The Greek Golden Age Athens's Golden Age was a time of peace, achievements, and innovations in numerous aspects of Athenian society. However, this wasn’t always the case for the Greeks. Several decades prior the Greeks were involved in what is now known as the Persian Wars. They were involved in violent conflicts with Persia for almost half a century before they managed to reign victorious in 479 B.C.E . This unlikely victory was ultimately the spark that marked the dismantling of the Greek alliance and the start of the Athenian empire. One of the many innovations that took place during this time included the reform of the education system. Traditionally, in Athenian society, the parents controlled their children’s education which typically …show more content…
Socrates, a famous philosopher, during the Golden Age, was well known for the creation of the Socratic method. This particular method is a conversational skill where individuals ask thought-provoking questions without providing a lot of information or answers. Socrates' purpose for this method was to influence people to think more critically about their beliefs and basic assumptions about life. Although his purpose was pure, his method outraged countless members of the community because his conversational skills left them feeling ignorant. Despite questioning widely accepted beliefs, Socrates never considered himself a Sophist and continued to share his ideas. Some of his most popular beliefs included believing the only way to achieve true happiness was to behave according to a universal standard and that ethical knowledge was the only thing necessary to guarantee a good life. All in all, Socrates left a profound impact on Athenian society and went on to inspire the work of multiple …show more content…
Both Herodontus and Thucydides became prominent historians that created mass controversy due to their critical recounts of the past. For example, Herondontus’s work The Histories explained the Persian Wars as a clash between the cultures of the East and West. Unlike most Greek intellectuals, Herondontus recounted the past in a way to explore the differences between cultures. Additionally, he always recorded the past by taking an investigative approach and searching for the cause of certain historical events. Thucydides, on the other hand, actively competed with Herondontus and approached history from an analytical perspective. Since Thucydides was greatly affected by the brutality of the Peloponnesian war; he used his experience to make his narrative vivid and uncensored. He challenged those around him to consider every aspect of Greek history, especially in times of