The Excellence of an Ancient City
...litary men living and sold the women and children into slavery. Also, in their democracy, there is little to no chance that any son of the farmer will be seen in Athens as a politician. Looking at both the ideals and realities of this situation, it seems that the Athenians are very blind. The policies of their society are very bent on classes and social structure. Some people saw the city as the perfect example of a free state, a place where a man could be whatever man he wanted to be. These people were the people at the top. No one was holding them down, unlike many of the other citizens. A normal person was told what to do, when to do it and who to vote for. This was certainly not a democratic society. Athenian politicians hid behind their titles and the Empire. Philosophers like Plato were correct in disagreeing in direct democracy; he was also correct thinking that good leaders required the proper training. It would be wonderful to walk into a self cleaning house with dinner already being cooked. Unfortunately, this technology has not yet been created. However, in ancient Athens, everything seemed to work out. Men and women were equal. Women were considered weaker, but still treated equally. The rich did not flash about their money; their riches were used properly and never for extravagances. Once again, these are only ideals, and ideals hardly ever became reality. A woman would cook and clean all day long. Her quarters were located directly across from the kitchen and the bathroom. She had to train the slaves as well as be properly behaved. Her greatest pride was to not be talked about by men, whether positive or negative. In complete inequality, the man must train the woman and supervise the slaves. He cannot have a wife until he can provide a house. A poor man would be looked down upon, since he would have an ox instead of a slave. Rich men did not do much work, but bought numerous extravagances and slaves to do their bidding. By doing this, they yielded their wealth like a sword above the commoners.Once again, the cold harshness of the world strikes. Households in ancient Athens were run by the man, and the woman just did what they were told. Families with money had slaves. Poor families were looked down upon for not being able to have slaves. In a perfect world, there would be no misery. A strong ideal in the society of Athens was just that. They had no misery. Masters never hit their slaves. A male master con not hit a male slave, because it can’t be judged if one man better then another. All people in the eyes of the law were equal. When in prosecution, it is the abilities of the person and not the class that is taken into account. In order to make due for the less fortunate, wealthy Athenians were very generous. They would pay poor Athenians for the labour they had done for them. Once again, citizens should let their nieghbours live their own life. This way, there would be peace and prosperity among all. Reality has, yet again, reared its big ugly head. Slaves were constantly abused. Male and female slaves were locked in separate rooms in the night. This action kept the salves from reproducing and stealing. Slaves were frequently abused. The one fact that they couldn’t have their own families destroys any and all ideals Athens might ha...