Aesthetics - 300

A technology introduced in BtS
Required techs	Writing
Leads to	Literature (with Polytheism) Drama
Units enabled	None
Buildings enabled	Parthenon Statue of Zeus Shwedagon Paya
Era	Classical
Notes

Art for Art’s sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of truth, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I am searching for-George Sand

Aesthetics is a new technology in the Beyond the Sword expansion pack.

Civilopedia EntryEdit

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that deals with questions of art and beauty. Every culture in the world has its own Aesthetics, the study of art being nearly as old as art itself. Modern Aesthetics delves into all forms of art - theater, poetry, literature, film, etc. - but in its earliest form, aesthetics dealt largely with the visual arts.

While clashing senses of Aesthetics have caused many squabbles in their times, one city has been the center of some of the most violent artistic struggles throughout history - Istanbul. During the ninth century, Christian killed Christian in the city then known as Constantinople as the followers of Christ attempted to decide whether religious icons should be considered blasphemous. With the conquest of the city by the Ottomans, previous artistic works deemed offensive were removed or vandalized. Inside the Hagia Sophia, mosaics of Christian religious figures were covered with plaster, that only now, several hundred years later, are finally being revealed.