Life in Ancient Greece

We have learned that in many of the Greek states including Sparta and Athens. Childhood was very different for that of modern children. Boys spent their whole lives growing up in school and the military. Many left home at a very young age. Lycurgus gave us a glimpse of the childhood of a Spartan boy in leaving home at 7 then playing war games until 18 when he actually served in the military. At the age of 30 they became adults (citizens) in the eyes of the State. Many married at this time and continued the traditions. Most took wives of a young age who had been trained in state education with the their male counterparts. Girls where sheltered more during their schooling by living at home yet they had the freedom to enjoy life and develop friendships. Girls often married at 16 when most of the boys they grew up with prepared for a life in the military. Spartan Boys eventually became Spartan Men who were warriors and heroes to those around them. They eventually became the stuff of legends. Spartan girls became Spartan Women at a young age and held the roll of mistress of the house. She held dominion over the slaves of the home and yet was not a citizen herself. Many Spartan women were held in high esteem as the mothers of great warriors even though their sons left them at 7 to become the men they did.

Aristotle and day to day democracy

The first question that comes to mind while reading Aristotle: The Polis. from Politics would have to be 'Is America really a Democracy?' This is a question that has been asked by many in recent history yet we still hear every day how lucky we are to live in a democratic nation that allows us to be free. But how free are we really? In the era of Pericles it is believed that "... Democracy came to mean the equality of justice and the equality of opportunity" as quoted from Lecture 6 by Steven Kreis. I ask you how equal are we really? In the American Justice society all criminals are not treated equally, innocent people sit in jail for things that had no knowlegde of and guilty parties walk our streets committing crimes. How is that Equal? It is not. Have you ever tried to deal with the court our court system when someone is innocent or you have knowledge of guilt. They don't really care. If it moves the paper off the desk then the innocent serve time and the guilty walk. How much opportunity do we really have? We walk down our streets seeking equality in our own home towns yet everyday someone who has come to our country illegially takes a job from a mother, or a home from a family. The world sees us as a land of opportunity but for our own people we are not. It took a majority of our history for women to rise above the status of 'slave'. Even now many in our country still feel as Homer "Each one gives law to his children and to his wives." This belief has contributed to the nature of abuse and inequality in our nation. With these situations arising in our country are we really fufilling the nature of democray or just the truth behind Aristotle's commentary?

As the United States of America we pride ourselves on our democratic nature. Yet as we prepare for a national election can we honestly say that our voice will be heard. In ancient Greece the only people who mattered may have been in the citizens but they had a say. In modern America we are all suppose to have a voice. With the size of our nation and the changes to democracy that are needed to facilitate this vast land we are no better off than the slave of Anciet Greece.

Aristotle may have been right in saying that the three classes of people are needed to make a state work and he was very clear on what would happen if the rich or the poor out weighed the others. Aristotle states "..of these two the one sort grow into violent and great criminals, the others into rogues and petty rascals.." He failed to mention what would happen when "the mean" grew beyond the rich and the poor. It is my belief that as a nation "the mean" has out grown the rich and the poor to the point were "the mean" covers all levels of the middle class. We have those who were rich and lost it all, we have those who were poor and started over, we have those who were "the mean" but are now becoming the poor. Yet the rich still hold the power of our democracy. Aristotle was of the opinion that the middle was the best. Obviously he could not see what the middle would be like 2000+ years into the future. But he obviously knew some thing about what would happen when democracy is truly embraced in his statement "..it has now become a habit among the citizens of states, not even to care about equality, all men are seeking for dominion, or if conquered, are willing to submit."