The Era Between 350 And 310 Bc

As stated in the lectures, hundreds of Greek polis were spread across the region in the eighth century B.C. These individual towns and cities did not unify, but were connected by two major components, language and religion. Polytheism, the practice of worshipping many gods, was a staple between these polis. Along with religious beliefs, a sense of political involvement, accompanied with the importance of citizenship, directly contributed to the similarities between these polis. Consequently, as a result of not becoming a single state, major cities such as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth would consistently be at war with one another (Strayer, p.112) A unified form of Greece eventually pieced itself together after the conquests of Alexander the Great, resulting in the immense spread of Greek culture, but this did not occur until centuries later. Ultimately, Rome would conquer much of the Mediterranean, including

The most distinctive feature of Greek political culture lay in the extent of popular participation in political life that occurred within the city-states. This participation was based on the unique ideas of “citizenship,” of free people running the affairs of state, and of equality for all citizens before the law. Political participation in Greek city-states was much wider than in Persia, but it varied considerably between city-states and over time. Early in Greek history, only the wealthy and wellborn had the rights of full citizenship, but middle- and lower-class men gradually obtained these rights in some city-states.

In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings

After 800 BC, with the rise of the Polis there was a shift in historical writing. “A city-state is often described as a ‘face-to-face society,’ a society, that is, in which everybody has personal contact with everybody else (at least the adult male citizens).” This represents a fundamental change from what had mainly been seen as an agricultural society in the past to an urban society where the majority of citizens lived within city walls. With that there came a change in the focus of historical writing from not just the heroes, but to also the everyday people and the survival of these city-states. Greek reflection would focus on the fate of the city-states rather than that of the scope of the old history. After

“Polis is a term that is used to describe a tight knit small community of Ancient Greek citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs. Usually a polis was centered on a small town and the countryside the surrounded it” (Deering). The polis defined a public and communal space, the Agora, for the purpose of leading public affairs. The affairs of men and affairs were included as these had essentials parts to the entire community’s affairs. The Ancient Greek poleis are among the first recorded democratic governments in the world. The term polis has been translated into city-state as there was typically only one city and because an individual polis was independent from other poleis in terms of political, judicial, legal, religious and social institutions and practices (Cartwright). A polis offered security for its inhabitants and gave organization to government through structure, function and hierarchy.

In ancient Greece there were two major polises which allowed the Greek culture to achieve greatness during the 400-500 B.C.E. era. These two polises were Athens and Sparta; both city states differed in many ways before the start of the Persian War. There were low rugged mountains that separated these two city states so communication and travel were difficult. The government of these two city states can be seen as a primary difference between the two. Draco, Solon, Pisistratus, and Cleithenes were four leaders that greatly influenced the political development of Athens. Athens and Sparta differed primarily in their political, social, and economical aspects. But there were other difference that Athens and Sparta share which I will examine in this essay.

Athens and Sparta, the two largest and most powerful cities in ancient Greece (between 800 and 323 BCE) were two different models of polis, their social, political and cultural values and ways of life were dramatically different. (Brand, n.d.)

It’s the month of June in 323 BCE and our fearless leader Alexander the Great has suddenly passed away. The question has arisen of what will become of his vast empire? Yesterday, I attended a debate between the generals, counselors, economists, and philosophers of our Polis on our current situation. Team Athena argued in favor of returning the land to the rule of the indigenous populations while Team Hermes argued that we should continue Greek rule over the conquered territory. After listening to both sides, I felt Team Athena provided a more persuasive, logical, and practical argument that would benefit Greece’s security and future, yet also being fair to those who were conquered, all the while employing logos and pathos.

In a matter of eleven years, Alexander the Great rode more than 10,000 miles and fought 70 battles without losing a single one – he conquered from Egypt to India. His accomplishments were made possible by his father, Philip of Macedon. “Philip took advantage of the fact that the Greek city-states were divided by years of squabbling and infighting. Philip succeeded in doing what years of fighting between city-states had not done. He united Greece.”

The Peloponnesian War was the turning point in Athenian hegemony in Ancient Greece. It was fought in 431 B.C. between the Delian League, led by Athens, and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. According to Thucydides, Athens’ imposing hegemonic status and its overwhelming quest for more power made the Peloponnesian War and Athens’s eventual fall from power inevitable. Despite the Athenians having a far more superior navy and being considerably wealthier, they were defeated and made subjects of Sparta. In this paper, I will discuss Thucydides’ and Socrates’ reasons for why

The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC marks the beginning of the Hellenistic Period and covers 300 years to the invasion of Egypt by the Romans. The word Hellenic refers only to the Greeks, but the term Hellenistic refers to `the Greek-influenced societies that arose in the wake of Alexander's conquest' (Sacks, 105). The Hellenistic world extended from Greece all the way to Afghanistan and resulted in the beginning of the mass spreading of Greek culture. Its central characteristics were the mass empires created by Alexander and his successors, the mingling of Greek and other cultures and the diffusion of religions

In a relatively resource-poor region, a society rose from the access of foreign sources of raw materials and markets abroad. This society came to be known as one of the largest nations in Eurasia. The rise and fall of this great nation has to do with war-fare and the conflict between city-states. Their division led to the widespread of language and culture. This is the great story of Ancient Greece and how individualism changed the view Greece had on certain issues. (Bulliet 99) From 1000 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E, Ancient Greece’s view on individualism changed the political system Greece had, over time changed the way individuals thought and made important Intellectual changes, and gradually changed the Economic system such as bartering.

It was the age of great beginnings, the invention of the teleportation device, worker bots, chemically engineered instant meals, the invention of anti-gravity devices, teleportation, vehicles, and everything anyone would ever want, well at least mostly everyone. It may have been the greatest time to live for most but not for Mr. Wright, the oldest man in the town at 70. Despite his age he never asked anyone for any help he

Very few civilizations have had as profound an influence on the world as those of ancient Greece. The Greeks laid the foundations for fields varying from philosophy to political theory to war tactics. However, this influence was not just due to their intelligence or success, but their widespread presence in the Mediterranean. Greek culture was spread throughout their known world in two distinct manners, the foundation of apoikia in the Archaic Age (8th century to 500 B.C. ) and imperialists by poleis, primarily Athens of the Classical Age (490 - 323 B.C ). Though the culture of a mother city (mētropolis) may have spread through two very different manners of “colonization.” The word is not used in the literal sense, but rather hereafter used to mean “spreading of culture”, as the former can hardly be described using the contemporary definition of colonization and the latter was through Athenian empire-building. These developments had a significant impact on ancient Greece and our modern perception thereof. Like most of the ancient world, we can best analyze these methods of colonialism through extant artifacts. I will analyze an inscription of the foundation oath of Cyrene, which recounts the decision and manner in which the island of Thera sent its citizens to the form a new polis, and the fragments of the Lapis Primus, a marble monolith that documented tributes to Athens when the city was at the peak of its imperial age, evidencing the magnitude of their power and influence in the Greek region.

The Hellenic and Hellenistic shift was a turning point for Greek culture. The Hellenic are those who lived in ancient Greece before Alexander the Great. The Hellenistics are those who lived in the period after Alexander the Great’s conquest. Alexander the Great was a mighty and strong leader of the Greek people. The people that were under his following respected him greatly. We can tell the drastic changes that occurred after Alexander Great was leader by the art, philosophies, and religion. The Hellenistic Changes that occurred showed us that the Hellenistic priorities transformed drastically from what the Hellenic ways were like.