Athens: The Beginning Of A Great Civilization

Ancient Athens was built on a democratic government. A democracy is when a government allows all of its people, no matter what class and how wealthy they are, to vote and agree on their own laws. There are many documents and resources that can prove that Ancient Athens was truly built to be a democratic government.

Ancient Athens (800 B.C. - 300 B.C.) is not a democracy. A democracy is a government controlled by the population, whereas the Athenian government was being controlled by only male citizens. According to Doc D, the ancient Athens were in fact an oligarchy, a government ruled by male citizens. The majority of the population does not vote in the Athenian politics.

When evaluating the government of ancient Athens, some might say that it was a democracy, however, it can be better described as an oligarchy: a form of government in which a small group of people has the power and control (Doc. D by Mogens Herman Hansen). A democracy takes all the citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account, unlike an oligarchy that only takes the male citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account. Thus, Athens is more similar to an oligarchy than a democracy. The people of Athens also decide as a whole what the best government for their city-state was, as opposed to a democracy where the people elect representatives to make decisions for them and their city-state. Athens could be seen as not a true democracy because of the lack of basic democratic rules and methods such as what they define democracy as, who is able to vote, and how they vote.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

The Greek Civilization was one of the greatest ancient civilizations to spring up. Though it faced many trials and tribulations, the ancient Greeks were a center of trade, economic development, and technological advancements. The success of the Greeks to construct such a flourishing culture was largely due to the area in which their civilization was located.

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

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.

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.

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.

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