...Life in Athens during the time surrounding the Peloponnesian War was full of strife and clashing ideas. Having previously fought alongside Sparta in the Persian War years before, Athens was the site of various political partitions that deeply divided the city-state, and this division created many problems for the future. The Peloponnesian War not only drained Athens of its resources, it also created a barrier between the Athenians that would last for years to come. Democracy in Athens was not the same as democracy currently seen throughout the world; rather, it was based around public forums. When Athens came to take over other city-states, creating its own empire, many citizens of the Hellenistic world disagreed on what the proper form of government should be....
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...a day. Neither was Athens. Though the Athenians never managed to build an empire the size of Rome’s, they did spread their culture and ideas throughout the Mediterranean. Athens during the Classical, or Hellenic, period (500-340 B.C.E) can easily be compared to Rome at its height in terms of art, and architecture, and far surpassed it in philosophy. While Rome was still struggling for independence from its Etruscan masters, Athens was the center of the Hellenic world. While Alexander the Great was learning from his Athenian tutor, Rome was putting down Latin rebellions. Even under Roman rule, Athens was favored for its ancient accomplishments. Rome may be the Eternal City, but it is simply a backwater pretender to Athens. Democracy is probably Athens most well known characteristic, but it was not always that way. Like every other Greek city during the Mycenaean period (1500-1200 B.C.E.), Athens was once ruled by a king. Little is known of Athens during this period, though the archeological record combined with popular myth from later periods may give us an insight. The names of several legendary kings of Athens have come down to us: in particular Erectheus, the first king, who was believed to have established the worship of the goddess Athena on the Acropolis, and Theseus, killer of the Minotaur, who (according to the Greek historian Plutarch) unified Attica (Connolly 10). Legend tells of many kings in Athens during the Mycenaean period, but no evidence has...
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...The time period between the Persian and Peloponnesian was the golden age of Athens and was the height of their control and influence in their world. Athens was a polis on the Balkan Peninsula. It ruled through direct democracy and had a strong navy. Pericles led them into their golden age and strengthened Athens as an empire. A golden age is the time where an empire has the largest stretching influence and the highest capability to extend their intellectual, philosophical and political ideas. Their golden age took place between the Persian Wars and Peloponnesian Wars, since this was their greatest time of achievement with their spreading ideas. Topic Sentences Topic sentence #1: This time period displays Athens at their highest...
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...In Ancient Greece there were two different major forms of government, Oligarchy and Democracy. The two city-states that best represent each form of government were Sparta (oligarchy) and Athens (democracy). The democratic government in Athens, though de cently equal, fair and fairly advanced for its time, did not meet the needs of the Greeks. During a time of many military battles Athens decided to worry more about comfort and culture. It is the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as it's first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. The Athenian democratic government, which may have given the citizens in Greece more freedom, was not the best form of government at the time. The democracy in Athens cannot really be called a true democracy since there were several flaws in the governme nt and the way it worked. Only ten per cent of the total population of Athens actually had voting rights and all of these citizens were upper class men who were over thirty years old. Women, no matter what the class or age, were given no freedom at all. They were first owned by their fathers and then were passed from them to their husbands who then gave them nothing more than the responsibilities of managing the household and educating the children. During a meeting of the Assembly, a policy could be adopted and formed into a law but once the meeting of the assembly ended, the enforcement of that law was left in the hands of people...
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...responsibilities as jury duty or military service in time of war. Every polis had resident aliens, foreign merchants, and others, and on occasion, those people would be made citizens; however, that eventuality was rare. Some women might’ve...
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...• Pericles’ background and rise to Prominence Pericles was born in 494 BC into a very powerful family. His father was a rising political leader and general during the Persian wars. Despite his father’s key role as a strategos in defeating the Persians at Mycale, he was ostracized in 484 BC. At this time, Pericles was only 10 and this left an impact on Pericles as he was afraid of being ostracized himself due to the powerful position he was born into as well as his increasing power and popularity he gained as he grew up. His mother was part of the Alcmaeonids who were an Aristocratic family that was heavily involved in Athenian politics and very influential. His great uncle, Cleisthenes was also a very powerful political figure who had reformed Athenian government in 507 BC, creating a more democratic system. During the time Pericles was being educated, the main subjects studied were gym, music and the recital of epic poems by Homer. Pericles had three main teachers, Damon, Zeno and Anaxagoras. Damon was his teacher of music and poetry. He also trained Pericles for his political contests. It is thought that it was because of Damon that Pericles joined politics as Damon had a love of politics and philosophy. Some believe that it was Damon that convinced Pericles to introduce his law to pay Jurors. Damon was ostracized for suspicion of supporting tyranny. Zeno, was a Greek philosopher and taught philosophy to Pericles as well as teaching him a technique of cross examination...
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...years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC and its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of western civilization. During the early Middle Ages, the city experienced a decline, then recovered under the later Byzantine Empire and was relatively prosperous during the period of the Crusades (12th and 13th centuries), benefiting from Italian trade. Following a period of sharp decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent Greek state. Contents 1 Name 1.1 Geographical setting 2 Antiquity 2.1 Origins and early history 2.2 Reform and democracy 2.3 Classical Athens 2.3.1 Early Athenian military history 2.3.2 Artists and philosophers 2.3.3 Peloponnesian War 3 Athenian coup of 411 BC 3.1 Corinthian War and the Second Athenian League 3.2 Athens under Macedon 3.3 Hellenistic Athens 3.4 Roman Athens 4 Middle Ages 4.1 Byzantine Athens 4.2 Latin Athens 4.2.1 Burgundian period 4.2.2 Aragonese period 4.2.3 Florentine period 5 Modern history 5.1 Ottoman Athens 5.2 Independence from the Ottomans 5.3 Modern Athens 5.3.1 Population influx 5.3.2 Athens under the Nazis 5.3.3 Postwar Athens 5.3.4 Athens today 5.3.5 Recent historical population 5.4 Notable Athenians 5.5 Ancient sites in Athens 6 Notes 7 Further reading The contest of Athena and Poseidon. West Pediment of the Parthenon. The name...
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...Etymologically, Democracy originates from the Greek word (demokratia) which means “rule of the people”, which instinctively was found from (demos) “people” and (krastos) “power” or “rule”, during the 5th century B.C denote the political trends and systems which encompassed most Greek city-states, evidently Athens. Notably, from the Greek perspective of things, contemporary writers like Larry Diamond have tried to explain Democracy from a purely 21st century point of view, trying as much as possible to bestow certain key elements on modern day Democracy (Diamond, 2004). Inherent in Democracy is the personality of a statesman. A statesman from a layman’s point of view is usually a politician, diplomat or other notable public figure that has had a long and respected career at the national and international level. Statesman as the term denotes (diplomat or other notable public figure), is prevalent in the 5th and 4th century history of Greece. Pericles and Alcibiades are considered by the Greeks (Athenians especially), as their most notable and praised statesmen who fostered the course of democracy. This write-up will therefore look at the roles of Pericles and Alcibiades (in the realm of democracy) in Greek (Athenian) history and also focusing on each party’s true statesmanship based on their achievements. I will like to state emphatically that sources on these two personalities are from Plutarch and Thucydides, as they are considered to have given accounts on them. In a more pressing...
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...C., and reached its peak during the period from 1700 to 1450 B.C. The center of Minoan civilization had brilliant palaces as evident by the kings wealth and power. Inside the palaces, there were workshops that produced daggers, pottery, and decorated silver vessels. The Minoan’s were also a peaceful civilization, and had no defensive walls to protect themselves. Because they had no fortifications,...
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...The Ancient Greek Civilization Can you imagine 7,000 Spartans holding off 150,000 Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae? It is true. The Ancient Greeks held off one of the most powerful armies of that time so Greece would survive. Greek geography, the city-states, the concept of acropolis, government, military strategy, philosophy, and religion were all contributing factors in the creation and survival of the Greek city-state lifestyle. The geography and climate of Ancient Greece influenced the development of Greek civilization. Mountains separated Greece into regions where the Ancient Greeks settled and formed separate city-states and types of government. The mountains and the peninsula of Ancient Greece isolated Greek society from other city-states and also helped to keep them safe from enemy attack. Transportation over the rocky land was difficult, much of the land was not suitable for farming, and there were limited natural resources. The lack of natural resources and the difficulty of traveling by land caused the Ancient Greeks to depend more on the sea. Ancient Greece was surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on three sides. Much of the land of Ancient Greece was linked by the sea and the sea also linked Ancient Greece to other societies. The Ancient Greeks became skilled sailors, fishermen, and tradesmen. The climate of Ancient Greece was moderate all year long and there was adequate rainfall. Due to the mild climate, Greek men spent much of...
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...American schools do teach a little about ancient greece and there are actually movies out now that provide great information on wars for example the movie 300. Although sometimes you want to expand your knowledge on certain things and I thought that’d be great for Greece. In this essay I will hit key points like the beautiful Greek geography and how it affected trade, some politics and how the government and religion played a part in life, and the periods and mighty wars fought. hopefully i will succeed in this essay and get a good grade. The purpose of this essay is to provide informational facts on ancient greek civilization/culture and give the reader a sense of how it was then. Enjoy. My background knowledge about ancient Greece is that good. From movies I've seen that Greece had some type of problem with Persia. Im not sure what the problem was but i know it was two major city-states/ empires, Athens and Sparta. I know the one army fought on land & the the other on ships in water. I also know that europe is known for wine and oil so i would like to know if those are some resources Adding that I did know that Greece was surrounded by water so I wonder how that affected the crops? Well to continue on I’d like to answer some of my questions and get to know this cool place a little better. Let’s begin. Greece is the South Eastern region on the European continent. It is defined by a series of mountains, surrounded on all sides except the north by water, and had countless...
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...ostracism and its true purpose alongside the other Archaic Greek traditions in Athens of expulsion, exile, and ἀτιμία, there are several primary sources I will be using. However, the topic has its challenges. Since it covers a period where most of our surviving sources have been written sometimes centuries after the period they are writing about it is hard to find true primary source writings. The first primary source I will be using for my paper is Herodotus’ Histories. He is the first extant source for this period in Archaic Greece and through the Persian Wars, which is when the law of ostracism was enacted. His work is a very broad look into what he thought were the reasons that led to the clash between the Greeks and Persians, and as such is not particularly detailed or focused on ostracism itself. However, he does mention its use and in one case even seems to give a hint to his feelings about it: “… Aristides son of Lysimachus, an Athenian, crossed over from Aegina. Although he had been ostracized by the people, I, learning by inquiry of his character, have come to believe that he was the best and most just man in Athens.” It seems that he does not agree with the ostracism, noting Aristides’ good character and usefulness to Athens as a leader. This use of ostracism against Athens’ “best and brightest” seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the entire period until it falls into disuse. I do not know if this might show a bias against the people for misusing ostracisms like...
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...for quite a long time. The influence mainly centred on land and agriculture. For, about 90% of Greece production was agricultural in nature, with grain production as the dominant area. Incidentally, grain was a staple product and food of Greece. As a result the land that was used for grain production was a vital part of wealth and a valuable asset, for which citizens compete for. This essay is going to explore the difference in terrain between Athens and Sparta and how it affected agriculture and political rights, including democracy as well as how agricultural production had an impact on the distribution of political rights and the powers invested in various category of the Greek populace. Athens has many hills and rocky soils. This means that it has many slopes and up land. The land is not flat and the homogenous. It is also closer to the coastline. The weather is very dry in that land. This meant that by cultivating on hills and rocky grounds the Athenians had to use terraces on their land. It was also...
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...Athens and Sparta had cooperated during the Persian War, but relations between these powerful states declined throughout the years. The Athenian pursuit of equality in their city combined with their growing domination abroad allowed Athens to attempt to create a land and maritime empire. This was one of the main causes for the First Peloponnesian War. The Delian League was initially established as a naval alliance among the Greek nautical states. Overtime, the aggressive policies of Athens converted the voluntary allies of the Delian League into the involuntary subjects of an Athenian naval empire. When Athens tried to expand their kingdom to the Greek mainland they encountered a series of battles with Sparta and its allies, which started the First Peloponnesian War. After a succession of defeats for the Athenians, their land empire began to collapse and they agreed to a thirty year peace treaty with the Spartans. Athens began to use the Delian League as its own empire. They eventually increased their control over it by gaining power of its treasury. The Athenian Pericles was responsible for taking Delian League funds for various projects. He constructed the “long walls” with these reserves enclosing Athens as well as the port of Piraeus. The Spartans saw this piece of land as an important part of their defenses and believed this gave the Athenians an unfair military advantage. Athens did not allow members of the League to leave their alliance. Each ally was charged a fee for...
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...Although many groups are involved in the Delian League, some are not. The Spartans want to keep their unique way of life and they opt out of joining forces with Athens. Instead, they create the Peloponnesian group to combat the Athenian military. The Spartans gain allies after one small group of Greeks, the Melians, refused to join the Delian League and the Athenians killed them off (Crash Course World History, #5). Eventually, the Peloponnesian War breaks out between Athens, Sparta, and their respected allies. This war lasts for 27 years and causes massive destruction to the environment and the culture of the Greeks. In addition, the war creates major divisions between the Greek people. By the time the Peloponnesian War ends, there...
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