Great Schism

Great Schism

I had an interesting interview today, with a woman who was alive during the era of the Great Schism. Her name is Katherine, and she gave me some very big details about what really happened during this split

Q: Now Katherine, could you tell me a bit about before the split

A: Why of course. We were all just one big religion, living under the same European roof. We shared everything, the church had always been such a huge part of the government, and I honestly couldn't imagine a society not being like that! The Pope was doubly powerful and everyone pretty much believed the same things.

Q: Now the split, why did it happen? Who was it between? When did this occur?

A: I am pretty sure a lot of the split had to do with religious icons, I mean like which ones we are supposed to use I guess. It was between the east and the west, or you could think of it as between the Byzantines and the Pope. In 1054, things got very official. The problems got worse in 1054, and the split finally happened. This created two different religions, eastern and western Christianity. It was a pretty radical split.

Q: Well if it was split, what two religions were formed? Was anything else split up?

A: Obviously the Eastern and Western ones. To be more specific, the religions are Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic. Another big thing that split were languages, the two that were split between the religions were Greek and Latin. The Pope and Patriarch were at odds with each other and excommunicated one another. This caused even more disputes between religions. They made marriage into a big deal and it’s very different in the two religions.

Q: So a lot changed during this split? How do you think it’s going to impact the future?

A: Well I would have to say that the creation of two separate main religions will have an impact. These will probably stick around for a while and maybe even make it to the distant year of 2010. These two didn't exist before, so I'm sure this will play a role in the future.

Columbus Leaves Spain

Today I met a very interesting and somewhat confused man by the man of Christopher Columbus. He told me about finding Indians and the "New World". Here’s Christopher...

Christopher Columbus

Q: Tell me a bit about your past

A: I was born in October of 1451 and always wanted to be an explorer. I have always considered myself to be a navigator, colonizer and explorer. I was born is Genoa (a part of modern day Italy), and my father was a wool-weaver, and later opened a cheese stand as well. I had a mother too; she stayed at home to watch after me and my three brothers. IN 1470, we moved to Savona and I ended up getting hired in the service of Rene of Anjou to help support his attempts to conquer the Kingdom of Naples. In 1473, I began apprenticing my business agent for Centurione, Di Negro and the Spinola families of Genoa.

Q: I know that you went on 4 round-trip voyages the New World, and I must say, that sounds rather expensive! Who paid for you to make these trips?

A: I feel so bad for the fools I asked to fund me and they refused! I discovered new land for the taking! Places this world didn't know existed! I asked many people, which included John II, Genova and Venice, and King Henry VII of England. I finally set my sights on Spain and went to ask the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. They had just united many kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula by getting married. On May 1st, 1486, after permission to have an audience from the monarchs, I presented my plan to Queen Isabella. She referred it to a committee, and the committee said I had calculated the distance to Asia too short and that it was impractical and told Isabella to pass on the adventure. To keep me from leaving and taking my ideas with me though, they gave me an annual allowance of 12,000 maravedis. After much lobbying and 2 years of negotiations, I finally got permission to go in 1492!

Q: Tell me about your voyages

A: Why yes, fun times those were! We saw land early on, which gave us the confidence we needed to continue our voyages. We met interesting people who were natives to the Islands and land that we discovered. We called them Indians because we all believed that we had found the Indies. We used three ships for these voyages, these ships are like my saviors, and they took us all the way to these distant lands! They are named The Santa María, The Niña and La Pinta. I finally came back to Spain in 1493, after I had discovered a lot of new places. In 1948, I discovered the South American Mainland; in 1502 I found the Gulf of Mexico and my biggest achievement, America in 1492. There were many other places besides them, but those were the big finds. Those were the places that put my name on the map of historical adventurers!

Q: That sounds really fun! Now I'm sure when you arrived people treated you a little different, right?

A: Oh yes they did. The contract we made before I left made me very rich. They gave me a lot in that contract; I can't help but wonder if it was because they didn't think I would make it back from this New World alive. I also got a lot of praise upon my return. I was bestowed with the highest honors you could get!

Q: That’s all very exciting and interesting, and I can probably guess, but how do you think you impacted the future? Like 2010?

A: Well, I discovered uncharted territories. I made discoveries of places that no one knew existed besides native, pardon my language, savages. We can and helped them and I'm sure the inhabitants now are more European than native. That would probably be my greatest achievement and I can only hope that those people do good things with the land I gave them!

Charlemagne

I had the extreme delight to meet with a man by the name of Charlemagne and interview him to learn all about him. I may not be the first person to say this, but my, I think he was the greatest emperor of the Dark Ages! Enjoy...



Charlemagne



Q: Now, how exactly did someone like you rise to power?

A: My grandfather was actually Charles "The Hammer" Martel, so that had something to do with it! I was born in the year 742 to a king and queen. The 'crown' was passed down onto my father when my grandfather died, and upon my fathers’ death, the 'crown' was given to both my brother and I. We were told we must share the empire; each of us was given a half and had jurisdiction over our own. My brother and I had never been good at sharing, and we only ever communicated to each other through our poor mother. My brother met and untimely death (I swear, I had nothing to do with it) and I gained full power of all of our, or should I say my empire when I was a mere 24 years old.

Q: Could you tell me about some of your conquests while ruler?

A: I have had so many! This may take a while, but I will share with you what I have accomplished as ruler. Well, I formed the new Roman Empire when I was crowned and did my fair share to improve it. For example, our military was spectacular and never once lost a military conquest. I also thought it was very important to educate people, so I built chains of royal schools and got myself the craving for knowledge as well! I tried very hard to learn to read and write, which was unheard of for a warrior like myself to do. I like to think that it also set an example to all the young kids out there too. I ran 50 military campaigns, which was a very large amount for my day! But I would have to say one of the things I am the most proud of is my faith to Christianity during my rule. I also thought it was very inventive of me to split my kingdom into 350 counties, each with their own ruler. But I didn't want these people to think that they had too much power, so I made sure they knew I was watching them, and told them they must report to me.

Q: Christianity, eh? Could you explain how you incorporated that into your empire?

A: Talk about my faith! Why, yes, of course!  I very much enforced Gods rule. One really good way to tell you about how I did this was to explain to you my conquering of the Saxons. I conquered them, and if they had just gone with the program and embraced MY God, everything would have been fine, but no! They were worshipping some fake paegan God. Needless to say, I brutally murdered them. You cannot live under my domain and worship some fake! That is NOT ok! Because of my enforcement, I turned a lot of northern barbarians into Christians as well.

Q: How do you think this will impact people in about 1300 years from now, in the year 2010?

A: Hm, well I would have to say that my conversion of people to Christianity, especially barbarians will have a large impact on them. I would have to guess that my area of reign will stay mostly Christian, with some variations of the faith included. These people will be travelers, I can tell, and will spread my faith far! Or at least, I very much hope so!

Charlemagne died in the year 814, but he will be remembered, for enforcing his faith, Christianity, in such a way that people will have to take notice and possibly join the faith.

Crusades

I had the honor of interviewing a highly ranked Christian soldier who served in the infamous Crusades. His name was Bill, and I hope you enjoy what he has to say...



The Crusades!



Q: So Bill, what exactly were the Crusades?

A: Funny you should ask, seeing as I fought in them! *Ahem* anyways, they were a series of Holy Wars fought between the Muslims and Christians. I am not going to lie, the Christians may have launched these wars, but I can only stress that these people had it coming.

Q: What was the main purpose of these many battles?

A: The main purpose? Well of course it was Jerusalem! Throughout the wars, it was constantly switching hands! One war was ours and the next, theirs. It was quite a struggle. Neither one of us was going to give up easily though. This was a fight that would last. I can say from experience that neither of these sides were quitters.

Q: Why of course not! Now I'm a little confused, when were these wars?

A: Well, the first one was launched by Pope Urban II was asked by Emperor Alexius for help with the Muslim problem. Pope Urban II launched the first if these numerous Holy Wars in 1096. I won't bore you with the details of each battle, but a high point was 1099. This was when Jerusalem was captured! The last year you should know about is 1271-1272. This was when the very last of these wars occurred. This last one was led by none other than Prince Edward

Q: Wow, I can really see how big and important these wars were! But can you tell me what impacts you think these wars will leave? I mean, yes they were big, but specific things?

A: This could take a while, just warning you! These wars had tons and tons of results! These Crusades helped to break down that silly old Feudal system by taking away power from the king. There were boat loads of technological advances as well. These were mostly due to the exposure of Muslim culture, and trade and different religions that were brought together and the spread of Christianity. There was a lot of exchanges on art, spices, literature and ideas, which helped to weaken the Byzantine Empire. People finally stopped doing so much farming and began getting an education through reading and writing and painting. The crusades also brought in a lot of money for the economy and gave power to the Pope and Church. I would have to say that the very single most important thing that it did was finally bring Europe out of the Dark Ages.  

Magna Carta




King John

 

Next up on the interview list was King John. He was an interesting king, who, uh, did the best he could? Well, I won't tell you too much. I will let you make your opinions on your own.

Q: What happened while you were king?

A: What? Oh yes, being king. Um, well I, I guess I didn't do a great job, but that’s just who you ask. In my defense, it’s a lot harder to be king than you would think! Well, I lost a bit of land to France, and I had a huge fallout with the Pope. Let me tell you, that’s someone you don't want to get in a fight with! I also lost a bit of a battle with the nobles as well. I tried to put them in their place and, let’s just say they didn't like it very much.

Q: Wait, what happened with the Pope and the nobles?

A: Well I don't like to talk about it much, but you won't judge me. Will you? I will trust our friendship! Anyways, the Pope, the nobles and I just had a minor falling out... The nobles wouldn't pay their taxes, so I put them in jail. The nobles rebelled against my taxes and supposed "violation of rights" and FORCED me to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. The Pope and I fought about naming the next Bishop. This did not help my image; it made me look a little bad to be totally honest. The church went on strike because of me too. It was not the best reign as king, but like I said, it’s harder than it looks!

Q: I'm sure it is...What about the "Magna Carta"? What is it?

A: The Magna Carta was a document that states the rights of the nobles. I was told I absolutely must obey this document! This paper restricted my rights as leader! It sucked! It also established two things, the Due Process of Law and Parliament. Also, I had to agree to not raise new taxes. Imagine that! The leader isn't allowed to raise taxes to pay for his country! It was humiliating.

Q: I'm sure it was. What is Parliament and Due Process of Law?

A: Well, Parliament is two houses that have all the money. If you want something, hit them up. I like to say they have the purse. It also has the legislative body. The Due Process of Law is the rules that the government must follow for fair and impartial trials. These were inventive things, I must say. I only wish that I had come up with them before I was forced to sign them. I only hope that in history, it will say that I came up with this and signed it myself. That would definitely make me look good again!

Q: How do you think the Magna Carta will be helpful in the future? About 2010?

A: The Magna Carta was inventive and new, and I'm sure it will be there in the future. I'm guessing it will lay the basis for their legal system. I think that things like warrants will be needed to search peoples' homes and possessions. I think court systems will be used to decide if a person is guilty or not. I also think that you will need to read them their rights when you arrest someone, kind of like "you have the right to remain silent and anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you". I also think that before you search someone, you will need to have a reasonable suspicion. If only I had thought of all of this before they stopped listening to me!

Battle of Tours

This next interview is with Charles "The Hammer" Martel himself! He is a very big part in history and earned his nickname for the way he hammered down the opposing forces in battle. I will stop there, and let him tell you about the rest...

Battle of Tours

Q: So, Charles, who, what, when and where was this battle?

A: This battle was between my side, the Franks, and Abdul Rahmans side, the Moors. Essentially what happened during this battle was that they came to our land looking to take control. Now this I would not stand for. No one would take control of my land and my people if I was still alive! The approximate day that this battle started was about October 10, 732, I can't quite remember, it was a long time ago. This battle happened around Tours, France, forever naming the battle that stopped them from stealing our land for good.

Q: For good? Well, how did the battle start?

A: When they came, I knew they had totally underestimated the power and will of my people, the Franks. We were both poised for attack, waiting for the other to strike first, no one wanted to be the beginning of the battle that was ahead. But what he must have realized is that if he had any chance of defeating us, he needed to strike before winter. So, on our 7th day of waiting, the battle began. 

Q: I must know, what happened during this battle? Who won?

A: We were fighting and fighting, and I suddenly had a brilliant idea! What if I sent my troops to raid their camps and tents? If I did this, I would be showing that nowhere is safe. My men were sent and raided and killed their men. Abdul must have realized quickly that I was a force to be reckoned with, hence the nickname. He drew back, putting an end to the battle and letting us declare our victory over the once feared Moors.

Q: Quite an exciting battle! But, how do you think this will impact people in the future? The year 2010 has a good ring to it, how about then?

A: Well, my win stopped the Moors from advancing any farther into France, so I would have to say that when I stopped them from advancing would impact them. I presume there aren't many people of Abdul and his descendants living there causing mayhem in 2010! Even in the course of history to get to then, the Moors never appeared there I'm guessing, so I think my battle helped the people of 2010.

William the Conqueror



William the Conqueror



The next interview I had was with William the Conqueror. He set up some very interesting things that will be helpful in making a fair and equal tax system. I won't ruin the rest for you, here’s William!

Q: How did you come to power?

A: I had to battle my way to the throne, let me tell you! The nobles picked the next king after King Edward died without an heir. They picked one of their own (shocking, I know), a man by the name of Harold Godwinson. He was the brother-in-law of the late King Edward. I was the Duke of Normandy and I decided that he was not worthy, so I went off to fight for the crown. I was not the only one that hid this idea though. Another man, Harald of Normandy came too. This battle became known as the Battle of Hastings. Since I became king, you know that I won this epic battle in the year 1066. I was officially crowned king on Christmas day.

Q: What did you do to set up as king?

A: I was busy! I got control of new lands and gave away a lot of fiefs to get them on my good side. I granted fiefs to Norman Lords, to the church, and of course, kept quite a few for the crown. All castles that were built were closely monitored by me or my people, no way was I going to let them get away with anything! I made all my vassals swear allegiance to me. I don't take backstabbing.

Q: I heard you made some sort of book...is this correct?

A: My Doomsday book? That’s an idea I take great pride in! What I came up with is a revolutionary tax system! I made everyone tell me what they have. As an example, you must tell me how much livestock, property, people, and buildings you have. And don't think I didn't think that people would lie to me either! I had royal exchequers go and check people out. I also used them to collect taxes, fees, fines and other dues. This was truly the best idea I had in office.

Q: How do you think your reign as king will impact the future?

A: Like I told you before, I think my Doomsday book will be extremely important. Most well-functioning societies need an accurate tax system. By knowing who has what, you can tax people much more fairly. It’s like knowing that someone is rich and someone is poor and charging them the same, now this isn't fair at all. Now, the poor person pays much much less than the rich man. This just made everything more equal. The other thing is my power. I think my reign really solidified what I like to call, the Executive Branch. This "branch" gives power to small groups of people (Mayors), then larger (Governors) until it gets to the largest ruler (President).  These people were meant to enforce the law, my job.

Rome Sacked/Falls to the Barbarians



Today I had the, er, great pleasure of interviewing a, well a barbarian to be quite frank. His name was Grunt, and he gave me some very interesting details about the empire he and his people sacked.

Q: So, Grunt? Right? Can you tell me a little about the sacking of Rome?



Barbarians



A: Ugh, yes. In the year 410 AD, me and my people, the barbarians, came to Rome looking for food and treasure. We wanted to take their wealth. We came and stayed, ravaging the capital for 3 days. The silly German slaves rose up against us and pushed us away. Lucky for us, we had a powerful leader with a plan in mind.

Q: A leader you say? Are you talking about Alaric? Tell me about him

A: Yes, Alaric was our leader. He had four motives, and I feel very special to say that I had the great honor to talk with him and he shared them with me. His four motives for taking the city were very strategic; they were profit, his career, power and food. To obtain food for us hungry men, we surrounded the city, and took their food until they were at the point of starvation. Haha, those fools. We, on the other hand were living large with full bellies to boast about.

Q: What did the city do about this food crisis?

A: This is a little graphic, but I'm going to tell you because I think you can handle it. They had the audacity to continue their usual slew of fun and games, like chariot racing, death sentences being carried out, and battles between men and beast or man and man. At first this bothered me greatly, until I heard the shouts from the crowd one day. They were shouting things like, "Let us buy that meat!" Disgusting, I know! The city was so starved, they turned to cannibalism. You could tell they were not doing well if this was their solution and what they did next I think is a result of this.

Q: Next? Well what did they do after cannibalism?

A: They chose subjugation over starvation! They actually opened their gates to us! We thought this was the greatest thing that could have happened to us, a whole cities worth of food. We ravaged all through the city but quickly discovered this was not as great as we had thought. We finally found the reason for their starvation, there was no food to be found. This left us slightly discouraged, but always the optimist, Alaric moved on in hopes of better things.

Q: You must have heard about the city since then, like how it is doing and such. What have you heard is going on there?

A: Well actually I have heard a lot, in whispered tales told around the campfires about what happened to the great power after we left. It is said that it imploded from within. The so-called "Mother of the World" had been defeated in a Gothic sacking. We put that Mother of the World to bed and on life support. She had civil wars with inept leaders fighting for their claim, which ultimately put her down, we just helped. Their trade backfired and they got diseases like small pox, and measles with their shipments from foreign countries. The city actually called back my people, the barbarians, because they needed defenders for their dying empire. After asking for our help, they treated us like dirt too. We were literally forced into a rebellion due to the Romans incompetence and cruelty at the hands of the Roman officials.

Q: So you must wonder, how do you think this will impact people in the future, for fun let’s say around the year 2010?

A: My, I can't even count that high! But ok, because we are friends, I will try and tell you. I think that my sacking the Roman Empire and their being so many barbarians, that the world will do a tailspin into the past. Does that make sense? Well, what I'm trying to say is that I think we will go back in history for awhile, by not using the technology that’s available and the whole population becoming essentially, barbarian. Now don't get me wrong, I love barbarians, but I honestly don't think we helped the progress of this time very much. This will probably set the world back for a long time, and we will have to work up again to what we once had. If we hadn't come, the year 2010 would be even greater than I'm sure it is.    

Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great

I had the great honor to interview the creator of Constantinople, and one of the truly Great greats, Constantine. I hope you enjoy the wisdom he shared with me, and now I with you.


Q: How did you come to power?

A: Well, I was born in 272 CE, and my power was aquired through me moving up the ranks from officer to what I'm most well known for, emperor. I was high enough in power when Diocletian divided the empire that I got a piece of it. Gradually I gained more power until I was emperor over both halfs, east and west.

Q: What is Constantinople?

A: Constantinople is a city that I built in the eastern region of my empire. This was also where I moved the capital of my great land. This city is my pride and glory. The one thing that really stands out to me that is magnificent, is the church, mu church. This church is commonly called Hagia Sophia, which means Holy Wisdom. We had a prime time location! Boy do I know how to pick 'em! We were on a peninsula, which was wonderful for trade and security. Not many people attacked us from the water. Ah, all I can hope is that many wonderful city doesn't die with me.

Q: How do you think your rule an creation of Constantinople will impact the future?

A: I would have to say that by accepting all these forms of culture and religion, I really expanded the cultural, shall we say, horizons. This was such a big thing that I don't think it just affected my rule, I think it really affected all of Europe. My only hope is that this will function far into the future!

Julius Caesar/ Fall of the Roman Republic



Julius Caesar



I had the great honor to interview the one and only Julius Caesar and what he has to say is very interesting, I hope you enjoy our interview
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your younger days

A: Why yes, I can. As you know, I am a man of extreme power. I was born in 100 BC, about. My father died when I was young and I was married and divorced a fair amount of times for reasons I would rather not disclose. I dabbled in different types of work, like lawyer and orator. I was always known for my eloquent speaking. I had been kidnapped by friendly pirates who were fairly nice to me while I waited for my ransom money to be collected. I told them I would find them when they finally released me and kill them. I kept my word. Is that what you were asking?

Q: Yes, that was good. Now, can you tell me about crossing the Rubicon?

A: Ah, the Rubicon. I am a man of adventure and I love to go where no man has gone before. In 55 BC, I went to Gaul with 40,000 men and stood before this never been crossed river to the land that would soon be mine. Currently it was inhabited with terrible creatures, Barbarians if you will, from Germany. I decided to make a bridge. When I decide something is going to happen, my gosh it will happen. That bridge took a mere 10 days to build. I marched my waiting army across and watched those silly people run for the hills. They knew I was ruler, and no way were they going to protest my power.

Q: Can you tell us about the battle between you and Pompey?

A: Me and Pompey, what a sight that was. I was furious when I found out that they took up cause for the senate! I immediately marched my armies from Gaul to Italy to stop this madness. Apparently this sparked a civil war from which the unrivaled ruler of Rome would emerge. This ruler? Me.

Q: What happened after you took control of the government?

A: Well, if you know I took control, then you must also know that I began extensive reforms of society and government. I forced them to make me a dictator for life. Now I hear that there a whispers of plans for my assassination. I doubt my people will rise against me, not their leader and dictator.

Q: How do you think your reign will impact people in the future? Think very far ahead, let’s say around 2010.

A: Well, considering I was such a wonderful influence on my empire, I would say I did a lot. An example would be my changing Rome into an empire. It was a Republic before I came along and changed it to my very own dictatorship. Under this empire, the Roman Empire grew and spread far and wide, making many more people Romans. I would say this is one thing that will last a very long time.

Unfortunately, Julius was wrong and he was assassinated in 44 BC by his own people. This lead to a series of civil wars which plagued the land for a long time, until Octavius, Caesars nephew rose out of the rubble to stake his claim.

Alexander the Great



Alexander the Great



I have just finished my interview with the Great Alexander, and I'm sure you will find what he has to say of the utmost

importance!

Q: So, Alexander, how did you get to have this immense power?

A: Funny you should ask, I was born in 356 BC and, actually, my dad laid the groundwork for my expansive empire, and I just had to finish the job, which wasn't easy. I had to fight with the Persians! The Persians! They had many fleets of ships and I didn't have any! Now, you may have also heard that I had a tutor when I was younger, this is also true. His name was Aristotle and my, he was wise. He was considered one of the greatest philosophers of our time!

Q: Well, how did you defeat the Persians and their ships?

A: It was quite the ordeal, but I managed to do it. All I had to do was lure them onto land, so I could fight them on my grounds. To do this, I took their naval bases one by one until they had so few that they had to get out of their little boats and come fight me like a man!

Q: What can you tell me about Tyre?

A: Ah, Tyre. Tyre is a small island that I wanted control of. I tried to be civil about it and I sent a messenger to them, but they wouldn't have it. They killed my messenger! Can you believe them? So, me being the creative man I am, I made a bridge, or a causeway you could call it to Tyre. Then I deployed a seige tower and boy did I unleash a storm on them! That will teach them to kill my messengers!

Q: What happened when you went to Egypt?

A: Egypt felt like home to me. I had my sights set on Egypt because if had a lot of food, which is oh so important for a growing empire. The really interesting thing that happened there was that conquering them required no blood to be shed. If it needed to happen, I would have killed, but it eased my mind that this empire was so easily taken. Now, while I was there, they declared me to be a Pharaoh too! They actually proclaimed me as a God. This gave me immense power over the land. Egypt helped me get my empire to 3,000 miles.

Q: Tell me a bit about your cities.

A: My cities? Well they were spectacular of course! My Egypt days led me to have a new Greek world! I created a really sweet idea, I formed Hellenistic. This was the blending of ideas from all around. All my cities were constructed very similarly too. Each one had a grid plan and much more. We were, as a great man once said, "rollin'". Our cities had things like, a public market place, shopping malls, and theatres! No one had ever dreamed of anything so grand! Our theatres were the truly amazing part though. My engineers worked so hard on them, and let me be the first to say, they came out beautifully! They built the stadium so it had acoustics and the actors wore masks with mega phones so even when I was looking down over my empire, I could hear the show.

Q: How do you think all of this will affect people in the distant future, maybe around 2010?

A: Now that’s really planning ahead, but I think my rule made a huge impact. Our engineers need to get some serious credit for making our theatres and, if i had to guess, I would say our stadiums would set the standard for 200 years at least. I also think our ideas of grid plans and shopping centers will be popular around then too. I can only hope they name a shopping mall Somerset, it just has such a good ring to it

Unfortunately, Alexander passed away shortly after our interview in 323 BC. The congress depended on the loyalty of 1,000 men and they rebelled. There was a long power struggle between generals as well who all fought for dominance. One rose above the rest and took control, this was Ptolemy I. To secure his power, he stole Alexanders body and buried it which says that he gains power.

Axis Age/Golden Age In Greece

Pericles-Ruler of Athens from 460-429 BC

Today I interviewed my good friend Grecia, who lived near the end of the Golden Age of Greece. I came up with some questions to ask him, and we had a Q and A, which you can see below.


Q: Do you remember how this age started and ended?

A: Yes, yes I do. This wonderful era of Greece started with the victory the Greeks had over the imperial rule of Persia in the Persian wars, which everyone knows lasted from 546-479 B.C. And, if I recall correctly, the era ended with the Peloponnesian war in 431-404 B.C. As you can see this era didn't last long, but gosh was it great!

Q: Could you explain the Persian Wars a little?

A: Why of course! The Persian wars were meant to punish the Athens. I still remember the day that Darius landed his forces at the Marathon, in 490 B.C. But, there was a switch! The Athens won this battle and sent a runner to Athens to tell the people that they won.

Q: What about the Peloponnesian War? What happened in that war?

A: In this war, it was the Athens, also called the Delian League, against the Spartas, who were called the Peloponnesian League. The winner of this war was the Spartans. No one was really surprised; the Spartans were what you would call hardcore people, whereas the Athens definitely weren't. But something shocking did happen; the Thebes came in and defeated the Spartans! Which ultimately led to the end of this great era

Q: What was so great about this era?

A: What was great? So much! Pericles, who was the leader of Athens from 460-429 BC was ruler during this age. He made it so we had a direct democracy! This gave the people power! I have never had so much power since then. The other really great thing that happened was science and philosophy, which seriously flourished during this time. The idea of humanism came out too. This basically said that each person needs to reach their own full potential. The Socrates method came about too. This questioned and made them really examine their lives. They did something truly astounding too, they gave power to woman! To think that my wife has power, it’s so...insightful! When I die, she will be okay to take care of everything and own our land. This makes me feel very peaceful. The culture was something to marvel at as well, it was Hellenistic. This means that when we captured someone, we blended their culture with ours to make one that was truly great. We also had wonderful people, like Plato and Socrates. Plato was Socrates student and they had great ideas, like about how they wanted a Repubic and that direct democracies were bad. Socrates was put on trial for "disturbing the youth". All he did was ask you a question and challenge you answer!

Q: How do you think this time will affect the future, in say, 2010?

A: Now that’s looking very far ahead, but I think that the philosophies were truly amazing and will not be forgotten any time soon. The humanism idea was also very insightful and I think that will be seen again in the future. The blending of cultures also might make it far in history, or at least show that it can be done. The last thing I can think of is giving women rights. I sure hope this idea can last to 2010! All people equal, hopefully that will happen one day.