Greek Democracy World History 10/24/16

Pericles Dominated Athens from 461 to 429 BC: Age of Pericles Skillful politician, inspiring speaker, respected general 3 goals: Strengthen Athenian democracy, hold and strengthen the empire, and glorify Athens

Strengthen democracy Paid public officials: opened up office to poor people Introduced direct democracy: citizens rule directly and not through representatives Famous speech: “The Funeral Oration”

Strengthen empire After defeat of Persians, Pericles helped make the Athenian navy the strongest in the Mediterranean As a result, Athens dominated other Greek regions Sparta was one of the few Greek city-states that resisted Athens

Glorifying Athens Pericles beautified Athens by buying gold, ivory, and marble Money went to artists to use the materials

Contained a giant statue of Athena The Parthenon Contained a giant statue of Athena Sculptors created classical art--- values of harmony, balance, order and proportion.

Greek Art/Music Greeks invented drama as an art form Built first theaters in the West Two kinds of drama: Comedy and Tragedy Tragedy: serious drama about love, hate, war, or betrayal Sophocles was most famous Greek playwright, wrote Antigone Comedy: crude humor, made fun of politics and famous people Herodutus became the first person to record history

This is Sparta! Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 B.C. Called the Peloponnesian Wars

 This is Sparta!!!

Peloponnesian Wars Athens Sparta Had stronger navy Waited to fight in the sea In 432, Athens was struck by the plague, killing one- third of the population Kept fighting until signing a truce in 421 B.C. Had stronger army Was located inland Made its way into Athenian territory Burned the Athenian food supply

P. Wars, continued 6 years after the truce, Athens sends 20,000 soldiers to destroy Syracuse, a Spartan ally Expedition was crushed Athens fought off Sparta for nine years, then finally submitted to Sparta in 404 B.C.

Legacy of the P. Wars Marked the end of the domination of Athens Started the end of the Golden Age of Greece