Athens: The Beginning Of A Great Civilization

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.

When you look back in history to the development and the contributions of both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, you see that there was a lot accomplished, as well as a lot created. The earliest forms of writing developed in Mesopotamia, while Egypt was referred to the “Gift of the Nile” by traveler Herodotus (McKay,42). Development of cities was another major marker, especially in the “old world”, of how people eventually determined civilizations and what they represented. According to McKay, civilizations were determined by people who considered themselves more “civilized”, urban people mostly. Made up of cities, written rules of law, and social justice codes, Mesopotamia and Egypt would develop into two of the largest civilizations in history.

ATHENS IS THE PLACE TO BE!! Athens is an independent city state in ancient greece that has many cultural values. Athens was formed of the Mycenaeans. The citystate of Athens is independent because seas and mountains separate it from the other city states in ancient greece. Athens is a well rounded city state that supports educations, military involvement, and government. . To begin with, Athens education was extremely important. Only boy citizens attended private schools and would learn about poetry, literature, math, and science from ages 6-17.This was needed in order to become a citizen and carry out duties. As stated “the ability to read and write was important to all Athenian people-, reading and writing was needed in order to be a citizen, and carry out their duty..” (Document A). This quote explains that the citystate of Athens felt that it was essential for men to be educated in order to be an important citizen within their culture. Also, as part as the Athenian boys took part in sports. Athenians believed that it was important to not only study subjects but also to have physical activity in order to have men with strong minds and bodies. Additionally girls did not receive the formal education that the boys got, they were educated at home by their mothers. Because women were not apart of the government in Athens, they were simply taught household duties. Only if they were part of a wealthy family they learned to read and write.

Throughout Classical Western history, certain civilizations have prospered more than others. The strongest civilizations adopt the best practices of past cultures while also developing innovative practices. America’s civilization is an excellent example. It has taken the best practices of many past civilizations, such as those of Greece and Rome, to become what many would say is the greatest civilization in history. In fact, while Greece has contributed to the modern makeup of the United States, Rome’s civilization was more influential due to its democratic principles, emphasis on trade in order to expand the empire, and development of common experiences to unite society.

After reading “Golden Age Athens and the Hellenic World,” many things started to spark up in my mind. I never knew that so much was going on many years ago and made a difference to how the world is today. I found two interesting things that really stood out to me. The first one was the fact that the women of Athens were treated differently. According to the book, “Arts & Humanities I 2410,” it states, “Like the metics, the women of Athens were not citizens and did not enjoy any of the privileges of citizenship (Arts & Humanities I 2410). In my opinion, I feel as though women should not have been treated in this matter. It seems like women really didn't have a role to play. Basically, during this time period, women were being taken advantage

The astonishing cultural legacy of ancient Athens can leave the impression that ordinary Athenians during the Golden Age spent their leisure-filled lives contemplating the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. This refreshing look at Greeks at play corrects that idea. By examining the pleasures of eating, drinking, and sex, Davidson is able to draw broader conclusions about the distinctiveness of Athenian culture as a whole. For instance, the author makes much of the Athenians’ obsessive predilection for fish: unlike beef or mutton, fish was not a sacrificial or religious food and could be enjoyed for its own qualities, and fish consumption became a hallmark of urban sophistication, if not decadence. Wine, he shows, was central to Athenian merry-making,

Anderson, an Associate Professor of History at Ohio State University, presents a historical approach to the rise of Athens as a revolutionary experiment that came out of the historical context of Athens. He argues that Attica remodeled the way Athens governed which included a change to the political institutions and the thought of the civic environment. Anderson takes a heavily historical approach to the Rise of Athens, but still makes an important distinction that Athenian collective identity would still be important and that a social organization can still be effective even if it is created by a legal environment. The chapters in which he focuses on Athenian expression of collective identity will play a role in my analysis of a legal framework

For this assignment, I actually found this somewhat difficult to fully observe and make a full analysis based on what I saw for a period of time. Specifically, my experiment was conducted in Athens, Georgia where I found a very diverse population ranging from fraternity and sorority college students to public housing on the outskirts of downtown Athens. This general location has every type of social system and research data depends significantly on time and place of where it’s oversaw. In my observation, I came across two individuals that played different roles within society in downtown Athens where they are both accepted by society, but have a different outcome.

Before history, civilization is unknown to man. There were no written documents, towns or cities, or sophistication among the people. Civilization required many things including: towns and cities, food production that would be efficient enough for the large minority, the capability to produce works of art or imposing buildings, the practice of skilled warfare, and most importantly, a type of centralized bureaucracy that could help run the state. Until about 3100 B.C., none of these things existed.

According to National Geographic a civilization is a “society with highly developed culture and technology.”Every civilization has distinct characteristics in a common. For example, they have organized Central Government /Complex Institution, Job Specialization,Cities, Art and Architecture Technology , and Writing / Recording Keeping. Historians do not agree on how many characteristics are essential to success of a civilization. After analyzing all the characteristics, I believe that Organized Central Government / Complex Institution,Job Specialization,and Art and Architecture / Technology.

Religion can invade, conquer, and rule masses of people far more effectively and efficiently than any empire or conqueror. This is not to spark a heated discussion about religions. Its purpose is, to say that, even though it is highly debatable whether religions are false or true, most of them serve a very basic purpose of establishing morals and values. Early religions were used as a source of power and economic growth. Even if one doesn’t believe in or agree with the teachings of any religion, history shows proof that it creates a sense of order. There are many religions in the past that have brought order and civilized conduct to large numbers of people, not through military conquest, but through the promise of reward or the fear of punishment. Religion is the glue that binds local communities into nationhood and creates common understandings and shared values that are essential to the growth of a civilization. No religion is fully formed at its start, so why did some religion play such a big role in growth of the Ancient Civilizations.

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.

When I think about being in Athens, there is only one place that comes to mind.

The true definition of civilization can vary from person to person. Everyone has their own perspective, but some can agree A civilization can be defined as when a society reaches an advancement in cultures, governments, and socialization. In the chapters there are many different civilizations to chose from and compare. The two civilizations that interested me the most were the ancient Athenians and Rome. The similarities and difference in these two are numerous ancient civilizations create such a diverse conception in many ways.

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