Economic Crisis: The Golden Age Of Greece

During the 5th Century Athens, also known as the Golden Age of Athens, lasted from around 470 to 300 BCE. One of the greatest impacts for the Athenians and Greece would be the works that the statesman, Pericles (495-429 BCE) began to create, thus, the massive change to Greek culture and architecture. One of Pericles’ most prominent achievement would be as the leader of the Delian League, who would soon form the Athenian Empire (Mark). He also created the city-state to inherit democracy. According to Violatti via Greek Philosophy, this was a time of profound political and social change in Athens: democracy had replaced the old way of doing politics. Pericles also reestablished literature, philosophy, and religion by seeing to the reconstruction of the Parthenon and the Acropolis it sits on. The architectural idea behind the detail of the Parthenon was astonishing. After the death of Pericles, Athens began free falling back into its old ways via the War with Sparta for a short time.

Pericles (C. 495-429 BC) was a very influential politician and general in Athens. He is said to have brought about a very important time in Athenian history known as ‘The Golden Age of Athens’ where he brought about or placed focus on certain things like art, which gave Athens the reputation as the cultural and educational centre of Ancient Greece, architecture, where he created a project to beautify the city and provide work for Athenians with most of its products like the Parthenon still surviving and giving us an idea of the glory of Athens. He also made valuable contributions to drama, the bringing about of democracy and the establishment of the Greek empire.

Athens was a city-state with the world’s first democracy. The people wanted to rule themselves and not have a king or queen. In Athens citizens participated in decision making. Athens was located on a rocky hill in eastern Greece. During the time of the ancient Greeks it was the center of power, art, science, and philosophy in the world. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world. The city of ancient Athens reached its peak during the leadership of Pericles from 461 to 429 BC, called the Age of Pericles. During this time, Pericles promoted democracy, the arts, and literature. He also built many of the city’s great structures, including rebuilding much of the Acropolis and building the Parthenon.

The ruler of Athens, Pericles (495-429 BCE) convinced the Athenians to rebuild the Acropolis instead of leaving it in ruin as a reminder of the price of war. (Sayre 58) From the rebuilding of Acropolis came the Golden Age. Pericles thought that by rebuilding the Acropolis, it could stand as a memorial to the Persian War and to Athena, the patron of the Athenian people. Phidias was a sculptor whom Pericles placed in charge of the sculptural program for the new buildings of Acropolis. Pericles very much wanted Athens to be the leading example for Greece. He was very proud of the men who had fallen in their battles of the Peloponnesian War, even writing a speech for them.

Pericles (494-429 b.c.e.) was a prominent politician and general of the Greek city-state of Athens (McKay 123). Pericles held the dubious distinction of having presided over Athens during its classical period from 461 b.c.e until his death in 429 b.c.e. and also during a portion of the Peloponnesian War (McKay 122, ). Athens’ classical period is attributed with fostering a Hellenic culture that was known for tremendous contributions to Western society, including; the political system known as democracy, the birth of scientific history, philosophy, naval military strategy, and imperial strategy (McKay 117, 122, 123, 141, Park 99, Walling 47). Pericles may best be known for his contributions to political and military strategy, or his endowments to the arts; however, Pericles was also largely responsible for the imperialist ambitions of Athens that led to its eventual downfall at the hands of Sparta.

Athens was one of the greatest cities that existed in ancient Greece. Ranging from a superb navy, to an outstanding belief in knowledge, they were set to succeed from the beginning. Athens was a land of great wealth and prosperity. This led to some of the world’s greatest pieces of art including the Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus. There may have been other cities with good militaries or strong trading partners, but there was never a city that could compete with the great city of Athens. Athens dominated the Ancient world due to their navy, intelligence, democracy, and trade.

In the early 1940’s, the United States was monitoring the countries of Greece and Turkey as both were experiencing economic and political turmoil. Turkey was faced with a weak government that faced Soviet pressure to share control of the strategic Dardanelle Straits. Control of this area would provide for travel to the Black Sea. The government of Greece was facing the rise of the Communist-led insurgency known as the National Liberation Front, while it was also experiencing crumbling political and economic conditions. Greece was one of the few countries in Eastern Europe that had not turned communist, and this was made possible because of their help from the British Army.

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” The Athenian leader Pericles helped Athens and Greece to greatly exceed in militarily, politically and architecturally, therefore Pericles immensely influenced Athenian society. His influence was so profound that it resulted in Athens being known as ‘the golden age of Pericles’. Pericles was known as the leading statesman of Athens for a miraculous period of 15 years in succession, ( 446 to 449 BC) and brought it to the height of its political power and its artistic achievement. From this point in time families thrived and religious festivals were held throughout the year which made the golden age of Pericles a peaceful time where citizens could relax and luxuriate in their lives. The age of pericles was the strongest position in the history of Ancient Greece.

Mohammad AhmadiSt. ID W 0674593Classical Idea in Philosophy, Art and Architecture in Ancient AthensClassical idea, also referred to as classicism, refers to a period within the 17th and 18th century, past the 5th century from class notes, in Greece which was marked by favored rationality, strict forms and restraint in philosophy, arts and architecture (Pollitt, 2012). Philosophy is the belief on how people should live. It involves investigating how people live, beliefs and their ethics. Art involves paintings and drawings. Architecture involves designing buildings and their environments taking into consideration of what makes up the surrounding soils and ground it is about to occupy. Classicism was proposed by Rome and Greece cultures when the Golden Age of Greece began. Ancient Greeks pined to have a perfect world through dedication and analysis. Perfection in arts, architecture and philosophy would help them achieve a perfect mind. The main aim of thegolden age was to achieve a world where all things were moderately equal in terms of their state of mind and body. Perfection in their state of body would be through athletics. This moderation was represented by ‘The Winged Victory’ (Pollitt, 2012). One characteristic feature of the quality architectural activities is the great temple known as Parthenon. Architectures Ictinus and Callicrates built it while being supervised by Phidias the sculptor. In this Temple Greeks came together to worship their Pantheons while honoring

As far as Greece’s role in creating this crisis in the first place, it can be said that Greece is at fault for a variety of reasons. The media has been focusing on the corrupt political system and infrastructure, the lack of competition in the private sector, the wastefulness and inefficiency of the public sector and a flawed tax system as causation for this mess. When the public sector was expanded in the 1980’s, Andreas Papandreou was given various agricultural subsidies and grants to do with what he pleased. This enabled the funding of certain post-World War II groups to heal political wounds and fund unions and other special interest groups to aid his political capital and strength. The policies enacted in this decade allowed for the increase in power and funding of the middle class by creating a vast amount of inefficient public sector government jobs for citizens. This resulted in an increase in the levels of inefficiency, bureaucracy, corruption and wasteful spending coupled with the increase in wages, pensions and benefits. This proceeded to drain through government money and resources, and did not breed a culture of highly motivated, efficient and effective government employees. A high amount of debts accumulated as the nation continued to proceed in this way, using state money to subsidize failing businesses

Described by Thucydides as “the foremost Athenian and most able in speech or action [at the time of the Peloponnesian War,]” Pericles ushered in what was widely known as the “Golden Age of Athens” (31). He often exercised great prudence in his decision making and was widely admired by the Greek people. The man stressed justice, the worth of the Empire, and cleaving one’s personal interests to those of the city. Through his eloquent speeches and definitive actions he captured both the hearts of the Athenians and territory as a premier military commander. The people readily accepted his authority, and became accustomed to it. This would only lead to problems down the road, however, as other rulers took up the mantle of Athens. They would only be but a gilded echo of Pericles, unable and unwilling to follow his path. Therefore, though Pericles did not intentionally set Athens up to fail, because of the oratorical skill, leadership style, and character he possessed, success could only be truly achieved by and through him.

The roots of Greece’s economic problems extend deep down into the recesses of history. After the government dropped the drachma for the euro in 2001, the economy started to grow by an average of 4% annually, almost twice the European Union average. Interest rates were low, unemployment was dropping, and trade was at an all-time high. However, these promising indicators masked horrible fiscal governance, growing government debt and declining current account balances. Greece was banking on the rapid economic growth to build upwards on highly unstable foundations. In 2008, the inevitable happened – the Greek debt crisis.

During the Golden Age in Greece, many things changed. Things that changed were the diversity of political views and the social doings of the Athenians and the organization of the Athenians economy. With the Golden Age, many groups worked together that wouldn’t normally interact. The biggest example of that is the relationship between Athenians and their democracy.

In 1999, ten European nations joined together to create an economic and monetary union known as the Eurozone. Countries, such as Germany, have thrived with the euro but nations, like Greece, have deteriorated since its adoption of the euro in 2001. The Eurozone was created in 1999 and currently consists of eighteen European nations united under the European Central Bank and all use the euro. The Eurozone has a one point six percent inflation rate and an eleven point six percent unemployment rate in 2014. Greece joined the Eurozone in 2001 and was the poorest European Union member at the time with a two point six percent inflation rate3 (James, 2000). Greece had a long economic history before joining the Eurozone. The economy flourished from 1960 to 1970 with low inflation and modernization and industrialization occurring. The market crash in the late 1970’s led Greece into a state of recession that the nation is still struggling with. Military failures, the PASOK party and the introduction of the euro have further tarnished Greece’s economic stability. The nation struggles with lack of competitiveness, high deficit, and inflation. Greece has many options like bailouts, rescue packages, and PPP to help dig it out of this recession. The best option is to abandon the Eurozone and go back to the drachma. Greece’s inflation and deficit are increasing more and more and loans and bailouts have not worked in the past. Leaving the Eurozone will allow Greece to restructure and rebuild

The economic crisis of 2008 in New York had ripple effects around the world, causing deep structural problems within the European Union to crumble the economies of several countries. These countries, known as the PIGS, are made up of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, and collectively hold most of the sovereign debt problems of the European Union. After fast growth early in the decade, these countries were spending too much money and not securing their own banking sectors with enough capital. Soon, the debt the PIGS owed caused massive problems throughout the EU, and Germany and France had to come to the rescue of these poorly managed countries. (Greek Crisis Timeline, 1) Now, in 2012, the issue has yet to be fully resolved. Greece is still sinking, and a massive bailout for Greece's banks is required. The debate is whether Germany should continue bailing out Greece and collecting interest on its loans, or whether Greece should try to separate itself from the broader European Union, in an attempt to manage its own finances and declare bankruptcy in order to save itself from crippling interest payments. Each path offers an escape from the present situation that Greece finds itself in, but only the path of bailout results in a harmonious European Union. If Greece fragments off from the EU, then the entire union is weakened as a result. I believe that Greece should accept the terms of the bailout that Germany has provided, and should undergo several years