Ancient Greece Group Essay
Ancient Greece can best be defined by its advancement, inequality, and regionalism qualities because of their schooling government and other discoveries, wide use of persecution on lower social classes, and divided city-states.
Advancement is a general term describing the discoveries and practices within Ancient Greece that are still used in some form today. Advancement shows their achievements in weaponry, schooling, and government systems. Ancient Greece did not have the technology used today to build weapons of defense or attack in battle, so weapons would be strategized and created by citizens and blacksmiths of many city-states. For example, popular weapons used were objects such as swords and catapults. Schooling was also a major advancement for their time. For instance, Aristotle set up a school in Athens called the Luceum for the study of all branches of knowledge. He left writing on politics, ethics, logic, biology, literature, and many other subjects. Additionally, Aristotle wrote in Document 5 that, “The custom branches of education are in number four; they are (1) reading and writing (2) gymnastics (3) music to which is sometimes added (4) drawing.” This textual evidence proves that major areas of Ancient Greece’s education focused on reading and writing, gymnastics, music, and drawing. These types of education were carried on as one of the many Ancient Greek legacies, and are still used and studied today. Another advancement of Ancient Greece was their type of government. Each city-state, like every country today, had different cultures/views, and, therefore, had different types of governments. However, most of Ancient Greece had a democracy, which is a type of government where every citizen has a say in important decision-making. For example, the Funeral Oration of Pericles states, “Our constitution is called a democracy because the power is in the hands not of minority but of the whole people.” Democracy is also another significant legacy, and in today’s society, it is still used in many countries. All in all, advancement in Ancient Greece played a major role in the past and the present way of life.
Ancient Greeks practiced oppression specifically on women and slaves. Back then, women had few rights and were considered ‘necessary’ only for the sole purpose of bearing men. The optimal Greek family during the time would have been made up of a husband, wife, many male children, and little to no female children, as they were viewed as a burden. In places like Athens, parents did not want girls since they were of little use to them, and males were considered more important than females. For instance, in Athens 20% of newborn girls were abandoned in places like garbage dumps. In addition, women did not have a say in anything, and did not have many rights and freedom. For example, in Document 3 Aristotle said, “But in all other matters, let it be her aim to obey her husband; giving no heed to public affairs, nor having any part in arranging the marriages of her children.” This means that men gave orders to their wives and that only husbands could decide their children’s marriage arrangements. Women were denied the freedom to own any property, choose whom they wanted to marry, or leave their homes without the permission of their husband. To further this idea, Aristotle also stated in Document 8 that, “Again, the male is by nature superior, and the female inferior; and the one rules, and the other is ruled; this principle, of necessity, extends to all mankind.” This showed that Ancient Greeks truly believed men ruled over women and were of more importance. Inequality was also shown between citizens and slaves. Slaves were treated cruelly and were lower on the ranking of social classes. For example, Plutarch said in Document 9 that, “They were owned by that state, not by individuals, and they were ruthlessly oppressed by their Spartan masters.” This quote proves that slaves were treated unequally and were considered ‘property,’ not humans. Even though inequality was unjust and did not necessarily benefit Ancient Greece, it was a significant part of their culture that shaped the way life was during that time era.
Although Ancient Greece was split up into many different city-states and had diverse cultures, they were still considered one civilization and had a good feeling of what it meant to be Greek. Some city-states were more agricultural based, while some were more military based. For example, Athens and Sparta were two completely different city-states, but both a part of Ancient Greece. Athens highly relied on trade, while Sparta relied completely on their military. Athens needed to trade in order to survive, so they needed to be able to communicate well with other civilizations. However, since Spartans dedicated their lives to their army and got goods and trade by conquering other city-states and civilizations, they did not need to communicate with places outside of their city-state, except when they attacked outside places. Spartans started training for the military at the age of six. Plutarch gives us an example of how serious Spartans were about their military when he said that, “First he toughened the girls physically by making them run and wrestle and throw the discus and javelin. Thereby their children in embryo would make a strong start in strong bodies and would develop better.” This states that the Spartans would do anything they could to make their men and army stronger, and dedicated their lives to it. Regionalism demonstrated how different city-states were, but how they were all a part of Ancient Greece.
In conclusion, regionalism, inequality, and advancement best define Ancient Greece. In Ancient Greece, men were superior to women and slaves. Men were of higher importance, while women ranked lower on the social class. Slaves were also treated unfairly, and were brutally harmed by people of a higher social class. In addition, Greece was advanced with their developed idea of a democratic government. Because of the mountainous geography, Ancient Greece was made up of city-states that had their own governments, values, army, and foreign affairs. To sum up, Ancient Greece can best be explained through its regionalism, inequality, and advancement characteristics.
Advancement is a general term describing the discoveries and practices within Ancient Greece that are still used in some form today. Advancement shows their achievements in weaponry, schooling, and government systems. Ancient Greece did not have the technology used today to build weapons of defense or attack in battle, so weapons would be strategized and created by citizens and blacksmiths of many city-states. For example, popular weapons used were objects such as swords and catapults. Schooling was also a major advancement for their time. For instance, Aristotle set up a school in Athens called the Luceum for the study of all branches of knowledge. He left writing on politics, ethics, logic, biology, literature, and many other subjects. Additionally, Aristotle wrote in Document 5 that, “The custom branches of education are in number four; they are (1) reading and writing (2) gymnastics (3) music to which is sometimes added (4) drawing.” This textual evidence proves that major areas of Ancient Greece’s education focused on reading and writing, gymnastics, music, and drawing. These types of education were carried on as one of the many Ancient Greek legacies, and are still used and studied today. Another advancement of Ancient Greece was their type of government. Each city-state, like every country today, had different cultures/views, and, therefore, had different types of governments. However, most of Ancient Greece had a democracy, which is a type of government where every citizen has a say in important decision-making. For example, the Funeral Oration of Pericles states, “Our constitution is called a democracy because the power is in the hands not of minority but of the whole people.” Democracy is also another significant legacy, and in today’s society, it is still used in many countries. All in all, advancement in Ancient Greece played a major role in the past and the present way of life.
Ancient Greeks practiced oppression specifically on women and slaves. Back then, women had few rights and were considered ‘necessary’ only for the sole purpose of bearing men. The optimal Greek family during the time would have been made up of a husband, wife, many male children, and little to no female children, as they were viewed as a burden. In places like Athens, parents did not want girls since they were of little use to them, and males were considered more important than females. For instance, in Athens 20% of newborn girls were abandoned in places like garbage dumps. In addition, women did not have a say in anything, and did not have many rights and freedom. For example, in Document 3 Aristotle said, “But in all other matters, let it be her aim to obey her husband; giving no heed to public affairs, nor having any part in arranging the marriages of her children.” This means that men gave orders to their wives and that only husbands could decide their children’s marriage arrangements. Women were denied the freedom to own any property, choose whom they wanted to marry, or leave their homes without the permission of their husband. To further this idea, Aristotle also stated in Document 8 that, “Again, the male is by nature superior, and the female inferior; and the one rules, and the other is ruled; this principle, of necessity, extends to all mankind.” This showed that Ancient Greeks truly believed men ruled over women and were of more importance. Inequality was also shown between citizens and slaves. Slaves were treated cruelly and were lower on the ranking of social classes. For example, Plutarch said in Document 9 that, “They were owned by that state, not by individuals, and they were ruthlessly oppressed by their Spartan masters.” This quote proves that slaves were treated unequally and were considered ‘property,’ not humans. Even though inequality was unjust and did not necessarily benefit Ancient Greece, it was a significant part of their culture that shaped the way life was during that time era.
Although Ancient Greece was split up into many different city-states and had diverse cultures, they were still considered one civilization and had a good feeling of what it meant to be Greek. Some city-states were more agricultural based, while some were more military based. For example, Athens and Sparta were two completely different city-states, but both a part of Ancient Greece. Athens highly relied on trade, while Sparta relied completely on their military. Athens needed to trade in order to survive, so they needed to be able to communicate well with other civilizations. However, since Spartans dedicated their lives to their army and got goods and trade by conquering other city-states and civilizations, they did not need to communicate with places outside of their city-state, except when they attacked outside places. Spartans started training for the military at the age of six. Plutarch gives us an example of how serious Spartans were about their military when he said that, “First he toughened the girls physically by making them run and wrestle and throw the discus and javelin. Thereby their children in embryo would make a strong start in strong bodies and would develop better.” This states that the Spartans would do anything they could to make their men and army stronger, and dedicated their lives to it. Regionalism demonstrated how different city-states were, but how they were all a part of Ancient Greece.
In conclusion, regionalism, inequality, and advancement best define Ancient Greece. In Ancient Greece, men were superior to women and slaves. Men were of higher importance, while women ranked lower on the social class. Slaves were also treated unfairly, and were brutally harmed by people of a higher social class. In addition, Greece was advanced with their developed idea of a democratic government. Because of the mountainous geography, Ancient Greece was made up of city-states that had their own governments, values, army, and foreign affairs. To sum up, Ancient Greece can best be explained through its regionalism, inequality, and advancement characteristics.