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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
Solon was a politician and lawmaker in Athens during an intense time of turmoil for the Athenian government, c. 6 BCE. The Hoplites (free middle class men who provided their own panoply and fought in a phalanx) were realizing their power, and wanted to reform the government into a democracy. The Attica was essentially run by noble families, the most powerful being the Alcmaeonidae. A man named Cylon and a group of radical democratic rebels attempted to take over Athens during the Olympics, assured they would be granted a victory.(There was confusion with the Delphic oracle about this; the Oracle had said they would be successful if they attacked during the festival of Zeus, Cylon figured the Olympics honored Zeus, why not do it then.) Cylon and his men were driven into the temple of Athena, and trapped. When they began to starve, they begged for mercy, assuming the role of Suppliant. The suppliant in Greece was a very important figure. A person who begged for their life, or mercy, is a person who admits a wrong, and asks you to grant mercy, essentially granting you complete power over them. To kill a suppliant was considered one of the greatest of sins. The leader of the forces starving out Cylon's supporters was Megakles, an Alcmaeonid. He assured the group (Apparently Cylon and his brother had escaped) that they would be safe, but slew them as they left the temple. Not only had he slain suppliants, but he had slain suppliants under the protection of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, for which it gets its name.
The Alcmaeonidae, it was believed, were cursed for the death of Cylon and his men, and after that outrage, and a general disturbance between the Aristocrats and the Hoplites, Solon was called in to act as a mediator. He agreed, if only the Alcmaeonidae would stand trial for the murder of Cylon. They lost the trial, and their sentence was banishment from Athens. Solon then implemented a set of reforms which were the basis of democracy, creating an assembly out of the people which granted them more agency in the government. It is believed that Solon didn't care so much about the murder of Cylon as he did about the influential presence of the Alcmaeonid, who were a kind of Ancient Greek Mafia, and incredibly wealthy. He basically removed the Almaeonidae so that his reforms would have a chance to take hold and not be crushed by the Aristocrats who felt threatened by the new power structure.
Then, to ensure that he could not be accused of becoming a tyrant (Unlike the modern definition, in Ancient Greece a "tyrant" was not a cruel ruler, but one who usurped the throne, or had no right to it.) Solon left Athens, going into an exile of 10 years. He traveled through the Ionian and Lydian territories, seeking refuge in the various courts of kings. (For a description of one of these visits to King Croesus, read Herodotus, book I, chapter 29.) In his absence, his friend and eromenos (younger male lover) Peisistratus, became a tyrant in an attempt to maintain Solon's reforms.
Solon essentially wanted to remain neutral, so that he couldn't be held responsible for a tyranny. Greeks had a nasty habit of killing leaders who they felt went to far, or gained too much power. Solon's reforms didn't catch on, and Peisistratus' reign was turbulent, with the Alcmaeonidae attempting repeatedly (with the help of the Spartan king Cleomenes,) to return to Athens. Peisistratus' son Hippias became a tyrant, and was assassinated.
Democracy didn't really catch on until, ironically, Cleisthenes, a descendent of Megakles, and a Patriarch of the Alcmaeonidae, defeated Hippias and re-organized Attica to form the ten demes from which the democratic assambly was drawn. In the end, it was an Alcmaeonid who solidified democracy in Athens.
If you're looking for more information, I would recommend reading Herodotus and Thucidides. Thucidides has nothing about Solon, but it shows what happened to Athenian democracy, and if you like history, is a tragic depiction of the cruelty of human nature, and the ability for something as honorable as Athenian Democracy to become corrupted and twisted. I hope this answered your question.
What would Athens be called if Poseidon was the winner of the contest?
Athens would have been called Poseidon.
What were some of solons great reforms in Athens?
Solon was given power to reform the social problems which threatened a revolution. He eliminated debt-slavery and other social problems, arranging for the redemption of farmers sold overseas for debts. It was a compromise - a reduction in the absolute power of the upper class, with rights of freedom for the lower class. It was not the birth of democracy as is often claimed - that came 80 years later later under Cleisthenes.
Who were three renowed philosophers golden age?
The presocratics (or philosophers pre-Socrates) were primarily ontologists who rejected mythological explanations for reasoned discourse. Parmenides, for example, gave one of the first documented logical arguments: How could what is perish? How could it have come to be? For if it came into being, it is not; nor is it if ever it is going to be. Thus coming into being is extinguished, and destruction unknown.
Heraclitus, in contrast to Parmenides' immutable one, asserted that the only thing that doesn't change and perish is change itself. As can be seen, then, the presocratics were concerned with what exists, where it comes from, what it comes from, how it exists and how the plurality of natural objects can be explained.
Leucippus, against the monism of Parmenides, proposed an ontological pluralism with a cosmogony based on two main elements: the vacuum and atoms. These, by means of their inherent movement, are crossing the void and creating the real material bodies.
Aristotle, Aristoteles in Latin and many other languages (but Aristote in French and Aristotele in Italian), (384 BC - 322 BC) has, along with Plato, the reputation of one of the most influential philosophers in history. Their works, although connected in many fundamental ways, differ considerably in both style and substance. Plato wrote several dozen philosophical dialogues-arguments in the form of conversations, usually with Socrates as a participant-and a few letters. Though the early dialogues deal mainly with methods of acquiring knowledge, and most of the last ones with justice and practical ethics, his most famous works expressed a synoptic view of ethics, metaphysics, reason, knowledge, and human life.
Were The Beginnings Of Democracy Seen In Athens A Little More Than 400 B.C?
It began in 508 BCE under the leadership of Cleisthenes.
What was elpenor's role in the odyssey?
he doesnt do anything except die because he was drunk and fell off the stairs. Then they encounter him in the land of the dead.
What did democracy in Athens equal?
Direct power to the people (male citizens) via a popular assembly, a share in the revenues extorted from the cities of its empire, half the populace got mass employment and pay in public service, control of the law courts, and a responsibility to serve in the army and navy when called out.
puto
How did the social structure of ancient Athens impact its political structure?
Initially the citizens were structured according to their financial worth mlisted in the numbers of measures of produce they produces - 500 measure-men, 300 measures, 200 measures. Those below the 200 measures could not sustain a family and were workmen andnot citizens. With the coming of the democracy, ll those who could prove Athenian birth to their tribe t the age of 18 were citizens, regardless of their financial status, and could gain a living as sailors in the fleet, garrisons in the Athenian empire, and in the public service jobs and courts which proliferates, financed by the empire it created after the Persian War.
To the Athenians the courts were political, and ran on several juries of 500 each day. Then there was the Council of 500, the 20,000 in the warships and 10,000 in the garrisons - plenty of work for everyone, all finances by money forced from the 180 cities of the Athenian empire. And the citizens still at home met in fortnightly assembly to direct the conduct of affairs, which was then carried out by the Council of 500. And to underpin all this were about 70,000 slaves, nearly a quarter of Athens' population.
What type of political system use in ancient Athens Greece tribe?
Your butt hole,now lick it hope it helps ;)
Was the democracy of Athens complete government by everyone all adults in the polis?
No. It was a very selective. It would not be called a democracy today. yeahhhhh
Phidias was the greatest sculptor who sculpted the statue of Zeus at the Temple of Olympia.
What kind of established military did ancient Athens have?
During the times of ancient Greece, the city-states used what was called "Hoplite" warfare. Much of their style of war relied on a particular type of soldier and battle ranks.
In this style of combat, Greek troops stood close together and bore shields in front of them. What they would do is make a wall with these shields and march against the opposing army, while spearing the enemy with long spears called the "dory". This formation of battle was called a "phalanx". In the typical phalanx, the wall of shields protected all of the troops, literally making a fallen man in the front the weak link in the entire rank. The best troops were typically placed on the far right with the best of them having the least protection, while the weakest or newest were placed on the left with the absolute best protection.
Greeks who were notorious for dominating the field using hoplites and the phalanx were the Spartans. These Greeks were, and still are, considered the epitome of military genius and power as far as land operations go. They were well known for fighting to the last man, typically refusing to surrender, and striking fear into almost every opposing land army.
For a loose example of what hoplites were like and how they fought, watch the movie "300". Note, however, that the warriors in "300" do not necessarily reflect what real hoplites looked like.
Did you know that hoplites weren't professional soldiers?
What was the only activity women could do in ancient Athens?
women were encontroll of the housework for their family and friends
What features of politics in ancient Athens would be familiar to Americans today?
public debate and voting on legislation, trial by jury, and election of officials by secret ballot
What is the difference between poor and rich peoples houses in ancient Greece?
The poor house doesn't have some fancy rooms and the rich house has bathrooms , kitchen and lots of other stuff the poor Greeks don't have
Where is the school of Hellas?
Athenian leader Pericles referred to Athens as the 'school of Hellas', Hellas being the Greek word for Greece, and he was claiming that the schools of Greek philosophers at Athens were the centre of learning.
