The Classical Age Of Ancient Greece

The first and the topmost class in Ancient Greece Hierarchy was the Upper Class which was also symbolized as the Leisure Class. They possessed the maximum power and topmost position in the society. One has to be born in Athens to be a part of the Upper Class. The Upper Class handled the government work, literature as well as the philosophy department and also the war. Athens or the Upper Class used to get slaves to perform their materialistic tasks so as to save their precious time which they can utilize for administrative purposes. Being the Superior Class they had to be totally free and away from inferior tasks such as economical trading. Being Superior from others they were not allowed to do minor tasks. Being the Upper Class was a symbol of good artistic taste, being civilized and socialized.

Second to the lowest class were free africans and they had almost no rights. The only things they could do is own land and own slaves. After buying these slaves, sometimes relatives, they might set them free. Even though they were free and owned land, they still could not vote or sit on a court jury.

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.

They had a system of social equality in their polis. Athens had an unregulated economy which created a large gap between the lower class and upper class. This economic system caused some tension among the citizens of Athens.

upper class consisted of wealthy and well educated minor aristocrats they could vote and they held high public office

Ancient Athens allowed all of its people to vote and participate in the community.(Doc A) If there is a man of low class or low wealth wanting to vote or be a part of the community, they would not say no to that person. (Doc A) For example, if there was a man in Ancient Athens who was of low class I society and wealth, he would be able to still vote on laws or be part of his community and his financial problems would not

Unlike the Spartans simple lifestyle, Athens was a modern and open society. Athenian society was divided in three classes: citizens who could participate in politics, the aliens who could participate in the army and the slaves who had no political rights. Children stayed at home until they turned 7 after which time, they attended school to learn how to read and

The greek people are so unaware of what is about to happen and it truly heartbreaking that this is is the twilight of the hole greek civilization. Nevertheless this period is so fascinating and interesting this is the Hellenistic Age. The Hellenistic age begun after the death of Alexander the grate. Like I said earlier he left no new successor so this caused in fighting and the empire was divided up against the wars generals they .There were three empires would form there would dynasts from Alexander's empire; there was Antigonids in Macedonia and Greece, the Seleucids in Perissa and the ptolemies in Egypt. The people did not go back to their way of life because they were ruled by greeks and macedonians, so the local

“She was born with a bow in hand.” They’d always say. As I would stride past them on cobblestone pathways, my instrument case hefty on my arm, I could hear them muttering and mumbling to themselves.

The citizens were limited to males that's there parents could prove ancestry three generations back. Those males would start education under the guidance of the mother or male slave. At the age of six they would attend school learning philosophy, poetry, play, drama and more. Wealthier students would partake in public speaking training also. Then the male Athenians who were citizens would complete there military training and would have the right to vote in Athens. Then at the age of thirty wealthy male citizens would be able to serve in public office.

The social structure of Greek polis consisted of the upper class, then women, slaves and metics. The upper class was those who possessed power and were wealthy. Members of the upper class mostly worked in government positions. Their sons were taught by private teachers. They learned to read, play musical instruments, write, develop athletically, and sing. In

In ancient Athens, middle class women practically had the same rights as slaves. By day, women were expected to help slaves with some of the easier work on the farm, such as gathering vegetables and fruit. Women were also expected to run the household and raise the children, since the men spent most of their time not around the house. Women were seen as submissive and were expected to comply with the male authority figure’s demands. Women were not in control of who they were to marry, that was their father’s decision. Women were also not allowed to own any property.

Pericles was part of the Upper Class, due to his wealthy and well respected family he was born into an Upper Class Society. To be considered Upper Class, you had to be wealthy and of great importance both of which Pericles was. A lot of the time many Upper Class men had jobs in the Military which also was what Pericles was. After the Upper Class there was Middle Class, most middle class men had stable jobs and could vote and own their own land, although the men themselves and their own families were not considered important like the Upper Class families and they were not wealthy. Most Athenian Citizens were considered to be in the Middle Class. Lower Class men were very poor and were probably once slaved but were now free men. They were not considered Citizens like Upper and Middle Class Athenians were, they also had very little freedom of speech and political opinion. Slaves were at the bottom of the Social Chain, slaves were very common in Athens even in Lower class families they owned slaves, in the Upper class families the average amount of slaves per household was 50, whereas Lower Class families only owned around 2-3. Slaves were often prisoners of war and were treated unfairly, they were owned and were not considered equal to their owners. Women had a

This group had the largest gradation of social and economic differences, a combination of those who were rising to prosperity as well as those barely able to stay above the lowest class. Though upward mobility was not impossible, it was not easy. One could become wealthy enough to marry into nobility. Downward mobility was much more common as those in the middle class could easily slip into debt and therefore into the lowest class. Even though these groups were clearly visible in Greek society all enjoyed citizenship. Unfortunately that did not mean equality in this earlier period. "Citizenship, which the later Greeks defined as ‘having a share in the public life of the polis,' was perceived as a graded status, fixed at a person's social and economic condition as well as to gender. While female citizens had important roles in the religious worship of the community, they were completely barred from participation in political, judicial, and military affairs. These were exclusively the domain of adult (over age 18) male citizens. Among the men, the share of civic responsibilities and rights – to vote and speak in the assembly, hold office, serve as judges, fight in the army – was divided unequally along mainly economic lines. In the early city-states, as we have seen, only the rich and wellborn possessed the full range of citizen privileges. Non-noble citizens of moderate means were barred from holding office, and the poorest citizens had no vote

Every idea has a start and a history that can be traced back in time. An incredible amount of these ideas and thoughts were started by great ancient civilizations. These ancient civilizations are the base of all modern knowledge. No ancient civilization has contributed more to this base than the civilization of Ancient Greece. The unique ways of ancient Greek agriculture have left a profound influence on the agriculture of today.