In a relatively resource-poor region, a society rose from the access of foreign sources of raw materials and markets abroad. This society came to be known as one of the largest nations in Eurasia. The rise and fall of this great nation has to do with war-fare and the conflict between city-states. Their division led to the widespread of language and culture. This is the great story of Ancient Greece and how individualism changed the view Greece had on certain issues. (Bulliet 99) From 1000 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E, Ancient Greece’s view on individualism changed the political system Greece had, over time changed the way individuals thought and made important Intellectual changes, and gradually changed the Economic system such as bartering. …show more content…
In this time period led towards the concept of humanism, which is the valuing of uniqueness, talents, and rights of one person. (Marshall) Examples of change due to individualism appear in the change of lyrics in poetry when the lyrics are personal. (Bulliet 108) In the time before the great philosopher Socrates and philosophers before him were referred to as pre-Socrates philosophers. Pre-Socrates philosophers did not want the traditional religious explanations and sought out for rational answers. They were concerned on how the world was created, what it is made of, and why changes occur. (Bulliet 108) An important advancement in science was when pre-Socrates philosophers theorized that the world is made out of atoms. Because of that one philosopher, the world was able to advance much quicker and that theory is the basis of science. (Bulliet 108)
The Economy of Ancient Greece can probably be described as the base of economy for future societies and civilizations. The system that Greece used was the bartering system which is also known as trade. The city-state that was the most important and was the center of trade and commerce was none other than Athens. With the change of democracy and the political system, accumulation of wealth was discouraged and encouraged that the rich contribute their money and services to polis. The economy of Greece was largely dominated by a middle class of small landholders, merchants, and
The most distinctive feature of Greek political culture lay in the extent of popular participation in political life that occurred within the city-states. This participation was based on the unique ideas of “citizenship,” of free people running the affairs of state, and of equality for all citizens before the law. Political participation in Greek city-states was much wider than in Persia, but it varied considerably between city-states and over time. Early in Greek history, only the wealthy and wellborn had the rights of full citizenship, but middle- and lower-class men gradually obtained these rights in some city-states.
The Greek economy was based off of agriculture. They were also colonized to somewhat like the states we have in America. Their main crops and trade products were grapes, olives, and wine. The Greek commerce and trade by sea is what made all of the Greek city-states as wealthy and important as they were. The Greeks were often called “The Masters of the Mediterranean” because of their skillful seafaring.
‘I entreat you, by your life, by your knees, by your parents, do not let the dogs feed on me by the ships of the Achaians… give my body to be taken home again, so that the Trojans and the wives of the Trojans may give me in death my rite of burning’ (22.338-343). This heart wrenching plea represents nearly the final words uttered by Hektor upon his death at the hands of Achilles. Hektor, who recently boasted of his martial prowess, vowing just moments before to do ‘some big thing first, that men to come shall know of it’ (22.305), is reduced to begging before his killer for the basic privilege of an honorable burial. In this moment of his famous Iliad, Homer offers a cynical reflection on human life and the social constructs mortals establish, especially the idea of the ‘heroic code’ that was so prominent during the Golden Age of Greece. Demonstrably, he implies throughout the work that since all humans are destined to die and memories have limited effect after death, the entire concept of the ‘heroic code’- and to a certain extent, conviction in worldly systems instead of personal beliefs- are pointless given the natural chaos of the world and man’s ultimate fate.
Ancient Greece had a major impact on the Western World due to many factors. Documents 1 and 2 reveal that the Western World has been impacted by political factors of the ancient Greeks, whille documents 4, and 5 show us that the Western World was impacted due to cultural reasons.
The years within 600 B.C.E to 600 C.E are often referred to as the Classical Age. For a society to be considered classical, parts of their followings have to be in use in present day societies. Civilizations during this period developed various religions, cultures, and institutions that have left a lasting impact on the present day world. Classical societies were usually well organized, and powerful in their time. Greece was one of several classical societies during this period, and many aspects of Greece still influence present day societies.
These self-governed city-states were governed by the natural laws of the universe. The polis also had a psychological pull to the point where it was infested into the art, religion, literature and philosophy (Document 1). In a way similar to India though, everyone identified first and foremost with their polis identity, like the Indians did with their caste system (Document 1). The way to gain power in Greece was not though money, but through family names and heritage, but in 330 BC, Cleisthenes created the basis of his reform for Greece: the demes (Document 2). By doing this he takes out the powerful noble families and gives the lower class the power to decide what happens with their government and therefore became more “deme-ocratic.” He did many things to change the structure of Greece to make it fairer. For example he took the original four tribes of Greece and redistributed them into ten different tribes so now the tribes can have more “civic rights.” Another example of what Cleisthenes did to fix things was that he increased the Council members from 400 to 500. Now each tribe was only sending fifty representatives, instead of the original hundred. Finally, one last example is that Cleisthenes divided Greece up into thirty parts. Ten urban and suburban, ten costal and ten inland and each of these contained its own special number of demes. Now, men were to be identified first by their demes name, which is very similar to India’s recognition of their caste name or level (Document
The era between 350 and 310 BC marked a dramatic change in the Western World from the first, classical Hellenic Age of the Greeks, to the second, Hellenistic Age of the Greek Civilization. This classical period was considered the height of Greek civilization and deemed “The Golden Age” of ancient Greece. The polis (Greek city-state) was the center of Greek political life for the majority of this period. The poleis were small, independent, and self-sufficient; however, too politically divided to survive the blow of the Peloponnesian war. In 338 BC, Greece was concurred by Macedonia and the polis had lost their independence. “The abiding devotion to the polis […] greatly diminished during the fourth century” (Perry 45). The mentality of Greek citizens changed because of their defeat; they were now an individualistic, rational and secular society. People were no longer viewing the law as “an expression of sacred traditions ordained by the gods” but now saw it as merely mortal, obedience to the law faded, leading to a weakened society (Perry 46). The pride and duty of the polis mentality dwindled and emotional and political ties to the city weakened. Subsequently, Alexander the Great’s conquests, in 330 BC, moved the Greek civilization beyond the polis, to the Near East. For the first time, Greeks had to define their existence as part of a much bigger, more complex and alienating world. The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC marked the end of the Hellenic age and the
The exporting area of Athens economy reached then Sicily, Egypt, and the Black Sea. New monuments were built and the city experienced its first jump in culture and arts. Athens was also the prime fighter during the war with Persia. This war aided by the existence of democratic governing helped Athens become Greece's leading city and the center of an allied state.
There were different polis in Greek. This different polis play a great role to form a good relationship among the society in the entire Greek. For example: Each polis had its own religion and tradition where they have their won way of celebrating it. With in the society there are different type of people who has a right to vote or not to vote. And there are also people who has citizenship but others do not have due to different reason. When some people provide the agricultural product to higher society and the higher society ensures that they provide each protection by sacrificing themselves. This helped to have a strong social relationship among them. Each polis had a relationship with other polis for different reason it could be due to war
Throughout the history of Greece, Athens and its citizens have always been a powerful force in the Ancient World. The name of their city is based on one of the strongest and most powerful goddesses to exist, Athena, so it is no coincidence that the Athenians exhibited characteristics that reflected their patron goddess when in situations of peril. During the reign of King Xerxes and his father Darius, Persia had risen to power, and had enslaved many groups including the Dorians, Indians and Ethiopians, and they felt that they should continue to consolidate their power until Xerxes held absolute control over the entire region. In order to do this, Xerxes had to gain control over Greece, in particular, Athens, and this was the challenge he struggled the most significantly. After multiple Persian invasions, Mardonius, Xerxes’ commander sent a message to the Athenians, stating that he would grant the Athenians amnesty, and give them back their land with extras, as well as let them have self government, if they stopped resisting him and joined his military alliance; this message also included many subtle threats. If I were an Athenian present during that time I would absolutely advise my fellow citizens not to accept Mardonius terms, because Athenians are a people who are intelligent and strong, and do not need to accept or succumb to the threats of a tyrant, because they already possessed the power to overcome these threats. This is proved through the fact that they knew Xerxes
The last Olympic swimmer just touched the wall and the race has ended. Cameras are replaying every single movement from the race and a winner has been clearly decided. Just as these Olympic swimmers will gain a medal for placing, ancient Athens had numerous accomplishments of its own. Athens “prosperity … was due in large part to its stable and effective government” (SOURCE 1). When analyzing the history of ancient Athens, is easy to see how the accomplishments of a democracy, Greek philosophy, and Greek literature all shape Athens.
Greece is a thriving country, but if it wasn’t for its beautiful islands, seas, and mountains, Greece would not be as strong of a country today. All these factors have helped Greece grow as a country. Throughout history, various mountains such as Mount Olympus and seas such as the Mediterranean have played an important role in the development of Greece history and culture.
Have you ever seen pictures of Greece travelled there in person? It is a beautiful area. There are tall mountains that protect their villages and that are fun to hike in. There is a beautiful ocean on the southern side that give great access to ports and provides great beaches. Greece has some bad things too. For example, it is prone to earthquakes. There are also active volcanoes that could erupt at any time. Overall, though, Greece is a lovely place.
Very few civilizations have had as profound an influence on the world as those of ancient Greece. The Greeks laid the foundations for fields varying from philosophy to political theory to war tactics. However, this influence was not just due to their intelligence or success, but their widespread presence in the Mediterranean. Greek culture was spread throughout their known world in two distinct manners, the foundation of apoikia in the Archaic Age (8th century to 500 B.C. ) and imperialists by poleis, primarily Athens of the Classical Age (490 - 323 B.C ). Though the culture of a mother city (mētropolis) may have spread through two very different manners of “colonization.” The word is not used in the literal sense, but rather hereafter used to mean “spreading of culture”, as the former can hardly be described using the contemporary definition of colonization and the latter was through Athenian empire-building. These developments had a significant impact on ancient Greece and our modern perception thereof. Like most of the ancient world, we can best analyze these methods of colonialism through extant artifacts. I will analyze an inscription of the foundation oath of Cyrene, which recounts the decision and manner in which the island of Thera sent its citizens to the form a new polis, and the fragments of the Lapis Primus, a marble monolith that documented tributes to Athens when the city was at the peak of its imperial age, evidencing the magnitude of their power and influence in the Greek region.
In 323 B.C., the Hellenic Humanistic civilization came to an end, and Hellenistic individualism was born. Hellenistic individualism was everything that Hellenic Greece was not. This new time period would be described as “Greekish” because it was not purely Greek in culture (Humanities, 83). Before the Individualistic era began, the civilization was united in language, philosophy and religion, having a strong historical impact that connected them. Hellenistic individualism was created in a time of loneliness and isolation. When the polis were replaced, individualism emerged, because people were searching for continuity, they were searching for identity through the individual (Humanities, 91). I will be contrasting the different viewpoints from Hellenic Age and the Hellenistic Age; focusing on the philosophy of Aristotle, the philosophy of Epicurus and the new art form.