Athens News
July 22, 508 B.C.
Our Great writers and philosophers
Finally there is Sophocles he created 80 plays. Most of his plays were based around tragedy and drama. In most cases his main character died in the story. His plays helped the younger generation learn about their history because his plays were based on the world around them.
We also had many philosophers that were important to our society. For our philosophers we have Pythagoras, he created the Pythagorean theory for math. He involved shapes in many of his works and this theory showed how these shapes could be rearranged and calculated in math problems.
The next famous philosopher was Aristotle. He was the creator of mathematics, biology, and chemistry. He was world known philosopher because he helped the world of science. He helped science by creating more efficient tools. He was responsible for designing a better sailboat and sail so that travel across the sea was faster and safer.
Sophocles
Aeschylus
Aristophannes
Our Achievements
Athenians use the visual arts, such as architecture and sculpture to glorify and honor our gods. We Athenians are also known as the first play writers throughout Greece and the world. We have created the Olympics where everyone can have a good time and see great athletes compete in many sports. Some of our most popular and exciting sports include running and fighting the lions. We have made great temple for the gods. Some of the major temples were built for Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. They were made with 40 foot high columns and had a great statue of one of the Gods in the middle of the temple. We also have the largest navy in the world of both merchant and warships. This is important since the sea is our way of life. It is a major source of food and we have been able to travel to other lands. With our navy we were able to conquer lands who threatened us.
We are a hardworking people and we have created many types of pottery to sell. Our farms grow wheat, olives, grapes for wine. We are the largest city-state in all of Greece. We are the wealthiest city there is. Finally we have defeated the Persian Empire. Our achievements have paved the way so we will be forever be eternal in history.
Temple Of the Gods
Greek Pottery
Olives
our major battles
Our next major war was against Sparta. This was called the Peleponesian War. This battle occurred after the Battle of Marathon on 450 B.C. The Spartans had invaded and destroyed almost all of our farmlands. But luckily we had stored most of our food in food storages located near the seaports. In 440 B.C. we sadly caught a disease that killed one half of our people. We used our wealth to ask our allies for help since we were weak. We were helped by the Thebes and Megara with our battles. Our empire was still going strong no matter how many failures we suffered. We were still one of the greatest financial city-states because of all of the years building up our wealth.
The Polis
Before the Polis existed, our government was run by nobles and warrior kings who controlled fortresses and vast armies. The nobles were very corrupt and liked to enslave people. They executed many people who they felt challenged their power. Many of the common people rebelled against them by sending their own armies. The common people won the battle against the nobles. After that they created our democracy and named it the Polis.
The Polis has made up decisions for close to two centuries. Everyone enjoys the Polis because it allows our lives to be simpler and so we can enjoy what we do. It makes it simpler since the Polis is responsible for the decision making while we are all able to focus on our jobs.
Why Athens is the Best
We have won many wars, including the Persian war. The Spartans may have a better army, but we have a greater fleets which makes us more powerful in battle and in trading. We also have greater protection since we have walls that protect us from any enemies. Sparta does not have that defense for their people.
Also, we have many advantages that the Spartans do not. We have the advantage of using the waterways. Most importantly we have the protection from the Gods. We are named after the Goddess Athena, and so the gods favor us more than Sparta.