Summary Of Neil Postman's 'Visigoth'

Aristotle once said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Athens was established in 3000 BC, while Sparta was respectively established in 431 BC. Athens was also referred to as the “birthplace of democracy,” a government system still in use today! Athens was a superior city state over Sparta. This is because of Athenian cultural achievements, government and social climate.

Athens, located in southern Greece, experienced an expansion in culture and education during the years between the Persian War and Peloponnesian War (477-431 BC) which set the stage for future expansions of culture in civilizations like Ancient Rome and Europe during the Renaissance. Although Athens was very prosperous, innovative and ruled by strong leaders during their Golden Age, they still didn’t have a perfect government or social structure which puts into question how successful this period actually was.

Additionally, the reliability affected by the emotive language being employed in this article as the author utilises this language it demonstrates that bias is present. This article was useful to my essay as it provided detailed information on the gaps in Athenian democracy. Moreover, the article provided a perspective that highlighted the differences in Athenian democracy such as that Athens was a direct democracy and that only some of the population was eligible, it mainly created a feeling that Athens was advanced for its time however the system had discrepancies. This information provided significantly when comparing modern societies to ancient Greece and also in justify as to why democracy was significant to Greece. A source that shares this view is the Ted-Ed video this also similarly to historian Paul Cartledge states that Athens was a direct democracy and also that not all of the population had the right to

Who was the better Greek city-state? Athens or Sparta? A question asked for quite some time now, probably since they existed. It’s time we get an answer! If you ask me, I think it was Athens that was the better Greek city state. Athens was better than Sparta because, it had a better government, education system, and had more cultural achievements.

The Ancient Greeks contributed many things that shaped modern society including ideas about architecture and construction, medicine, government, and the world as a whole. When viewing the Greeks fight for independence against the Ottoman Turks, many considered what the Greeks had done for their current world. This is highlighted in a poem written by Sneyd Davis in doc 1., in which it emphasizes how wrong it is that a “stupid Turk” is proclaiming ignorance in a place that a well respected Ancient Greek philosopher named Plato used to teach. Essentially, Davis expresses the idea that it is disrespectful to the Greeks and what they have done for society with teachings from many people such as Plato for the Turks to be oblivious to the Greeks significance when expressing their preachings. However, it is important to notice that Sneyd Davis is recognized as a writer, so he would inherently sympathize with the intellectual aspects of Greek culture since he is likely to be educated, and view the Turks as unappreciative of their

In ancient Greece, a common saying that all citizens had in their very core, a traditional Greek principle, was this: love your friends, and hate your enemies. This rule seems pretty straightforward and would appear easy to apply in real life. However, in the timeless play Antigone, Sophocles shows his audience a situation where this maxim does not apply. Sophocles concentrates on a complex story where the values and principles of the ancient Greek culture come into conflict. Religious or moral versus secular, family versus community, and living versus dead: all of these conflicting aspects are explored in Antigone. The drama Antigone places the culture of Greece on display by showcasing the many values that this culture held in reverence, including remaining loyal to family, honoring the dead, and honoring the gods.

Pericles, a key political figure of 5th century Athens states, “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.” The Athenians had no desire to follow what appeared as mediocre government, the Athenians pushed for the best form they could find. Arete, for Athens, meant every person had a voice in politics. Politics embraces the reason of the mind as well as the emotion of the heart. Therefore, the very essence of a good human being would lie in being a politically active person. While some, like Plato in his The Republic, thought it weak to give government into the hands of the common people, Pericles countered this argument with a compelling argument of greatness. By putting government into the hands of the people, the people are united and more devoted to their country. Democracy bonds the people together in a way that no other government can understand. Pericles confidently states, “Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes.” This, Pericles claims, is the might of democracy; the strength and excellence of many people rather than just that of a

According to Socrates perspective, the democracy of Athens was corrupt and even though they courts were made in such a way that everyone was judged fairly, it wasn’t such because there were no rules or principles set forth. When a person was brought to court in the Athenian court and the person spoke against the jurors or offended them, he or she could be prosecuted based on that. In summary, judgment was passed based on emotion rather than on justice.

The various ideologies of love mentioned by speakers in Plato’s Symposium portrayed the social and cultural aspect of ancient Greece. In the text, there were series of speeches given by Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, Socrates, and Agathon about the idea of love, specifically the effect and nature of Eros. Within the speakers, Agathon’s speech was exceptional in that his speech shifted the focus of the audience from effect of Eros on people, to the nature and gifts from the Eros. Despite Agathon’s exceptional remarks about Eros, Socrates challenged Agathon’s characterization of Eros through utilization of Socratic Method.

During the eighteenth century and up until the nineteenth century, Greeks were under the control of the Ottoman Empire. It was during this time that nationalism and the idea that your people should have the best became really popular. Greeks in the Balkans and in Asia Minor decided to revolt against their rulers in March 1821, starting a nine-year war in search for their independence. When other European countries siding with them intervened, the Greeks finally gain their freedom. During the war, people formed opinions on the Greeks: some praised and sympathized with them while others didn’t.

The phenomenon "Socrates" surrounds every aspect of politics, culture, economic and social landscape in the current world. Indeed, there are several books on Socrates on every bookshelf in the world. Most of these books written about Socrates are dialogues of which one of them is named Gorgias. As it is already acknowledged, several books written by Plato are about Socrates. Gorgias happens to be one of his collections of dialogues involving Socrates and other characters. This dialogue is aimed at finding the true meaning of rhetoric by trying to identify and expose the defects of sophism synonymous in Athens during the period. Conventional Athens revered the ability to persuade people in political and legal fields, and this is the reason for

Two very important historic buildings from the Greek and Roman civilizations, namely the Parthenon and the Pantheon respectively, are worthy of academic exploration. An analysis of their function and style will help to put their design and features into perspective, and create a better appreciation for their emulation in Western civilization. These buildings possess very unique individual characteristic designs, which bears testimony to the societies from which they originate. However, they are also a resourceful database of knowledge in terms of their symbolism, rich heritage of their era and application to the present civilization. Their permanent contribution to historical reference and modern society, are a token of their expression

Plato’s republic aims to describe a just state, and in turn a just individual consistently throughout the text. By analogising the justice of the state and the justice of the individual, Plato attempts to demonstrate that a just society will breed just individuals. However, there are certain loop holes within his thought process that can lead one to wonder whether or not his ideas are pragmatic, and could function within a real societal structure- and if human beings given their inherently selfish nature, can adopt the traits necessary in order to achieve justice and the ideal state described in the Republic.

During this time, Athens supported a democracy. In their democracy, every male was required to participate regardless of his social standing. In the Athenian government, “no one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the state is kept in political obscurity because of poverty.” This represents the Athenians belief that the people should have a role in politics and not just officials. The Athenians wanted to ensure equality and respect throughout the polis. Like the Athenians, the Spartans supported the idea that wealth should not limit a person. Lykurgus, “abolished… terrible evils of riches and poverty by inducing all land-owners to offer their estates for distribution.” The Spartan’s society forced everyone to be economically equal in order for the people to train together and be true Spartans. Similar to the Athenians, the Spartans believed that wealth stymies the concept of one Polis working together to achieve a goal.

The Ancient Greeks value specific qualities in a person however they did not value other. Ancient Greeks valued these qualities based on certain achievements or on a performances in war or even inside the city walls making substantial decisions. The Iliad is a epic novel by the Greek poet Homer. The Iliad is based off of the Trojan war between the Achaeans led by King Agamemnon and the Trojans led by King Priam of Troy. This novel focuses on the actions of several characters and how the disparate gods interfered with the war to help one or the other side have a chance to win. The Iliad also spotlights the individual qualities of a greek hero or non-hero. Numerous characters in the Iliad demonstrated exceptional qualities of a greek person that was valued such as bravery and helpfulness and that was disproved of like selfishness.