Rapidly developing and successful societies have always been hot spots for tension about new ideas and strategies to better the society if for all. We see high tension in successful societies such as France during the Napoleonic Era, and even the United States today with all of our political turmoil. Athens in the 5th century was no stranger to tension about how the city state should be run to get the best out of an extremely successful time for the civilization its inhabitants. Many knew philosophies and knowledge was being spread throughout Athens during this time period which caused people to start to think about the world differently. However, others chose to stick to their old customs and beliefs instead of latching on to the new ideas that were being presented. The comedy by Aristophanes called Clouds pokes fun at the rift that was forming between people and their beliefs during this stage in Athenian glory. The simple battle between conservative ideas and liberal ideas can be argued to be the cause of the high levels of tension that existed in Athens during the 5th century. …show more content…
The answer to that question is the Sophists. In the days before Sophists came into a position of power in Athenian education sons and daughters were taught by their parents. The boys of Athens would be taught by their fathers, and the girls would be taught by their mothers. Only members of the upper classes received education options from outside the home, that is until the Sophists came around. The Sophists challenged the idea of education in Athenian society. They wanted to implement a more scientific to thinking and understanding, and were always questioning ideas and philosophies that would