Ancient Greek Architecture and Classical Period Civilization

Classical Period (5th and 4th Centuries BC)

The Greco-Persian Wars and Athenian Imperialism

At the beginning of the 5th century BC, the Greeks faced a threat from the Persians, whose empire extended to Lydia, the Greek cities of Asia Minor, Egypt, Thrace and Macedonia, controlling important wheat-supplying regions. In 492 BC, the Persians attacked mainland Greece directly, and the Athenians defeated them at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), providing proof of the superiority of hoplite combat. In another invasion, the Persians were defeated by Athens again in the naval battle of Salamis (480 BC), and at the Battle of Plataea by the forces allied with Athens and Sparta.

To defend the poleis of the Aegean Sea and the new possessions of Asia Minor from Persian invasions, Athens organized a league of cities under its leadership, called the Delian League (477 BC). All member cities contributed men, ships and money to the League's treasury, located on the island of Delos. Even when the danger of Persian attacks diminished, Athens did not allow any city in the League to withdraw, thus becoming an imperialist city. The symbol of this transformation was the transfer of the seat and treasury of the Delian League to Athens in 454 BC, its resources being used for the reconstruction and beautification of the city and the improvement of the living standards of its population.

Slavery and Democracy in the Time of Pericles (460–429 BC)

During the government of Pericles, who held the position of chief strategist for 30 years, Athens reached the apex of its political and cultural life, making it the most prominent city-state in Greece. Athenian economic prosperity was based on silver mined from the Laurium mountains and on the contributions charged to the members of the Delian League, as well as on slave labor, which was used in ever greater numbers.

Slaves performed public services and were employed as domestic servants, in artisanal offices and in the mining field, carrying out all the activities that the Greek citizen considered degrading.

Direct participation of citizens in the People's Assembly was the key to Athenian democracy: there was no representation, nor organized political parties or bureaucratic functionalism. Under Pericles' government, remuneration was instituted for all public charges and functions, enabling the poor to participate in politics without losing their means of subsistence; the powers of the Boule were restricted, and the "action for illegality" was created, meaning that a citizen responsible for a law which, after a year of application, was shown to be harmful to the city could be punished with fines.

All male citizens over 18 years of age could attend the Ecclesia, speak and intervene whenever they wished, to vote on questions of war, peace, regulation of cults, recruitment of troops, financing of public works, diplomatic negotiations, and so on. Through the People's Assembly, Athenians debated and decided the destiny of the polis. Excluded from democracy were slaves, foreigners and women.

The direction of the People's Assembly, or Ecclesia, participation in the Boule, in the People's Courts and in the magistracies was determined by lot and limited in duration, known as the Helios. The meetings of the Ecclesia were held in the Agora and occurred at least four times in every 36 days. Citizens who possessed oratory skill, associated with knowledge of public affairs and quick thinking, were able to win over their points of view. The vote was open, by a show of hands.

"Our constitution does not copy the laws of other cities; rather, it serves as a model for them. Our government is called a democracy, because it serves the interests of the many and not of a minority. According to our laws, all are equal with regard to private disputes. As for participation in public life, however, each person is esteemed according to his merits, and what is most important is personal value, which belongs to the class to which one is born, and no one is hindered by poverty or social condition when they can render service to the city (...) For these reasons and many more, our city is worthy of admiration." (Excerpts from Pericles' speech. Quoted by AQUINO, R. & others, op. cit., p. 201.)

Democracy transformed economic and cultural growth into the center of Greek Athenian civilization. Within two centuries, it attracted a great number of philosophers, scientists, artists and writers, valuing the human side of Greek culture.

To the conceptionist philosophical thinkers launched by the Greeks of the 6th century BC, such as Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Zeno, were added the knowledge of philosophers, scientists and writers of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, who constituted the foundations of Western thought. In philosophy, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato stood out. In literature, authors emerged whose theatrical works presented the human condition, explored intimately and with great force.

In drama, Aeschylus (The Persians, Prometheus Bound), Sophocles (King Oedipus, Antigone) and Euripides (Medea, The Trojan Women) stood out; in comedy, Aristophanes (The Frogs, The Clouds, Peace); in history, Herodotus, Xenophon and Thucydides. In medicine, Hippocrates of Chios was very important, and in physics, Democritus.

The Greeks also excelled in sculpture and architecture, with sober and harmonious lines. Churches, theaters and other public buildings were constructed in all Greek cities, highlighting the Parthenon, temple to the goddess Pallas Athena on the Acropolis of Athens, adorned with sculptures by Phidias.

In this way the important and universal Greek culture took shape, as the Athenian orator Isocrates expressed it: "Thus our city has so far outdistanced other men in thought and speech that its students have become teachers of others, and the name Greek no longer seems to designate a race, but a mentality; and those who participate in our culture are called Hellenes, rather than those who share a common origin." (Isocrates, Panegyricus, quoted by FREITAS, G., op. cit., p. 78.)

The Peloponnesian War and the Decline of the Greek Poleis

The economic and political rivalry between Athens and Sparta and their allies led to the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), bringing destruction, social conflict and impoverishment to the poleis. In Athens, the prolonged war ruined small farmers, who were forced to leave their lands and retreat to the cities. Spartan victory brought an oligarchy installed throughout Greece.

After the Peloponnesian War, the period between 362 and 403 BC was marked by the hegemony of Sparta, followed by the supremacy of Thebes. The long period of wars of conquest weakened the cities and facilitated Philip of Macedon's conquest of Greece in 338 BC, at the Battle of Chaeronea. Philip was succeeded by his son Alexander (336–323 BC), who founded the Macedonian Empire, encompassing Greece, Persia, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Thus came the end of the brilliant period of ancient Greece.

With the rule of Alexander, the political, economic and social framework of Greece was completely altered. Meanwhile, Greek culture, under Macedonian and later Roman domination, spread to distant lands and closer cultures of the East, giving rise to the Hellenistic period.

Conclusion

It must be emphasized that the democratic and oligarchic politics of the Greek cities reached a completely new level, unlike anything that had existed in the earlier civilizations. Although some poleis experienced forms of tyranny, the Greeks achieved a social balance between antagonistic groups. Citizens of different wealth and occupations, including large and small landowners, farmers, artisans, shipowners, artists and sailors, participated in the life and formation of the polis and influenced both governments. With this, the Greeks discovered the idea of freedom, different from the power of kings or the privilege of aristocratic families.

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are a sporting event that takes place every four years. Athletes from all the countries of the world participate in the Games. In each event, gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the first three placed (only collective sports count as a single medal entry on the medal table). The Games are generally called the Olympics, and an Olympiad was originally the period of time between two editions of the Games.

The Olympic Games of Antiquity

The first Olympic Games were held more than 2,700 years ago in Ancient Greece. The competition was a tribute to the gods. Emperor Theodosius I ended the Games in 393 or 394 AD, and all references to them from antiquity were to be eliminated.

Who Was Baron de Coubertin?

Pierre de Frédy was a French pedagogue and historian, whose fame as a founder of the Modern Olympic Games made him better known by his title, Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

Baron de Coubertin had the dream of reviving the Olympic Games. In 1894, he organized an international congress on 23 June at the Sorbonne in Paris to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Two years later, the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens, Greece, the homeland of the ancient Games.

Until his death in 1937 in Geneva, Baron de Coubertin served as honorary president of the IOC. He was buried in Lausanne, the IOC's base, but his heart was buried separately, in a monument among the ruins near ancient Olympia.

In Which Cities Were the Summer Olympic Games Held?

In the modern era, the Games have been held 15 times in Europe, 5 times in North and Central America, twice in Asia and twice in Oceania. Below is a list of all the cities that have hosted the Olympic Games:

Summer Olympic Games:

• 1896 – I Olympiad – Athens, Greece
• 1900 – II Olympiad – Paris, France
• 1904 – III Olympiad – St. Louis, USA
• 1906 – Commemorative edition – Athens, Greece
• 1908 – IV Olympiad – London, United Kingdom
• 1912 – V Olympiad – Stockholm, Sweden
• 1916 – VI Olympiad – Not held
• 1920 – VII Olympiad – Antwerp, Belgium
• 1924 – VIII Olympiad – Paris, France
• 1928 – IX Olympiad – Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 1932 – X Olympiad – Los Angeles, USA
• 1936 – XI Olympiad – Berlin, Germany
• 1940 – XII Olympiad – Not held
• 1944 – XIII Olympiad – Not held
• 1948 – XIV Olympiad – London, United Kingdom
• 1952 – XV Olympiad – Helsinki, Finland
• 1956 – XVI Olympiad – Melbourne, Australia
• 1960 – XVII Olympiad – Rome, Italy
• 1964 – XVIII Olympiad – Tokyo, Japan
• 1968 – XIX Olympiad – Mexico City, Mexico
• 1972 – XX Olympiad – Munich, West Germany
• 1976 – XXI Olympiad – Montreal, Canada
• 1980 – XXII Olympiad – Moscow, Soviet Union
• 1984 – XXIII Olympiad – Los Angeles, USA
• 1988 – XXIV Olympiad – Seoul, South Korea
• 1992 – XXV Olympiad – Barcelona, Spain
• 1996 – XXVI Olympiad – Atlanta, USA
• 2000 – XXVII Olympiad – Sydney, Australia
• 2004 – XXVIII Olympiad – Athens, Greece
• 2008 – XXIX Olympiad – Beijing, China
• 2012 – XXX Olympiad – London, United Kingdom