The Great Civilization Of Athens

Thucydides, one of the greatest historians ever, chronicled decades of war and tension between Athens and Sparta and, in doing so, became a pioneer in the subject of history. His "History of the Peloponnesian War" set a standard for scope, concision and accuracy that makes it a defining text of the historical genre. He depicted the strengths and weaknesses of democracy skillfully, writing objectively and with great insight. When explaining the events and outcome of the war, he took into consideration both the positives and negatives that accompany the Athenian way of life during conflict in comparison to Spartan ideals. Ultimately, in his “History of the Peloponnesian War,” Thucydides forces the reader to consider the long-term effects of war and hardship on social institutions.

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.

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

1. During the Mycenaean civilization, who was the great poet and what were his two important literary works that influenced the Greeks and formed part of Western literature? Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey

ATHENS IS THE PLACE TO BE!! Athens is an independent city state in ancient greece that has many cultural values. Athens was formed of the Mycenaeans. The citystate of Athens is independent because seas and mountains separate it from the other city states in ancient greece. Athens is a well rounded city state that supports educations, military involvement, and government. . To begin with, Athens education was extremely important. Only boy citizens attended private schools and would learn about poetry, literature, math, and science from ages 6-17.This was needed in order to become a citizen and carry out duties. As stated “the ability to read and write was important to all Athenian people-, reading and writing was needed in order to be a citizen, and carry out their duty..” (Document A). This quote explains that the citystate of Athens felt that it was essential for men to be educated in order to be an important citizen within their culture. Also, as part as the Athenian boys took part in sports. Athenians believed that it was important to not only study subjects but also to have physical activity in order to have men with strong minds and bodies. Additionally girls did not receive the formal education that the boys got, they were educated at home by their mothers. Because women were not apart of the government in Athens, they were simply taught household duties. Only if they were part of a wealthy family they learned to read and write.

It is important to study Thucydides because Thucydides can help us to understand the way politics work in the world today.This should come later – it is not an introduction to a whole paper – always assume your reader is not familiar with your topic In his book titled, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides brings to light, some of the causes of the war, as well as some of the consequences of the war. (This is a good opening sentence. It introduces the reader to the topic) Thucydides analyzed the Peloponnesian War on a deeper level (what do you mean?) to help us understand why and how things occur in the world. The world has a better understanding of war and politics in general because of Thucydides. Thucydides’ account of The

The true essence of human nature is seen during times of great hardships as can be seen comparing Pericles' Funeral Oration and the plague in Thucydides', The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides accounts for many different aspects of justice, power, and human nature through his text. The order, the style of his writing, choice of words, and relations of what he believes actually happened, allows the reader to make different inferences about the message he's trying to convey. The juxtaposition of the two stories portrays many different characteristics to investigate and analyze.

The Landmark Thucydides is a history book on the Peloponnesian War written by an Athenian historian and general named Thucydides. Throughout the book, Thucydides recounts the war and tells of the many actions of his mother land Athens. In several of his descriptions Athens could be viewed as arrogant especially towards their accomplishments in war. He also tells of a terrible crime that Athens commits that could be described as genocide. Thucydides also describes several simpleminded mistakes that were made that crippled Athens in the end and could have been prevented with more through thinking. Despite being powerful and dominant on the battlefield the Athenians suffer crippling defeat in the end. The arrogance, cruelty, and foolishness that Athens displayed brought fate down on Athens and caused their defeat in the Peloponnesian War.

The Plague of Athens, taking place in 429 B.C.E., is the first mass killing plague known to historians today. However, this doesn’t mean that it wasn’t as dangerous as plagues later on in history. In total 100,000 people died which is equivalent to more than one-third of the Greece population. In the book “The Plague”, the city of Oran is overrun by a deadly disease. In both the Plague of Athens and the novel “The Plague” by Albert Camus, similarities occurred such as the diffusion of the disease, the symptoms and causes, and the social change.

The first plague talked about in this book is “The Plague of Athens”. The Plague of Athens was a devastating epidemic which hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. It is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city 's port and sole source of food and supplies. Much of the eastern Mediterranean also saw outbreak of the disease, albeit with less impact. The plague returned twice more, in 429 BC and in the winter of 427/426 BC. Some 30 pathogens have been suggested as causing the plague.

The plague of Athens was an event in history that countless authors went on to write about. Recounting the death and destruction of not only the people, but their civilization as well. Starting at the beginning of 431 BCE, historian Thucydides wrote his take on it. In his work “The History of the Peloponnesian War” Thucydides talks about the social and political consequences of the plague, a personal account on the experiences he lived through. Anywhere during 99-55 BCE poet Lucretius had his work “On the Nature of the Universe” end with an account of the Athenian plague. Lucretius’s account was nearly an exact translation of Thucydides’ description of the plague. But whereas Thucydides wrote historically and real on his experiences on

Thucydides' Historical Technique Thucydides has often been described as one of the fathers of history, and possibly the first historian that can be used with any real historical accuracy. His objectivity and lack of digressive storytelling mark him out from previous historians such as Herodotus, and Thucydides began a new era of historical writing. Although named the father of history, Herodotus wrote in a literary style, rather than the accurate telling of the facts and objective analysis that Thucydides offers us in his History of the Peloponnesian War. Herodotus tended to digress with irrelevant storytelling, whereas Thucydides abandoned this technique, and adopted a method that greatly

The Greek historian Thucydides believed that it was important to be as authentic as possible when presenting or illustrating the past. Striving for such authenticity may not be an easy task but can be achieved. Thucydides belief on the importance of the Peloponnesian war is what most historians believe and practice today. This is the idea that all history has a purpose, even though it may be thousands of years ago can still have an impact on our lives. “My belief was based on the fact that the two sides were at the very height of their power and preparedness, and I saw, too, that the rest of the Hellenic {Greek} world was committed to one side or the other. “(51). Thucydides has highly influenced modern historiography, Thucydides understood

There is little doubt that Thucydides is regarded as one of the best historical writers for coming up with his book, presenting facts and truth about the war even though he was a general in the Athens army. By using a unique style of writing, the author was attempting a unique style which involved being aggressively rational and giving an impersonal analysis of the history of his times being free from religious influence.

Thucydides intended his "History" as a source for all time, a general insight into conflicts that answer future questions on all conflict because "events which happen in the past and which (human nature being what it is) will, at some time or other and in much the same ways, be repeated in the future." Thucydides opened with the claim that, "as many wish to consider, clearly, both the things that have happened and the things that will happen in the same or similar way, in accordance with that which is human," will consider his work on the Peloponnesian war as a valuable "possession for all time."