Why the Greeks??? What was unique about the Greek
cultural, social, historical and political situation that created an atmosphere so conductive to philosophy?
Why was philosophy so unique to Athens in particular over other Greek city-states such as Sparta?
Why the Greeks??? The Greek city-
states such as Athens and Miletus, unlike Egypt and Babylon, were wealthy from other factors than merely agriculture
The Importance of TRADE
This other source of wealth was TRADE
The major exports of Athens were olive oil and wine; both were non-perishable and were in great demand for many uses
Implications of a Trading Culture
What were the implications of a trading culture?
The trading culture of Athens fostered independence amongst citizens, being away from all authority at home
It was a culture that dealt with many peoples, cultures, practices and ideas
Democracy in Athens The institution of kings in many Greek
city-states was gone In Athens, the office of “ruler” pushed
aside the authority of the king The office at first was filled with the
nobility, but later turned to elected nobles with a one-year term
In essence, Athens enjoyed a period of pure DEMOCRACY
ATHENS vs. SPARTA
If a COMMERCIAL DEMOCRACY was the type of environment which fostered philosophic thought, then it stands to reason that philosophy would not occur in another Greek city-state that was neither commercial nor democratic
SPARTA Sparta had little
philosophic thought It was a military
oligarchy where the average citizen had little/no political power
The business of Sparta’s citizens was war!
The Spartans had the best army in Greece
Top Related