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Athens

One of the Ancient Greek city states, Athens has become the Capitol of Greece. It was home to Plato and Aristotle as well as a center of cultural activity up to the modern day.

2,294 Questions

Was Sparta military better than Athens?

Athens was a democracy and had more liberal (for that time) thinking and had good navy. Sparta was a oligarchy was more conservative and militaristic and had great army. In the war between them (Peloponnesian war), Sparta won.

What are metics in ancient Athens?

A resident alien, not a citizen but part of society.

Why did smaller city-states resent Athenian control?

The Delian League was formed under Athenian leadership to keep the city-states of Asia Minor and the Islands free of Persian rule. When peace was made with Persia, Athens kept the League going and collected the war funds each year, by force if necessary. Athens moved the treasury from Delos to Athens and happily spent them on beautifying the city, putting half its own citizens on the public payroll, and kept a strong fleet going to collect the funds from the cities.

Pericles, a leader of Athens, admitted that Athens had converted the league to protect against the Persian Empire into an empire of its own.

What was the spartan education?

In Sparta boys were in the military from the age of 7. Spartan girls stayed home with their mothers but took part in sports to become strong for when they have their own children.

They weren't in the 'military'. They were put into something called the 'agoge' which was military-style education. They lived in barracks and their education was focused on teaching them how to be strong and brave and loyal to Sparta. They didn't focus on literacy or reading but were taught songs about war and winning.

At the age of twelve they were only given one cloak and barely any food but were permitted to steal as long as they weren't caught (being caught would mean a severe punishment). This was to ensure that they were able to cope with the conditions that could occur when they went to war. They also had a 'mentor' which would be someone from the gerousia (the elders who were seen to be the wisest Spartans, you were lucky to reach sixty in ancient Sparta) who would punish, reward and tutor accordingly.

When they turned eighteen they were sent into the wilderness for a year with only a dagger; where they would kill helots (the slaves, normally prisoners of war) and have to survive in extreme cold and heat with only the food they could find.

After this they would enter the military but wouldn't become a Spartan citizen until they reached the age of 30.

Spartan girls were trained with the boys until the boys went into the agoge. They were taught to be strong and brave too, during the joint education of boys and girls they could taunt boys for being weak and praise them when they did well to inspire the boys. They also had to walk naked in processions which would encourage equality and stop them being embarrassed (a thing of weakness) and apparently showed them to be prospective wives! (bachelors weren't allowed).

After the boys went into the agoge the women continued their physical training for the rest of their lives as it would prepare them for pregnancy and childbirth and they thought it'd encourage good genetics and also, when the men were at war it would be the women who were left to defend the state.

How did the growth of Athenian power contribute to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War?

Athens , a sea power ,sought to exploit her neighbors commercially through the dominance of her navy to the detriment of Sparta , a land based power , and other city-states . This led to many wars.

What year did democracy start?

The word "democracy" combines the elements demos (which means "people") and kratos ("force, power"). Kratos is an unexpectedly brutish word. In the words "monarchy" and "oligarchy", the second element arche means rule, leading, or being first. It is possible that the term "democracy" was coined by its detractors who rejected the possibility of, so to speak, a valid "demarchy". Whatever its original tone, the term was adopted wholeheartedly by Athenian democrats.

The word is attested in Herodotus, who wrote some of the earliest Greek prose to survive, but even this may not have been before 440 or 430 BC. It is not at all certain that the word goes back to the beginning of the democracy, but from around 460 BC at any rate an individual is known whose parents had decided to name him 'Democrates', a name which may have been manufactured as a gesture of democratic loyalty; the name can also be found in Aeolian Temnus, not a particularly democratic state.

The Athenian democracy (sometimes called classical democracy) was the democratic system developed in the Greek city-state of Athens (comprising the central city-state of Athens and its surrounding territory Attica). Athens was one of the very first known democracies and probably the most important in ancient times. Other Greek cities set up democracies, most but not all following an Athenian model, but none were as powerful or as stable (or as well-documented) as that of Athens. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive bills in their own right. Participation was by no means open to all inhabitants of Attica, but the in-group of participants was constituted with no reference to economic class and they participated on a scale that was truly phenomenal. Never before had so many people spent so much of their time in governing themselves.

Solon (594 BC), Cleisthenes (508 BC), and Ephialtes of Athens (462 BC) all contributed to the development of Athenian democracy. Historians differ on which of them was responsible for which institutions, and which of them most represented a truly democratic movement. It is most usual to date Athenian democracy from Cleisthenes, since Solon's constitution broke down and was replaced by the tyrant Peisistratus, whereas Ephialtes revised Cleisthenes' constitution relatively peacefully. The end of the Pisistratid tyranny was later attributed to the assassination of Hipparchus, the brother of the tyrant Hippias, by Harmodius and Aristogeiton, honored in later years by the Athenians for their alleged restoration of Athenian freedom. The assassination took place four years before the revolution; although the increased severity of the tyranny may have destabilized it. They were particularly popular with the aristocratic opponents of democracy.

The greatest and longest-lasting democratic leader was Pericles; after his death, Athenian democracy was twice briefly interrupted by oligarchic revolution towards the end of the Peloponnesian War. It was modified somewhat after it was restored under Eucleides; the most detailed accounts are of this fourth-century modification rather than the Periclean system. It was suppressed by the Macedonians in 322 BC. The Athenian institutions were later revived, but the extent to which they were a real democracy is debatable.

Another interesting insight into Athenian democracy comes from the law that excluded from decisions of war those citizens who had property close to the city walls - on the basis that they had a personal interest in the outcome of such debates because the practice of an invading army was at the time to destroy the land outside the walls. A good example of the contempt the first democrats felt for those who did not participate in politics can be found in the modern word 'idiot', which finds its origins in the ancient Greek word ἰδιώτης (idiōtēs), meaning a private person, a person who is not actively interested in politics; such characters were talked about with contempt and the word eventually acquired its modern meaning. In his Funeral Oration, Pericles states: 'it is only we who regard the one not participating in these duties not as unambitious but as useless.'

In short the answer to your question: 6th Century BC. (the 500's). :]

How often did the Ancient Greeks go to the Theatre?

There were two major festivals of Dionysus that included theater: the tragic festival in the spring near the equinox, and the comic festival in the winter near the solstice.

What did Pericles do for the democracy?

The Greeks were not under Pericles. The Greek world comprised hundreds of independent city-states with different forms of government. Pericles became First Citizen of the city-state of Athens. Pericles consolidated direct democracy in Athens, that is all the citizens of whatever property class were able to attend the meetings of the Assembly held a couple of times a month to vote on laws and policy decisions (as opposed to representative democracy, where citizens elect representatives to a parliament which enacts laws). Also, persons for public office were selected by lot, which meant that any citizen could hold the highest offices in the state (appointment of generals was excluded from this - the people weren't that suicidal, they wanted real talent there). In addition, the judges at trials were large juries (typically 400, but up to 2,000), also chosen by lot. In addition Pericles made sure of his popularity be putting nearly a third of the citizenry on the public payroll, so that they would share in the prosperity of the state (this prosperity came to a large degree by hi-jacking the funds of the Anti-Persian league which Athens led and collected the funds for, and held on the Parthenon). Athens encouraged the allied and subject cities in the Anti-Persian league (read Athenian empire in its later stages) to adopt radical democracy as had Athens.

How does our form of democracy differ from the kind do practiced in Athens?

They developed a radical democracy where all citizens met in assembly fortnightly to direct the council on actions to be taken. This is practicable only in a small state where citizens can cover the distance to vote in person. With our large states today this is impracticable, so we have representative democracy where elected representatives meet in a parliament to carry out the wishes of the people.

Why did Athens form the delian league?

It provided the main part of the naval forces in the resistance to Persian attacks. After peace was made with the Persian Empire, Athens continued to collect the financial contributions for the League, by force where necessary, and used it for its own purposes, effectively turning it into an empire of its own.

When was democracy destroyed in Athens?

I assume the real question is how long did Democracy last in Rome.

The short answer: What we call the "Republic of Rome" was founded c. 509 BC and lasted 482 years. (Beginning in 27 B.C., through a series of civil wars, it was subverted into a Principate then into a Dominate.)

The real answer: To accurately and completely answer the question you have to define Democracy, Republic and Democratic Republic. The three are frequently incorrectly used interchangeably in the vernacular. For example, the U.S. calls itself a Democracy but citizens "swear allegiance to the flag and to the Republic for which it stands".

In a Republic, power lies within a charter; in a Democracy, power lies within the rule of the majority; in a Democratic Republic, government is founded on a charter, but lead by officials elected by the majority. For example, the U.S. was founded as a Democratic Republic (which has subsequently been subverted, since, while governing bodies are elected by the majority, policy is increasingly shaped by powerful, unelected special interest groups).

Although it was founded as such, Rome was never a trueDemocratic Republic. Early on it was controlled mainly by the Patricians (nobles). The closest Rome came to being a true Democratic Republic was later when it was controlled by two bodies: one made up of Patricians, and the other of Plebeians (poorer citizens).

Even at it's closest approximation of a Democratic Republic Rome was never a true Democratic Republicbecause the controlling body made up of Patricians was not elected by the majority.

What were Aristophanes' contributions to his community?

Aristophanes was an important writer in Ancient Greece because he began a new style of writing. Aristophanes was the first author to create New Greek Comedy.

How fast did ancient trade ships sail?

Not sure what you mean by "ancient," but some of the larger sailing ships of the late 1700s and early 1800s could make 7 to 10 knots, with some of the speedier ones getting up near 15 knots. Hope that helps.

Why was Sparta and Athens different?

Education In Sparta wanted a strong army, they had boys at the age of seven move into military housed called barracks. They also taught them how to read. Athens education was different, only boys with wealthy families could go to school and learn, they prepared them to be good citizens and studied many things, like math, reading etc.

Why is Cyrus the Great important to Jews?

Cyrus the Great was known for his laziness. He was so lazy that they gave him an award. Cyrus just sat on the couch and ate potato chips for his whole life. sadly, he died of eating too much junk food without excercizing. It was too bad.

What are 5 ways Athens and Sparta were the same and 5 ways they were different?

Well first the Athens government is a direct government. Sparta isn't. Athens ruled Ancient Greece for many years and were the most powerful group. Then during the Peloponnesian war, which was Sparta v.s the powerful Athens (in the 400's B.C) at the end, we ended with a new powerful group called Sparta. The Spartanians were so releaved and excited and Athenians so depressed. That is a big difference in Greek City-States government. Some similarities is that they both had citizens that had to be males, but a big difference between that is to be a citizen in Athenia, you had to be a male, but you had to have family in that city-state for 3 generations. In Sparta and other city-states you had to be also a male, but had to be born in that city-state which made a lot of Citizens.

Thanks! AncientGreekGirl :)

What impact did Pericles leave on the modern world?

He established a model democracy in which every citizen could participate. While no country has adopted such a form of government in the modern world, it has inspired many modern republics, including the United States.

Market place in ancient greece?

the ancient greek market was called an agora.

What types of issues would the ancient Athens government decide?

The government, or certain members of it, would decide legal issues concerning the state and also at times, of individuals. Legal issues concerning the state would be in the nature of war and taxes and of individuals, it would give lawbreakers a trial.