Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece The Golden Age A. B. C. Pericles 3 Goals for Athens 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. Commercial Empire 1. Enlarged wealth & power- strengthened Athens navy to have the strongest in the Mediterranean Sea. Glorifying Athens 1. Beautify Athens- used gold, ivory, and marble- built Parthenon to honor Athena. 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) 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. Philosophers Search for Truth B.

C. Plato 1. Student of Socrates who wrote The Republic (vision of a perfectly governed society). Aristotle 1. Student of Plato; came up with the idea of logic, or the science of reasoning.