Ancient Greece and Democracy and Culture
Part 2
The Golden Age of Pericles (5th century B.C.)
In the 5th century BC, the city of Athens is growing rapidly. The city of the Goddess Athena, under the leadership of the famous Pericles, will experience the greatest glory any city would ever know.
Pericles will be the one to highlight it and through his policies, Athens will enter the so-called “Golden Age”.
Parliament, Arios Pagos, theaters, arts, concepts that will not only affect all of Greece but will shape the entire world as it is today.
The most important of all, of course, and what shows that the culture of Athens has reached its peak, is the birth of democracy. During this time,
huge works will be created that will radically change the image of the city and the history of not only Greece but the whole world.
Many leading Greeks will live in this period, Sophocles (496 – 406 BC), the great writer of tragedies from Athens,
Euripides (480 – 406 BC) also, Thucydides (460 – 395 BC) X.), a leading Greek historian, Aristophanes (450 – 380 BC), perhaps the greatest comedian poet of Ancient Athens and many, many others.
In addition to Athens, another important culture will be developed during this period in Northern Greece, in Thrace.
The kingdom of Odryssos will experience a heyday from 470 to 47 BC, where Thrace will fall under Roman rule.
Apollo from the west gable of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia is an outstanding example of the art of the Classical Age.
However, the top monument that still inspires admiration today is the one erected in honor of the Goddess Athena.
Iktinos and Kallikrates were the architects, while Pheidias was the one who did the sculptural decoration.
This monument that was built from 447 to 432 B.C. will characterize all of Greece. In 432 BC, the Parthenon arrives and is completed.
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Not without reason, the Parthenon is a unique building. Built of Pentelic marble, it dominates the Holy Rock of the Acropolis
. It is a unique temple in the Doric style. The Parthenon will be the trademark of Greece from now on.
It will be able to connect with all phases of the country’s history and from this, you can understand how many people were connected with this very historical building of unique beauty.
Later it will be looted, it will be remodeled, it will be bombed, it will be destroyed, it will go through difficulties,
but beyond all that it will manage to stay alive and continue to stand tall and show to all Greeks and others that Greeks have done great things and continue to become great.
A very important part of the Parthenon is the frieze, a zone of relief depictions. The procession of the Panathenaeans was depicted in Zoforos with a total length of 160 meters. Deities, men, chariots, horses and animals cover most of it.
The eastern frieze is the most important, as here we see the climax of the procession and the handing over of the veil, i.e.
the gift of the Athenians to the Goddess Athena. At the same time, we see the gods of Olympus. The Parthenon also consists of the pediments, which had a triangular shape.
They were shiny and the last to receive the sculptural decoration. Other important parts of the Parthenon are the metopes.
After a series of actions, this unique structure was severely damaged and parts of it are scattered all over the world. England is where most of the Parthenon sculptures are located.
They also took one of the 6 “daughters” of the Erechtheion, namely the Caryatids. The Erechtheion will be named after King Erechtheus because, according to mythology,
he had his residence on this spot. There would be this peculiar but unique building, built between 425 and 406
The old days for Athens are over and the “Thirty Tyrants” will take over who re Pro-Laconian politicians.
Gradually there is a break in relations between Sparta and Corinth, with the result that Greece enters into a new war known as the Boeotian or Corinthian War,
while a few years later Athens participates in a new war called the “Ally” because it was between Athens and the cities of the Second Athenian Alliance.
The result of all these wars was ultimately negative, as the morale of the Greeks fell and a negative climate prevailed in general. In fact, before the Allied War
the “Antalcidean Peace” was signed, a humiliating treaty for the Greeks that showed their weariness from the many battles they had fought among themselves, as especially the Asia Minor Campaign had somewhat failed.
In the years of the Peloponnesian War, however, another of the Seven Wonders of the World was erected.
The work of the sculptor Pheidias, the “Statue of Olympian Zeus” was the cult statue of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia. Zeus is reported to have reached a full 12 meters.
Made of ivory, gold and precious stones. During the Byzantine years it is transported to Constantinople and was not destroyed by the Christians, but by barbarians.
The temple of Olympian Zeus will also experience the catastrophe. From then on, it remains unknown what exactly happened to this colossal statue, which is believed to have been destroyed by fire.
Xenophon (427 – 355 BC) and Plato (427 – 347 BC), the first historian and philosopher, the second philosopher and writer, were born in the same period.
Both are said to have left their mark on Greek culture and ancient Greek history.
During the Classical Period, we observe unique works. One of them is Victory of the Peony, which is a true masterpiece.
The perfection and elegance of the sculptural works can be seen in all the sculptures found during this period. Eirini(peace) and Ploutos(wealth) is another typical example.
The expression and technical representation have led to it being considered one of the most wonderful works of the time. Undoubtedly,
the work, which is not without reason considered the diamond of the classical era in Olympia, is the only authentic work by Praxiteles preserved.
It is the Ermes of Praxiteles, made of Parian marble in 330 BC. The tombstone of Hegis (410 BC) is also one of the most important works of the classical period in Kerameikos.
Before the end of the Classical Period Aristotle was born (384 – 322 BC). Born in Chalkidiki, Aristotle, the creator of logic,
was a great philosopher and his teaching was so intense that it influenced not only the ancient world but also the modern one
Athens became a naval superpower. But of course, Piraeus was the one that housed the Athenian triremes.
Athens was connected to Piraeus by the strong walls that were built and known as the “Long Walls”! Themistocles was the one who acted decisively to create the city of Piraeus.
The classical age gave Athens a unique period in which it acted radically throughout the world. Thus it may be the most radiant of civilizations, but it will soon begin to decline.
Its rapid growth will draw hostile eyes to it, which will try, and later succeed, in stopping it. It is a fact that the Spartans were frightened by the most important development of the city of Athens during the Classical years.
The Spartans were looking for a way to start their actions to achieve what they wanted, which was omnipotence.
The cause is not long in coming and is given by the people of Corfu. The well-known rivalry between the Corinthians and the Corfiotes reappears, this time over Epidamnos (Durres),
which was a colony of the Corfiotes but was given to the former. Later they reclaimed Epidamnos and asked for the Athenians’ help. The naval battle of Sivota in 433 BC marks the beginning of the Peloponnesian War,
which will eventually begin 2 years later. Eventually, all this is enough for Sparta, with the support of the Corinthians, to declare war on Athens, which will last a full 27 years, from 431 to 404 BC.
The Golden Age of Pericles is finally over and the Greece of the Classical Period enters one of the most intense periods of its history.
The war he will witness is to be the greatest he has ever known. At the same time, civil wars break out and entire civilizations collapse.
A typical example of this is Corfu, where after the event there was a chaotic situation that led not only to massacres but also to total destruction.
The Peloponnesian War is divided into a total of 3 phases in the Archidamus War (431 – 421 BC) which ends with the Nicene Peace,
in the Sicilian campaign which ends with the great destruction of Athens in Syracuse and finally in the Dekele War ( 413 – 404 BC)
where the Peloponnesian War ends with the occupation of Athens after the intervention of Persia in favor of Sparta.
The next day finds Athens under Spartan rule. The Peloponnesian War managed to radically change the course of history.
It was probably the most destructive in the ancient world, and it involved Greeks from every area known at the time.
This means that no part of Hellenism remained untouched.
At this time another kingdom will reach its prime, the kingdom of Epirus, or as it is called, the kingdom of the Molossians.
This developed mainly from 424 BC and held its power until 167 BC, only to be destroyed by Roman forces.
The kingdom of the Molossians was a reality thanks to Neoptolemus of the Trojan War, who was the son of Achilles
and it seems that he settled in Epirus after the end of the events in Troy, with the result that this culture developed from generation to generation to one of its most important classical eras
. At the same time, there is not much time left before he makes the connection with the greatest Greek ruler and unique culture.
But near the end of this Golden Age, the Greeks were literally tired. They had managed to lose their strength, morale and courage,
with the immediate result of humiliating agreements. Would so glorious a time end so ignominiously? And yet not!
Even before 360 B.C, there is activity in the regions of Northern Greece. But Philip II will be the inspirer of a new idea, which was uniting all Hellenism
. It is a very bold idea that he will implement with his accession to the throne in 359 BC. From that moment on, this particular kingdom will sovereignly seek to unite all the Greek city-states under its hegemony and create a panhellenic alliance.
This kingdom will be able to bring Greek culture back to its height and “bring back” Hellenism after the shock of years of wars. Undoubtedly, the “Kingdom of Macedonia” has appeared as if by a God at the most opportune moment,
so that it will manage to lay the foundation for the course and development of all Greece through a huge and one of the most important civilizations in the years to come.
The rise of Philip II automatically marks the beginning of the Macedonian Empire, which would culminate in the days of the greatest person in Ancient Greek History, Alexander the Great.
