Cultural Values Of Athens

Democracy is a system of government where the people equally run a country. For example, America practices a form of government where the people have the right to elect those who are in power when they become eighteen years of age. In addition, a citizen of this country can practice a religion of their choice along with several other freedoms. In my opinion, Athens was not a democratic society by today’s standards.

Greece is known today as the origin of Mathematics, philosophy, art and many other disciplines. For our purposes, we may recognize that Greek art transformed throughout the different eras and was particularly influential on other cultures during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. We may wonder how the Greeks came to be such a thriving, unique and forward-thinking society; this question can be answered if we look into the common philosophical and cultural attitudes such as idealism, naturalism and rationalism. These attitudes influenced the approach of Greek artists during various times, and occasionally, we may find more than one of these attitudes in a single piece of art.

In Athen, “Schools taught reading, writing, and mathematics, music, poetry, sport, and gymnastics”. In Sparta, “Boys were taken from parents at age seven and trained in the art of warfare. They were only given a cloak - no shoes or other clothes, and not enough food so they had to steal (to learn survival skills)”. Overall, I think Athens is better and safer to live in then Sparta.

Athens was the largest polis in Greece. Its population was over five times as great as the other small city-states. Athens stood out from Sparta as well as the other city-states not only because of its immense population but also because it was the commercial leader of Greece and was home to a great navy. The Athenians valued their political freedom and free thought. Like the Spartans they too wanted to protect their state but unlike the Spartans, the Athenians strove for excellence not only in being warriors but also in their everyday lives. Since the Spartans were only concerned with being great warriors, the Athenians became the cultural center of Greece during the Hellenic period. Athens original government was a monarchy ruled by one king, however, the king's influence began to diminish with the changing times and soon Athens was under the rule of an oligarchy.

Pericles’ Funeral Oration by Thucydides, and Sophocles’ play, Antigone, both illustrate cultural values that are crucial in understanding the dynamic of Ancient Athens. In these two pieces of literature, the cultural values are explained and understood through death. Pericles delivered the Funeral Oration as part of a public funeral for some of the Athenian fatalities in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. In Antigone, Sophocles is able to encompass values and conflicts through the death of Antigone’s brother. Pericles connects the death of soldiers to the importance of community, trust, personal freedoms, and social order that was essential in the success of Ancient Athenian Culture. Sophocles addresses the values of family, religion, and loyalty in his play, Antigone. The values highlighted in each of these works are very similar as they institute the importance of the patrioi nomoi (Athenian constitution) to the success of the Athenian state.

The city of Athens is at the center of Ancient Greece. Most of what we know of ancient Greek culture depends on records from this principal polis. Athens is the birthplace of democracy and has been called the cradle of western civilization. The polis of Athens included about 2500 square kilometers of territory. Surrounding poleis ranged somewhere in the 250 square kilometer region, making Athens the largest. The

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.

In ancient Greece, there was one dominant city-state, or Polis as the ancient Greeks called it, and this was Athens. It was a beautiful society that enjoyed art and literature very much and valued things like wholeness and excellence. However, one thing the Athenians did not value was women. They were deemed inferior by men, and treated more as a decoration rather than a human being.

Athens was located in the region of Attica, a fertile valley and rich in minerals. The city was a cultural powerhouse: the cradle of democracy, the birthplace of many great philosophers, of politics, of architecture and theatre, of history, science and mathematics, with a formidable naval fleet that defeated the Persian army. Athenians had access to education and freedom to pursue their interests in war or business. (Mark, 2011)

The Battle of Tanagra Sports wins.. Athens fielded "their whole army, supported by 1,000 troops from Argos and by contingents from their other allies, making up

The two of the biggest things that makes Athens so iconic are the education and government. The boys would go to school at the age of seven while the girls were taught by their mothers. The education of Athens focused on philosophy, astronomy, law, math, and science. A few famous scientists and philosophers are from Athens such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It was so good that many people of different countries sent their sons to Athens. The government of Athens is the earliest form of democracy. All male citizens had the ability to vote at an Assembly. An Assembly is a place where debates about new laws and policies could take place. New laws and policies are created in a Council made up of 500 citizens, 50 from the 10 Athenian tribes.

Athens government was a democracy which meant it was a state ruled by many. In this type of government they believed that the power was in the hands of the people and not just a select few that had absolute power as in Sparta. Although only about 10% of the Athenian population had political rights and this 10% were all male over the age of 18 with both parents being Athenian, it was more representative of what the people wanted then in Sparta where the decisions were not made based on what the people thought. In Athens citizenship was granted to people of all different social classes so whether you were rich or poor you had a say and a voice in the Athenian political life. In Athens you were expected to participate in government so

Sparta was a military-based city-state, on the other hand, Athens was a generous, art based community. Athens was a greater city to live in because they had education privileges, a strong government, and had characteristics for agriculture. One reason Athens was a greater city to live in is because they had many education priviledges. According to the article, “Athens and Sparta,” by Mr. Duckworth, “Unlike Sparta, in Athens, boys were not forced to join the army. As an Athenian, one could pursue several kinds of arts and sciences.

Local cultures are sustained through customs. An example would be preserving the culture through food. Easter is a largely celebrated holiday in Greece and with a big celebration, comes an even bigger meal to end the day. Typical dishes served are whole, slowly roasted lambs, red-dyed eggs, braided sweetbreads (known as tsoureki), an Easter soup called magiritsa, and grilled tripe rolls (kokoretsi). Greeks also preserve their culture by the way they dress. During the holidays there, you’ll meet locals dressed in traditional costumes. In western Crete, the older men still proudly sport their high boots, breeches and black-tasselled kerchiefs; on the island of Karpathos, the women have two sets of costumes, a simple one for every day and a very

Cultures have been able to be identified according to certain characteristics. Different cultures develop different types of architecture that helps to explain a bit about the culture. Ancient Greek architecture is one of the most unique of its kind. The Temple of Athena, also known as the “Old Temple”, was a Greek temple located in Athens, Greece. The temple was built because the goddess Athena was worshiped highly for her victory in war and wisdom. Those who worshiped her, did so in hope of success in the Peloponnesian War fought against the Spartans. The “Old Temple” got its name for having to have been rebuilt several times, after being destroyed. The temple served many purposes and is of great importance to Athens. The temple is of great