Unit 1: Ancient Greece and the foundations of Western civilization

CORE 10 examines the Ancient Greek Civilization by evaluating how the definition of virtue changed as the civilization progressed. We will examine how and why a barbarous group of people from the middle of the Mediterranean developed philosophy and democracy, laying the foundations for Western civilization.

Art History: Developing the rules and structures of Western Art (Doryphoros, Parthenon, Red Figure Vase painting)

Literature: Oedipus the King, “Poetics”, The Iliad, The Odyssey & Antigone

Philosophy: The foundations of Western thought, pre-Socratic philosophy, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Social Institutions: The advent of the polis, philosophy and democracy; analysis of the Republic by Plato