AP World History: Aristotle And Socrates

Sidharth Shamshabad September 8th, 2016

AP World History 4AC- Summer Geography Project

During the time of classical Athens, philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates were born. Many factors influenced Aristotle and Socrates to become the philosophers we know today. Some of these factors such as trade, focus of the government on education, & the geography of Athens. One philosophy of Socrates was that the people who served in the government should of the highest intellect, not the gods. One philosophy of Aristotle was the concept of logic. The factors that influenced Aristotle & Socrates to become the philosophers we know today are very important. The geography of Athens was a mountainous region with little farmland for goods.

If gunpowder, the compass, or the woodblock printer weren’t invented society during the Song dynasty would’ve been very different.

As the Black Death began to calm down, the city of Florence rose to power in Italy. Most people believe that the Renaissance was born in Italy. Florence was a very artistic and cultural explosion that changed Europe. There were many factors that did cause Florence its artistic growth. One of those factors is Medici, the banker to the papal court. Another factor that made Florence the birth of the Renaissance is the powerful guilds.

In 1427, the city of Florence had a population of approximately 60,000 people and was an independent city-state. The only reason Florence prospered was because of a relatively strong government and a strong economy. The government type of Florence was a Republic which allowed the people to vote. The only people in society who had political power was the middle class a few healthy families, and powerful guilds. The guilds were one of the main reasons the Renaissance started in Florence (which had powerful guilds). The most power guild in Florence was the textile guild. The textile workers of the guild traded all throughout Europe which made Florence more prosperity. As trade occurs, the exchange of knowledge is also spread throughout the Middle East and Europe. This helped guilds gain power in

Due to Siena no longer being Europe’s banking center, Medici made Florence the banking headquarters. Medici had a lot of influence throughout Europe because he was a banker and because of Medici, he helped Florence create a stable economy. Even though there were multiple bankers in Florence Medici was different. Medici was different because he was a patronage of arts. The reason for this was because Medici wanted to go to heaven so in doing so, he used his money for the patronage of the arts (purgatory). Eventually the concept of purgatory was banned due to Martin Luther. When Medici lived in Florence, he interacted with the community and at some point controlled every political office. Medici help sustain a democratic government. Medici helped Florence expand the growth of art and architecture. This set the stage for people such as Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. The people of the Renaissance used styles of Greece & Rome. The reason for this was because of humanism which stressed the potiential value and goodness of human