chapter One Classic Age: Greek Culture and Roman Culture I. Greek culture 1. The Historical Background Whenever we talk about the ancient Greece, we cannot fail to mention the Trojan War which lasted ten years beginning from 1194 B.C. and ending in 1184 BC. Many stories have been told about this war. But Homer told the story more vividly in his Iliad. In the 5th century B.C. Greece entered a more glorious period when the Greek people drove away the Persian invaders and Athens established democracy in which only the adult male Greek citizens could use their power and rights. Athens developed its economy depending on the slave system. The Olympic Games also originated from ancient Greece, and it revived in 1896. During this period, science, philosophy, literature, art and history writing developed quickly. But when foreign threat was removed, a civil war broke out between Athens and Sparta at the end of the century. In the second half of the 4th century B. C, one of the Greek states called Macedon became more and more powerful under the leadership of Alexander the King who unified the whole Greece as Qinshihuang (the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty) unified the whole China. Macedon enjoyed large territories including parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. But history is always like such that fall comes after rise. No country can avoid such a fate. In 146 B.C. Greece was conquered by the Romans. 2. Literature 1) Homer (荷马) Homer Homer lived around 700 B.C. It is said that he was a slave and blind. It is considered that he wrote two epics，namely, the Iliad (《伊利亚特》，另译《伊利昂记》) and the Odyssey (《奥德赛》，另译《奥德修记》). The Iliad deals with the war between Troy and the united forces of the states on the mainland of southern Greece. The alliance of the Greek army was led by Agamemnon with Achilles, Odysseus and other generals as their main commanders. Trojan forces were led by Hector. The war ended with the victory on the Greek side. The Odyssey tells the story about the return