Unlike neighboring cities, Athens “executes favors” to others because of its self-assurance of progressiveness. He is confident of Athens’ prosperity. Pericles makes it point to make Athens stand out from neighboring states which favor only the few, Athens democracy favor the equal treatment of all it citizens. Pointing out its willing generosity is one way he underscores its importance. 2.…
Athenian Government in 403 BCE Athens went through many changes in government structure, and eventually produced the most radical democracy of its time. The shape of the Athenian government in 403 BCE was especially important, because it changed from the oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants, established by Sparta after the Peloponnesian War to a radical democracy. The radical democracy was successful and remained the shape of the Athenian government for around a hundred years. Athenians went through many government structures on their trip to democracy.…
Themistocles was born in Athens in 524 BCE. He was the son of Neocles a middle class Athenian and a non-Athenian concubine mother. He was a citizen of Cleisthenes which in 508 BCE which made all Athenians free men. This contributed to his democratic tendencies. Themistocles lived in Athens for his entire life but often traveled because he was part of the Athenian military.…
The Athenian government consists of a Democratic government. In theory, a Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Taken from that theory of the Athenian Democracy, the “people” referred to men over the age of 18 who were born from Athenian parents. Men ruled the government, where they were able to vote and make political decisions regarding the country. Women, foreigners and slaves were not allowed to participate in the government at all.…
In his exile his reflections on Athens is all about how the country is now unjust and not his, he does not feel confident in the Athenian system to call himself as a…
First off, I believe that Athens did not have the right resources and the right strategy due to lack of planning and a lack of willingness to adjust. Maybe if they had planned accordingly and made sure that they would be properly financed then it would not have been such a catastrophe disaster. The second reason I believe for the Athenian failure was the recall of Alcibiades. He was a man of his people and very charismatic. The only reason the Athenian people put up with Alcibiades behavior for so long was due to the power of his speechmaking.…
In Books II-IV of Plato’s Republic, Socrates creates an ideal polis, and in doing so finds justice in the soul. The two foundational principles of the ideal city that Socrates creates are self-sufficiency and one-person-one-art, referred to today as specialization. Individual people are not self-sufficient, so the citizens of the city must take up a profession and trade with each other. Socrates and his companions are successful in their search for justice, and are able to reach the answer by considering the classes and their education in an ideal state. Citizens of the ideal city are not able to rely exclusively on themselves, nor are they able to practice a multitude of crafts.…
1. The Ekklesia makes reference to the Athenian assembly, with Ekklesia literally meaning ‘assembly’. The assembly consisted of all the adult male citizens in Athens. It was these men that governed by making the laws of the time. Unlike Spartan democracy, any citizen was allowed the opportunity to propose a new laws or wanted debates, however they were not allowed to vote.…
Socrates Persuades Glaucon by telling him it will not be hard for them to descend and is the right thing to do. Socrates wants to reassure Glaucon that “ there is no injustice” to tell the enlightened to descend into the “ general underground abode.” Socrates goes on to imply that descension is to “ have a care and providence”. Socrates here is saying many things: it is not wrong to tell philosophers to descend, it will be easy to compel them to descend, and third, he is in a sense guilt-tripping Glaucon and the philosophers.…
The rich saw that this was going to be a problem and decided to seek a solution. “At this point the most level-headed of the Athenians began to look towards Solon. … they appealed to him to come forward and settle their difference.” (Pl.…
However, the Melian people are trying to convince the Athenians to understand the principle that their people are neutral to the whole Athens vs. Sparta Conflict. The Melians, during this conflict, explain to the Athenians that if they attack their country many terrible repercussions will ensue from the Athenians attacking a neutral country.…
Thucydides’ description of the Peloponnesian War, besides being an account of an enormous conflict, also serves as an account of the many views of justice. The Athenians, the imperial force in ancient Greece, often assert that justice plays no role in foreign affairs. This belief, specifically explained at Sparta and Melos, is the Athenian Thesis. Although not all Athenians agree with the Athenian Thesis as proposed at Sparta and Melos, it is still an important theme in the Peloponnesian War. The Melian Dialogue specifically displays how little regard the Athenian Thesis shows for justice.…
“Socrates must be punished, there is no other way to save the Athenian way of life, for he praises the Lacedaemonians, our sworn enemy in these dark times.” Demetrius may be hot headed and not the most reasonable character, but he does have a point. Socrates praises those Oligarchic Spartans, and undermines our Athenian Democracy.…
Besides, it has also been in charge of giving Socrates a proper education, through establishing laws in order to develop an efficient educative system as well as taking care of him; he is in debt with the city if Athens. Therefore, Socrates declares that it is completely unfair to break the laws from a city that has given him everything, and has always seek to give him the best. In addition, every citizen is free and has the right to decide whether to stay…
Many Athenians were in the plays, that taught the people “Human experience” (Page 120). When Xerxes burned down the Acropolis, it left the Athenians the opportunity to embrace their confidence. Hollister explains how because of Athens imperialism, they were able to build a new Acropolis and represent the classical ideal. Through sculptors, Athens was able to show of their wealth by having Phidias place large gold, ivory statues in the open for ships to see. Hollister explains how the sculptors express the idea of men not having individual problems an how they were ideally proportional.…