Golden Age of Athens (480-404 B.C.

)
Athens was a Greek city on the Attica peninsula in the heart of Greece. The Golden Age of
Athens started when the Greeks defeated the Persians during the Persian-Greco wars. The city
state of Athens rose to prominence in this post-war period and many of the cultural
achievements that we know of the Greeks today come from Athens success. Let’s discuss
cultural advances during Athens golden age and how these factors contribute to the Greek
civilization's lasting legacy. This essay will discuss Pericles, Greek religion, Greek architecture,
Greek drama and Greek philosophy.
During the golden age, Athenian military and external affairs were mostly entrusted to the ten
generals who were elected each year by citizens. Pericles was a great speaker; this quality
brought him tremendous success in the Assembly, presenting his vision of politics. He led the
city-state of Athens during the Golden Age of Athens. One of his most popular reforms was to
allow Athenians without wealth to occupy public office. Another success of his administration
was the creation of a special salary for the citizens that attended the courts as jurors (juri üzvü
məhkəmədə). This way, these citizens were able to dedicate themselves to public service
without facing financial hardship. With this system, Pericles succeeded in keeping the courts full
of jurors, and in giving the people experience in public life. As Athens' ruler, he made the city
the first and most important polis of the Greek world, acquiring a resplendent culture and
democratic institutions. He promoted the construction of public buildings and spaces. The most
famous of these was the Parthenon. The Parthenon was a temple dedicated to the Greek
goddess of wisdom Athena. Pericles ultimately died from the plague that spread through
Athens. There's some debate over whether it was the bubonic plague or something else but
ultimately this plague killed 25% of the population of Athens. Pericles also set up the Delian
League, which is an alliance of Greek city-states that countered Sparta and its allies.
Now let’s discuss Greek religion. Greeks followed a polytheistic religion in which they believed
in many gods. This belief system was similar to the Egyptians who believed in many gods.
Temples were dedicated to the gods in many Greek city-states. For example, in Athens the
temple is dedicated to Athena. In south of Athens there is a temple dedicated to the sea god
Poseidon, and in Olympia on the Peloponnese there is a temple dedicated to the god Zeus. The
most important temple was located in Delphi and this was dedicated to the god Apollo.
According the Greeks, the main gods lived on mount Olympus, which is the tallest mountain in
Greece.
Now let’s talk about Greek architecture during that period. The Greeks invented a very unique
style of architecture which is featured all over Athens and in particular on the Parthenon. There
are three types of columns that the Greeks were famous for and these include from simplest to
most complex: the Doric column, the Ionic column and the
Corinthian column. Another unique style of column is the Caryatid column which is of a
standing female figure.
These are found on the temple near the Parthenon on the acropolis. The band of statues below
the roof are called friezes. The frieze from the Parthenon in Athens was stolen by a British lord,
and it still remains controversially in the British museum in London. The Greeks have saved
space in the Acropolis museum for the return of it.
The Athenians and other Greek city-states performed drama. Drama in this case means the act
of writing, performing and producing plays. The theater next to the Parthenon on the acropolis
is called the theater of Dionysus. Plays are still performed in these theaters all over Greece. The
biggest one in Greece is called the Epidaurus theater on the south of Athens. These Greek
theaters exist all over the Hellenic world and they've also inspired theaters, such as the Greek
theater in Berkeley, California and the Greek theater in Los Angeles, California. There were no
female actresses in ancient Greece. All roles were played by men and the men wore masks that
were decorated to show emotions. Plays were sometimes a competition and the actors and
playwrights were rewarded. Just like we do today for the Oscars.
Greek philosophy directly means the love for wisdom. Ancient Greeks appreciated a good
argument or discussion with their friends about a variety of topics. These included how things
in nature function and deeper ideas such as the meaning of life. Socrates was a famous Greek
philosopher who lived in Athens. He questioned everything to the point where people got
annoyed with him. Socrates taught by asking his students questions. He had many famous
quotes such as: “An unexamined life is not worth living.”, “One thing only I know, and that is
that I know nothing”. Socrates met a tragic death as he was convicted of crimes by his enemies.
He drank hemlock (poisonous drink) while in prison and died. His teaching inspired other great
Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle.
The education of boys began in their own home up until the age of seven when they had to
attend school. There, they had several teachers who taught them to read and write, as well as
subjects such as math and music. Boys also were prepared for future military service with
activities such as wrestling, racing, jumping and gymnastics. At eighteen they served in the army
and were instructed on how to bear arms. Physical education was very intense and many of the
boys ended up becoming true athletes. In addition to these compulsory lessons, the students
had the chance to discuss and learn from the great philosophers, grammarians and orators of
the time. Some poor people had to stay at home and help their parents. However, Aristophanes
and Socrates, though they were poor, became famous and successful.
The primary role of free women in classical Athens was to marry and bear children. Married
women were responsible for the day-to-day running of the household. At marriage, they
assumed responsibility for the prosperity of their husband's household and the health of its
members. They would also have been responsible for caring for ill household members,
supervising slaves, and ensuring that the household had sufficient food. In classical Athenian
marriages, husband or wife could legally initiate a divorce. In some cases, Athenian women had
the same rights and responsibilities as Athenian men. However, like slaves, they were denied
political freedom, citizenship and voting rights being excluded from the law courts and
the Assembly.