Golden Ages of Athens

Fifth century BC Athens was one of the first societes to have a golden age.Philosophy ,or
literally the searching for truth ,was born with philosophers like Protagoras ,Socrates and
Plato.
Hippocrates ,the father of medicine,the historian Herodotus and others began the systematic
study of the world.With the playwrights Sophocles ,Aescylus and Euripides came the birth of
serious drama in western culture ,attracting thousands to see their masterful tragedies and
comedies.Sculpture and painting both flourished and a great programme of public building was
under taken ,culminating in the magnificent temple of the Parthenon.
Why did this all happen in Athens and not somewhere else ? To start with ,Athens could afford
it.The city state of Athens was the greatest trading centre in the Mediterranean with an empire
which provided plentiful food and other goods.Rich Athenian citizens had plenty of time for
leisure and culture as most of the work in the city was done by slaves and much of the business
and trade tracle conducted by metics or foreigners .Many of these foreigners ,such as
Gerodotus ,were drawn to the cultural magnet of Athens and played role in the cultural life of
the city .
Socially,Athens was in a period of transition between a conservative ,aristocratic society and an
urban ,commercial society in which citizens were equal by law.Athens became the first direct
democracy in history where major political decisions were taken by large numbers of citizen.At
the same time,Athenian society was moving away from the old beliefs in the gods and ancient
myths towards values based on rationality and a belief in human nature.

Zlatno doba Atine

U petom vijeku prije nove ere ,Atina je bila jedna od prvih zajednica koja je imala zlatno
doba.Filozofija ili bukvalno Traenje istine je roena sa prvim filozofima kao Protagora,Sokrat
I Platon.Hipokrat otac medicine istoriar Herodot I drugi poeli su sistematska uenja
svijeta.Sa pozorinim komadima Sofokla,Aeschulus-a I Euripedea dolo je do roenja ozbiljne
drame u zapadnoj kulturi,privlaedi hiljade ljudi da vide njihove velianstvene tragedije I
komedije.Skulpture I slikanje su procvetali I sjajni program javnih graevina bio je obuhvaden I
kulminirajudi u sjajne hramove Partenona.
Zato se ovo desilo u Atini ,a ne bilo gdje ? Poedemo sa tim da je Atina to mogla da
prijuti.Grad-drava Atina je bila najvedi trgovinski centar u Mediteranu sa carstvom koje je
imalo raznovrsnu hranu I druga dobra.Bogati graani Atine su imali puno vremena za dokolicu I
kulturu jer je vedina poslova u gradu zavravana od strane robova I vedina biznisa I trgovine
obavljena od strane metijanaca ili stranaca.Mnogi od ovih stranaca ,kao Herodot, bili su
privueni kulturnim magneto Atine I I igrali su znaajnije uloge u kulturnom ivotu grada .
Drutveno,Atina je bila u periodu tranzicije izmeu konzervativnog ,aristokratskog drutva I
urbanog,komercijalnog drutvakod koga su graani bili zakonski jednaki.Atina je postal prva
diektna demokratija u istoriju,gdje su glavne politike odluke ,odluene od strane velikog broja
graana . U isto vrijeme ,Atinsko drutvo se micalo od starog vjerovanja u bogovei druge mitove
I ilo je prema vrijednostima zasnovanim na racionalnosti I vjeri u ljudsku prirodu.