Athens and Philosophy 10 08 2012 Agora center marketplace open forum of debate Socrates and the birth of philosophy Ethical questions science etc Socrates focused on the fundamental truths the way one should live one s life and ontological question The birth of philosophy at Athens maybe because democracy gave them more open minds or maybe other way around Athenian and Socrates loved conversation conversation and debate Thrived in Agora Not a political person himself Did his duty as a citizen Served on the Council of 500 Not really interested in law making and speeches in the assembly etc Interested in fundamental question nature of knowledge the right way to live one s life Is democracy a good thing at all He had plenty of criticism Seen through writings of Plato his student Uneducated rabble people without high school education were still able to vote Criticized the Sophists the most Sophists were intellectuals Very prominent Connected with the importance of oratory and persuasion Socrates thought it was not okay to argue the wrong argument in a persuasive way Sophists were very powerful Taught people how to make speeches for money Corresponds with Peloponnesian War Socrates was interested in the well being of his community and fellow citizens Gave too much power to demagogues who could convince assemblies to do different things Athens almost lost its existence Allegory of the Cave a metaphor for the polis and the role of education People chained and cannot move for the whole lives Heads are faced toward wall Fire behind them Can only see shadows on the wall People are holding up objects puppets and such that are making shadows on the wall They hear the sounds of the puppeteers They think that the shadows are reality One person breaks free of his chains and goes into the open air in the sunlight Someone forced him to do this Once he gets outsides he sees real trees and real horses and he realizes he s been missing this all of his life He wants to spend the rest of his life outside The people stuck inside the chains are the people of the polis What is philosophy for To enlighten to educate to make people better not the most important thing Plato opens passage by saying let us create an image of the state and the role of education in the state People need to be made better for the sake of the community they live in Can make community better and in turn make themselves better Athens was a wealthy imperial city It was wealth and disposable income that made Athens a city of art etc Democratic constitution that encouraged intellectual debate No way to disconnect the creativity to political background People believe that Athens lost the war because Athens got too greedy Question of class and such Great Panathenaia festival every four years Great festival in honor of Athena patron god of Athens Huge parade through the streets Presented statue a new robe to wear Wasn t just religious Was political Representatives from all over Athenian empire Witnessed Athens and its glory Statue and temple are greatest accomplishment of classical art and architecture Not art for art s sake Art for the polis and empire Greece after the Peloponnesian War 10 08 2012 Athens had to surrender unconditionally Implied to them that their state could seize to exist The Spartans preserved it The hated Athenian empire was lead by the Spartans Spartan hegemony Replaced governments with Spartan constitutions Spartans thought democracy was too unpredictable Installed oligarchies Happened in Athens also Lead to rebelliousness Civil War inside Athens Democratic constitution was restored in 399 BCE Athenians were looking for a scapegoat to blame They focused on Socrates Came under serious suspicion Critias was a horrible oligarch who lead Athens into a terror Athenians remembered that Critias was a follower of Socrates and they held that against Socrates Socrates was executed Socrates was a great example Devoted to the polis He did not want to disobey the laws of Athens and he felt an obligation to obey the law Marks the end of the Golden Age time of great cultural achievement and war and struggle Sparta came out on top But Greek warfare continued Sparta s leader position was never firmly in control Corinth and Thebes were Sparta s allies but they didn t want to do away with Athens completely Incessant struggles continued Never at peace with each other except if struggle from outside example Persia Legacy of disunity Persia had a great influence on the Greek world Was possible because Persia was very rich They could do whatever they wanted If Greeks united they could take some of Persia Has an interest because he sees that they caused issues before King wants Greeks to stay focuses on their own internal troubles King s Peace 386 BCE all Greek cities were required to be involved with this Spartans got the king to send a decree to the Greeks and demand they make peace under the terms Includes mutual non interference Have to pay deference to king of Persia if they violate the king will violate them himself Persian king becomes Greek peacemaker Only asks that all Persian cities remain Persian cities Includes Greek cities in Ionia Greeks are giving up on dream of ruling Greek Ionia King s peace becomes umbrella Have to respect each other s autonomy and freedom Low grade conflict still continues Theban Hegemony 371 362 BCE Defeated Spartans in a land battle Broke up Spartan territory State was created for the helots called Messene Athens was still around Had its own hegemony Rebuilt part of its own empire as a commercial trading system Second Athenian Sea League Athens still had to pledge to respect of their autonomy Had a military aspect Didn t stop Athens from seeing themselves as the national leaders of the Greeks The rise of Macedon King was Philip II 359 336 BCE Spartans never yielded to Macedon Macedon was on the Northern fringes of Greek world Seen as barbaric Greeks distrusted Macedonians Polis never has a king and Macedonians had a king Macedonian was a staging ground for the Persians during the Persian wars Never took Macedonians seriously Philip showed that he was very effective Solidified control of the upper highland regions Expanded to west and east Often not having the fight to take over Expert at getting what he wanted by non military means Used wealth trickery marriage diplomacy Had a household full of wives Retrained new force of military Macedonian phalanx but much more effective Had huge spears New