...of the Peloponnesian War, but it was Pericles who was most capable in understanding and reacting to the uncertainties of war. Other leaders and representatives who appeared during this period of time included Cleon and Archidamus II. Amidst the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, and the time in between while Athens was at its greatest, Pericles rose to an iconic role of statesman, orator and war general. His prevalence and demeanor to the issues and situations surrounding the time allowed Athens to rain supreme. His speeches were influential and achievements spoke as loud as his words. Pericles was the ultimate Athenian. To fully assess Pericles, all his characteristics and positions of power need to be considered. He was a political leader, a military leader and an orator. These three separate entities require a man of great following, prowess and the total embodiment of an Athenian. So where to start when evaluating Pericles? Was he a culmination of his leadership roles or was one aspect of his legacy the determining factor to his ascertation of one of history's greatest minds? One must induce that the situations surrounding himself, his countrymen and the overall goal of the state of Athens were decisions that were not easily made and required an exuberant amount of strategy to preserve all that he stood for. Pericles, according to Thucydides, was Athen's “first citizen”. His initial actions were that of a soldier. Pericles led Athens in battle during the first...
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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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...(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 and elaborative sense, other sources may come in handy. Pericles was born in Athens in about 495 BC to a family of wealth and position...
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...Archaic period Archaic Greece (750-500) Re-urbanization happens at the beginning of the archaic period 1. Colonization a. Colonists were selected by lot. b. Metropolis (mater polis) i. Political alliance ii. Economic ties c. Ionia (coast of Asia Minor) d. Sicily iii. Both are major centers of colonization (magna graecia) Trade and commerce would produce tremendous wealth. Phoenicians They see themselves as monopolizing. Rivalry between Phoenicians and these new Greeks. 2. Alphabetic Writing Writing will return to the Greek world during this period. When it does it won’t be like Linear A or B. It will be based on an alphabet that the Greeks borrowed and modified the Phoenicians alphabet. Homer- iconic poet of Greek literature. He came from the region of Ionia. Produced famous epics of the Trojan War. Legends of the great Mycenaean heroes. Different traditions focused on different heroes. Responsible for two of the great monuments. The Iliad and the Odyssey. Achilles Agamemnon Odysseus Hector Ajax Paris Helen of Troy Penelope Important element- arête means excellence. Surpassing Excellence. Achievement, accomplishment. Exceed potential. Also mental. Ex. Odysseus is smarter than anyone else. He outwits Gods. Virtue of this society. Also is very competitive. Forever contending against one another. Individualistic quality. Have to be the best. Character trait that is the center of Greece...
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...In the reading about Thucydides, it discusses two topics during the Peloponnesian War. One of them is between Melo and Athens and their dialog, while the other is about the revolution of Corcyraeans. Both of these topics are discussed by Thucydides which shows the beliefs of realism worldview, these views on realism are still relevant in modern day when it comes to the foreign policy during times of genocides, and Obama’s foreign policy. In the textbook Why Politics Matters: An Introduction to Political Theory by Kevin Dooley and Joseph Patten it discusses classic realism and the basis for it. Realism is the view that human nature lacks morals, selfish, and seeks power. Philosophers who believe in such are, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Thucydides...
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...Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for at least 7000 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 ...
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...Humanities I: Essay #1 The Unstable Mind of Cruelty Cruelty is a biological instinct that is programmed in all of humanity. Instincts are lead by the deprivation of needs; that of which we need we find. A fundamental and intrinsic need of all human beings is the approval of yourself and the approval of others. To doubt oneself or be disapproved by others can lead to an unstable self-image. Insecurities of physicality and emotional vulnerability, can lead to behaviors of aggression to those who stand as a threat to your own acceptance and mar the opinion of others. Lack of acceptance by others can lead to a fear that others will exploit you. Fragmentation is the term used to describe the collapse and break down that you will not be accepted at all of normal thought, behavior or social relationships. Heinz Kohut a Freudian psychoanalyst describes fragmentation as the “feeling of coming unglued”; the source of the occurrence of aggressive and sadistic behavior. These behaviors lead to the infliction of pain and suffering, otherwise known as cruelty (Kroeger). Cruelty is seen as a defense mechanism to those seeking to assert eminence to create their own sense of order. Ancient Greece’s strict religious guidelines and lack of societal conformity has led to an abuse of the justification of cruelty. People are demoralized by there own instinctual drive for indulgences. Although today society has suppressed our inherited intuitions of mankind they do still exist. From...
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...fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War and the United States Civil War. Due to the fact that both Pericles and Lincoln were politicians we can infer that they were experts in getting their point across to the masses. Pericles’ Funeral Oration happened thousands of years before Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, however the fact that both of them were meant to redefine war and its purpose made them very comparable. There is a reason these two speeches can be compared; by looking at the bigger picture, analyzing the similarities, and meaning of the dialogue it can be said the speeches were intended to portray both wars as a necessary method to reestablish the pillars for which each nation and/or city was founded upon. Both of these speeches are without a doubt, an important piece of history, as they tell the story of the aftermath of the battles that had taken place and the ones that were yet to come. The Funeral Oration by Pericles displays the difference those who had died in the battles made and how much Athenians valued them, enough to publicly honor them. According to Thucydides Pericles stated, “Such is the Athens for which these men, in the assertion of their resolve not to lose her, nobly fought and died; and well may every one of their survivors be ready to suffer in her cause.” With this passage we can infer that Athenians were very loyal to their region and Pericles knowing that used their loyalty to persuade them to support him in defending Athens....
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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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...period of Greek history from the last years of the Persian Wars until the beginning of the first Peloponnesian War, the strong influence of Sparta started to decline while Athens was gaining popularity and influence amongst Greece. Athens was a place that had heavy emphasis on arts, architecture, and literature. The Athenians are responsible for building thousands of temples and statues that embodied their culture and style of art. The economy of Athens was also very productive based upon farming, manufacturing and trade. Athens made a lot of wealth in the trade of wool, grapes, olive oil and wheat with the other Geek city-states. And where there is trade there is a need for shipbuilding and finances, this led to Athens becoming a spotlight for financial business such as loans and investments. The role and wealth increase of the trade market led to the change of the Athenian society and politics. Slaves became a big part of Athenian life; slaves were found everywhere usually made up of non – Greek foreigners captured in...
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...Civilizations – “What happened to Socrates?” The exact date of Socrates’ birth is not known but is believed he was born sometime around 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece. He is believed to have earned a living as a mason and was married with three children. Socrates was also a philosopher but there is debate on whether he did or didn’t receive payment from teaching students. Socrates was considered poor by Greek standards and showed little or no interest in his own children. He was devoted to philosophizing with other boys of Athens. By all accounts, there are no writings by Socrates so information about him and his life is garnered by the writings of some his famous students, one of which was Plato, and contemporaries such as Aristophanes. Life in Ancient Greece was volatile and there were numerous power struggles. It was during these controversial times that battles between the Tyrants and the Aristocrats were also being waged. Athens had been defeated during the Peloponnesian War and was undergoing drastic political turmoil during the time of Socrates. Liberalism and democracy was being brought to Athens largely because of Pericles. The Tyrants wanted Socrates to arrest Leon of Salamis so he could be executed and his assets seized. Socrates neither arrested Leon nor warned him of the Tyrants plan. The citizens of Athens viewed Socrates and his teachings as problematic when Socrates refused to carry out this order. The people were enthusiastic about laying blame...
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...In his recount of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides presents the speech of the Spartan King Archidamus as a part of the debate that occurred at the Sparta War Council. In his speech, Archidamus hopes to convince the Spartans that, contrary to conventional belief, they are not truly courageous if they give in to the urging of their allies and immediately went to war with Athens. Rather, self-control, expressed in the form of prudent decision-making, represents true courage because the exercise of self-control is able to endow its possessor with other Spartan ideals—namely, good judgment, a sense of shame, and moderation. Through tying his conception of courage with other highly esteemed traditional Spartan ideals, Archidamus espouses a vision of the...
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...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 who...
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...belonged to an aristocratic and influential lineage. His father was Artiston, a descent of king Dorus of Athens. Plato’s mother was Peritonea from a lineage of famous lawmakers and poets in Athens. Plato was, however, raised with difficulty after his father died. As a student, Plato studied under the guidance of his teacher, Socrates. Plato played an essential role of laying the foundation for western philosophy and science. Socrates taught Plato about basic philosophy and dialectic methods of inquiry in the quest for truth. The basic learning acquired form Plato formed a basis from where Plato established his philosophies (Benjamin, 2007). During the time of Plato, there are many events that took place. Amongst them is the Peloponnesian war. The war lasted for approximately 27 years i.e. from 431BC to 404 BC. The Peloponnesian war was a war fought by Athens and Sparta. As a result of the war, the Athenian imperial system and Greek military history was changed. The powers of Athens were subdued after the war as Sparta took over as a leading state whose powers were felt all across Greece. In 399BC Plato witnessed his teacher, Socrates, being tried and executed by the authorities in Athens. Socrates was charged for corrupting the minds of youths. Socrates was despised by the authority because of his persistency in criticizing the government established after the war. Socrates was open about his displeasures with the government. This made some of the government...
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