The Acropolis Of Athens And Athens Essay

Democracy is a system of government where the people equally run a country. For example, America practices a form of government where the people have the right to elect those who are in power when they become eighteen years of age. In addition, a citizen of this country can practice a religion of their choice along with several other freedoms. In my opinion, Athens was not a democratic society by today’s standards.

“The Restoration of the Athenian Empire” Our walls are crumbling and our fleet is minute. We here in Athens are unable to collect tribute from other city-states and are often in threat of being attacked. Our fleet is defenseless and weak. The Democratic fraction, propose that we spend our time and hard earned money on the rebuilding of our walls and fleet. That way Athens can dangerously collect tributes from other Greek city-states. The Democrats also would like to commence in hazardous military voyages with our insubstantial navy. Hoping the result brings forth great rewards.

In 400 B.C, The Athenian civilization experienced a golden age. The Athens experienced a great amount of peace and prosperity due to their contact and trade with others, and rare warring. During this time, ideas and philosophies were produced. These ideas influenced western civilizations in the areas of politics, science, art and architecture.

During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.

Greece is a country full of culture and tradition. This is Acropolis of Athens built in 6th

Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not.

The girls would descend the steps of the Acropolis, a large fortress containing many important buildings. The Scirophonia was a festival in which priests would walk in a somber march under a vast sun umbrella and lastly the Panathenea. The Panathenea festival was the largest festival in which hundreds of people walked in a massive procession to the Acropolis. The people were bringing Athena a peplos, or a robe, made by the most skilled workers in Athens. During this festival, people held races, sang songs, played music, competed in gymnastics and also music contests (The Cut of Athena 1). Along with the festivals, the Greek people built expansive temples to Athena. There is the sanctuary of Athena in Delphi, Greece, part of the great temple complex there. The sanctuary was set-aside for Athena for her role as guardian of wisdom and consciousness (Philip, Wilkinson 53). The Parthenon in Athens also has a portion dedicated to Athena, but aside from that, there are two other temples devoted to the goddess: the temple of Athena Nike and the Erectheum, both of which are also located on the Acropolis in Athens. Athena was respected throughout Greece but she had an almost cult following in Athens (The Cult of Athena 1). There was an ancient rivalry between Athens, the city known for its advanced thinking, and Sparta, known for its warlike approach towards problems. However, both cities worshipped Athena. In Sparta, she was adored for her power in battle

The city of Athens viewed the goddess Athena as their patron and protector. There were multiple instances in the city’s mythology where they believed that due to their dedication she successfully protected their territory and helped them to remain successful and prosperous. The entire city of Athens is dedicated to Athena. One of the main ways that they honored her was through elaborate temples or other forms of architecture. Athena was the goddess of several different things but architecture and mathematics were some aspects of her that could explain the way that they chose to honor her and why Athens was a center for progress in technology.

The ancient Greek civilization contributed many great new ideas and aspects to everyday life that shaped and inspired the modern day society. The Greeks are well known for their construction of temples, acropolis’ and other grand architectural structures. Among these structures stood one of the most famous, the Parthenon. The Parthenon was a symbol of Greek society and culture as it stood as one of Greece’s most important architectural buildings.

With the rise of Alexander “The Great” begins the Hellenistic Age which is used to describe a time which Greek culture spread to places like Egypt and Asia. Due to this Greek culture had changed from what it was during Classical Greece as they were able to achieve much more with this new diverse culture. The Classical Age of Greece is known for its work in philosophy and the arts. The work of Greek philosophers of this time such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle cannot go unnoticed in these contexts as their accomplishments still have lasting effects on our world today. Along with the great work of these philosophers, came other great works in architecture and drama. Beginning in 448 B.C. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis,

Athens was the intellectual center of Greece. It was one of the first city-states of its time, and is still known as one of the most famous cities in the world. It was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the city's patron. In 508 B.C., Athens became one of the first societies in ancient times to invent democracy. Democracy came from the Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratein, meaning to rule. This form of government was usually held in a meeting place, which the Athenians called the Assembly. Here the citizens of Athens met monthly and discussed the affairs of state. There were no decisions made by government without first asking the Assembly.

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.

“While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are living things; the flesh

Democracy comes from two Greek words: a noun demos which means, "people" and a verb, kratein, which means "to rule" (Ober 120). Democracy first appeared in Athens towards the beginning of the fifth century B.C. The biggest difference between Athenian democracy and almost all other democracies is that the Athenian version was a direct democracy rather than being representative. Democracy came about in Athens as a result of the growing navel power and the reforms made by leaders such as Cleisthenes and Pericles.

The ancient Greek Acropolis was dedicated to the Goddesses Athena. Acropolis in Greek means “The Sacred Rock, The high city” (“Ancient Greece” 3). The Acropolis is known world wide. There are many extravagant buildings and monuments