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Undeniably, Athens originated concepts that are still being used and imitated in today’s society. However, there was a significant difference between Athenian ideals and realities. All of the historical Athenian documents covered discuss ideals involving government, participation in politics, households roles, social classes and the individual. There was a large contrast between ideals and reality in regards to these issues, showing that Athens may not have been as ideal of a society as they believed.
“At Athens we live exactly as we please.” (Document #1, 57) Pericles’ spoke of the ideal of equally among individuals throughout Athens, in regards to democracy. Pericles’ discussed and raved about the originally of their constitution and the governments ideals involving “class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit.” However, the reality was that women and slaves were considered extremely inferior to men. ... ” (Document #5, 68) Slaves were to be ideally treated humanly and only beaten in extreme cases, for they were a vital part of Athens, yet “insolent conduct of slaves and resident aliens is everywhere rife in Athens,” (Document #4, 66) which lead to the reality of slaves being beaten unfairly and often, along with raped women as well.
Approximate Word count = 928
Approximate Pages = 3.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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