Chapter 11 Chapter 8 The Civilizations of Greece and Rome (Part 1)
Among the three chapters dealing with the three major classical civilizations, this chapter is the longest one.The reason is that this chapter combines Greek and Roman civilizations, two distinct but related civilizations, while the remaining two chapters deal with single Indian and Chinese civilizations, respectively.The author makes such a distinction because the historical development of the West in the classical era is fundamentally different from that of India and China.Indeed, these civilizations had previously spread from their limited central origins to encompass the entire surrounding area—from the Greek peninsula to the western Mediterranean, from the Indus Valley to southern India, and from the Yellow River valley to southern China.The reason is as stated in the first section of Chapter VII. Iron tools provided convenient conditions for the expansion of agriculture to densely forested areas and the expansion of commerce and colonies to new coastal areas, thus making the expansion of civilization possible.However, by the classical age, this common pattern ceased to exist.Unlike the emerging civilizations of India and China, which generally remained subordinate to the core of the original civilization, in the West, Rome developed military superiority and thus conquered not only Greece in the Balkans, but also the western part of the ancient Middle East. Region - Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria and Egypt.In the course of its conquest, Rome ushered in a new phase of Western history, inaugurating a new Western civilization, though linked to the past.The history and nature of the sister civilizations of Greece and Rome are the subject of this chapter.
In the 12th century BC, with the invasion of the Dorians, Greece fell into the "Dark Ages" (see Chapter 6, Chapter 4).During this period, Greece was dominated by agriculture, tribalism and aristocratic politics were practiced, and the scope of activities was limited to the Aegean Sea area.This all changed by the end of the 6th century BC.Tribal organizations gave way to city-states; other social classes rose to challenge the aristocracy; industry and commerce began to play a major role; Greek colonies gradually spread all over the Mediterranean coast.All these developments constituted a general transformation of the Greek world during the formative period, opening the way for the later classical age.
The geographical features of the Greek regions are an essential factor for these developments.The Greek region does not have rich natural resources, nor can it find fertile large river basins and vast plains, but having these natural conditions, and rationally developing and utilizing them, is to support the kind of complex empires established in the Middle East, India and China. required by the organization.Along the coast of Greece and Asia Minor, there were only endless mountains, which not only limited the increase of agricultural productivity, but also divided the land into small pieces.Thus, the Greeks, the natural geopolitical center that could serve as a basis for regional consolidation, did not exist.After the invaders invaded, they settled down in isolated villages.These villages were usually located near easily defensible high ground, which served both as temples to the gods and as places of refuge in case of danger.These expanded settlements from villages are generally called "city-states", and places that provide refuge are called "cropolis" or "high cities".City-states were often strategically located in areas of fertile soil or near trade routes, thereby attracting more immigrants and becoming the major cities of the region.Thus formed many small city-states, more isolated from each other, yet vigorously independent.
At the beginning, these city-states lived mainly on natural agriculture, grazing and fishing.However, by the early 8th century BC, this self-sufficient economy was undermined by dense population.Land-hungry peasants had to go to sea as pirates, merchants, or colonists, or, as often happened, some combination of the three.By the 5th century, the entire Mediterranean region, including the Black Sea, was surrounded by prosperous Greek colonies, and these colonies became overseas city-states exactly like the mother country (see Chapter 7, Section 2).
These developments set off a chain reaction that would eventually change the entire Greek world.Colonial users transported various raw materials, mainly grains, to overpopulated Greece, and in return received wine, olive oil, and manufactured goods such as cloth and pottery.This trade enabled the rapid development of Greece's own economy.The Greek soil is more suitable for olive groves and vineyards than for wheat fields.Since the rocky slopes can be used to grow vines and olive trees, the area of land cleared has greatly increased.The turn to commercial agriculture, therefore, has enabled two or three times the number of people to be supported than was formerly practiced in natural agriculture; besides, the promotion of manufactures has been considerable, which can be obtained from not only around the Mediterranean, but also deep inland, in Russia. This is evident from the fact that large quantities of Greek pottery were also found in central, southwestern Germany and northeastern France.At the same time, the Greek merchant fleet was also very successful in transporting goods to and from it.The goods at that time were completely different from luxury goods, and they were huge in size. It was indeed the first time in history that goods were shipped and sold to various places on such a huge scale.The Greeks pioneered the use of coins as a medium of exchange, and their growing use effectively facilitated all these economic activities.An economic historian asserted: "Between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C., the Greek economy was on the rise. ... If we fully estimate the specific conditions of different eras, the impression of the Athenian economy is somewhat similar to that of Europe in the 19th century."
The economic revolution in Europe in the 19th century promoted the social and political revolutions, and the in-depth development of the social and political revolutions in turn promoted the economic revolution.The same happened in Greece from the 8th century BC onwards.The commercialization of agriculture means not only profits but also liabilities, especially for small landholders.In the past, the nobles collected rent in the form of collecting part of the crops, so when the times were bad, everyone had to tighten their belts to live together.Now, the combination of foreign markets, the money economy, and new luxuries has exposed the small peasant to various injuries, often having to mortgage his property, foreclose on it, and even lose his personal liberty.All this inevitably led to a violent class struggle, with clamoring demands from the masses for the abolition of debts and the redistribution of land.Likewise, new wealthy families in the cities rose up to demand political status commensurate with their economic power.They enlisted the support of the urban poor of artisans, stevedores and sailors.So all these people who were dissatisfied with the reality rose up against the traditional political system ruled by landed nobles.
During the sixth century the reform movement intensified considerably.This is because the aristocratic cavalry, who had played a decisive role in the battlefield, were now replaced by armored and heavily armed infantry, that is, hoplites.The heavy armored infantry carried a shield in their left arm and held a spear in their right. They were arranged in a solid phalanx with dense formations, and they fought in unison. Therefore, when confronting the invincible cavalry in the past, they could be defeated in a dense formation.This novelty not only undermined the military base of aristocratic political power, but also enhanced the status and influence of independent peasants and artisans who could equip themselves for entry into the phalanx.
Economic change, along with military change, led to corresponding political change.During the Dark Ages, the city-states began as monarchies and gradually turned to aristocratic oligarchy, and by the seventh century they were ruled by dictators called tyrants.These ambitious leaders, usually of noble origin, supported the demands of the populace, thereby winning the support of the masses and seizing personal power. The term "tyrant" refers to someone who rules without legal authority and feels no moral condemnation.In practice, tyrants usually supported the populace against the privileged and often, though not always, hastened the arrival of democracy.
Sparta in the southern Peloponnese peninsula is a typical example of the opposite trend of development of other Greek city-states.Around 1000 BC, the Dorians, the ancestors of the Spartans, invaded the fertile Eurotas River Basin and turned the aborigines into slaves, called the Hilos. In the late 8th century, the Spartans conquered the fertile plains of nearby Messinia, eliminating the need to expand overseas.However, the price to pay for this is heavy and unavoidable.Sparta, deprived of the economic and intellectual boosts of foreign contacts, could only lead an agricultural life with little variation.Moreover, in order to control a large number of subjects under its jurisdiction, one had to organize one's own country like a military camp.Everything is subject to military needs.Frail and sickly babies were abandoned in the wilderness to die, and only healthy babies were allowed to raise them.Boys live in the barracks for training from the age of seven.All men under the age of 60 are subject to military discipline.Luxuries are out of favor, and personal life is almost entirely taken away.Jumping into the icy waters of the Eurotas in the morning, the lack of food on the table, and the roughness of the wooden houses made with axes were famous throughout Greece.Organized recreation, communal meals, public affairs, military training, and duties constitute almost the whole of life.This social system made the Spartans the best infantry in all of Greece, but left them with no interest or time for writing plays, carving heads, or formulating philosophy.
During this period, the Athenians developed an entirely different type of society.The Athenians were not a band of raiders encamped among a hostile population, boasting that they were the natives of Attica.Like the Greeks in other city-states, they were initially a monarchy, which later gave way to an oligarchy of nine consuls.These nine consuls are the principal consuls, all belonging to the nobility.However, unlike Sparta, Athens later developed towards democratization.Explosive trade created a powerful middle class that allied with dispossessed peasants and demanded political liberalization.In 594 BC, all factions unanimously appointed Solon as chief consul to take power and implement reforms.The measures Solon took to alleviate social misery were simple but severe.He returned to debtors all land titles they had lost, restored freedom to all commoners who had been enslaved by debt, and banned debt slavery forever.In the political sphere, for the first time, non-property civilians were allowed to participate in the Citizens' Assembly, although the powers of the Citizens' Assembly were still very limited.In addition, rich merchants were allowed to serve as consuls; new and more popular jury courts were created to replace part of the power of the noble court.In short, Solon's contribution lies in laying the foundation for the establishment of the famous Athenian democracy in the organization.
The 30 years following Solon's reforms were filled with struggles as many issues remained unresolved.Although slavery was now illegal, the poor still found it difficult to earn a living.Likewise, the nobles, though more or less restrained, were able to prevent the people from legislating.In this case, around 5 BC, Pisistratus made himself the first tyrant of Athens.During his 30-year reign, he divided noble lands into small parcels to distribute to landless peasants, and enlisted the help of the urban poor in massive public works to beautify the city.After the death of Pisistratus, his son succeeded him as the tyrant, fatuous and incompetent, so the struggle became more acute and complicated until Christene took power in about 506 BC.Cristhenes abolished the original tribes and established ten new ones that were actually divided by region rather than by clan kinship.This reform greatly weakened the political power of the nobility.Christene also established the Council of Five Hundred, all male citizens over the age of 30 are eligible to be representatives; the Council of Five Hundred not only prepares bills for the citizens' meeting, but also holds the highest executive and administrative power.As a result of these reforms by Cristhenes, by 500 BC Athens had emerged as a democracy, while Sparta remained a tightly organized militarized society.
In his famous eulogy for the Athenian soldiers who fell fighting the Spartans in 431 BC, Cyricli declared: "Our city is open to the whole world. . . . Greek school." That self-boasting statement was spot on.In the 5th century BC, Athens eclipsed Sparta and all other Greek city-states.This was the Golden Age of Periclean Athens, synonymous with the Golden Age of Classical Greece.
The dizzying preeminence of Athens at this time was due to the fact that it played the most important role in the great war that defeated the huge Persian Empire.In addition, it was somewhat related to the luck of the Athenians to discover the Laurian silver mine shortly before the Hippo War.After receiving this wealth, they decided to establish a navy and built more than 200 newest triremes; this fleet played a decisive role in the ensuing war.
The root of the competition lies in the fact that the Persians conquered the Greek city-states in Asia Minor in the middle of the 6th century BC.The brutal Persian interference in the internal affairs of these city-states led them to revolt against Persia in 499 BC.They appealed to the city-states of mainland Greece, and received a positive response; this was partly because the expansion of the Persian Empire was at that time passing through southern Russia and threatening the Balkans from the north.The city-states of Asia Minor were subdued by the Persian Empire by 494 BC, despite the aid of the navy from across the Aegean.Then, the Persian emperor Darius decided to punish the Greeks who had stubbornly resisted the Greeks. He sent an expeditionary force and landed at Marathon, northwest of Athens, in 490 BC.Although the Athenians fought almost alone because of the hostility among the city-states, their phalanx dealt a heavy blow to the invaders and greatly boosted the morale of the Greeks.The historian Herodotus wrote: "Among the Greeks, those who saw Persian costumes and saw people wearing Persian costumes dared to deal with them were the first; before that time, the Greeks only needed to hear Terrified at the name of a Persian."
Ten years later, the Persians returned with a much stronger force than they had ten years ago, this time by overland route through Thrace and Thessaly.A mixed force led by Spartans fought valiantly to the death at Thermopylae to stop the Persians.Although the Persians invaded and sacked Athens, the Athenian navy routed the Persians in the nearby Gulf of Salamis; when the Persians retreated from the Aegean Sea, the combined Greek fleet followed, winning another naval victory.Soon, the Greek city-states in Asia Minor got rid of the Persian rule one after another, and the Greeks became the victors of the largest empire in the world.
Hot Spring Pass.In ancient times this pass was narrower than it is now, and it was the only passage into Greece from the north.It is very famous in history. In 480 BC, Oneida and his Spartan warriors guarded this pass to block the Persians until they all died heroically.
The Greek victory had major consequences.First of all, it saved the Greeks from being ruled by oriental despotism, so that they could maintain their own characteristics and make their unique contributions to human civilization.This was also recognized by Plato; he wrote: "If the common determination of the Athenians and the Spartans had not prevented the imminent slavery, we might have said that the Greek city-states were mixed, and the Greeks were mixed. The savages were in much the same position as those peoples now living under the tyranny of Persia, dismantled, or wretchedly mixed together."
Greek victories, especially those of the Athenian navy, also contributed to the development of democracy.Since the oarsmen who rowed their boats into battle were citizens who had no means to equip themselves as hoplites, the urban poor at this time played an even greater military role than the wealthy hoplites.This naturally strengthened the development of democratic political movements.Democratic politics reached its climax during the period of Pericles (461-429 BC).
Pericles, though aristocratic, was an earnest democrat; he transferred power to a civic assembly made up of all male citizens.The Citizens' Assembly is the highest authority dealing with Athens affairs.It holds 40 regular sessions a year and, if necessary, ad hoc sessions; not only to resolve general policy issues, but to make detailed decisions for the activities of the government in all spheres of foreign affairs, military and finance.Pericles also stipulated that most public offices should be paid, making it possible for the poor to hold public office.In addition, he also established many popular courts, where the final decision was made by juries, and the jury judges were selected by lot, and all citizens could serve.Thus Pericles, in his funeral speech for the Athenian heroes who fell fighting the Spartans in 431 BC, had every reason to proudly declare:
Athens' significant role in the Hippo-Persian Wars led to the eventual establishment of Athenian hegemony, while Sparta remained stagnant due to its static economy and the constant threat of Hilo uprisings.Athens took the lead in uniting the islands of the Aegean Sea and the Greek city-states of Asia Minor to form an alliance; because the headquarters of the alliance was originally located on the island of Delos, it was called the Delos Alliance. common security.In principle, the status of all the allied states is equal. When the regular meeting of the alliance is held, each of the allied city-states has only one vote.But in fact, from the beginning, Athens sent generals to hold the administrative leadership; allies who had no warships or were unwilling to provide warships had to pay tribute to Athens.Athens also gradually tightened its control over the states that joined the alliance: the treasury of the alliance was moved from Delos to Athens; the coinage of Athens became the common medium of exchange; the states that joined the alliance were not allowed to withdraw from the alliance.Thus, by 450 BC, the League had become an empire, and Athens' power had spread "outward to the Atlantic" from Ionia, in the words of Euripides.
Athenian imperialism was relatively enlightened and benevolent, as can be seen from the fact that most of Athens' allies remained loyal to Athens until the later Peloponnesian War actually ended; In rebellion, the instigators were oligarchic dissidents, since the Athenian assembly was generally not considered by the people at large to be an oppressor, but rather as a protector against their own oppressors.However, since Athens continued to expand outwards and aroused fear in Sparta, the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC was probably inevitable.
One side is a sea power, the other is a land power, and the war lasted for ten years.Although the Spartan army attacked Attica every year, it failed to break through the Great Wall connecting Athens and the sea, nor could it guarantee the supply of follow-up materials.On the other hand, the Athenians suffered a severe plague in 429 BC, nearly half of the population died, and even Pericles died of illness, so they could only attack the Peloponnese coast indiscriminately.In 415 BC, Athens decided to send a fleet to Sicily to cut off Sparta's food supply, but it ended in disastrous failure.Thucydides wrote: "Fleets and armies were wiped out from the face of the earth, and nothing was preserved." As a result, the allies of Athens rebelled one after another, and the Spartans finally destroyed the Great Wall; Besieged and persecuted by starvation, he had to declare his surrender.Athens remained only a city-state, losing both its fleet and empire, and even its self-proclaimed democracy when victorious Sparta imposed a short-lived aristocratic oligarchy.
As a result of this devastating war, the entire Greek world was impoverished, and none of its problems were resolved.Sparta was domineering, and Thebes and Athens formed a new alliance for mutual protection.In 371 BC, the Thebes suffered the first military defeat of the Spartans in 200 years, and dominated the Greek mainland for the next ten years; Once engulfed in chaos created by shifting alliances and skirmishes.The existence of this chaotic phase allowed foreign powers to conquer and unify Greece by violence.In 335 BC, King Philip II of Macedon defeated the combined forces of Thebes and Athens in Chaeronia.He deprived most of the autonomy of the Greek city-states, but he was assassinated in 336 BC before he could further carry out his plans for the eastward invasion.His successor was his world-famous son, Alexander the Great.
The classical age is over, and the Hellenistic age is about to begin.Before discussing the Hellenistic age, let us pause to examine the civilization of the classical age; it is generally considered to be a great triumph of human intellect and spirit.
"Golden Age of Pericles", "Miracle of Greece", "Glory of Greece" - these are some of the hyperbolic terms people usually use when referring to Greek civilization in the 5th century.
We shall see later that this civilization has its faults, but the exaggerated praise is understandable and mostly deserved.Why is this?And what was the basis of the Greek "genius"?We can safely assume that the geniuses in question here are not geniuses in the literal sense; for the Indo-Europeans who migrated to the southern Balkans would not happen to be genetically superior to those who migrated to the Middle East, India, or Western Europe .Therefore, the answer can only be found by comparing the historical development of the Greeks with that of the Indo-Europeans who settled in other parts of Eurasia.
As a result of the comparison, two explanations for the extraordinary achievements of the Greeks were proposed.First, the Greeks lived close enough to the earliest centers of civilization in Egypt and Mesopotamia to benefit from the earliest achievements of the latter, but not so close that they could not retain their own identity.In fact, the main significance of the Hippo-Persian War is that the result of the war enabled the Greeks to do the above two incompatible things at the same time and benefit from both.
The emergence and lasting existence of the city-state is the second factor that contributed to the achievements of the Greeks, because the city-state provided the necessary institutional guarantee for the prosperity of culture.It should be pointed out that the city-state system is not unique to the Greeks.For example, in India, Aryan immigrants at an early stage of development also established organizations equivalent to city-states in some areas.Around 302 BC, the ambassador of the Seleucid Kingdom of Greece to Fahrenheit, Megasthenes, admitted that there were some "free cities" in the Mauryan Empire where he was an ambassador.However, these free cities were eventually incorporated into the local monarchies that came to control the Indian peninsula.Only the Greeks could keep their city-states for centuries.
One reason was that the overlapping mountains of Greece did not provide the geopolitical basis for building a regional empire (see section 1 of this chapter).Another reason is that most of the Greek city-states enjoyed direct access to the sea, which enabled them not only to receive external intellectual boosts, but also to maintain and develop their own economies.Indeed, the Greeks paid a heavy price for their fragmented city-states: the constant wars between the city-states culminated in the unification imposed by the outside world, first from Macedonia and then from Rome.But in return they enjoyed centuries of liberty within their respective city-states; and this, at least, seems to have been a prerequisite for the enormous creativity of Greece in the fifth century.
Classical Greek civilization is not a primitive civilization.It, like all other civilizations, borrows heavily from past civilizations - such as the civilizations of the Middle East.However, what the Greeks borrowed, whether it was Egyptian art forms or Mesopotamian teaching and astronomy, were imprinted with the characteristics of wisdom unique to the Greeks.These characteristics can be summed up as being open-minded, curious and thoughtful, eager to learn, and rich in common sense.The merchants, soldiers, colonists, and travelers of other nations were dwarfed in this respect by the Greeks in their foreign travels; they traveled with a skeptical, critical eye.They inquire into everything, and bring all problems to the judgment seat of reason for examination.Plato wrote in "Apology" that Socrates advocated that whatever a person's own reason has declared to be wrong should not be thought about or done, even if compelled by those in power or by any court, Resist at any cost, too—“…the unexamined life is not worth living.…” Socrates also noted the importance of free debate to society.His plea for his life at trial was based on this view.He said:
This unbridled free thought is unique to the Greeks, at least in its pervasive and intense degree.The secular view of life was also unique to the Greeks; they firmly believed that the most important thing in life was to fully express the personality of the person here and now.The combination of rationalism and secularism enabled the Greeks to think freely and imaginatively about various issues concerning human beings and society, and to express their thoughts and feelings in great literary, philosophical and artistic creations.Their works are still compelling and meaningful today.
These unique characteristics of the Greeks are clearly reflected in their religious thoughts and customs.The Greeks saw their gods as practically like themselves, except that they were more powerful, longer-lived, and more beautiful.Thanks to such gods, the Greeks felt carefree and at ease living in a world ruled by familiar and understandable forces.The relationship between the Greeks and the gods was essentially a relationship of equal exchange; the purpose of their prayers and sacrifices was to expect the gods to show goodwill to them.As Herodotus said, this religious relationship was maintained through "common shrines and sacrifices" rather than through ecclesiastical organization and shared religious beliefs.Although Homer's and Hesiod's Theogony outlined the prevailing religious thought of the time, Greek religion never systematically presented common religious teachings or compiled a religious canon.Comparing the Greek religion with that of the Mesopotamians, this feature of the Greek religion is very obvious.According to the Mesopotamian explanation of the origin of things, human beings were specially created by the main gods to build temples and offer sacrifices to the gods.Thus, duties such as building temples and making sacrifices actually constitute the raison d'être of human beings.How different is this from the idea of the Greek philosopher Xenophanes in the 6th century BC.He said:
Religion in classical Greece was an integral part of city-state life and thus permeated every aspect of city life.It explained the material world, daily sacrifices, and social institutions, and was a major source of inspiration for poets and artists.Every Greek temple was a center of local and national culture.There are many persons who specialize in the development of a particular art, more or less by accident.The miracle workers who were the first to become skilled physicians grew up on the island of Kos in the worship of the fabled god of medicine, Aestechpios.The famous Hippocrates was the most outstanding of them all.He wrote medical treatises with extreme objectivity, based his diagnosis on each case on objective observation, and avoided conflating the cause or cure of disease with witchcraft.Referring to the "sacred" disease of goat madness, he writes: "I do not think that this disease, which is called a holy disease, is any more holy than any other disease. It has natural causes like other diseases. So it is sacred because they do not understand it. . . . In fact, all things are alike in this respect, and have a cause."
Likewise, the actor is brought up in the worship of Dionysus, the god of wine.They first performed the rituals of worshiping Dionysus like a play, and then gradually created far-reaching tragedies and hilarious comedies.This kind of literature and art can only be developed in Athens in the 5th century BC, and it is unimaginable elsewhere.Every religious festival in the city of Athens, the state pays for the performance of the script, and organizes citizens to watch it collectively.The balance and normal state of the development of Athens drama should be attributed to the close relationship between the playwright and the audience.Aeschylus performed his play "The Persians" based on the battle of Salamis before the citizens who had won the battle of Salamis.Sophocles often referred to the gods in his tragedies, but his chief concern was not with religious questions, but with people of all kinds—the noble and admirable, those confronted with forces beyond their control. man, the wicked man, the severely punished man.The heroism of Oedipus's courage to suffer in the face of catastrophe is the essence of the tragedy created by Sophocles. It somewhat reveals the meaning of life and raises some problems that all people face.
If Sophocles was not interested in traditional religion, Euripides was positively skeptical.He mercilessly portrayed the shortcomings of the gods and satirized those who believed that gods were superior to humans.He was a critic, a single-minded fighter for unpopular causes.He supported the rights of slaves and foreigners, advocated for women's emancipation, and attacked the glorification of war.This is especially true of Aristophanes, whose comedies are full of social satire.He himself is a conservative yearning for the good old days, so he scoffs at democratic leaders and policies.In the play Lysistrata, he describes a group of women, terrified by endless killings, who refuse to have sex with their husbands until they give up the war.In The Knight, Aristophanes mocks democracy by a general trying to persuade a sausage seller to seize the position of Creon, the leader of the democrats.
Greek art is also a unique product of city-state civilization.Since the temple became the secular and religious core of the city-state's culture, art and architecture were most highly expressed in the temple.These temples were the dwellings of revered patron saints of both sexes, such as the Parthenon, a shrine on the Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena.Sculpture is the handmaiden of architecture, and the temples of the gods are decorated with sculpture.Master carvers such as Phidias and Praxiteles not only carved on the walls and pediments of the temple, but also fashioned statues for the interior of the temple.Their works are very different from the realism of later Roman sculptures, with a synthesis, that is, they only emphasize the basic characteristics of the superficial models, rather than copying each model.Speaking of Greek engraving; Greek coins, which provide some of the finest examples of engraving from this era, should not be overlooked either.In short, all Greek art embodies the basic ideas of balance, harmony and moderation of the Greeks.This is all the more evident when one compares the Parthenon with the pyramids of Egypt, the pylons of Mesopotamia, or the more primitive Greek statues with the flamboyant sculptures of the Middle Eastern peoples before that time. .
The same contrast is evident in philosophical speculation.On the question of the nature of the world, the rationalist philosophers of Ionia on the coast of Asia Minor in the sixth century BC were the first to challenge traditional supernatural explanations.They raised the fundamental question of what the world really is made of.Thales speculated that all things began with water, since liquids, solids, and vapors are all forms of water.Heraclitus believed that the foundation of all things is fire, because fire is very active and can transform into all things.Anaximenes believed that air is the foundation of all things.He argued that when air becomes thinner, it becomes fire; when air gradually condenses, it becomes wind, cloud, water, earth, and stone.These views may seem naive in the light of modern science, but what is important is that they asked questions and sought answers through the free use of reason, without asking God for help.In the same way the Greeks of this period took the astronomical observations of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians and purged them of astrological elements; Knowledge, they also absorbed and developed it into a well-organized logical structure.
Around the middle of the 5th century BC, as conditions in Greek society grew more complex, philosophers shifted their focus from the material world to man and questions about man.This is especially true in the case of the Sophists.Its most prominent spokesperson is Protagoras.He has a famous saying: "Man is the measure of all things"; what he means by this sentence is that everything is different according to the needs of people, so there is no absolute truth in the world.The emphasis on people led wise men to condemn slavery and war, and to support most causes of the populace.But on the other hand, there are many Greeks, especially those conservatives, who are very scrupulous about the relativism of the Sophists, worrying that it will endanger social order and morality.Socrates is the main representative of conservatives.The corrupt politics of the time and the lack of any clear rules of life worried him deeply.Talking endlessly with his friends, he developed a dialectical science, which examines all existing opinions by means of questions and answers until he establishes a generally accepted truth.他坚持认为，用这种方法可以发现有关绝对真理、绝对善或绝对美的观念，而这些观念与成为个人放纵不羁、公共道德败坏之借口的智者派的相对主义大不相同，将为个人行为提供永久性的指导。
苏格拉底的弟子柏拉图（公元前427 －374年）出身贵族，他和他的朋友们引雅典为自豪，可对雅典人民并不信任。当雅典民主政体判处苏格拉底死刑时，这种不信任加深而为仇恨。因此，柏拉图的目标是要实现一个既能维持贵族特权、又可为贫苦阶级接受的社会。他的“理想国”把人分为四等：护国者、哲学家、士兵和劳动群众。这种等级划分是永久的；柏拉图用一则神话即“高尚的谎言”作为其理论根据，这则神话说，这四个等级是神用金、银、铜、铁四种金属创造出来的。柏拉图曾希望叙拉古的统治者能接受他的学说，付诸实践，以实现他的政治理想，但未能如愿，他只好回到雅典，绘一批批弟子讲学，达40年之久。他教导弟子们说，世界上存在的每一样事物都是相应的理念的不完善的摹本，所以，整个现实世界是完善的理念世界的不完善的摹本。柏拉图认为，善不是变动不尽的现实世界的知识，而是真实的理念世界的知识。
这一历史时期的另一位伟大的思想家是亚里土多德（公元前384 -322年）。他开始时是柏拉图的弟子，但是，老师去世后，他创办了莱森学院。亚里士多德是一个收集者和理性主义者，而不是一个神秘主义者；是一位逻辑学家和科学家，而不是一位哲学家。他为了创立自己的学说，汲取了所有各方面的知识涉及的知识领域之广泛，可以说，前无古人，后无来者。他的卓越贡献主要在逻辑学、物理学、生物学和人文学科诸领域，他实际上是这些学科的创始人。作为一个伟大的百科全书式的学者，他寻求自然界和人类生活的各个方面的秩序。他认为，整个自然界，最低级的是矿物，位于矿物之上的是植物，位于植物之上的是动物，人类处于最高级。他将人类社会的各个阶级与自然界的各个等级相对应，从而证明，人类划分为天生的主人和天生的奴隶是天经地义的。He said:
论述古典希腊不能不提到希罗多德和修昔底德。他们叙述了他们那个时代各种激动人心的事件，并在叙述过程中，创立了一种新的文学类型——历史。希罗多德早先生活在曾沦于波斯人统治下的小亚细亚的希腊人中间，以后来到使波斯人遭到破天荒的惨败的雅典。希罗多德把雅典人的这一重大胜利归因于他们的民主政体，所以，他的《历史》一书是最早讴歌民主政体的一篇伟大的领辞。这部作品隐含的意思可以用他赞同的某希腊人的几句话来说明。那位希腊人在对波斯国王谈及自己的同胞时说：'虽然他们是自由人，但并非在各个方面都是自由的；法律是他们的主人，他们畏惧这位主人甚于你的臣民害怕你。法律规定他们做什么，他们就做什么；法律的条文始终如一。法律禁止他们临战逃脱，不管遇到的敌人有多少；要求他们作战时坚如磐石，或者战胜敌人，或者死于敌手。 "
与希罗多德不同，修音底德撰写的历史是记述伯罗奔尼撒战争的。在这场战争中，雅典经过27 年的苦战，最后屈膝投降了。希罗多德颂扬了雅典的胜利和荣耀，而修昔底德则分析了雅典的失败和苦难。毫无疑问，修昔底德是同情雅典的；他曾任雅典将军，领导过雅典军队。但是，他坚决抑制自己的情感，为自己提出这样一个任务：实事求是地弄清这场灾难的原因。虽然他从未用过社会科学一词，不过，他的某些话实际上已表明，他正在试图创造一门社会科学。He wrote:
在描述了希腊人在如此众多领域里的非凡成就之后，按照通常的做法，须指出他们的一些缺点。这就是，妇女的社会地位很低；奴隶们受到剥削；虽然奴隶和客籍民即居留的外邦人构成居民的大多数，但他们绝无雅典公民权。所有这些情况都是真实的，但无关大局。评价古典希腊，应该从当时的实际情况出发，而不应该依据现在的做法，或者更糟，按照乌托邦的标准。
在公民权这一问题上，雅典人和其他所有希腊人一样，认为他们自己是一个大家庭，只有同一血统的人才能成为公民，外邦人居留时间再长也不行。值得注意的是，虽然客籍民都是自愿前来的移民，只要他们愿意，随时可以离开，但许多人还是长期地居住在雅典，为收养他们的这座城市慷慨地贡献自己的才能，在一定程度上表现了对雅典的满意和忠诚。同样，奴隶制度尽管造成许多不好的后果（本章最后一书将予以分析），但并没有象通常所设想的那样广泛。绝大多数公民——三分之二到四分之三的公民——没有奴隶，靠当农民、工匠、店主或水手谋生。常有人说，普通雅典人因有奴隶来养活，能够整天看戏、担任公职、讨论哲学和政治，这是不符合实际的。
评价古典希腊，不应看它哪些没做到，而应看它做了些什么。如果这条标准可以确立，那么古典希腊的贡献及其历史意义也就极其明显而突出。自由探究的精神，民主政体的理论和实践，多种形式的艺术、文学和哲学思想，对个人自由和个人责任心的强调——所有这些构成了希腊留给人类的光辉遗产。
Hot Spring Pass.In ancient times this pass was narrower than it is now, and it was the only passage into Greece from the north.It is very famous in history. In 480 BC, Oneida and his Spartan warriors guarded this pass to block the Persians until they all died heroically.
The Greek victory had major consequences.First of all, it saved the Greeks from being ruled by oriental despotism, so that they could maintain their own characteristics and make their unique contributions to human civilization.This was also recognized by Plato; he wrote: "If the common determination of the Athenians and the Spartans had not prevented the imminent slavery, we might have said that the Greek city-states were mixed, and the Greeks were mixed. The savages were in much the same position as those peoples now living under the tyranny of Persia, dismantled, or wretchedly mixed together."
Greek victories, especially those of the Athenian navy, also contributed to the development of democracy.Since the oarsmen who rowed their boats into battle were citizens who had no means to equip themselves as hoplites, the urban poor at this time played an even greater military role than the wealthy hoplites.This naturally strengthened the development of democratic political movements.Democratic politics reached its climax during the period of Pericles (461-429 BC).
Pericles, though aristocratic, was an earnest democrat; he transferred power to a civic assembly made up of all male citizens.The Citizens' Assembly is the highest authority dealing with Athens affairs.It holds 40 regular sessions a year and, if necessary, ad hoc sessions; not only to resolve general policy issues, but to make detailed decisions for the activities of the government in all spheres of foreign affairs, military and finance.Pericles also stipulated that most public offices should be paid, making it possible for the poor to hold public office.In addition, he also established many popular courts, where the final decision was made by juries, and the jury judges were selected by lot, and all citizens could serve.Thus Pericles, in his funeral speech for the Athenian heroes who fell fighting the Spartans in 431 BC, had every reason to proudly declare:
Athens' significant role in the Hippo-Persian Wars led to the eventual establishment of Athenian hegemony, while Sparta remained stagnant due to its static economy and the constant threat of Hilo uprisings.Athens took the lead in uniting the islands of the Aegean Sea and the Greek city-states of Asia Minor to form an alliance; because the headquarters of the alliance was originally located on the island of Delos, it was called the Delos Alliance. common security.In principle, the status of all the allied states is equal. When the regular meeting of the alliance is held, each of the allied city-states has only one vote.But in fact, from the beginning, Athens sent generals to hold the administrative leadership; allies who had no warships or were unwilling to provide warships had to pay tribute to Athens.Athens also gradually tightened its control over the states that joined the alliance: the treasury of the alliance was moved from Delos to Athens; the coinage of Athens became the common medium of exchange; the states that joined the alliance were not allowed to withdraw from the alliance.Thus, by 450 BC, the League had become an empire, and Athens' power had spread "outward to the Atlantic" from Ionia, in the words of Euripides.
Athenian imperialism was relatively enlightened and benevolent, as can be seen from the fact that most of Athens' allies remained loyal to Athens until the later Peloponnesian War actually ended; In rebellion, the instigators were oligarchic dissidents, since the Athenian assembly was generally not considered by the people at large to be an oppressor, but rather as a protector against their own oppressors.However, since Athens continued to expand outwards and aroused fear in Sparta, the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC was probably inevitable.
One side is a sea power, the other is a land power, and the war lasted for ten years.Although the Spartan army attacked Attica every year, it failed to break through the Great Wall connecting Athens and the sea, nor could it guarantee the supply of follow-up materials.On the other hand, the Athenians suffered a severe plague in 429 BC, nearly half of the population died, and even Pericles died of illness, so they could only attack the Peloponnese coast indiscriminately.In 415 BC, Athens decided to send a fleet to Sicily to cut off Sparta's food supply, but it ended in disastrous failure.Thucydides wrote: "Fleets and armies were wiped out from the face of the earth, and nothing was preserved." As a result, the allies of Athens rebelled one after another, and the Spartans finally destroyed the Great Wall; Besieged and persecuted by starvation, he had to declare his surrender.Athens remained only a city-state, losing both its fleet and empire, and even its self-proclaimed democracy when victorious Sparta imposed a short-lived aristocratic oligarchy.
As a result of this devastating war, the entire Greek world was impoverished, and none of its problems were resolved.Sparta was domineering, and Thebes and Athens formed a new alliance for mutual protection.In 371 BC, the Thebes suffered the first military defeat of the Spartans in 200 years, and dominated the Greek mainland for the next ten years; Once engulfed in chaos created by shifting alliances and skirmishes.The existence of this chaotic phase allowed foreign powers to conquer and unify Greece by violence.In 335 BC, King Philip II of Macedon defeated the combined forces of Thebes and Athens in Chaeronia.He deprived most of the autonomy of the Greek city-states, but he was assassinated in 336 BC before he could further carry out his plans for the eastward invasion.His successor was his world-famous son, Alexander the Great.
The classical age is over, and the Hellenistic age is about to begin.Before discussing the Hellenistic age, let us pause to examine the civilization of the classical age; it is generally considered to be a great triumph of human intellect and spirit.
"Golden Age of Pericles", "Miracle of Greece", "Glory of Greece" - these are some of the hyperbolic terms people usually use when referring to Greek civilization in the 5th century.
We shall see later that this civilization has its faults, but the exaggerated praise is understandable and mostly deserved.Why is this?And what was the basis of the Greek "genius"?We can safely assume that the geniuses in question here are not geniuses in the literal sense; for the Indo-Europeans who migrated to the southern Balkans would not happen to be genetically superior to those who migrated to the Middle East, India, or Western Europe .Therefore, the answer can only be found by comparing the historical development of the Greeks with that of the Indo-Europeans who settled in other parts of Eurasia.
As a result of the comparison, two explanations for the extraordinary achievements of the Greeks were proposed.First, the Greeks lived close enough to the earliest centers of civilization in Egypt and Mesopotamia to benefit from the earliest achievements of the latter, but not so close that they could not retain their own identity.In fact, the main significance of the Hippo-Persian War is that the result of the war enabled the Greeks to do the above two incompatible things at the same time and benefit from both.
The emergence and lasting existence of the city-state is the second factor that contributed to the achievements of the Greeks, because the city-state provided the necessary institutional guarantee for the prosperity of culture.It should be pointed out that the city-state system is not unique to the Greeks.For example, in India, Aryan immigrants at an early stage of development also established organizations equivalent to city-states in some areas.Around 302 BC, the ambassador of the Seleucid Kingdom of Greece to Fahrenheit, Megasthenes, admitted that there were some "free cities" in the Mauryan Empire where he was an ambassador.However, these free cities were eventually incorporated into the local monarchies that came to control the Indian peninsula.Only the Greeks could keep their city-states for centuries.
One reason was that the overlapping mountains of Greece did not provide the geopolitical basis for building a regional empire (see section 1 of this chapter).Another reason is that most of the Greek city-states enjoyed direct access to the sea, which enabled them not only to receive external intellectual boosts, but also to maintain and develop their own economies.Indeed, the Greeks paid a heavy price for their fragmented city-states: the constant wars between the city-states culminated in the unification imposed by the outside world, first from Macedonia and then from Rome.But in return they enjoyed centuries of liberty within their respective city-states; and this, at least, seems to have been a prerequisite for the enormous creativity of Greece in the fifth century.
Classical Greek civilization is not a primitive civilization.It, like all other civilizations, borrows heavily from past civilizations - such as the civilizations of the Middle East.However, what the Greeks borrowed, whether it was Egyptian art forms or Mesopotamian teaching and astronomy, were imprinted with the characteristics of wisdom unique to the Greeks.These characteristics can be summed up as being open-minded, curious and thoughtful, eager to learn, and rich in common sense.The merchants, soldiers, colonists, and travelers of other nations were dwarfed in this respect by the Greeks in their foreign travels; they traveled with a skeptical, critical eye.They inquire into everything, and bring all problems to the judgment seat of reason for examination.Plato wrote in "Apology" that Socrates advocated that whatever a person's own reason has declared to be wrong should not be thought about or done, even if compelled by those in power or by any court, Resist at any cost, too—“…the unexamined life is not worth living.…” Socrates also noted the importance of free debate to society.His plea for his life at trial was based on this view.He said:
This unbridled free thought is unique to the Greeks, at least in its pervasive and intense degree.The secular view of life was also unique to the Greeks; they firmly believed that the most important thing in life was to fully express the personality of the person here and now.The combination of rationalism and secularism enabled the Greeks to think freely and imaginatively about various issues concerning human beings and society, and to express their thoughts and feelings in great literary, philosophical and artistic creations.Their works are still compelling and meaningful today.
These unique characteristics of the Greeks are clearly reflected in their religious thoughts and customs.The Greeks saw their gods as practically like themselves, except that they were more powerful, longer-lived, and more beautiful.Thanks to such gods, the Greeks felt carefree and at ease living in a world ruled by familiar and understandable forces.The relationship between the Greeks and the gods was essentially a relationship of equal exchange; the purpose of their prayers and sacrifices was to expect the gods to show goodwill to them.As Herodotus said, this religious relationship was maintained through "common shrines and sacrifices" rather than through ecclesiastical organization and shared religious beliefs.Although Homer's and Hesiod's Theogony outlined the prevailing religious thought of the time, Greek religion never systematically presented common religious teachings or compiled a religious canon.Comparing the Greek religion with that of the Mesopotamians, this feature of the Greek religion is very obvious.According to the Mesopotamian explanation of the origin of things, human beings were specially created by the main gods to build temples and offer sacrifices to the gods.Thus, duties such as building temples and making sacrifices actually constitute the raison d'être of human beings.How different is this from the idea of the Greek philosopher Xenophanes in the 6th century BC.He said:
Religion in classical Greece was an integral part of city-state life and thus permeated every aspect of city life.It explained the material world, daily sacrifices, and social institutions, and was a major source of inspiration for poets and artists.Every Greek temple was a center of local and national culture.There are many persons who specialize in the development of a particular art, more or less by accident.The miracle workers who were the first to become skilled physicians grew up on the island of Kos in the worship of the fabled god of medicine, Aestechpios.The famous Hippocrates was the most outstanding of them all.He wrote medical treatises with extreme objectivity, based his diagnosis on each case on objective observation, and avoided conflating the cause or cure of disease with witchcraft.Referring to the "sacred" disease of goat madness, he writes: "I do not think that this disease, which is called a holy disease, is any more holy than any other disease. It has natural causes like other diseases. So it is sacred because they do not understand it. . . . In fact, all things are alike in this respect, and have a cause."
Likewise, the actor is brought up in the worship of Dionysus, the god of wine.They first performed the rituals of worshiping Dionysus like a play, and then gradually created far-reaching tragedies and hilarious comedies.This kind of literature and art can only be developed in Athens in the 5th century BC, and it is unimaginable elsewhere.Every religious festival in the city of Athens, the state pays for the performance of the script, and organizes citizens to watch it collectively.The balance and normal state of the development of Athens drama should be attributed to the close relationship between the playwright and the audience.Aeschylus performed his play "The Persians" based on the battle of Salamis before the citizens who had won the battle of Salamis.Sophocles often referred to the gods in his tragedies, but his chief concern was not with religious questions, but with people of all kinds—the noble and admirable, those confronted with forces beyond their control. man, the wicked man, the severely punished man.The heroism of Oedipus's courage to suffer in the face of catastrophe is the essence of the tragedy created by Sophocles. It somewhat reveals the meaning of life and raises some problems that all people face.
If Sophocles was not interested in traditional religion, Euripides was positively skeptical.He mercilessly portrayed the shortcomings of the gods and satirized those who believed that gods were superior to humans.He was a critic, a single-minded fighter for unpopular causes.He supported the rights of slaves and foreigners, advocated for women's emancipation, and attacked the glorification of war.This is especially true of Aristophanes, whose comedies are full of social satire.He himself is a conservative yearning for the good old days, so he scoffs at democratic leaders and policies.In the play Lysistrata, he describes a group of women, terrified by endless killings, who refuse to have sex with their husbands until they give up the war.In The Knight, Aristophanes mocks democracy by a general trying to persuade a sausage seller to seize the position of Creon, the leader of the democrats.
Greek art is also a unique product of city-state civilization.Since the temple became the secular and religious core of the city-state's culture, art and architecture were most highly expressed in the temple.These temples were the dwellings of revered patron saints of both sexes, such as the Parthenon, a shrine on the Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena.Sculpture is the handmaiden of architecture, and the temples of the gods are decorated with sculpture.Master carvers such as Phidias and Praxiteles not only carved on the walls and pediments of the temple, but also fashioned statues for the interior of the temple.Their works are very different from the realism of later Roman sculptures, with a synthesis, that is, they only emphasize the basic characteristics of the superficial models, rather than copying each model.Speaking of Greek engraving; Greek coins, which provide some of the finest examples of engraving from this era, should not be overlooked either.In short, all Greek art embodies the basic ideas of balance, harmony and moderation of the Greeks.This is all the more evident when one compares the Parthenon with the pyramids of Egypt, the pylons of Mesopotamia, or the more primitive Greek statues with the flamboyant sculptures of the Middle Eastern peoples before that time. .
The same contrast is evident in philosophical speculation.On the question of the nature of the world, the rationalist philosophers of Ionia on the coast of Asia Minor in the sixth century BC were the first to challenge traditional supernatural explanations.They raised the fundamental question of what the world really is made of.Thales speculated that all things began with water, since liquids, solids, and vapors are all forms of water.Heraclitus believed that the foundation of all things is fire, because fire is very active and can transform into all things.Anaximenes believed that air is the foundation of all things.He argued that when air becomes thinner, it becomes fire; when air gradually condenses, it becomes wind, cloud, water, earth, and stone.These views may seem naive in the light of modern science, but what is important is that they asked questions and sought answers through the free use of reason, without asking God for help.In the same way the Greeks of this period took the astronomical observations of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians and purged them of astrological elements; Knowledge, they also absorbed and developed it into a well-organized logical structure.
Around the middle of the 5th century BC, as conditions in Greek society grew more complex, philosophers shifted their focus from the material world to man and questions about man.This is especially true in the case of the Sophists.Its most prominent spokesperson is Protagoras.He has a famous saying: "Man is the measure of all things"; what he means by this sentence is that everything is different according to the needs of people, so there is no absolute truth in the world.The emphasis on people led wise men to condemn slavery and war, and to support most causes of the populace.But on the other hand, there are many Greeks, especially those conservatives, who are very scrupulous about the relativism of the Sophists, worrying that it will endanger social order and morality.Socrates is the main representative of conservatives.The corrupt politics of the time and the lack of any clear rules of life worried him deeply.Talking endlessly with his friends, he developed a dialectical science, which examines all existing opinions by means of questions and answers until he establishes a generally accepted truth.他坚持认为，用这种方法可以发现有关绝对真理、绝对善或绝对美的观念，而这些观念与成为个人放纵不羁、公共道德败坏之借口的智者派的相对主义大不相同，将为个人行为提供永久性的指导。
苏格拉底的弟子柏拉图（公元前427 －374年）出身贵族，他和他的朋友们引雅典为自豪，可对雅典人民并不信任。当雅典民主政体判处苏格拉底死刑时，这种不信任加深而为仇恨。因此，柏拉图的目标是要实现一个既能维持贵族特权、又可为贫苦阶级接受的社会。他的“理想国”把人分为四等：护国者、哲学家、士兵和劳动群众。这种等级划分是永久的；柏拉图用一则神话即“高尚的谎言”作为其理论根据，这则神话说，这四个等级是神用金、银、铜、铁四种金属创造出来的。柏拉图曾希望叙拉古的统治者能接受他的学说，付诸实践，以实现他的政治理想，但未能如愿，他只好回到雅典，绘一批批弟子讲学，达40年之久。他教导弟子们说，世界上存在的每一样事物都是相应的理念的不完善的摹本，所以，整个现实世界是完善的理念世界的不完善的摹本。柏拉图认为，善不是变动不尽的现实世界的知识，而是真实的理念世界的知识。
这一历史时期的另一位伟大的思想家是亚里土多德（公元前384 -322年）。他开始时是柏拉图的弟子，但是，老师去世后，他创办了莱森学院。亚里士多德是一个收集者和理性主义者，而不是一个神秘主义者；是一位逻辑学家和科学家，而不是一位哲学家。他为了创立自己的学说，汲取了所有各方面的知识涉及的知识领域之广泛，可以说，前无古人，后无来者。他的卓越贡献主要在逻辑学、物理学、生物学和人文学科诸领域，他实际上是这些学科的创始人。作为一个伟大的百科全书式的学者，他寻求自然界和人类生活的各个方面的秩序。他认为，整个自然界，最低级的是矿物，位于矿物之上的是植物，位于植物之上的是动物，人类处于最高级。他将人类社会的各个阶级与自然界的各个等级相对应，从而证明，人类划分为天生的主人和天生的奴隶是天经地义的。He said:
论述古典希腊不能不提到希罗多德和修昔底德。他们叙述了他们那个时代各种激动人心的事件，并在叙述过程中，创立了一种新的文学类型——历史。希罗多德早先生活在曾沦于波斯人统治下的小亚细亚的希腊人中间，以后来到使波斯人遭到破天荒的惨败的雅典。希罗多德把雅典人的这一重大胜利归因于他们的民主政体，所以，他的《历史》一书是最早讴歌民主政体的一篇伟大的领辞。这部作品隐含的意思可以用他赞同的某希腊人的几句话来说明。那位希腊人在对波斯国王谈及自己的同胞时说：'虽然他们是自由人，但并非在各个方面都是自由的；法律是他们的主人，他们畏惧这位主人甚于你的臣民害怕你。法律规定他们做什么，他们就做什么；法律的条文始终如一。法律禁止他们临战逃脱，不管遇到的敌人有多少；要求他们作战时坚如磐石，或者战胜敌人，或者死于敌手。 "
与希罗多德不同，修音底德撰写的历史是记述伯罗奔尼撒战争的。在这场战争中，雅典经过27 年的苦战，最后屈膝投降了。希罗多德颂扬了雅典的胜利和荣耀，而修昔底德则分析了雅典的失败和苦难。毫无疑问，修昔底德是同情雅典的；他曾任雅典将军，领导过雅典军队。但是，他坚决抑制自己的情感，为自己提出这样一个任务：实事求是地弄清这场灾难的原因。虽然他从未用过社会科学一词，不过，他的某些话实际上已表明，他正在试图创造一门社会科学。He wrote:
在描述了希腊人在如此众多领域里的非凡成就之后，按照通常的做法，须指出他们的一些缺点。这就是，妇女的社会地位很低；奴隶们受到剥削；虽然奴隶和客籍民即居留的外邦人构成居民的大多数，但他们绝无雅典公民权。所有这些情况都是真实的，但无关大局。评价古典希腊，应该从当时的实际情况出发，而不应该依据现在的做法，或者更糟，按照乌托邦的标准。
在公民权这一问题上，雅典人和其他所有希腊人一样，认为他们自己是一个大家庭，只有同一血统的人才能成为公民，外邦人居留时间再长也不行。值得注意的是，虽然客籍民都是自愿前来的移民，只要他们愿意，随时可以离开，但许多人还是长期地居住在雅典，为收养他们的这座城市慷慨地贡献自己的才能，在一定程度上表现了对雅典的满意和忠诚。同样，奴隶制度尽管造成许多不好的后果（本章最后一书将予以分析），但并没有象通常所设想的那样广泛。绝大多数公民——三分之二到四分之三的公民——没有奴隶，靠当农民、工匠、店主或水手谋生。常有人说，普通雅典人因有奴隶来养活，能够整天看戏、担任公职、讨论哲学和政治，这是不符合实际的。
评价古典希腊，不应看它哪些没做到，而应看它做了些什么。如果这条标准可以确立，那么古典希腊的贡献及其历史意义也就极其明显而突出。自由探究的精神，民主政体的理论和实践，多种形式的艺术、文学和哲学思想，对个人自由和个人责任心的强调——所有这些构成了希腊留给人类的光辉遗产。