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Greek Cuisine and Culture

2007-09-15T19:01:31-04:00

Greek Culture and Cuisine In the following pages, I will discuss the beginning of civilization in Greece, the major events in Greek history, the cuisine, everyday lives of Greek cuisine and their food culture. I will also discuss in detail one the major industries in Greek and American cooking, the use of the olive. The country of Greece has had a varied history. At about 2600 BC, Greek civilization was founded (Barrett, 2007, Bronze Age). This is an educated guess because most records were not documented in that time. Greek civilization started with a group of people called the Minoans. Minoan civilization reached a peak during 1400s-1300s BC. Homer wrote his famous books, “The Oddesy” and “The Iliad” during the ninth century BC. During the eighth century BC, Athens, Sparta and other cities and states developed. During 800 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the Grecian Empire of city-states and Greece became part of the Macedonian Empire. After the downfall of the Macedonian Empire, Greece entered a lull which lasted for almost a thousand years. During that time, numerous empires conquered Greece. The Greeks fought a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire and won. The first president of Greece was Ioannis Kapodistrias elected in May 1827 (Barrett, 2007, Greek Revolution). The Greeks have had many great leaders and visionaries in their history including: Plato, founder of the “Academy of Athens” in 380BC and Alexander the Great in 336BC, the great ruler who defeated the Persians. I will fast forward to the modern day events in Greek history to allow you to understand how today’s culture was created. In 1829, the Treaty of Adrianople placed Greek under British, French, and Russian protection. In 1832, the Treaty of Constantinople placed Greece under British, French and Russian protection, defined its boundaries, and names Otto of Wittgenstein ruler. In 1843, the Greeks rebelled against Otto and created the first constitution in 1844 that established a democratic parliamentary government system and reduced his overall power of the country. In 1862, after series of coups, Otto was forced to resign. After this, Greece was an independent country. Greece played a small part in World War I. It was on the side of the Allied forces. This brings the history of Greece to the

In Sparta, citizenship brought power and privilege, but required devotion and personal sacrifice

2005-09-24T12:51:51-04:00

The Laconians had a particularly strict and defined notion of citizenship. Only adult males who could prove their descent from original Doran conquerors, who had completed their training at the agoge, (the Spartan state education system which turned boys into warriors) and who had been accepted to the public messes were considered to be part of the homoioi; Spartiates or ‘equals’. With such a rigid structure in defining the men of the citizen class, at her peak Sparta’s military – which was comprised of her citizen body, and during times of war, pereoikoi (inhabitants of outer villages of Laconia) and helots (conquered peoples who were reduced to slavery) – would have numbered no more than ten thousand. Upon election to one of the public messes, the Spartan citizen was obliged to make a monthly contribution of grain, fruit and wine to his syssition (mess), and was, for the next thirty years, liable to be called for military service. He also had to dine at the messes every night, and only sickness, hunting expeditions or public sacrifices excused him from attending. Despite the expectation of total devotion to the state, Spartiates were entitled to a number of privileges strictly denied to non-Spartans. Once elected to a mess, a man was given an allotment of public land and serfs. He could participate in the Assembly, and, if married, finally able to live with his wife. The level of commitment required of a citizen to his state in Sparta was unheard of anywhere else in Greece. However, the education and training all citizens would have had to undergo was designed to instil a sense of courage, confidence and unwavering devotion to the polis, and this is why the citizens had no hesitation in making personal sacrifices if it was for the good of the state. The first active step in becoming a Spartan citizen was at the age of seven, when boys of the citizen class (and in rare cases, pereoikoi, Laconian outsiders and local royalty) were given up by their parents and put in the state education system; the agoge. The women had no trouble in letting go of their young sons because, although they were fully aware of the extreme discipline that pervaded all aspects of their sons’ training, it was considered to be for the good of the state that fit, healthy males be given the right to develop into defenders of the

The Assyrians Vs. The Persians

2005-04-27T11:00:56-04:00

You stand on a hill that separates time and distance from two highly advanced yet highly different civilizations. These civilizations are the Assyrians an the Persians. These people are uniquely different in their political systems, their ways of conquering and their religious beliefs. However, these differences are clear from where you stand. A closer look however; will reveal extraordinary feats and marvelous of each of the two civilizations . As you watch you wait, you wait for the clash of these civilizations which will be soon to come. You take a look at an area of land, covered in blood, the land stretches for miles. The land is covered with bodies and the people seem to have highly advanced weapons and war engineering You are looking at the land of the Assyrians. The Assyrians, a great war like race; they conquer many lands, skinning their enemies alive, torturing any prisoners that were left. The Assyrians were successful in so many battles due to their advancement in war engineering. They invented Pontoons, bridges, ladders, battering rams, and a method of tunneling under enemy walls. The Assyrians conquered many lands and at the same time, even though they were gruesome, built an extravagant capital called Nineveh. Nineveh was built with the plunder of other demolished civilizations. They made it a work of art and, it was full of riches and works of art. It even had a library built by the Assyrians filled will all kinds of literature and novels and records of their time. The Assyrians showed a half and half side, they conquered all their enemies, never leaving any remains, burning the cities and buildings down to the ground. â€œ I took , thier fighting men in numbers I slew; their spoil, their wealth, their cattle I spoiled; . . . 260 of thier warriors by the sword I smote down; their heads cut off in heaps I arranged. ( Assyrian Packet). This is a direct quote of some of the many battles that the Assyrians fought. They were gruesome people who did not believe in the preservation of their enemies. The Assyrians however were religious. They believed in many gods, yet they did have a one all might powerful god that was the god of the gods. â€œAssyrian religious practices and beliefs were almost identical with those of Babylonia, except that the Assyrian

Outline Socrates Earlier Charges. Why did he need to deal with these charges before the actual ones

2004-05-18T06:48:36-04:00

At the age of seventy Socrates was before five hundred Athenians in the court of law. Over his seventy years this was his first appearance in court. However, Socrates had allegations against him earlier in his life of being a Sophist. According to ‘The Concise Oxford Dictionary’, Sophist is defined as; a paid teacher of the Ancient-Greek philosophy and rhetoric (public speaking); meaning a human being who interrogates others tending to discover imperfection and formulate insignificant and extreme criticism . Two other earlier charges Socrates was accused of was aggravating citizens with his continuous cross examination of people who thought they held wisdom, to establish their ignorance and teaching the young men of Athens because they copied his form of method known to the Greek as elenchus. Elenchus is defined as being the technique of Socrates ‘questioning in a series of questions and answers by which the conversation can be controlled’ . Although, there was no truth in these allegations to prosecute him, those who accused him won by default because Socrates had no one to defend him. Socrates came up with a solution while in front of the jury to solve the problems of his earlier charges by addressing the allegations before the actual charges were introduced. Being accused of performing a sophist technique ‘because he devoted his time to showing people the limitations of their knowledge’ amongst his community, was one of the reasons why Socrates’ earlier charges formed. He admitted a fee was never charged for his wisdom and declared he was not an expert of knowledge. ‘The fact was that there was nothing in any of these charges; and if it was heard that anyone had said he tried to educate people and charge a fee, there was no truth in that’. Although, Socrates did believe ‘that it was a fine thing if a man had the ability to teach, as in the case of Gorgias of Leontini, Prodicus of Ceos and Hippias of Elis’ . Socrates confessed he was not capable of sharing his wisdom to the privilege level of receiving money for his educating. In addition to his confession Evenus of Paros, a true sophist was introduced. Socrates was fascinated by this man’s wisdom that it gave him the sense of understanding his own ignorance of not knowing how

Greek Legacies

2003-12-12T03:58:22-05:00

Greek Legacies The term legacy is depicted as “something that is handed down or remains from previous generation or time.” (Dictionary) The Greeks formed a new group of thoughts, which lead to the birth of democracy. Greek scientists such as Euclid, Pythagoras, and Archimedes made new discoveries that changed the course of mathematics. Architecture led to new possibilities. Using the definition of the term legacy, we find that ancient Greece had many legacies to offer such as: government structures, science and technology and architecture. Classical Greece had a lot of legacies to offer, one major legacy being government structures and the new concept of democracy. On example of how government structures fits the term legacy is the city of Athens, which was considered to be a democracy. Athens had an assembly made out of free male citizens over eighteen.(notes) All citizens were allowed to attended public discussions to speak their opinion. Decisions were made from the majority vote. However, there was one flaw in the Athens’ state of democracy; it was not open to women, slaves or foreigners. However, Athens was in fact the start of democracy. Democracy changed the world; it strengthened classical Greece, and left a lasting impact. Democracy is now emplaced in many countries, which used the Greeks state of democracy as a basis for their own. It also had a significant impact on the Greek people because for the first time people where more involved in political process and in making decisions and it forever changed the processes of their political system. It also gave them a sense of continuity, because they had emplaced a system where people felt pride in contributing to their homeland and the need of precipitation was passed down to their children who continue on helping the homeland to reach its fullest potential and it also gives us clues into what Athens was like. In 621 BCE the Athenian named Draco was first to create a legal code based on Hammurabi’s code of law. (Dickey, 1) The legal code examined issues of ownership and debt slavery. This legal code is the basis for all our laws, which exist today. The legal code is foundation for today’s laws. Draco also elaborated on Hammurabi’s law of

Significance of Pericles' Death

2002-10-23T14:00:00-04:00

The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles’ leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy (‘the mob’) allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war. As can be expected from pioneer governmental institutions, Athenian democracy was not perfect. In fact it was far from it. It resulted in the establishment of poor policies by aggressive populists who sought “…private ambition and private profit…which were bad both for the Athenians themselves and their allies.” (Thucydides). These self interested populist leaders with personal gain in mind established extensive internal political instability “…by quarrelling among themselves [and] began to bring confusion into the policy of the state.” (Thucydides). Repeated opportunities to accept terms of peace after the battles of Pylos (425), Arginusae (406) and Aegospotami (405) were ignored by the inefficient Athenian demos eventually resulting in the devastation of the once dominant city-state. Internal political strife can also be attributed to the presence of Nicias, a conservative aristocrat, who intensely opposed the aggressive policies of the populist leaders. This divergence of opinion meant that the Athenians would struggle greatly to establish continuously successful policies and strategies, and were immediately impeded by this inefficient nature of democracy. Events such as the trial and execution of eight Athenian naval leaders after the Battle of Arginusae, prove the extreme feebleness of Athenian democracy. A needless act of aggression in 416, towards the neutral city-state of Melos inspired immediate reactions from Athenian allies, who were already appearing somewhat disloyal. The Athenians were then forced into conflict “…against their own allies, most of which had revolted.” (Thucydides). This Athenian internal conflict perhaps came to a climax in 411, when an oligarchy of 400 revolted and took over Athens for over 3 months, before a democratic restoration. However, “…in the end it was only

The theatrical works of 5C Athens represent a very significant advance on Homer’s Iliad. Discuss.

2002-10-20T14:00:00-04:00

It is difficult to compare the works of Aristophanes and Homer, and make a decision as to whether or not Aristophanes’ plays are more advanced than Homer’s writing, as they serve a different purpose and are told conpletely differently. Aristophanes’s stories are meant to be performed in the form of a play. Homer’s Iliad is an epic, and through his language the reader can only picture the scene. They cannot be compared as such, but we may pass judgment on whether the works of Aristophanes has advanced in quality, in relation to Homer’s Iliad. Literature reflects the circumstances of the times by providing a social and political commentary. This commentary is represented by Aristophanes, one of the best known tragic and comic poets of the fifth and fourth century B.C. As Greek society became more sophisticated a new type of poetry arose among the Greeks. Unlike Homer, authors of this lyric poetry sang not of legendary events but of present delights and sorrows. This new note, personal and passionate, can be seen in the works of Aristophanes, in which the contrast between the new values and those of Homer's heroic age is sharply clear. By the fifth century B.C. in Athens, two distinct forms, tragedy and comedy, had evolved. Borrowing from the old familiar legends of gods and heroes for their plots, the tragedians reinterpreted them in the light of the values and problems of their own times. Comedies were vulgar and lively. There were no laws against libel or obscenity in Athens, so political satire became a favorite subject of the comedians. Aristophanes, the most famous comic-dramatist, brilliantly satirized Athenian democracy as a mob led by demagogues. A favorite target of his was the political leader Cleon – he based several of his plays around him. Yet he also put intelligent messages between his jokes. For example, in his play Lysistrata, the women of Greece stop the Peloponnesian War with a sex boycott, refusing to sleep with their husbands until they agree to end the fighting; thus, he could advocate peace and women's rights in the same story. By allowing such coarse humor even in difficult times, the Athenians may have shown us why Athens remained a cultural center after its best years ended; they were never afraid of the truth, and could always laugh at themselves. Aristophanes’ Wasps is a parody on the political situation in Athens at the time

How the Greek revered their gods

2002-06-07T14:00:00-04:00

In ancient times, the Greeks had absolute and undeniable respect for their gods. They demonstrated their admiration by putting in place many rituals and celebrations to reverence the gods that they loved and feared in order to ensure harmony with them. In particular, the focus will be on the religious beliefs of the Greeks, including prayer and sacrifice, as well as on festivals and the arts, such as the ancient Olympic games and theatre. These aspects of their culture made a significant contribution to their quality of life. Moreover, these topics will be examined in relation to the twelve Olympian gods and their associates. The ancient Greeks practiced a religion that was in effect, a building block to many ensuing pagan religions. This religion revolved around their reverence to the gods. Essentially, the Greeks worshipped numerous gods, making their religion polytheistic. They believed that exercising the opportunity to choose between a wide array of gods to worship offered them a great sense of freedom that they treasured. After all, the Greeks were known for their intellectual distinction of which their means of worship played a huge part. Each city-state, or polis, thus had an affiliated god who protected and guided its residents. Within a given polis, the belief in common gods unified the people. Ultimately, the Greeks yearned for this unity and order in the universe, which is a characteristic that is not unlike that of people today. It might seem contradictory that they believed in many gods and sought organization at the same time, for larger numbers are inherently unstable. But, to the god-fearing Greeks, each god represented a different facet of life that together upheld an organized universe if each of these gods was properly appeased. To satisfy these gods, the Greeks participated in activities such as prayer and sacrifice and erected divine temples and centers for oracles in honor of specific gods. There is evidence of this institutionalization early on in the reign of the Olympian gods, thus forming the Olympian religion. The Olympian religion lacked the presence of true sentimentality, and the gods were not seen as forgiving or “flawless” as the Christian God is often portrayed. The Greek gods were portrayed as humans, which meant that they were not perfect. That is, the gods made mistakes, felt pain (e.g. Aphrodite in love with the mortal Adonis), and succumbed to anger and their tempers (e.g. Hera seeking vengeance

Greek Pride in the Individual

2002-03-03T13:00:00-05:00

The culture of ancient Greece reflects the importance of the individual in society in many different ways. The Greeks used art, philosophy, and even their system of government to convey their beliefs in the importance of one single man in a society. Greek artists showed value for the individual. All people were portrayed in Greek art, from the sagging old woman to the ideal athlete. Although early Greek art focused on the human ideal, their later art shows that the Greeks appreciated all forms, and found the human body in general to be a beautiful thing. Even the gods in Greek art showed how highly the Greeks valued humanity. The gods were depicted as humans, and were made to human scale; no huge overpowering deity was ever portrayed in their art. The Greeks appreciated themselves in their art as much as they appreciated the gods. Even on the most famous temple of all time, the Parthenon, humans were portrayed. The frieze that adorned the upper face of the Parthenon depicted the human procession in honour of the god Athena. It was not just sculptures and architecture that showed Greek pride in the individual. Greek drama showed a huge appreciation for humans in all their glory. The Greeks valued human emotions; their plays covered a wide array of subjects, all the way from the tragedies of war to the comedic side of a society in the perils of war. These subjects made it possible to reveal the Greek appreciation for real life situations, showing the value they placed on human actions, but most of all on human nature. Like the various forms of Greek art, the government of ancient Greece appreciated the individual by creating an environment in which individuals were free to express themselves. Tyrants like Pisistratus and Cleisthenes came to power to try and make the polis a better place for the individual. These tyrants reformed the state in many ways; they helped make it possible for the rich and poor to have equal rights, and they created the conditions for the construction of the splendid monumental buildings ancient Greece is remembered for today. Although not all tyrants were good, they all had one thing in common: they were all citizens of Greece, and ruled to improve the lifestyle of the citizens of Greece. After the end of tyranny, Greece had a democracy; a government ruled by the people for the

Greek Legacies

2001-10-18T14:00:00-04:00

Greek legacies are their governmental systems, culture and arts, and science and technology. Classical Greece was a time where the growth of a community held strong through times of plague, wars, and numerous breakthroughs. A major legacy left by classical Greece was a government based on direct democracy. With a direct democracy, citizens ruled by majority vote. The citizenship was expanded to all free males, except foreigners. Those not considered citizens were women, slaves, and all foreigners. In 621 b.c.e., Draco, an Athenian lawmaker wrote the first legal code. In the legal code Draco dealt with contract and property ownership, it also included debt slavery. In classical Greece, citizens were also allowed to bring charges of wrong doing with a trial by jury. Direct democracy was a new innovation that not only changed the world, it also helped classical Greece become a great and powerful nation. Another legacy left by Greece was their culture and art. With their culture they created the Greek language. The Greeks also invented their mythology, which included gods and goddesses. Through myths, Greeks tried to understand the mysteries of nature and the power of human passion. God lived forever and Greeks attributed human qualities to them. The Olympic Games were originated in Greece around 776 b.c.e. They were dedicated to the god Zeus, the Greeks even suspended the wars between city-states so the athletes of the Olympics could compete. Philosophers, lovers of wisdom, were determined to seek the truth. There philosophy was based on two assumptions: (1) The universe (land, sky, and sea) is put together in an orderly way, and subject to absolute and unchanging laws, and (2) people can understand these laws through logic and reason. The three main philosophers of classical Greece are Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The arts of classical Greece had a different flair than any other civilization. The Greeks invented both drama and built the first theaters in the west. Statues in Greece depicted their gods and goddesses in idealized human form, their faces neither showed laughter or anger, only serenity. Athena, goddess of wisdom, is found in the Parthenon, dressed in full battle armor, holding a six-foot high figure of victory. The Parthenon is a masterpiece of not only craftsmanship, but also design. Artisans built the 23,000 square ft. building with the traditional style that had been used several hundred years before. Classical Greece’s art and culture inspired Greeks to

Speech on The Underworld in Greek Mythology

2001-06-25T14:00:00-04:00

The Underworld, better known as Hades after the god who ruled it, was a dark and dreary place where the shades, or souls, of those who died lived. In the next few minutes, I will tell you about how one came to die, the topography of the Underworld, and the beings whom dwelled there. Your whole life was planned and plotted by the Fates. The Fates were the three goddesses who controlled the destiny of everyone from the time they were born to the time they died. They were: Clotho, the spinner, who spun the thread of a person’s life, Lachesis, the apporitioner, who decided how much times was to be allowed each person, and Atropos, the inevitable, who cut the thread when you were supposed to die. When Atropos cut your thread you were dead and then you made your journey to Hades. Upon death, the shade is lead by Hermes to the entrance of the Underworld and to the banks of the Acheron. There were five rivers that made up the Underworld. They were the Acheron (the river of woe), Cocytus (the river of lamentation), Phlegethon (river of fire), Lethe (river of forgetfulness), and the Styx (river of hate). This poem, written by an anonymous writer, was written about the rivers in the Underworld. "Abhorred Styx, the flood of deadly hate, Sad Acheron of sorrow black and deep; Cocytus named of lamentation loud Heard on the rueful stream; fierce Phlegethon Whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage. Far off from these a slow and silent stream, Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls Her watery labyrinth, whereof who drinks Forthwith his former state and being forgets, Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain." When one would die, the family would place one obol, or a coin, under the deceased’s tongue. This coin would pay as fare to Charon who would ferry the dead over the Acheron River. Charon is the ferryman who is often depicted as an old sulky man, or as a winged demon carrying a double hammer. Those who cannot afford to pay Charon were doomed to wonder the banks of the Acheron River for one hundred years. Guarding the Underworld was the three-headed dog Cerberus. He permitted new spirits to enter, but never one to leave. When you arrived at the Underworld, three judges determined your sentence. They were Rhadamanthus, Minos the first, and Aeacus. Rhadamanthus, the

Greek Gods and Goddesses

2001-04-10T14:00:00-04:00

There were two types of Olympic Gods: Celestial Deities and Earth Deities. The Celestial Deities dwelled on Mount Olympus while the Earth Deities resided on, or under, Earth. There were twelve Olympic Gods; however, because the tales of these gods started out orally, the gods and goddesses classified as Olympians are not totally clear. Because the Twelve Olympians are not totally clear, there are a possible fourteen gods and goddesses that could be classified as Olympians. The gods and goddesses all had their place in Ancient Greece and were either worshipped or hated because of their responsibilities and talents. The Greek Gods and Goddesses all had a great influence and importance to Greek culture. When Zeus, Jupiter in Roman Mythology, was young, he overthrew his father, Cronus, to become the Supreme Ruler and Protector God. Zeus’s power, which included him as the Lord of the Sky, Rain God, God of Thunder, God of the Winds, and Cloud-Gatherer, was greater than that of all of the other gods and goddesses ascendancy combined.(Guirand 105; Hamilton 25-26) Zeus married and made mistresses of many women. Metis was his first wife. Gaea and Uranus warned Zeus that if Metis had the child she was pregnant with at the time, the child would be more powerful than he and overthrow him just as he overthrew his father. Zeus swallowed Metis when she was about to give birth to prevent this. A few of Zeus’s wives included: Themis, Uranus and Gaea’s daughter, Mnemosyne, which gave birth to the nine muses with Zeus, Oceanid Eurynome, who gave birth to the three graces with Zeus, and Hera. Many of Zeus's children were given birth by his mistresses, some of which were mortals.(Guirand 105-106)

“The god was normally depicted as a man in the fullness of maturity, of robust body, a grave countenance and a broad forehead jutting out above his deeply set eyes. His face is framed by thick waving hair and a finely curled beard…He usually wears a long mantle which leaves his chest and right arm free. His attributes are the sceptre in his left hand, in his right hand the thunderbolt and at his feet the eagle. Often he wears a crown of oak-leaves.” (Guirand 105)

Hera, or Juno in Roman mythology, was Zeus’s “main” wife and was his sister. Although her parents were Cronus and Rhea, Titans Oceans and Tethys brought her up. (Hamilton 26-27) She was

Sparta and Athens - Explain and Contrast

2001-04-05T14:00:00-04:00

Both Sparta and Athens were Greek city-states. Sparta was a strict military ruled city-state where the people established themselves as a military power early. However Athens was more of a political city-state that was more involved with their economical stature than their military forces. Still changes from the Persian wars would change the powers of the city-state and somewhat unite them. Sparta was a strict military city-state. The people were Dorians who conquered Laconia. This region lies in the Peloponnesus, which lied in southern Greece. The invaders turned the conquered people into state owned slaves, called helots. Since the helots greatly outnumbered their rulers, Spartans established a strict and brutal system of control. The Spartan government had two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of all citizens approved all major decisions. From child-hood, a Spartan prepared to be part of the military. All newborn were examined and the healthy lived and the sickly were left to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers or mothers of soldiers to be healthy. At the age of seven, boys trained for a lifetime in the Spartan military. They moved to the barracks and endured brutal and extensive training. Athens was located in Attica, just north of the Peloponnesus. As in many Greek city-states, Athenian government evolved from a monarchy into an aristocracy. Around 700 B.C., noble landowners chose the chief officials. Nobles judged major cases in court and dominated the assembly. Athenian wealth and power grew under the aristocracy. Yet discontent spread over the commoners. Merchants and soldiers resented the power of the nobles and argued that their services to Athens entitled them to more rights. As discontent spread the government slowly moved towards a democracy. Solon, one of Athens greatest leaders, made many reforms such as outlawing debt slavery. And freed those who had already been sod into slavery due to debt. Solon encouraged the export of olive oil and other such products, aiding to the economy. The Persian war brought massive change to the people of both Sparta and Athens. The Persians were great conquerors who crushed rebel cities with ease. King Darius sent a large force to punish Athens with its interference. The Persian army landed at Marathon where Athenian forces attacked. Though they were outnumbered 2 to 1 they emerged victorious. Athens had convinced Sparta and other city-states to join them in their battles. The

Athenian and Spartan Government

2000-12-30T13:00:00-05:00

In Ancient Greece there were four forms of government that were practiced Monarchy’s, Aristocracy, Oligarchy and Direct Democracy. In Ancient Athens they had a direct democracy which allowed the citizens to participate in political decision making. In Ancient Sparta they had an oligarchy form of government in which the state was ruled by a small group of citizens who also controlled the military. The political system of ancient Athens was a democracy, which involved all of its citizens by giving them daily access to civic affairs and political power. Both decision-making and decision-enforcing were the duty of every free adult male citizen, and not just of those elected by them or by their leaders. The free adult male

Alexander the Great Arriving in Persepolis

2000-11-20T13:00:00-05:00

I am Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia ruler of Greece. I have been king of Macedonia since my father’s assassination five years ago. Since his death I have conquered much of the world. I am ruthless, and should anyone attempt to defeat me in battle, they are sure to die. The year I became ruler of Macedonia I set out to the city of Thessaly to restore Macedonia rule. After Thessaly submitted to me I conquered many states, and many other states freely submitted without battles. Two years after my father’s death, my war with the Persians began. Near the city of Troy, I defeated the Persian army. In doing so, all the states of Asia then submitted their arms to me. A year later I would encounter the Persians again; this time the main Persian army would be my opponent. I defeated the Persian army led by King Darious III at the city of Issus, and a year later took the city of Tyre. Furthermore, Egypt surrendered to me. Perhaps they knew they could not defeat me in battle and thought it better not to try. I had now secured control of the entire eastern Mediterranean coastline. I now bring you to my present time in history. It has been five years since I became king of Macedonia, and I have once again defeated my enemy, King Darious III at Babylon. I am now setting my sights on penetrating into the walls of Persepolis. I am very excited about this, as I am planning to retrieving many treasures which lie behind the walls. This will be a very fulfilling defeat because the Persian Empire plundered Athens almost 15 decades ago. I cannot let this go and because of it I will penetrate Persepolis and defeat the Persians and consummate vengeance upon them. With my highly skilled army of about sixty-thousand men, I entered Persepolis and assumed control of its palace. I find myself in the heart of Persia. From the Persian treasury at Persepolis I seized a wondrous amount of money. It is a well deserved payback, and I must resort to the tradition of vengeance for what the Persians did when Xerxes invaded Greece some hundred and fifty years ago. Alexander turned the city over to his

Helen Of Troy

2000-05-25T14:00:00-04:00

Helen was the most beautiful woman in the entire Greek known world. She was the daughter of the god Zeus and of Leda, and wife of the King of Sparta. The hero Theseus, who hoped in time to marry her, abducted her in childhood but her brothers rescued her. Because Helen was courted by so many prominent heroes, Menelaus made all of them swear to abide by Helen's choice of a husband, and to defend that husband's rights should anyone attempt to take Helen away by force. Helen's beauty was the direct cause of the Trojan War. The ten-year conflict began when the three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite asked the Trojan prince Paris to choose the most beautiful among them. After each of the goddesses had attempted to influence his decision, Paris chose Aphrodite, who had promised him the world's most beautiful woman. Soon afterward Paris sailed to Greece, where Helen and her husband hospitably received him, Menelaus, king of Sparta. Helen, as the fairest of her sex, was the prize destined for Paris. Although she was living happily with Menelaus, Helen fell under the influence of Aphrodite and allowed Paris to persuade her to run off with him, and he carried her off to Troy. Menelaus then called upon the Greek leaders, including Helen's former suitors, to help him rescue his wife, and with few exceptions they responded to his call. Agamemnon his brother led the forces to Troy. During ten years of conflict, the Greeks and Trojans fought irresolutely. Then Paris and Menelaus agreed to meet in single combat between the opposing armies, and Helen was summoned to view the duel. As she approached the tower, where the aged King Priam and his counselors sat, her beauty was still so matchless and her sorrow so great that no one could feel for her anything but compassion. Although the Greeks claimed the victory in the battle between the two warriors, Aphrodite helped Paris escape from the enraged Menelaus by enveloping him in a cloud and taking him safely to Helen's chamber, where Aphrodite compelled the unwilling Helen to lie with him. Unable to capture the city after a siege of ten years, the Greeks resorted to strategy. Agamemnon’s forces, namely Odysseus, came up with a plan. They sailed away and left the Trojan horse, filled with armed warriors, on the shore. Sinon, a Greek spy, persuaded the Trojans to take the

Herodotus

2000-01-09T13:00:00-05:00

Herodotus (484-424 BC ?) a Greek historian, known as the father of history, who was the first historian to apply critical evaluation to his material, while also recording divergent opinions. He made his prose style resemble the finest poetry by its persuasiveness, its charm, and its utterly delightful effect. Although his writings have been praised, their trustworthiness has been questioned both in ancient and modern times. After four years in Athens, he traveled widely in Egypt, Asia and the Black Sea region of E. Europe, before settling at Thurii in S. Italy in 443 BC. He wrote accounts of his various travels for the people of Greece. He read his, "History" publicly to the Athenians and was rewarded for this historical work. He contrived to set before his fellow citizens a general picture of the world, of its various races, and of the previous history of those nations which had one. He also was very careful to diversify his pages by scattering among his more serious matter tales, anecdotes, and descriptions of a lighter character, which are very graceful additions to the main narrative. Two men are famous contemporaries of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, who were both from Athens. Thucydides (460 BC - 400 BC?) was a better historian than Herodotus and his critical use of sources and research made his "History of the Peloponnesian War" a significant influence on later generations of historians. Xenophon (430 BC - 355 BC?) began his "Hellenica where Thucydides ended his work about 411 BC and carried his history to 362 BC. His writings were superficial in comparison to those of Thucydides, but he wrote with authority on military matters. Herodotus believed that many Greek rituals and customs were inherited from the Egyptians as the Greek civilization developed. He recorded the wide range of religious practices he encountered in his travels, comparing the religious observances of various cultures, such as sacrifice and worship, with their Greek equivalents. He quite possibly followed the cult practices of Serapis, which is the Greek Name for Osiris the embodiment of goodness, who ruled the underworld. He identified Isis with Demeter, the Greek goddess of earth, agriculture, and fertility. About two centuries later, under the Greco-Egyptian Empire, which was created by Alexander the Great, the worship of Osiris (Serapis) was developed as a means of uniting the Greeks and Egyptians. He observed that the Egyptians strongly opposed the acceptance of

Spartan Warfare

1999-12-12T13:00:00-05:00

In the 7th Century BC a new era of warfare strategy evolved. Before this new strategy, foot soldiers (known as hoplites) engaged in battle in the form of one mob for each army which on the command of their generals runs at each other and proceeds to hack blindly at the enemy with little to no direction other then to kill the enemy in front of them. This proved to be very messy and the tide of battle depended mostly on emotion and size of an army. In the name of strategy and organization, the phalanx was developed. A phalanx is simply defined as a line formation with its width significantly larger then its depth. The depth of the phalanx is a variable which some suggest was decided by the army itself rather then by the leaders of the army. The smallest depth appears to have been that of one man deep. However this was a unique occurrence which is widely believed to be fictitious. The largest depth is that of 120 men deep which was fielded at one time by the Macedonians. On average, the depth of the phalanx appears to be about eight men deep. During the time of Alexander the Great, the phalanx was believed to be eight men deep, but some argue that it evolved into a sixteen man deep phalanx. The Spartans purposely varied the depth of their phalanx so to confuse the enemy about the number of soldiers fielded. The phalanx proved to be a very valuable weapon for the military at that time. Armies which did not adapt to the phalanx formation were quickly slaughtered. The use of the phalanx allowed the Greeks to win the Persian Wars. Many historians believe that the development of the phalanx led directly to social changes occurring throughout Greece during the time of the phalanx's implementation. The phalanx formation allowed men to participate in the military who otherwise could not have because a much smaller investment in weapons and armor was needed to participate in the phalanx. The combined increase in the number of those participating in the army and the increase in importance of the common foot soldier lead to the common man being increasingly treated better by the ruling classes. Eventually this may have led to the invention of democracy. The most noticeable difference between ancient Greek and modern warfare is the amount of "intelligence" information. Today

Thoughts of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

1999-12-07T13:00:00-05:00

Three Athenian philosophers flourish in Greece from 470 B. C. until 320 B. C. These philosophers were famous for their “schools of thought.” The first of these is Socrates who lived from 469 until 399 B. C. He did not leave any writings behind; therefore, we know about his ways of thinking from those of whom he taught. His

The Creation of The Universe, The Earth, and Human Beings

1999-12-01T13:00:00-05:00

In the beginning there was only darkness. For many millions of years this darkness remained. There were no stars, no sun, and no earth. But one day something very special happened. The darkness created light. It was a very small amount of light but it was just enough. The light became the husband of the dark. After a long while both the light and the dark became bored. The light began to insult the dark and the light replied with equally harsh insults. "You are not as beautiful as I!" said the light. "Ha! You are much uglier than I!" said the dark. Eventually they began to fight. None could triumph over the other, however, because they both were equal in power. Dark had a little bit more strength but light had a little bit more cunning. They continued to fight for a very long time until one day the light was tired and she called to the dark. "We must create beings that will give more meaning to our lives for we must live together for eternity." The dark agreed and so it was settled. They would conceive two new beings. One would be female the other would be male and the two siblings would be fertile and give birth to the universe. The light gave birth to a god, the first god, and his name was Thrakath. He was the creator of the universe and the son of the light and the dark. The light also gave birth to Tria and she was the creator of the universe, the daughter of the light and the dark and the wife of Thrakath. Both Thrakath and Tria lived together within the light and dark for a long time creating the universe within their minds. After they had finished thinking they decided to implement their plans. First they created the stars. There were many stars throughout the universe and both Thrakath and Tria were pleased. But the stars eventually became troublesome so they decided to create the sun. The sun became the king of the universe and he was very bright so he could be seen from far and wide. The stars feared him and so again began to behave in an appropriate fashion. He also was very hot and warmed the once cold universe so that life would be possible. Then, Thrakath and Tria decided to make planets. They made eight planets, one every month for eight months.

Greek Sports

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00

Ancient boxing had fewer rules than the modern sport. Boxers fought without rounds until one man was knocked out, or admitted he had been beaten. Unlike the modern sport, there was no rule against hitting an opponent when he was down. There were no weight classes within the mens' and boys' divisions opponents for a match were chosen randomly. There were both 2-horse chariot and 4-horse chariot races, with separate races for chariots drawn by foals. Another race was between carts drawn by a team of 2 mules. The course was 12 laps around the stadium track (9 miles). The course was 6 laps around the track (4.5 miles), and there were separate races for full-grown horses and foals. Jockeys rode without stirrups. The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength.Only wealthy people could afford to pay for the training, equipment, and feed of both the driver (or jockey) and the horses. As a result, the owner received the olive wreath of victory instead of the driver or jockey. This event was a grueling combination of boxing and wrestling. Punches were allowed, although the fighters did not wrap their hands with the boxing himantes. Rules outlawed only biting and gouging an opponent's eyes, nose, or mouth with fingernails. Attacks such as kicking an opponent in the belly, which are against the rules in modern sports, were perfectly legal. The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength. The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying saucer. Sizes varied, since the boys' division was not expected to throw the same weight as the mens'. The javelin was a man-high length of wood, with either a sharpened end or an attached metal point. It had a thong for a hurler's fingers attached to its center of gravity, which increased the precision and distance of a javelin's flight. Athletes used lead or stone jump weights (halteres) shaped like telephone receivers to increase the length of their jump. The halteres were held in front of the athlete during his ascent, and forcibly thrust behind his back and dropped during his descent to help propel his body further. There were 4 types of races at Olympia. The stadion was the oldest event of the Games. Runners sprinted

Alexander the Great

1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00

"It is a lovely thing to live with great courage and die leaving an everlasting fame." Alexander The Great Long before the birth of Christ, the land directly above what we know as Greece today, was called Macedonia. Macedonia still exists, but it is now Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and modern Greece. Macedonia was considered to be part of ancient Greece, but the people of these two countries couldn't be more different. No people in history ever gave so much to the human race as the ancient Greeks. They produced architectural monuments, four of the greatest dramatic actors who ever lived, one of the most brilliant statesmen and two of the greatest historians. Scientists, philosophers and artists all thrived in this country. The political system we call democracy had its roots in this culture. The Macedonians in comparison with their Greek neighbors were crude and fierce in their outlook. They were a rough people. They never produced any artists, philosophers, or great actors. But they produced Alexander The Great - a man with a legacy so remarkable that it has challenged the minds of men ever since. Alexander was born to conquer the world. His life was bold and from beginning to end, it was etched with dramatic clarity. Every important event in his life brought him one step closer to fulfilling his ambition. He was the first leaders, like Caesar and Napoleon, who partly be accident and partly by design, set out to gather the whole world into their fists, unify it, rule it and enlighten it. But unlike the other great giants of history, Alexander was a shooting star whose blaze of glory ended with his death, at not quite thirty-three years old... Alexander was born in 356 BC to King Philip of Macedonia and his wife, Olympias. On the day of Alexander's birth, Philip was away in battle. A courier brought Philip the message of his son's birth, along with two other messages - Philip's horse had won first prize in the Olympic Games and his army had just won a very important battle. With three pieces of good news at once, Philip always thought his son's arrival into the world came with an omen of good luck. As Crown Prince of Macedonia and at that time, his father's only heir, Alexander was raised to inherit his father's kingdom. Alexander was good at sports and even as a young child showed a very ambitious streak.

Ancient Greek Drama

1999-08-25T14:00:00-04:00

ORIGINS OF ANCIENT GREEK DRAMA Theater was born in Attica, an Ionic region of Greece. It originated from the ceremonial orgies of Dionysos but soon enough its fields of interest spread to various myths along with historic facts. As ancient drama was an institution of Democracy, the great tragic poets Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides as well as the comedian Aristophanes elevated public debate and political criticism to a level of aesthetic achievement. Euripides and the ethologist Menandros, in the thriving years of Alexandria and later on during the Roman domination, reached a beau ideal level and through the Romans managed to form Western Theater, from Renascence and thereafter. DRAMA FESTIVALS The plays were presented at festivals in honor of Dionysus, including the Great Dionysia at Athens, held in the spring the Rural Dionysia, held in the winter and the Lenaea, also held in the winter following the Rural Dionysia. The works of only three poets, selected in competition, were performed. In addition to three tragic plays (a trilogy) each poet had to present a satyr play - a farcical, often bawdy parody of the gods and their myths. Later, comedy, which developed in the mid-5th century BC, was also presented. The oldest extant comedies are by Aristophanes. They have a highly formal structure thought to be derived from ancient fertility rites. The humor consists of a mixture of satirical attacks on contemporary public figures, bawdy, scatological jokes, and seemingly sacrilegious parodies of the gods. By the 4th century BC comedy had supplanted tragedy as the dominant form. ANCIENT THEATERS The form of the Greek physical theater evolved over two centuries interestingly, the permanent stone theaters that survive today as ruins were not built until the 4th century BC - that is, after the classical period of playwriting. The open-air theaters may have consisted of an orchestra - a flat circular area used for choral dances-a raised stage behind it for actors, and a roughly semicircular seating area built into a hillside around the orchestra, although modern scholars debate the layout of particular theaters. These theaters held 15,000 to 20,000 spectators. As the importance of actors grew and that of the chorus diminished, the stage became higher and encroached on the orchestra space. The actors - all men - wore theatricalized versions of everyday dress, but, most important, they wore larger-than-life masks, which aided visibility and indicated the nature of the character to the audience. In the vast

Greek Mythology and Religion

1999-07-31T14:00:00-04:00

Mythology is the study and interpretation of myth and the body of myths of a particular culture. Myth is a complex cultural phenomenon that can be approached from a number of viewpoints. In general, myth is a narrative that describes and portrays in symbolic language the origin of the basic elements and assumptions of a culture. Mythic narrative relates, for example, how the world began, how humans and animals were created, and how certain customs, gestures, or forms of human activities originated. Almost all cultures possess or at one time possessed and lived in terms of myths. Myths differ from fairy tales in that they refer to a time that is different from ordinary. The time sequence of myth is extraordinary- an "other" time - the time before the conventional world came into being. Because myths refer to an extraordinary time and place and to gods and other supernatural beings and processes, they have usually been seen as aspects of religion. Because of the inclusive nature of myth, however, it can illustrate many aspects of individual and cultural life. Meaning and interpretation From the beginnings of Western culture, myth has presented a problem of meaning and interpretation, and a history of controversy has gathered about both the value and the status of mythology. Myth, History, and Reason In the Greek heritage of the West, myth or mythos has always been in tension with reason or logos, which signified the sensible and analytic mode of arriving at a true account of reality. The Greek philosophers Xenophanes, Plato, and Aristotle, for example, exalted reason and made sarcastic criticisms of myth as a proper way of knowing reality. The distinctions between reason and myth and between myth and history, although essential, were never quite absolute. Aristotle concluded that in some of the early Greek creation myths, logos and mythos overlapped. Plato used myths as metaphors and also as literary devices in developing an argument. Western Mythical Traditions The debate over whether myth, reason, or history best expresses the meaning of the reality of the gods, humans, and nature has continued in Western culture as a legacy from its earliest traditions. Among these traditions were the myths of the Greeks. Adopted and assimilated by the Romans, they furnished literary, philosophical, and artistic inspiration to such later periods as the Renaissance and the romantic era. The pagan tribes of Europe furnished another body of tradition. After these tribes became

Ancient Greece

1999-07-02T14:00:00-04:00

This paper tells you about the Golden Age of Greece, which is from 500 to 350 BC. It tells about what Greeks did, who they worshipped, and other important things. The thing the Greeks are best known for, is their gods, and stories about them. The stories explained how things became. For instance, one story said that before the earth was made, there was a fight between a god, and a giant. The god killed the giant, and the parts of the giant became the earth. His teeth became the rocks, and his hair became the grass. His hands and feet became mountains, and his toes and fingers became trees. Some of the gods were Zeus, who was the ruler of all the gods, Hera was his wife, and Hermes was his messenger. Artemis was the goddess of the moon, and Apollo was the god of the sun. Poseidon was the god of the sea, Loki, the god of mischief, and, Dionysus, the god of wine. The Greeks, made sacrifices to the gods, so that the gods would honor them, and help them in times of trouble. They sacrificed animals, and other things that were special to them. The Greeks built temples, where they worshipped the gods. Each city had several temples, because each temple was used to worship one god. In each temple, there was a statue of a god that they worshipped. They had an extra big temple, and statue for the god that guarded their city. The Greeks had lots of heroes, who were like role models for their children. Hercules was the strongest man ever, and destroyed many monsters with his strength. Perseus had killed a monster called the Medusa. If someone looked at it, they would immediately turn to stone. Oddysseus beat the Trojans in the Trojan war, and on his way home, with his cunning, tricked, and killed many monsters. The Greeks are also known for their creativity, and knowledge in arts, such as making sculptures, music, and paintings. They made statues out of clay, gold, silver, and bronze. For instruments, they used harps and flutes. The Greeks had houses like us. All the houses had a kitchen, an eating nook, and a bedroom. The richer families had rugs, and decorations, such as vases, paintings, and tapestries. They also had a courtyard in the middle of the house, and in the courtyard was a well. All the other

The Death of Socrates

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

"Crito, you and other people who claimed to be friends to Socrates are all

Greco-Roman Culture: Lysistrata

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

Aristophanes was a "craft" comedy poet in the fourth century B.C. during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes' usual style was to be too satirical, and suggesting the outlandish. He shows little mercy when mocking Socrates and his "new-fangled ideas" which were most likely designed to destroy the cohesiveness of society and lead to anarchy, in his play The Clouds. The most absurd and humorous of Aristophanes' comedies are those in which the main characters, the heroes of the story, are women. Smart women. One of the most famous of Aristophanes' comedies depicting powerfully effectual women is the Lysistrata, named after the female lead character of the play. It portrays Athenian Lysistrata and the women of Athens teaming up with the women of Sparta to force their husbands to end the Peloponnesian War. To make the men agree to a peace treaty, the women seized the Acropolis, where Athens' financial reserves are kept, and prevented the men from squandering them further on the war. They then beat back an attack on their position by the old men who have remained in Athens while the younger men are out on campaign. When their husbands return from battle, the women refuse to have sex with them. This sex strike, which is portrayed in a series of (badly) exaggerated and blatant sexual innuendoes, finally convinces the men of Athens and Sparta to agree to a peace treaty. The Lysistrata shows women acting bravely and even aggressively against men who seem resolved on ruining the city-state by prolonging a pointless war and excessively expending reserves stored in the Acropolis. This in turn added to the destruction of their family life by staying away from home for long stretches while on military campaign. The men would come home when they could, sexually relieve themselves, and then leave again to continue a senseless war. The women challenge the masculine role model to preserve the traditional way of life of the community. When the women become challenged themselves, they take on the masculine characteristics and attitudes and defeat the men physically, mentally but most of all strategically. Proving that neither side benefits from it, just that one side loses more than the other side. It's easy to see why fourth century B.C. Athenian women would get tired of their men leaving. Most Athenian women married in their teens and never had to be on their own, and probably wouldn't

What Caused The Downfall of Sparta?

1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00

Hypothesis: Sparta collapsed because they did not allow the helots to fight in battle The Beginning of Sparta In about 100 BCE, the Dorians invaded Greece from the North. During the Dark Ages, the Dorians made their way south, capturing the inhabitants of the lands they passed through as helots. At the beginning of the Dark Ages, it is thought that there were many Dorian settlements in Laconia, each with their own helot population. At some time during the Dark Ages, Sparta overtook these fellow Dorian settlements and their helot populations, as well as control of the whole of Laconia. The Spartans kept the helots as a huge, strong slave race and, although they did not enslave their fellow Dorians, the other Dorians were made perioci, meaning "those who live round about". The perioci were needed to be the craftsmen, tradesmen and manufacturers for the Spartans, who were trained as full time soldiers. At the end of the Dark Ages, there was nothing exceptional about Sparta (except her control of the helot population) but from about the middle of the 6th Century BCE, Sparta gradually turned away from the rest of Greece. They no longer welcomed visitors, cut their trade ties, stopped building ships and when the rest of Greece began using coins instead of iron spits, Sparta continued to use the spits. Sparta still had poetry and music, but instead of listening to new poems and songs, they learned only the compositions of the past, and new poets and musicians were not welcomed. Sparta still produced pottery and metal work for every-day use, but it was of poorer quality than the work of other cities. Spartans no longer participated in athletic festivals in other parts of Greece and the whole city became secretive and withdrawn, refusing to communicate with the rest of Greece. Education The Spartans were raised and educated to be perfectly obedient and obey the state without question. Spartan education had no interest with literature, intellectual or academic activities and did Spartans were not taught subjects like mathematics, science or geography. Even as babies, Spartiates were treated harshly - they were made to eat whatever food they were given, left alone, left alone in the dark, and it is probable that no attention was paid to babies when they cried. A Spartan Boy's education as a soldier began when the boy was about 7 or 8 years old. At this time, the boys