The Western Humanities

by Matthews, Roy T.; Platt, F. Dewitt

• ISBN13: 9781559344128
• ISBN10: 1559344121
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-09-01
• Publisher: Mayfield Pub Co

Summary

Chronologically organized, The Western Humanities presents the cultural achievements of western civilization art, music, history, literature, theater, film and the other arts within their historical context. By examining the historical and material conditions that influenced the form and content of the arts and literature, the authors provide students a deeper understanding of the meaning of cultural works and a broader basis for appreciating the humanities. Hundreds of illustrations appear throughout the text, "Slices of Life" boxes bring to life the events of the day, and brief sections at the end of each chapter describe the cultural legacy of the era discussed.

Table of Contents

The Western Humanities, 6/e

Preface

Introduction: Why Study Cultural History?

A Humanities Primer: How to Understand the Arts

Prehistory And Near Eastern Civilizations

Prehistory and Early Cultures Paleolithic Period Neolithic Period Technology in Early Cultures

Stone Age Technology Bronze Age Technology Iron Age Technology

The Civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates

River Valley: Mesopotamia     

The Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian Kingdoms     

The Cradle of Civilization         

Writing Encounter: "Phonecians and Their Alphabet"         

Religion         

Literature   Slice of Life: "A Sumerian Father Lectures His Son"         

Law Science: Astronomy, Mathematics, and Medicine         

Art and Architecture The Civilization of the Nile River Valley: Egypt     

Continuity and Change over Three Thousand Years     

A Quest for Eternal Cultural Values         

Religion         

Writing and Literature   Slice of Life: "The Instruction of Amenemope" Science and Medicine Architecture Sculpture

Painting, and Minor Arts Heirs to the Mesopotamian and Egyptian Empires

The Hittites The Assyrians The Medes The Persians

The Legacy of Early Near Eastern Civilizations

Key Cultural Terms Suggestions for Further Reading Timeline

Aegean Civilizations: The Minoans

The Mycenaeans, And The Greeks Of The Archaic Age Prelude: Minoan Civilization, 3000 - 1100 B.C.E

Beginnings: Mycenaean Civilization, 1900 - 1100 B.C.E. Technology in Minoan Crete and Mycenae Crete and Mycenae Archaic Greece Interlude: The Dark Ages, 1100 - 800 B.C.E

The Archaic Age, 800 - 479 B.C.E.     

Political, Economic, and Social Structures     

The Greek Polis: Sparta and Athens     

Technology in Archaic Greece The Persian Wars Encounter: "Near Estern Art and Greek Pottery"

The Emergence of Greek Genius: The Mastery of Form     Religion     

Epic Poetry Lyric Poetry Slice of Life: "The Worlds of Women and Men in Ancient Greece"     

Natural Philosophy     

Medicine Architecture     

Sculpture The Legacy of Archaic Greek Civilization Key Cultural Terms Suggestions for Further Reading Timeline

Classical Greek Civilization: The Hellenic Age

General Characteristics of Hellenic Civilization Domestic and Foreign Affairs: War, Peace, and the Triumph of Macedonia Phases of the Hellenic Age Technology

Shipbuilding Warfare The Perfection of the Tradition: The Glory of Hellenic Greece     

Theater: Tragedy         

Features of the Greek Theater     

Encounter: The Representation of Blacks in Greek Art         

Tragic Drama         

Aeschylus         

Sophocles         

Euripides     Theater: Comedy     Music     

History     Philosophy, Science and Medicine         

The Pre-Socratics         

The Sophists         

The Socratic Revolution         

Plato         

Aristotle     Architecture         

Sanctuaries         

The Temple: The Perfection of the Form     

Slice of Life: Xenophon, "Secrets of a Successful Marriage"     Sculpture

The Legacy of Hellenic Civilization Key Cultural Terms Suggestions for Further Reading Timeline

Classical Greek Civilization: The Hellenistic Age

The Stages of Hellenistic History     

The End of the Empire and the Rise of the States     

The Arrival and Triumph of Rome Urban Life in the Hellenistic Age     Pergamum     

Alexandria in Egypt     

Slice of Life: Theocritus, "Street Scene in Hellenistic Egypt

The Elaboration of the Greek Tradition: The Spread of Classicism to the Hellenistic World     

Drama and Literature     

Philosophy and Religion         

Cynicism         

Skepticism         

Epicureanism         

Stoicism         

Fate and the Mystery Cults Science and Medicine Encounter: "The Invention of Parchment and the Birth of the Secular Library"     

Architecture         

The Corinthian Temple         

The Altar     

Sculpture     

Rhodes: Late Hellenistic Style

The Legacy of the Hellenistic World Key Cultural Terms Suggestions for Further Reading Timeline

Roman Civilization: The Pre-Christian Centuries

The Colossus of the Mediterranean World     

General Characteristics of Roman Civilization Technology Warfare Construction     

The Etruscan and Greek Connections     

Rome in the Age of Kings, 753-509 B.C.     

The Roman Republ

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