Influence Of Ancient Greece During The Golden Age

Ancient Greece made many political contributions that influenced Western civilization regarding its government. Ancient Greece was the first country to use a democracy, making government more equal and centered on the people. Ancient Greece decided on a new type of government focusing on the people and what they want, according to their votes on government officials, and

In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings

A Greek city-state was known as a polis. Some factors that determined a polis was the acropolis and agora.

‘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.

Classical Greece was an influential time period during Ancient Times that lasted from 510-323 BCE,although it was only about 200 years old, its impact is still felt to this day. It has impacted our lives in a variety of ways, such as through, our government,art,architecture, drama,philosophy,and modern-day math/science. Many famous people such as Socrates,Aristotle,Pericles,Hippocrates, Euclid,and Sophocles, made lasting impacts by which we live by even to this day . Without Classical Greece, our society wouldn’t have been what it is today. Greek civilizations and their ways of governing had a tremendous effect on our society.

Ancient Greece was famous for its art and ideas. Greek people were very creative in great epics, history, dramas, philosophy, science, mathematics, and medicines. The ancient Greece was covered with mountains, rocky hills, and narrow valleys. Greek later became educated about trading with the Mediterranean. Modern Democracy is more concerned about peace, division of power and providing equal rights of every citizen of a country however, in the ancient Greece was involved with war among the state, misuse of political power, discriminate slaves and poor farmers.

“Polis is a term that is used to describe a tight knit small community of Ancient Greek citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs. Usually a polis was centered on a small town and the countryside the surrounded it” (Deering). The polis defined a public and communal space, the Agora, for the purpose of leading public affairs. The affairs of men and affairs were included as these had essentials parts to the entire community’s affairs. The Ancient Greek poleis are among the first recorded democratic governments in the world. The term polis has been translated into city-state as there was typically only one city and because an individual polis was independent from other poleis in terms of political, judicial, legal, religious and social institutions and practices (Cartwright). A polis offered security for its inhabitants and gave organization to government through structure, function and hierarchy.

Archaic Greece is responsible for so many different ways like agriculture, philosophy, mathematics, engineering, politics, art and architecture, and the sciences like Astronomy, Physics, and Medicine. Politics were influenced by the Greeks, democracy and republics were all early forms of Greek city-state politics and in the end applied by Rome, Europe, America and all over the world. With agriculture, certain foods were first made and created in

The Greek Empire was a time when people studied arts and mathematics, established democratic government, and built a massive army. The Greek Empire would give to the world many great works of art, philosophy, massive amounts of education in many fields, and influenced many government structures. Although much was gained from the Greek Empire, much darkness came with it. In order to have such great products of the Greek Empire, many suffered because of “progress”. Land was the most valuable item to the Greeks, mainly due to large populations and the need for agriculture. To acquire land, one would have to conquer other territories or “bully” those who occupied the land to willingly be ruled by Greece.

During this time they created what was known as the polis or city-state. The polis was a fundamental institution in Greek society. Citizens of polis assembled in the central place for political, social, and religious activities. Although the polis was great individually it ruined the unity of Greece as a whole. With the creation of the polis came a new military system.

The Polis was a unique institution formed during the Dark Ages (1100-776 BCE) in Ancient Greece following the fall of Mycenaean Civilization. The term polis can also be translated in to city-state in that each poleis was its own independent state which were generally organized in to complex hierarchical structures. Poleis were independent in several aspects such as (but not limited to): political, judicial and religious dealings. There were many notable poleis in Ancient Greek, and many of them were in their prime, were very successful however, the ideal polis was Athens. Athens was a model polis because of its political systems, economy, intellectual capital and naval strength.

When one hears the word Polis, a simple Greek region would usually come to mind, while it was an area by name it was much more than that to the Greeks it was a community. To the community of Greeks polis had more of a meaning than just an example definition of a city-state. Premiums such as security, peace, freedom of social interaction and thoughts, self-sufficiency, and togetherness helped to make the polis a prized possession. Polis might describe a city-state but it was also a way of life for many Greeks in a political, moral, economic, and cultural sense. It was a place where various different political activity and government events took place. And it usually located in the center of each city where commerce and trade occurred. While these cities where interesting by themselves they also played some importance to certain Greek philosophers.

Ancient Greece was a very influential civilization of its time. Ancient Greece was made up of many different city states that United made what we know of as ancient Greece. Each city-state was particularly different than its neighboring states thus causing the different forms of government throughout the land. In this paper, we will compare and contrast the five different forms of government that existed in ancient Greece which is Monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states.

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.

The golden age of Greece, especially the Periclean age of Athens, was considered to be the defining age of Greek history. The amount of cultural and intellectual innovation in Greece was at its height during the nearly 200 year period. From 500-300 BC, many great thinkers and philosophers rose and gave many a new perspective on life.