1- the Phonecians taught the Greeks how to apply their alphabet writing system to the spoken language of Greece

2- Books, plays, epics start to become written

1- because of rising populations and need for fertile land

1- the hoplite was a heavily armed infantry soldier

2- the hoplite phalanx was a formation of hoplites trained to move and act in unison

E- Greek city-states developed constitutions and democracy

1- Some city-states turned to tyrants while some turned to democracies during this time

1- Athens constitution developed over many years and in many forms, to eventually guarantee equality under law for all citizens

2- Solon was elected archon in 594 B.C. to reform the government and establish a constitution for Athens

a- he eliminated debt and slavery, and restructured the government giving more power to landless classes

3- After Solon retired, Athens was seized by the tyrant Peisistratos and later, his son, Hippias

4- The Athenians threw out Hippias in 510 B.C. and elected Cleisthenes

While reading the speech it is obvious that there is a contradiction between Pericles' definition of democracy and the reality of how democracy was practiced in Athens. Pericles' views of democracy are very idealized and he tends not to address the reality that there is inequality in Athens, there is discrimination in Athens, and not every man is considered equal in Athens. Although these realities exist Pericles completely ignores them in his speech. I believe that Pericles is not blind to these issues that face him everyday, rather he believes that the pure and fundamental idea of democracy is more important then how it is practiced. Pericles argues that at the heart of Athens lies democracy and from democracy sprouts greatness. If democracy were looked upon as a flawed system of government then the greatness of Athens would die. This idea can easily be related to our own form of government which has contained contradictions throughout its history yet we still support!

2- Religion and government were linked

The speech also gives us insight to the relationship between the Athenian citizens and nature. The speech gives us a picture that the Athenians were not at the mercy of nature and did not live in fear wondering what danger nature would have in store for them next. The speech gives us a picture of a society who does not place religion high on their priority list. Combing these two views of Athenian life we can make an assumption that this is not a society who revolves their daily life's around nature or religion rather this is a society that centers their life's around themselves. Everything is done for the people in Athens. They have a government run by the people, worldwide trade run by the people, and the people are given credit for making the city great, not their Gods. This is also a time when men attempted to explain the world around them through science not through religious stories or great epics. This is significant because this is a time when man is putting le!

Kagan, Donald, and Steven Ozment, Frank Turner. The Western Heritage: Volume 1 to 1715. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.

2- 490 BCE first Persian War- Athenians defeat Persians at Marathon

2- Athenian Democracy reaches perfection

3- 480 BCE second Persian War- Persia destroys Athens

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Approximate Word count = 1888
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)