Life and Politics in Ancient Greece

By any standard, ancient Greece had powerful influences on modern Western civilization, including its politics, architecture, philosophy, art, language as well as science and mathematics. It is therefore important to determine how these influences emerged and what effects they had on the ancient Greeks that translated into a legacy for Western civilization today. To this end, the purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion concerning the cultural, geographic and political reasons for the rise of the polis, an examination of the major differences in the way Athenian and Spartan society was organized and the main causes, course, and consequences of the Peloponnesian War on Greek society. In addition, an analysis concerning whether Alexander the Great a visionary of globalization or a brutal, bloody conqueror is followed by a summary of the research and important points about ancient Greece in the conclusion.

Discuss the cultural, geographic, and political reasons for the rise of the polis.

It is not too difficult for people today to imagine what life in ancient Greece must have been like because their world was also a hostile place replete with natural disasters and humanmade conflict, especially with the Persians and the Macedonians. It is little wonder, then, that the ancient Greeks huddled together in city-states called poleis for their mutual protection and to facilitate trade (Cole and Symes 2020).

Besides mutual protection, there were some cultural reasons for the formation of the poleis as well, including the mountainous terrain of Greece which essentially forced people to live together in relatively secure enclaves of the poleis. This tendency for Greeks of the same locale to live together in city-states also translated into the emergence of significant cross-cultural and political differences between the people of different Greek poleis (Cole and Symes 2020).

What were the major differences in the way Athenian and Spartan society was organized?

The Athenians were organized as a qualified democratic society (e.g., only certain men could vote or run for office). In this regard, Cole and Symes report that, In the decades before the Persian Wars, political reforms in Athens had continued to encourage experiments in democracy (97). It is noteworthy that the democratic experiments that were engaged in by the Athenians did not include greater political power for women, and these decades actually witnessed a decline in the...

…was also a brutal, bloody conqueror when needed. While it is true that Alexanders reign was one long war campaign, it is also true that in sharp contrast to his most of his contemporaries, he recognized that it was easier to reign over other countries when they were allowed to continue their own preferred lifestyles, including their culture and religion.

Conclusion

The research showed that the reasons for the formation of the Greek poleis included the need for mutual protection and the mountainous terrain of Greece. The research also showed that the Athenians were organized as a democratic society, while Spartan society retained a dual monarchy. The Peloponnesian War was caused by the increase in power and political influence of Athens and the concomitant increase in military power on land by Sparta. The events of the 4th century BCE resulted in the diminished military power and political influence of the Greek city-states which made them vulnerable to outside threats, such as the invasion of the Macedonian king, Philip II as well as his son, Alexander the Great. Finally, the point is made that Alexander the Great was a visionary, but he was also a brutal, bloody…