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Death of pericles affect
Pericles and the development of democracy
Pericles impact on society
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During the golden age of Greece as a whole, there was one leader of a city-state that produced his own golden age. Pericles was one of Athens most recalled rulers for his success. He sparked an age for the artistic and the thinkers of Athens. He was an open-minded leader which supported all of the arts and promoted the outside thinking of philosophy. He developed a system of democracy for his city-state to instill in which the majority gained a say in the government. Although not everyone believed Pericles was great. The other city states in Greece became jealous of Athens wealth and also became weary of their intentions. The city states believed the Athens were forming an Athenian empire to take control of Greece. The second largest city-state, …show more content…
Early in his political career Pericles supported major changes in the Athenian constitution and petitioned strongly for reform. Pericles was also well known for outspoken resent towards Sparta. It did not take long for Pericles impact to start being noticed, in 462 BCE Pericles already established a vote that would remove all power from the noble council that currently made decisions for Athens. After the vote passed, the beginning of what is known today as democracy has begun in Athens. It only took another 2 years for Pericles to gain control of Athens. 461 BCE was the first year of Pericles rule, in which he would hold onto until his death. His reign was so strong it is referred to as the Age of Pericles when discussing the history of Greece. Thucydides, a well-known historian from this time period, stated Pericles as “The first citizen of Athens” for his development of the new democracy. During Pericles rule, the Golden age of Athenian culture began 449 and lasted until 331 BCE. During this time Athens exploded with arts and culture, he was close friends with many playwrights and artists. Pericles made theater admission more affordable for the poorer citizen to allow them to enjoy the arts of Athens. The state of Athens was booming until the year 331 BCE, which marked the beginning of the Peloponnesian …show more content…
They were to get immediately involved in more war in Persia. After the war, the Spartans became involved in following Cyrus the younger of Persia to which they owed a large part of their victory too. But after his death from war, the Spartans continued their occupancy and interference within Persia. This eventually led to King Agesilaus of Sparta to attempt to conquer the Empire of Persia. This led to the Persians start to fund the Athenians to rebuild in trade for an alliance against Sparta. Even though it was all thanks to Persian money, a former enemy, the Athenians had recovered completely and even rebuilt their long walls. Greece was no longer completely controlled by Sparta and the tides would begin to
Although the Spartans and Athenians fought for almost 20 years, there was a time when they lived in harmony. Almost 15 years before any disturbances the Athenians and Spartans fought together in the Persian war. During the Persian war, the Spartans were thriving in their fight against the Persians, however over time the Persians began to grow stronger. After being to lose their fighting streak, the Athenians came in to help the Spartans and bring an end to Persian dominance once and for all (The Delian League, 1). After defeating the Persians in 449 B.C., the...
...proud rationalization of its superiority. Balancing security, happiness, and values, Athens is a shining example of freedom, opportunity and justice. It is a nation that both builds itself on and produces uniquely spirited citizens. The sentiments of Pericles’ truly are reminiscent of modern day American Exceptionalism. “I doubt if the world can produce a man who, where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility, as the Athenian.” (2.41.1).
It is surprising indeed that Even today, tyrannies and dictatorships exist in the world when more than two and a half thousand years ago the ancient Athenians had developed a functional and direct form of democracy. What contributed to this remarkable achievement and how it changed the socio-political. scene in Athens is what will be considered in this paper. The paper will have three sections, each detailing the various stages. of political development from the kings of Attica to the time of Pericles when, in its golden age, Athens was at the height of its. imperial power.
While Persian financial support undeniably contributed to the Spartan’s victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War, modern historians have over-emphasized the importance of that assistance to their eventual victory. Persian money allowed the Peloponnesian forces to stay in the fight, which had quickly dissolved into a war of attrition after the Athenian’s defeat at Syracuse. However, there were several negative aspects of the Persian/Peloponnesian alliance which detrimentally affected Sparta’s ability to effectively wage war against Athens. Included in this was the tendency for Persian Satraps to withhold pay and reinforcements, or to provide that pay irregularly. Additionally, Persia’s insistence that Sparta recognize their control over all Ionian cities prior to any treaty being completed led
In The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides chronicles the events, battles, and democratic processes of the war between Athens and Sparta. Shortly after war broke out, Pericles delivered his funeral oration in honor of the courageous Athenians who already perished in battle. Through his funeral oration, Pericles reveals the true nature of Athenians. Ultimately, they were good natured since all the citizens of Athens willingly and dutifully served their country, and ultimately the common good; the structure of Athens and its government provided many outlets to do so. This relationship between the government and the people delineated itself as one of mutual reciprocity, seeing that the nature of Athenians directly correlated with the polis. Many Athenians served the common good by pursuing their own ends, whether this occurred through military service or achieving other personal goals that were beneficial to both the state and the people. In Athenian culture, the citizens of Athens possessed nothing but the utmost respect and honor for those who fought and provided aid for their country in a time of need, let alone war. This custom helped in motivating Athenians to eagerly serve their country.
The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war.
For Pericles, Athenian values are realized through culture and “daily devotion.” He claims that Athenian citizens obey both “the laws themselves” and “agreed-on social values (which need no specific legislation),” not requiring legislation to uphold their values. Accordingly, Pericles views exceptionalism as intrinsic to Athenians. Boasting about the city, Pericles questions “how else did she become great but by this genius in her citizens?” A recommitment to civic values, therefore, is simple to Pericles: Athenians are exceptional at the moment of his speech, and must simply continue their past conduct in order to achieve future
In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...
The 5th century and the Athenian Empire gave birth to an amazing amount of accomplishments. One such accomplishment was the minting of standard Athenian coins that were used throughout the Athenian holdings as valid for trade. The use of standard Athenian-minted coins helped the Athenians establish and maintain control over their empire by helping to control trade and the economy of the area to the Athenians' benefit. Since Athens regularly received tribute from the states it controlled, Pericles, the leader of Athens, began a building project in Athens that was legendary. Athens had been sacked by the Persians during the Persian Wars and Pericles set out to rebuild the city.
No one would deny that Pericles was the most prominent Greek statesman and spokesperson during the Golden Age. His contribution was largely felt during the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars having obtained power from his family link to the Alcmaeonid family. He commanded a lot of respect to from the Athenian citizens with Thucydides describing him as "the first citizen of Athens” . He was born at around 495 BC north of Athens in the ...
Throughout history, many ancient cultures created stories involving great heroes and gods to explain certain aspects of their daily lives. These stories would form an important part of the culture’s religion and are referred to today as mythology. One great hero from ancient Greek mythology is Perseus. According to both ancient standards and today’s standards, Perseus would be seen as a great hero. The many actions that Perseus is said to have done in his adventures prove his heroism.
The myth is a rather interesting one, as it starts off with the King of Argos, Acrisius, travels to the Oracle of Delphi and is told that his daughter will have a son who is destined to kill him. He takes extreme measures to make sure that doesn’t come true and locks his daughter, Danae, inside a tower so that she has no way to conceive. It is almost like an overprotective father in current times, where they never let their daughters go anywhere or be anywhere near boys. However, just like an overprotective father, you can’t always keep your eye on your daughter 24/7, so of course chaos erupts. Zeus, who has been unfaithful to his wife Hera for quite a while now, is unfaithful again when he spots Danae through a portal of her ceiling. He transforms into a shower of gold (again we see the color gold incorporated in a Greek myth) and has sex with her, and thus, Perseus is conceived. Eventually Acrisius finds out about the baby, and locks both Danae and Perseus in a chest and throws it into the sea.
The government structure reflected the Athenians’ belief that individual contribution is crucial for sustaining a productive society. In the Classical Era, which was from 490-323 BCE, democracy was implemented and resulted in the power over the state lying in each citizen’s hands. Every vote affected the decisions that were made for the community, and every person had a say. The democratic system increased the individual’s involvement and interest in state affairs, therefore making each citizen more aware of what was happening in his community. As Thucydides said in Pericles’ eulogy, “Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on general politics.” By being well informed, the Athenians made better choices for their polis and cared more about what was going on in their city.
In the first of the two texts, Pericles is making a very bold statement on the state of the Athens. “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.” In his speech, Pericles is trying to rally the Athenians to support the new democracy and to make them feel important by being associated with
Athens was one of the only city-states with a democracy. In Document B Pericles, an Athenian general and leader, is describing a democracy and saying how every citizen is expected to serve the state. The reforms of Cleisthenes established the basis for the Athenian democracy. All citizens enrolled in ten tribes and each tribe chose 50 members by lottery each year for a new council of 500 people. These 500 people had the responsibility to take care of foreign and financial affairs. There was also an assembly of all male citizens, and they had the final authority in passing laws through free and open debate. In Sparta there were two kings who led the army and ruled their city-state. There were five ephors elected each year and they were responsible for the education of the youth and the beha...