Fifth Century B Ce Essay

During the fifth century B.C.E., there were two forms of tension that contributed to the artistic outpour. The first source of tension, was the conflict between the Greeks’ pride in their accomplishments and their concern that overreaching would bring retribution. The second source of tension, was between the soaring hopes and achievements of individuals and the claims and limits their fellow citizens put on them. An example of art, or in this case the architecture of the time, would be the buildings Pericles ordered to be constructed. Pericles undertook a great building program, that developed buildings and temples that honored the city’s gods. These buildings and temples were supposed to represent the visual greatness and power of Athens, by emphasizing

The tragedies were presented in contests as part of the public religious observations in honor of the god Dionysus. Each poet would create three tragedies to submit to the archon. These tragedies served as a forum to raise vital issues; such as the issues of the day and enabling the Athenian audience to think about the serious, but exciting, context. Philosophy was much like that of art and literature, because it indicated an extraordinary concern in human beings. Specifically, in the capacity of a human being, their limits, their nature, and their place in the universe. The philosophy of this century dealt with the introduction of theories about nature. One example of the philosophy during this century, was the speculation about the nature of the cosmos. Parmenides of Elea and his pupil Zeno, in opposition to the earlier philosopher Heraclitus, argued that change was an illusion of the senses. Reason and reflection showed that reality was fixed and unchanging because nothing could be created out of nothingness. This also brought about the idea of attraction and repulsion. Philosophy during the fifth century, was focused on science and allowed many theories to be developed that would be