They created our traditions of philosophy, theater, architecture, rhetoric, and democracy, and in an extremely compressed period of time. And there weren’t that many of them: maybe 300,000, of whom maybe 170,000 were citizens.
What made Athens so successful?
Athens developed democratic institutions and a culture of philosophy, science, and culture; it emerged as a powerful state and allied with other city-states, forming the Delian League. Resistance to Athens’ power among the other Greek city-states, particularly Sparta, prompted the Peloponnesian War.
Who is smarter Athens or Sparta?
Sparta is far superior to Athens because their army was fierce and protective, girls received some education and women had more freedom than in other poleis. First, the army of Sparta was the strongest fighting force in Greece.
Why was Athens more powerful than Sparta?
Athens was better than Sparta because, it had a better government, education system, and had more cultural achievements. One element of Athens that made it the better city-state was the government.
Why did Athens have a better education?
The primary purpose of Athenian education was to produce thinkers, people well-trained in arts and sciences, people prepared for peace or war. Young Athenian boys were tutored at home until the age of six or seven, and then they were sent to neighborhood schools for primary education until they were 14 years of age.
What made ancient Athens a city of genius?
They brought us democracy, science, philosophy, written contracts, taxes, writing, and schools.
Why was ancient Greece so powerful?
The period of colonisation succeeded the Trojan War and led to Greek cities growing significantly in power and influence as their revenues increased and their navies and armies were further developed.
How did the Spartans fall?
Spartan political independence was put to an end when it was eventually forced into the Achaean League after its defeat in the decisive Laconian War by a coalition of other Greek city-states and Rome, and the resultant overthrow of its final king Nabis, in 192 BC.
Why did Athens and Sparta hate each other?
Cultural Differences. Part of the reason for the rift between Athens and Sparta was that they were technically two different cultures. The Athenians were part of a group known as the Ionian Greeks whereas the Spartans were Dorians. The names come from the dialect of Greek they spoke.
Was Sparta or Athens more powerful?
Of all the ancient Greek city-states, no two were more powerful or famous than Athens and Sparta, which were both located on the Greek peninsula. There are many differences between Athens and Sparta. Named after the Greek goddess Athena, Athens was the more educated and intellectually inclined society.
Who is Sparta’s God?
For example, Athena, the patron goddess for Athens was worshiped for her reason, intelligence, arts and literature while Ares, the patron god for Sparta was worshiped for his violent ways being the god of war. Ares represented Sparta’s militaristic ways and strong warriors.
Which God did Athens worship?
Athena
Syracuse, like Athens, worshipped Athena.
Why did Greek men keep their bodies in shape?
Men were encouraged to exercise regularly to maintain the manly beauty of their bodies, as any sign of weakness or flabbiness was seen as effeminate and undesirable.
What did girls learn in Athens?
Girls were mostly taught by their mothers in the comfort of their own homes. They learnt things like motherhood and housekeeping. Girls were also allowed to take part in sports such as wrestling. This was because parents were afraid girls would be spoiled if they learnt how to read.
How did Athens treat their slaves?
Q: How were slaves in Athens treated? Slaves in ancient Greece were treated like pieces of property. For Aristotle they were ‘a piece of property that breathes’. They enjoyed different degrees of freedom and were treated kindly or cruelly depending on the personality of the owner.
Did Athens ever fall?
Impact of the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War marked the end of the Golden Age of Greece, a change in styles of warfare and the fall of Athens, once the strongest city-state in Greece. The balance in power in Greece was shifted when Athens was absorbed into the Spartan Empire.
What caused Athens to fall?
Some of the most influential factors that affected Athens’ rise and fall were their form of government, their leadership, and their arrogance. Athens’ democracy greatly affected their rise and collapse because it helped them rise to power, but it also caused them to make bad choices, leading to their fall.
When was Athens at its peak?
The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles. Delian League (“Athenian Empire”) shown in yellow, Athenian territory shown in red, situation in 431 BC, before the Peloponnesian War.
Why were Greeks and Romans so advanced?
The Romans achieved high levels of technology in large part because they borrowed technologies from the Greeks, Etruscans, Celts, and others. With limited sources of power, the Romans managed to build impressive structures, some of which survive to this day.
How did Greek empire fall?
Conflict and competition between city-states broke down a sense of community in Greece. The Germanic tribes of Northern Europe (e.g., Visigoths and Ostrogoths) became strong military forces and attacked the Empire, conquering Rome in 456.
What made Greece strong?
The country’s mountainous terrain, many isolated valleys, and numerous offshore islands encouraged the formation of many local centers of power, rather than one all-powerful capital. Another key factor influencing the formation of city-states rather than kingdoms was the Mediterranean.