World History 1 (new): History of the Peloponnesian War

YU 1

Agnes Yu

Period 7

World History

01 / 30 / 15

The greatnesses of Athens

First of all, the big idea is about the government and how efficient the system was

because the government brought Athens a good reputation of living, and they were the first city

which has democracy. Secondly, the author focuses on the spirit in which they lived that is how

they lived with freedom while following the laws and showing appropriate behaviors. For the

last idea, it is one of the most important reasons why Athens could be great and bring the amount

of effects to the world, because they opened to the world and have been a great model to other

cities. In the History Of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides gave the amount of evidence in the

Pericles' Funeral Oration to prove how Athens was great in its government and their way of life.

The ancestors have given the new generation of Athens a free country. The offsprings

would have a lot of spaces to create their own governmental systems and laws to make Athens a

better place to live. Also, Athens was the only city which has democracy, which means the

control of the city is not only in the hands of government but also the educated citizens. "I

shall begin by speaking about our ancestors … by their courage and their virtues, have handed it

on to us, a free country” (Thucydides, 144, 36, 5-6). The ancestors provided the new generation a

free system of living, it supports the idea that if the city has a lot of freedom, they could build

their own government and laws, and that is how democracy works, the educated citizens and

only (men) could have power to give their own opinions on how the government is going to

work. But this is enough, because at least the government allowed the people outside of it to

bring their point of view. "And then we ourselves … added to the power of our empire and have

organized our State in such a way that it is perfectly well able to look after itself both in peace

and in war”. (Thucydides, 145, 36, 10-13) One thinks that on this is the laws and rules organized

Athens greatly and made them as strong as an unit that sticks together. To be more specific, what

the government did to Athens actually raise them well and let them became an independent city,

thus what Thucydides trying to say is that the city was strong enough to take a good care of

itself, when there is no war, the city brought the citizens a peaceful environment to live, when

there is a war, they city was capable to protect the Athenians. This is how Thucydides showed the

readers a great and well-grown Athens, the symbol of grandeur. Thucydides said: “Our

constitution is called a democracy power is in the hands not only of a minority but of the whole

people" (Thucydides, 145, 37, 3-5). Athens was the only city who had democracy, they had

freedom talk, and it was not like other cities that only a few people could give the opinions on

government, but the whole people could do so in Athens. However, this gave the people enough

space to consider how the city is going to settle down.

The laws and rules brought the Athenians life and settled them peacefully, how they lived

with freedom while following all the laws and acting appropriate behaviors. private lives: but in

public affairs we keep to the law. This is because it commands our deep respect” (Thucydides,

145, 37, 16-18). Thucydides describes how the Athenians could be respectful to their city and

government, following the laws with no complaints and living with freedom without any

inappropriate behaviors were part of those people's life. This is how the citizens were faithful on

the government and showed their city with great respect and polite. The Athenians' public

behavior is something people should learn from as well, people nowadays are being rude in front

of public and saying bad words without thinking how others would feel, from Athens, you could

learn a lot of good behaviors. Secondly, do not think that their life was strict and full of unhappy,

the "freedom" also gave them space to have fun and entertainment. "When our work is over, we

are in a position to enjoy all kinds of reaction for our spirits”(Thucydides, 146, 38, 1-2), it means

that the citizens could have a lot of choices, they could have their private space to do anything

that would help their spirit of life when their work is done. Another important thing is that while

they were having a lot of fun, they never forgot to obey the laws and played by the rules, this

showed how their governmental system had its dignity and how the Athenians were loyal to their

government. "Our love of what is beautiful not lead to extravagance" (Thucydides, 147, 40, 1),

what Thucydides means by that is how the Athenians were modest and were not driven greed by

the fancy materials but lived their lives normal and simple. This supports the idea of how Athens

was keep going in the right direction; the "right direction" means honest and modest. Athens was

an independent city: they did not copy any governmental systems or anything else from other

cities, all the time they were being the best and giving the best to the citizens, Athens was the one

who has been a great model to other cities and gained knowledge from around the world.

"It is more the case of our being a model to others, than of our imitating anyone

else” (Thucydides, 145, 37, 2-3).Athenians thought of themselves as a great model to other cities

instead of copying any cultures from others. The way of their life affected many cities thus those

cities wanted to have the same way of living as Athens, and this good feedbacks brought Athens

a good reputation. Thucydides also said: “Then the greatness of our city brings it about that all

good things … local products” (Thucydides, 146, 38, 5-8). The great Athens gained different

knowledge, cultural products from around the world, and because of that they could have all

those things as their owns, to be more specific, because they were open to the world, they meant

to learn and buy new things, when they had all those things together, Athenians enjoyed the

products just like enjoy their own local products. Another quote of evidence is "We make friends

by doing good to others, not by receiving good from them” (Thucydides, 147, 40, 24-25). Athens

made friends from all over the world, making friends was also an important part to be successful.

They collected cultural products, but how would they do that? One thinks that is they could be

trusted, they did good to others and didn't expect any goods from others, they were giving all the

time and being nice to all the people, this action could gain trust from the other cities and people,

they put trust into people's mind and built the business bridges with other countries, and those

reliable and trustful friendships would last forever, and because of that, Athens could have

variety products and enjoyed them as their owns.

Athens brought a great amount of positive aspects to Greece, as what Thucydides said

before, what made Athens great was their way of life, the governmental system and how they

were being a commendable model to other cities. In this article, Thucydides uses a bunch of

evidences to prove that idea which is “What made Athens great?” For the first one it was more

focus on the democracy, the government and the laws, and how efficient they were. In the second

section, it is more interesting to talk more about the way of Athenians’ life, because they enjoyed

freedom while they were following the laws. For the last main point, what has been explained

about is how Athens was a great model to others instead of copying any cultural systems from

other cities, also, Thucydides talked about how they were open to the world as well, and that is

included in this essay. Nowadays, countries from all over world have democracy, but compare to

the ancient one, modern democracy has a lot of differences no matter on the aspect of

participation or judges, it is because Athenian democracy was exclusive. Therefore, in the future,

the readers would like to know more about how modern democracy is based on the ancient one,

and how they are different as well.thens brought a great amount of positive aspects to Greece, as what Thucydides said

before, what made Athens great was their way of life, the governmental system and how they

were being a commendable model to other cities. In this article, Thucydides uses a bunch of

evidences to prove that idea which is “What made Athens great?” For the first one it was more

YU 5