Athens & The Peloponnesian War

What is a “Golden Age?”A time period of prosperity and great achievements in

arts, sciences, and education.

After the Persian Wars ended, Athens became more powerful, and therefore, more prosperous. The Athenian golden age lasted from 477 to 431 B .C.

• School was only for sons of wealthy families.

Athenian Education

• Boys received training in logic, public speaking, science, philosophy and military training.

• Athenians believed in having a well-rounded education.

(Girls learned from mothers and other female members of household).

Athens: 3 Branches of GovernmentThe Assembly

All citizens of Athens (native-born male property owners

over the age of 18). They met about once per month to

discuss issues and vote on legislation. There were about

40,000 Athenian citizens.

The Council of 500 Leaders of the Assembly. They

were selected by lot - this means that each year, 500

citizens were drawn at random to be part of the council. They

led the assembly meetings and made decisions about foreign

relations.

The Court 30 citizen jurors that held trials and represented the voice of the people. They were also

chosen randomly.

Formation of Athenian Democracy

One of Athens’ early rulers was a man named Draco who

introduced the idea that all Athenian citizens were equal.

This idea is the basis for a democratic government.

(Draco also created a harsh legal system, so the adjective “draconian” means strict or

harsh).

Another early ruler, Solon, increased democracy by saying that all citizens could participate in the Assembly, regardless of

their social class.

He also made it illegal for one Athenian to enslave another Athenian. (Only

foreigners could be slaves).

Another leader named Cleisthenes made the

Assembly more democratic by giving all Assembly members the power to

propose new laws.

He also created the Council of 500 (The randomly-

selected Assembly leaders).

A leader of Athens during its golden age. He had great support from the public and pursued 3 goals:

1. Strengthen Athenian democracy

2. Keep the empire strong 3. Leave a legacy of a

glorious city

Pericles

Pericles: 3 GoalsStrengthen Athenian

Democracy

Pericles increased the number of Assembly leaders

who were paid salaries. Before, a poor person who was randomly selected to

be a leader would be forced to turn the job down

because the job would not pay him a salary. This meant

that only wealthy people were leaders of Athens.

With more salaried jobs, poor people were able to

participate more in Athenian leadership

positions.

Keep the Empire Strong

Pericles used money from the Delian League to make the Athenian Navy the most

powerful in Greece. This allowed Athens to maintain control over the other city-

states.

Leave a Legacy of a Glorious City

Pericles used the wealth of Athens to sponsor artists and architects to beatify the city with sculptures,

monuments, and new buildings.

The Parthenon: Temple to Athena

Located on the Acropolis of Athens

• Classical art—values simple clean lines, harmony, order, balance, & proportion

Glorious Art and Architecture

Both mind & body were valued

Drama• Greeks were the first to call drama an art form; Greek plays included music, a chorus, dance, and poetry. Most plays were about famous people and events, like Oedipus the King by Sophocles.

• Two forms of drama: tragedy and comedy

• Tragedy—tells story of heroes’ downfall; themes of love, hate, war

• Comedy—makes fun of politics and respected people; uses slapstick humor

PHILOSOPHERS

Philosopher means “lovers of wisdom.” They were people who taught and wrote about human

nature and life on earth.

Socrates• Socrates never left any of his own

writing, but other philosophers like Plato often wrote about Socrates. He believed in questioning everything as the way to learn truth.

• He was convicted of corrupting young people by teaching them to question the government and the gods, so he was sentenced to death in 399 B.C.

• He lives on today in thousands of classrooms around the world where teachers use the “Socratic method” of questioning.

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know

nothing.”

Plato• Plato was a student of Socrates.

• In 387 B.C., he established a school in Athens called the Academy; it lasted 900 years.

• He wrote a book called The Republic in which he stated that the best form of government was NOT direct democracy. He believed that people are too ignorant to govern themselves and should elect the wisest members of society to rule.

• His story “The Allegory of the Cave” is famously used to teach us many lessons.

“Knowledge is the food of the soul.”

In plato’s allegory, prisoners are chained inside a cave facing the cave wall. They can’t turn around to see what’s behind them. They have lived here their ENTIRE lives, so this is the only world they know.

Sometimes, people, animals and objects walk past the cave entrance, casting shadows on the cave walls.

The prisoners can see shapes of shadows moving across the walls. They can also hear echoes of sounds.

The prisoners can see shapes of shadows moving across the walls. They can also hear echoes of sounds.

The prisoners can see shapes of shadows moving across the walls. They can also hear echoes of sounds.

The prisoners give names to the shadows.

One day, a prisoner is set free!

He leaves the cave for the first time, and is blinded by the sun. At first, his new discovery confuses him.

But he eventually learns that the shapes on the cave wall were only the shadows of real objects. Now, he understands a greater truth

about reality.

But he eventually learns that the shapes on the cave wall were only the shadows of real objects. Now, he understands a greater truth

about reality.

He returns to the cave to tell his friends about what he learned. However, they have never experienced it for themselves, so they don’t

understand what he’s talking about, and they don’t believe him.

In fact, they become insulted when their friend tells them that they don’t understand the truth, because they feel like he is calling them

stupid. This makes them angry at him, and they don’t want to leave the cave even when their friend tries to free them.

In the minds of the cave prisoners, the outside world does not exist. However, that does not make it any less real.

Allegory of the cave

Lessons it teaches us:

• Human understanding of truth is limited by our experiences. We can never fully understand reality because we can only know about the things we have experienced.

What is the allegory?:

• An allegory is a story with a hidden meaning, where characters and events represent ideas. It’s sort of like an extended metaphor.

• The slave that leaves the cave represents a philosopher. He understands more about reality and truth than average people do, and it is hard for him to teach others the truth because they are stubborn and ignorant.

Aristotle• Aristotle was a student of Plato.

• Opened his own school in Athens called the Lyceum.

• His work provides the basis for the scientific method, which we still use today.

• He was the tutor of the prince of Macedon…who grew up to become Alexander the Great.

• He wrote books on how to be happy, how to be good, and how to be a persuasive speaker (Ethos, Pathos, Logos)

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

Yes: The idea of democracy started to spread. There

were major breakthroughs in philosophy and the best

Greek art was produced during this time. The idea of

meritocracy developed (that your worth is determined by

your knowledge and skills, not by your social class).

No: Life expectancy was short. There was still very

limited rights for women and the poor. Also, slavery

existed. The Athenian democracy was limited: not many

people were considered citizens.

Was it really a Golden Age?

Athenians and Spartans Go to War

As Athens expanded and became more powerful,

tensions grew between Sparta and Athens. Sparta

was unhappy that Athens was the leader of Greece,

and their fundamental beliefs with the Athenians

were almost the polar opposite.

In 431 BC, Sparta declared war on Athens.

ATHENIANSSPARTANS

-Militaristic. Obsessed with warfare and

physical prowess.

-Government was led by

kings and an elected senate of only wealthy

Spartan citizens.

-Cared about education and maintaining a

balance between military

strength and intelligence.

- Government was a direct

democracy. The idea of

democracy was born in Athens.

Both had slaves

Both were city-states

Had a powerful army

Had a powerful navy

Both boys and girls went to school, and both

received military training.

Only boys went to school. Girls were educated by

their mothers.

Main value was strength: babies with deformities

or weakness were killed after birth.

Main value was education: The greatest

philosophers lived in Athens.

Both had assemblies

of male citizens

Cared about art.

Spartans promoted a simple lifestyle. They

dressed in simple clothes and ate simple, hardy

food.

Athenians desired a lavish lifestyle with

fancy homes, clothing, banquets, and parties.

Peloponnesian War-Athens had the advantage of money and a navy. Sparta had the advantage of land power.

-Pericles persuaded the Athenians to let the Spartans come to them instead of attacking first. He thought they could fight from behind their city walls or wait for the opportunity for a naval battle to arise.

Athenian City Walls Today -Half of the city-states allied with Athens (Athenian League), the other half sided with Sparta (Spartan League).

• A terrible plague infected Athens and killed 1/3 of the population, including Pericles.

• Both sides created a truce in 421 BC. • Six years later, Athens broke the truce by attacking

one of Sparta’s strongest allies. • Athens was brutally defeated in this attack, and

the Peloponnesian War was over.

LEGACY Much of Greek civilization had been damaged and destroyed. Despite the fact that the Spartans were claiming to “fight for Greece”, after their victory much of the Eastern lands of Greece fell under Persian rule.

The “Golden Age” had come to an end. The real winners were the

Macedonians