Introduction
American history is defined by borders and clear definitions. To understand the worth of all historical events and take the most important lessons, it is necessary to differentiate the concepts and know their direct explanations. For example, there is a significant difference between a citizen and a subject, and people should know about it to understand their rights and opportunities. A citizen is a person, who may have rights, opinions, and free will.
Citizens can challenge each other and share their personal ideas and beliefs. A subject does not have such rights or opportunities. A subject may have some privileges but has to accept the opinions of the government or other people and obey the orders that have been established. In other words, it is possible to say that a citizen has more favorable conditions in comparison to the conditions available to a subject in the same country under the same rules.
Status of the Greeks between the Bronze Age to the End of the Peloponnesian War
The Bronze Age was one of the most successful and influential in the history of Greece. A number of social, economic, and some kind of technological changes occurred during that period of time that made the Greeks the center of the Mediterranean. During a long period of time, Greece was the land of farmers, who could promote trade across the sea and reach the countries they needed. The Greeks gained a powerful status in trade relations and cultural preferences because of Mycenaean culture spread during the Bronze Age.
The political changes were also impressive because that period was called as the Age of Heroes (Cole and Symes 59) such as Achilles and his unbelievable power and Hector, who “was there at the gate with his mind in a rage who was bent toward a fight with Achilles” (Homer 13). As for the philosophies developed during that time, people seemed to be very careful about the rules according to which they had to live and the responsibilities they tried to take care of.
Being devoted warriors and democrats, the Greeks considered the outcomes of their actions and believed that it was possible to live with good thoughts only and avoid evil as something unnecessary. Hesiod wrote that “a man sets up evil for himself when he sets up evil for others; the evil design is worst for the one who designed it” (80). However, a number of changes took place from the Bronze Age to the end of the Peloponnesian War.
The Greeks lost their water rights and were disrespected by the majority of their neighbors. In Athens, the Greeks did not know how to save themselves against the power of Sparta. In a short period of time, powerful Greeks with all those heroes and hopes for a good future were destroyed. The Greek democracy was defeated by Sparta’s oligarchy. Still, there were several supporters of Greece that provided the country with a chance to recover and continue fighting against Sparta in the nearest future.
In fact, the Greeks did not want to leave their philosophical and cultural beliefs and ideas. Though their political status was worsened during the period under consideration because of constant wars with Sparta, strong culture, religion, and culture helped the country to survive and prove its possibilities and worth in the world.
Works Cited
Cole, Joshua and Carol Symes. Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.
Hesiod. Theogony & Works and Days. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2015. Print.
Homer. The Iliad: The Death of Hector, Book 22. Toronto: BookThug, 2007. Print.