Thesis on "Classical Periods Greek and Roman"

Thesis 5 pages (1655 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Classical periods, Greek and Roman

The classical period in ancient Greece starts with the fifth century BC and it lasts until 323, the year Alexander the Great died. The period is considered as the pick of the Greek civilization in every form of life. The most notable event at the beginning at the classical period in Greece was Persian War. The War was described in detail by Herodotus, the so called "father of history." Thucydides wrote extensively on the Peloponnesian War, Plutarch's historic account were mainly based on the lives of personalities in the public life. Most of the historic writings of those who lived during this period of extensive development of Greek culture and civilization are accounts on military events and leaders, especially those of Athens.

The Greek city states were in constant fight over domination of the Greek and they only joined forces to fight a common enemy. In this case, they will succeed in defeating one of Greece's most powerful enemies, the Persian Empire. The Persian War and the subsequent defeats of the Persian armies allowed the Greek city states to further their development untouched and fairly independent.

After the Greek-Persian wars, some of the Greek city states, named poleis, gathered to form alliances, either under the leadership of Athens or on the side of Sparta. The Greek city states were scattered all over the Greek territories by the hundreds and most of them were no larger than a village. The city states were establishing their status by allowing a large portion of public funds to be used for building common spaces. "As defined in these terms, the polis spread through the classical world, and was finally carried to its farthest geographical extent in ancient times as the Roman civitas as part of imperial policy. An aesthetically developed city was regarded by the Romans an instrument of civilization" (Pounds, 1969).

Although fairly autonomous, the Greek poleis were often unified leagues and some if them were permanently subjected to the most powerful: "Athens, for example, subjected the whole of Attica, and Sparta controlled the Laconian plain, and each reduced the earlier poleis to the status of demes, without necessarily changing their status or their functions"(idem). Archeological evidence proves that many poleis were built within fortified walls, on higher lands and were dominated by a fortress. The houses inside the city states were small and made out of adobe and wood, aligned along straight streets. The public spaces were formed by a square (agora) and several public buildings (idem).

Ponds cites Pausanias' description of the polis of Paponeus in Phocis and corroborates it with the accounts of other historians of the time to conclude that the Greek polis was generally defined by its public buildings where the citizens spent great deals of money and efforts, leaving the private homes much more modest by comparison.

David Braund uses the accounts of Thucydides and an "oligarchically-minded critic of the Athenian democracy" (Braund, 1994), form around 430-424 BC, to emphasize the degree of luxury, the Athenian demos was living in, compared to any other part of Greece. Athens had become a great maritime power and Athenians could enjoy all the fine goods from around the Mediterranean and Black Sea (idem). The Athenians were very careful to avoid any accusations of oligarchic tendencies. Regardless of the luxuries some of the wealthier citizens have possessed that the rest of the people could not afford, they were compelled to find ways to offer it for public enjoyment, otherwise they could be prosecuted. This was the case of one of the few who had peacocks and had to defend himself in front of a jury for not having made his precious possession more available to the public. The author of the article "The Luxuries of Athenian Democracy" looks into the plays of Aristophanes, for example, to find out about the anti-war propaganda made by those who favored he utopian dream of the Athenian democracy against the war-efforts necessary for the Peloponnesian War: "war has crippled trade, peace will bring a return to the good life"(Braund, 1994).

The way Athenian democracy was intended allowed the masses to enjoy what elsewhere in the Greek city states was considered only affordable to the privileged, thus setting the classes apart. The oligarch cited above points out that not only citizens, but also slaves and metics (foreigners and freed slaves) were able to participate into a life style that was considered luxurious for the time. Braund concludes his article with an observation on the effects the Peloponnesian war on the Athenian democracy ideal: "the Peloponnesian War was, in one sense, a conflict between an ideal of austerity and an ideal of shared luxury. That conflict both explains and informs the passing observation of Thucydides' Pericles and the rumina- tions of the Old Oligarch" (idem).

For aspects related to usual activities inside the house and he way the classical Greeks used to shed light upon the places where they needed it, one of the best ways is to refer to female activities. Due to the fact that they were spending an extended amount of time inside, being restricted in their participation in the public life, women needed lighting objects to perform their duties. The quarters they were confined in were usually receiving a limited amount of natural light, even during the day. The lighting object used most often was the lamp. On the other side, for the lighting outside the house, the Greeks used torches, which are associated with male activities. Eva Parisinou presents a red figure chous from the third quarter of the fifth century to indicate the role lighting had not only in its practical use, but also in its significance as delimitation between gender and social status: "The torch of the man, along with his nudity and lyre, represents the outside 'brighter' world of men. His outfit shares common traits with that of Athenian revellers as they appear on 5th- and 4th-century red-figure cups9 and as described in contemporary literature.'? His fierce way of banging the door of the house underlines his dominant role both outside and inside the oikos. On the other hand, the lamp combined with the woman's gesture and the enclosed space of the oikos (marked by the door, the doorstep, and the roof-tiles), allude to her dependent and obedient status" (Parisinou, 2000).

Classical Rome adopted many examples of the Greek civilization that was the most advanced in Europe at the time. Like in most of the Greek city states, there were no public schools, children being taught basic lessons in order to learn how to read write and some arithmetic at home. The Roman family was completely dominated by the oldest man in the house. The man of the house, paterfamilias, had he absolute rights over any other member of his family, including that of selling his children as slaves. Marriages were arranged between families and women were usually in their teen years, while men were usually over twenty-five.

The cloths the citizens of ancient Rome used were simple in form and followed the Greek style. The basic and most common form of clothing was the tunic. It was worn by most Romans and their slaves. The toga was another form of clothing, destined to separate free citizens from slaves and those who or not Roman citizens. It was made of a large semicircular woolen piece draped over the body, leaving one arm free. The textile industry was mainly employing slaves. Historic evidence indicates that there were trade guilds for the industry. The substances used for the dying of the various materials were mostly natural. One of the most expensive was the Tyrian purple dye (http://www.roman-empire.net/society/soc-dress.html).

The food in Roman classical time, between the seventh century BC and the end of the Roman… READ MORE

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