Ancient Greece

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Ancient Greece

• The Golden Age

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Pericles 3 Goals for Athens
A. Stronger Democracy 1. Increased the
number of paid public officials allowing
anyone to hold office. 2. Direct democracy- form
of government where citizens rule directly.
B. Commercial Empire 1. Enlarged wealth
power- strengthened Athens navy to have the
strongest in the Mediterranean Sea.
C. Glorifying Athens 1. Beautify Athens-
used gold, ivory, and marble- built Parthenon
to honor Athena.
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The Peloponnesian War
1. Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 BC.
2. Athens had the better navy, while Sparta had
the better army.
3. 2nd year of war- plague killed 1/3 Athens
population, including Pericles.
4. 415 BC Athenian military defeated in Sicily
at Syracuse.
5. 404 BC Athens and its allies surrender.
6. 27 years of war Athens loses empire, power,
and wealth (confidence in democratic
government began to falter)
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Philosophers Search for Truth
?Philosophers- lovers of wisdom based
philosophies on 1) universe is in an orderly way
and subject to absolute and unchanging laws 2)
people can understand these laws through logic
and reason.
A. Socrates 1. Believed absolute
standards did exist for truth and justice
encouraged Greeks to question themselves and
their moral character. 2. Poisoned himself after
being imprisoned for corrupting the youth of
Athens.
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Philosophers Search for Truth
B. Plato 1. Student of Socrates who wrote
The Republic (vision of a perfectly governed
society).
C. Aristotle 1. Student of Plato came up
with the idea of logic, or the science of
reasoning.