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.