What is a good person, and how does one achieve the good life? These were the questions asked by the ancient Greeks. Arete, or excellence, was what the Greeks strove for in everything. In a quest for excellence, the Greeks experimented with new types of politics. Greece was divided into individual city-states that each had their own form of government. Most notable, however, was the democracy of Athens and the oligarchy of Sparta. The driving force behind all of Greek life and politics was this concept of arete. While arete differed between Athens and Sparta, this lust for excellence became the driving force behind their democracy and oligarchy. The geography of Greece did not allow for a strictly central government, and so, the Greeks adapted. …show more content…
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 …show more content…
These were all older men who had great wealth. In his Republic, Plato also criticizes oligarchy, saying of Sparta’s government, “A government resting on a valuation of property, in which the rich have power and the poor man is deprived of it…And then one, seeing another grow rich, seeks to rival him, and thus the great mass of the citizens become lovers of money.” In order to keep control of their economy while maintaining a strong military, the Spartans relied heavily on slaves. These slaves had no rights, and even the poor had very little say in their lives. All was given to the freedom of the fatherland, leaving very few free themselves. However, as Plutarch notes, this lack of freedom to live by one’s whims is not a lack of excellence, but rather a more pure and base form of excellence. The Spartan’s may not have valued true freedom as arete, but instead found arete in the practical, which in turn, made them into a great city that was to be
Pericles argues that Athens has become a model for others, and articulates what it is to be a good citizen. This can be seen when he says, “although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality; trusting less in system and policy than to the native spirit of our citizens; while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness, at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger.” (Thucydides, 2.39) It proves that Ancient Athens’ valued greatness and worked in order to achieve the excellence of the state, by focusing on rebuilding themselves back up after the Persian war. Pericles played a big role in this because he showed his ambitions to rebuild Athens, which lead to the thriving of other subjects such as literature, philosophy, science, art, and religion.
First, Pericles strongly promoted the benefits of an organized democracy at a funeral orientation for fallen Roman soldiers. He cried, “While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we rewarded our most distinguished citizens by asking them to make our political decisions” (2). This encouraged citizens to work hard. They elected people to office similarly to how Americans elect people for office today. The Greek democracy heavily impacted the modern day American democracy because every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public and make important political decisions.
Before the epidemic struck, the late ruler Pericles, who was killed by the plague, described Athens as “the school of Hellas, and that the individual Athenian in his own person seems to have the power of adapting himself in the most varied forms of action with the utmost versatility and grace…”. Pericles, who did not survive long enough to observe Athens at its fall, died with the memory of a thriving, strong, and free place. Unfortunately other sources claim that about a year later, life had taken an unexpected turn. Pericles preached that there was “It is true that we are called a democracy… again, our military training is in many respects superior to that of our adversaries.”. The ruler died with the idea that his empire had a strong government that thrived and was growing at a fast pace.
The pure democracy of Athens did not only concern itself of the people, for the people but prioritized by the people more than current democracies. The Athenian government required large amounts of machinery and paraphernalia as a result of the mass citizen participation in government. As a result of this, historians are able to evaluate the Athenian government through material remains found in the center of civic life, the Agora. Thus, enabling a vivid depiction of the purity of democracy in ancient Athens. Historians are able to understand, “what seemed best to the people” in the words of the Athenians themselves.
Pericles reforms however, provided the masses the chance to be
One of these things is the Democratic party beliefs. I think that Pericles made some decisions that reflect that of the current day democrat. Pericles instituted those reforms of taking power away from the aristocrats and giving more power to the poor. This immediately made me think of Obama and how he takes money from the upper class and puts it towards the poor. He uses it for “government healthcare services” for those who cant afford it.
Though this may seem like an idealized system, Pericles resembles the approach of modern society. Democracy favors the many instead of the few and Pericles believes justice is achieved when citizens follow those laws in which they have the freedom to participate in public life. Pericles notes, “We alone do good to our neighbors not upon a calculation of interest, but in the confidence of freedom and in a frank and fearless spirit.” The difference between Socrates and Pericles is that Socrates believes citizens have an obligation to participate in politics; whereas Pericles states that there is freedom to participate in public life and behave as a free and tolerant state as long as there is respect for authority and the
The male citizens (Homoioi) were the only ones that can have the political rights. Sparta women, Perioikoi (non-Spartan free man), Helots (virtual slaves) and slaves did not have any political rights. All the Spartan male citizens formed the Popular Assembly to exercise their political rights and made decisions on their public affairs. Among the Spartan citizens, there are class differentiations which had pre-determined the power-level that the
A Powerful Speech Both speeches has the basic idea of a “government of the people.” In Abraham Lincoln’s speech titled “Gettysburg Address,” he tells his audience that the government should be “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Likewise, in the speech addressed as “Funeral Oration,” Pericles, a Greek political leader in the B.C. period, states, “Our constitution is called a democracy, because power rests in the hands not of the few but of the many.” Both leaders clearly know the characteristics of a traditional democracy. Despite Lincoln’s speech possibly being the most famous speech in America, Pericles’ speech has the most irresistible effect because it includes a detailed sequence of how the citizens of a democratic country
The equality of nature and resources. But as a strange anomaly democracies tend to make citizens greater than the city. One example might be Themistocles and another might be Pericles, who was considered by some to be the "First citizen" of Athens. But an odd byproduct of democracy, is even though it can make some citizens greater than the city and even allows for the philosopher, those who become great in a democracy will tend to be ostracized or demonized because in the end no one is allowed to be better than anyone else. This is a form or radical
Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. Equally, hard workers have brought Athens power just as much as hereditary leaders. According to Document B all citizens should be allowed to speak their opinion and have a share in election because of the hard work they do to make the city powerful. Athenians allowed poor and common men to win a position in government which was a transition from the wealthy having power to everyone having power.
Pericles then continues the speech about the central them, praising the virtue of the city and it is system of the government. He describes the Athenian democracy, which every one is equal under the law. He said that the smart people could be the leader of
Each Polis had a patron deity and was named after their patron deity, Athens’s deity being the Goddess of Wisdom and of War, Athena. Athens was one of the largest city-states in Greece, the city-state that came second to Athens being Sparta, but it is one of the most well-known city-states due to having features of its own that were not seen in any other city-states and one other feature that it gave us that is still present today, known as Democracy. An example of one of these distinctive features, according to Polis, was introduced during the classical period, “In about 508-507 B.C., Cleisthenes prevented Athenian aristocrats from controlling the assembly by limiting citizenship” (“Polis”, 1998). By doing this, citizenship was no longer controlled by the rich, making it easier to become a part of Athenian society. But Cleisthenes did not stop there, proposing even more reforms, as according to Polis, “He also instituted the Council of 500, whose members were chosen by lot from male citizens 30 years of age or older” (“Polis”, 1998).
Pericles was an ancient Greek Oratorian who was well respected by the Athenian community. Not only was he well respected, but he gave respect and during his speech. He did a great job during his speech by expressing the need for people to care about the big picture, and not their own individual needs. Even though a war was going on around the time of the delivery of the speech, Pericle made sure he expressed the reason why they must stand together as a city, and have a desire to continue to help those around them.
aligns with reason and resists the desires of the appetite. It is in this part of the soul where the courage to be good is found. In the unjust soul, the spirit ignores reason and instead aligns with the appetitive desires, manifesting as the demand for the pleasures of the body. Plato asserts that the wise and just soul allows reason to govern the other parts, while the unwise and unjust soul allows conflict between the parts.12 Just as there is the appetitive part of the soul—the largest part of the soul—there is the productive class, or the workers, who have souls of bronze and account for the largest part of the population.13 This class includes the general population of laborers, plumbers, masons, carpenters, merchants, and farmers.