Life and Politics in Ancient Greece: Polis to Alexander

Introduction

By any standard, ancient Greece had powerful influences on modern Western civilization, including its politics, architecture, philosophy, art, language, science, and mathematics. It is therefore important to determine how these influences emerged and what effects they had on the ancient Greeks — effects that ultimately translated into a lasting legacy for Western civilization. To this end, this paper discusses the cultural, geographic, and political reasons for the rise of the polis; examines the major differences in the way Athenian and Spartan society was organized; and traces the main causes, course, and consequences of the Peloponnesian War on Greek society. It also analyzes whether Alexander the Great was a visionary of globalization or a brutal, bloody conqueror.

The Rise of the Polis: Cultural, Geographic, and Political Reasons

It is not too difficult for people today to imagine what life in ancient Greece must have been like, because their world was also a hostile place filled with natural disasters and human-made conflict — especially with the Persians and the Macedonians. It is little wonder, then, that the ancient Greeks huddled together in city-states called poleis for mutual protection and to facilitate trade (Cole and Symes 2020).

Athenian vs. Spartan Society: Major Differences in Organization

Besides mutual protection, there were cultural reasons for the formation of the poleis as well, including the mountainous terrain of Greece, which essentially forced people to live together in relatively secure enclaves. This tendency for Greeks of the same locale to live together in city-states also translated into the emergence of significant cross-cultural and political differences between the peoples of different Greek poleis (Cole and Symes 2020).

The Athenians were organized as a qualified democratic society — that is, only certain men could vote or run for office. In this regard, Cole and Symes report that "in the decades before the Persian Wars, political reforms in Athens had continued to encourage experiments in democracy" (97). It is noteworthy that these democratic experiments did not include greater political power for women; in fact, those decades actually witnessed a decline in the authority of women in Athenian society. As Cole and Symes note, "The growth of democracy did not lead to greater equality between the sexes. In fact, it had the opposite result" (100). Over time, Greek women were encouraged to remain in the household and bear children for the Athenian army. Athenian women were even forbidden from gathering in public places (Cole and Symes).

The Peloponnesian War: Causes, Course, and Consequences

The historical record confirms that the potential for war increases when people hold very different views and values or possess scarce resources that others covet. This was certainly the case with Sparta, whose leaders engaged in wars with neighboring states with impunity until an uprising by the helots caused Sparta to become a completely militarized society, with obligatory service in the Spartan army required of all males — a situation that placed Sparta at direct odds with other city-states (Cole and Symes 89). In response to this increasingly threatening scenario, Sparta took deliberate action to protect its regional hegemony. As Cole and Symes note, "Determined to prevent another uprising and to protect its superior position, Sparta became the most militarized polis in Greece. Within a few generations, everything was oriented to the maintenance of the hoplite army — a force so superior that the Spartans confidently left their city unfortified" (89).

Conclusion

The research showed that the reasons for the formation of the Greek poleis included the need for mutual protection and the mountainous terrain of Greece. The Athenians were organized as a democratic society, while Spartan society retained a dual monarchy. The Peloponnesian War was caused by the rise in power and political influence of Athens and the concomitant increase in Sparta's land-based military power. The events of the fourth century BCE resulted in the diminished military power and political influence of the Greek city-states, which made them vulnerable to outside threats such as the invasion of Macedonian king Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great. Finally, Alexander the Great emerges from the historical record as simultaneously a visionary and a brutal, bloody conqueror when the circumstances required.