Influential Factors That Affected Athens History Essay

Influential Factors That Affected capital of Greece History Essay near of the nearly influential grammatical constituents that affected Athens ride and fall were their exploit of disposal, their lead, and their self-reliance. Athens republic extensively affected their rise and collapse because it helped them rise to power, nevertheless it similarly caused them to make bad choices, leading to their fall. Similarly, the superior loss leadhip of the Athenians facilitated the growth of Athens and was likewise a key factor in its downfall. Because of their bystanding leadership in the Iranian Wars, the Athenian self-image was boosted, and this arrogance caused some a(prenominal) other city-states, chiefly Sparta and Corinth, to despise Athens and bring their city-state to ruins.Athens republic heavy(p)ly affected their rise and collapse because it helped them rise to power, but it likewise caused them to make bad choices, leading to their fall. The democracy allowe d for regular citizens of the city-state to have a say in their government. In 507 B.C., Cleisthenes created ten tribes which each had 50 representatives in the Boule. This was the start of democracy in Athens. also, an Assembly was established where all phallic citizens over the age of 18 could go and discuss matters. Since each whizz could stand up to speak at the Assembly, a feeling of ableity was established. Now it was the greenness people who could make decisions for their city-state, not the selfish aristocrats. Under the democracy, many great leaders were elected, such as Themistocles and Pericles who both made great contributions to Athens. However, many poor leaders were also chosen such as Cleon, who was a welt tanner. This shows a big flaw in the democracy of Athens. How could a leather tanner, the lowest of the low, be elected to lead a detai conduct invasion? Also, the democracy made bad decisions. In 413 B.C., even later Nicias had reported that there was no h ope in fighting the Sicilians any longer, the Athenians voted to maneuver another 15,000 men to fight The Sicilian Expedition was a failure, and it woo thousands of men their lives with nevertheless a handful of them making it book binding alive to Athens. The democracy of Athens was a major factor in its rise to power, but it also played a part in bringing about its downfall.Similarly, the superior leadership of the Athenians facilitated the growth of Athens and was also a key factor in its downfall. In both Iranian Wars, great generals led the Athenians to achievement over the Persians. In the first-year Persian War in 490 B.C., adept of the Athenian generals, Miltiades, was daring and attacked the Persian phalanx while their cavalry was off in the Battle of Marathon. This led to an whelm win for Athens. They only lost 192 men while Persia lost a staggering 6,400 men. The great leadership of Miltiades led the Athenians to a huge victory over the Persians. A strategic d ecision made by Themistocles forwards the Second Persian War was to use the silver that the Athenians tack together in early fifth century B.C. to build a naval push stands of triremes. He knew that after losing the first war, the Persians would be back to get revenge. This turned out to be a crucial decision because the Greek win at Salamis was a turning point in the war. In the Second Persian War, Athens was given command of the Greek navy. In 480 B.C., Themistocles, who was in care of the navy, tricked Xerxes, the king of Persia, into thinking the Greek navy was in disarray. Xerxes as well ask the bait and tag the Greek navy into the Strait of Salamis. There, the larger size of the Persian navy was of no use because there was no room to maneuver, and the Greeks destroyed the Persian navy. The trickery of Themistocles resulted in a decisive win for the Athenians and whizz of the most important wins for the Greeks in the Second Persian War. However, leadership was also one of the causes of the fall of Athens. In the Peloponnesian War, many bad choices by leaders caused them to be drubbinged by Sparta. For cause, in 425 B.C., Cleon, a leather tanner, win over the Athenians that launching a direct attack on Sparta would be shiny because the Spartans would not dare attack while the Athenians were in their territory. The invading force, however, got stuck on an island just off the shore, and after two years, the invasion failed. This failure cost the Athenians a large amount of their funds. Cleons failure to think his actions through was intelligibly a sign of bad leadership that cost Athens. Another example of bad leadership comes from the Sicilian Expedition in 415 B.C. Nicias, a leader that was conflicting to war, was the only one left in charge of the digression after Alcibiades had been arrested and escaped, and Lamachus had been killed in battle. He turned out to be a terrible leader because he was indecisive and missed many opportunities to defeat the Sicilians. Even when he finally realized that it was hopeless to fight the Sicilians, he hesitated, and the night before the Athenian army was about to leave, their entire kick the bucket was burned by fire ships. The Sicilian Expedition had exhausted the Athenian treasury because they had sent an unprecedented amount of men, and it had ended in an state failure. The poor leadership of Nicias ended horrifically and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Athenians. Clearly, great leadership was a factor in helping Athens rise to power, but ironically, it was also a major factor in its decline.Because of their outstanding leadership in the Persian Wars, the Athenian self-image was boosted, and this arrogance caused many other city-states, chiefly Sparta and Corinth, to dislike Athens and bring their city-state to ruins. Their boosted self-image can be seen best in their artistic production after the Persian Wars. Before the wars, their sculptures of human all had the sa me posture, with one foot forward and arms at the side. This showed a humbleness towards the gods because gods were pictured as strong and tall. However, after the wars, sculptures of humans could not be terrific from the gods. Humans were now portrayed with rippling muscle, tall, and freedom of ride. In the Parthenon frieze, the humans look exactly the same as the gods on the pediments, albeit smaller and in low relief. Also, they portrayed themselves as rational in the metopes, and the savages were shown as ludicrous and crazy. Their arrogance can be seen in Pericles Funeral Oration when he says, I declare that our city is an education to Greece. He clearly thought truly highly of his city and that it was the best in all of Greece. Their arrogance caused them to mother power-hungry. In the Melian Dialogue, the Athenians speak with a condescending tone towards the Melians when they try to force them into becoming part of the Athenian empire. This is evident when they say, your veridical resources are too scanty to give you a chance of option against the forces that are opposed to you at this moment. The Athenians clearly think that they are superior to the Melians. Furthermore, they did not permit members of the Delian League to withdraw their membership. This was shown when Naxos tried to withdraw, and the Athenians waged war against them and took down their walls. The arrogance of the Athenians also caused them to become overambitious. They started to expand into mainland Greece, which made city-states such as Sparta and Corinth worry. Their expansion was one of the major factors that lead to the Peloponnesian War. In the war, their overambition caused them to make many costly mistakes that eventually led to their end. The arrogance of the Athenians clearly was a key factor in their destruction.Three major causes of the rise and fall of Athens were its democracy, its leadership, and its arrogance. The democracy produced many great leaders, but unfo rtunately, also many bad leaders. Their arrogance was a result of great leadership in the Persian Wars, and it led to the end of Athenian power in Greece.DemocracyLet mine run people feel equal to wealthier peopleTriremes promoted democracyBecause they felt equal and could make a difference in the government, they did not revolt against the governmentEveryone had a say during the AssembliesCaused downfall because they made bad decisionsSupported the Sicilian ExpeditionAfter Nicias told them that there was no hope left in fighting, they sent over another 15,000 menLost thousands of men and only a handful of the men made it back to AthensAlso allowed for bad leaders to be chosen, such as Cleon, who was a leather tannerLeadershipGreat generals led Athens to victory against the PersiansFirst Persian War Sparta refused to help Athens, so they had only 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 soldiers from Plataea against 25,000 Persians scarce had 10 generals, but Miltiades was daring and attacked wh ile the Persian cavalry was awayWon overwhelmingly, losing only 192 men to Persias 6,400Second Persian War Athens was given command of the navyThemistocles tricked Xerxes, king of Persia, into thinking that the Greek pass away was in disarray, so the Persians attacked and were destroyed by the Greek triremesWhen Athens found a huge deposit of silver, Themistocles suggested that it be used to build a huge fleet of triremesTurned out to be a great idea in the Second Persian WarBad leadership in the Peloponnesian War caused their defeat by the SpartansCleon, a leather tanner, convinced the Athenians to launch an attack on SpartaInvading force got stuck on an island just off shoreFailed after two years degenerate a huge amount of funds on this invasionAlcibiades convinced the Athenians to approve of the Sicilian Expedition which was intended to cut off supplies from Sparta and Corinth direct a huge force, larger than any other Athens had previously sent anywhere, to take SyracuseSpent almost all of the property in the treasuryAlcibiades was arrested the day the expedition left for defacing public statues, but he escaped and told Sparta all of his plansLamachus was killed in the first few eld of fighting, so only Nicias was leftNicias missed many opportunitiesAthenians decided to send another 15000 men, commanded by Demosthenes, to attack, but it failedEven when the orders had been given to sail back to Athens, Nicias was hesitant, and that night, the entire fleet was burned by fire ships assertionArrogance after winning both Persian WarsShown in their artwork and sculpturespictured themselves the same as gods in the Parthenon friezeHumans were shown as rational and the savages were shown as crazy creatures in the metopes of the ParthenonStatues of humans could not be distinguished from godsShowed the ideal human beingTall and strongFreedom in movementBefore, they portrayed humans as all uniform in cast and they all held the same posturePericles Funeral Orati onI declare that our city is an education to Greece.Shows he thinks very highly of AthensMelian Dialogueyour actual resources are too scanty to give you a chance of survival against the forces that are opposed to you at this moment.Clearly condescendingArrogance caused overambitious actionsStarted to expand into mainland GreeceMade some city-states worry such as Sparta and Corinth, which caused the Peloponnesian WarForced members into the Delian League and would not let them leave