ATHENS

Athens in the 5th century B.C. was a city-state (polis) in mainland Greece (Hellas). It did not have a ruler, but had a popular assembly (ecclesia) at which any male citizen was permitted to speak and vote. Hence it had a direct (rather than a merely representative) democracy, although the franchise was not extended to resident aliens, women or slaves. A council (boule) of 500 citizens prepared business for the assembly during the year. This was rotated among a sub-council (prytaneis) of 50 citizens every month. Socrates was a member of one of these sub-councils in 406 B.C. The membership of the Council was renewed every year. Under normal circumstances, the assembly met every nine days.

During the time that Pericles (495-429 B.C.), a continually reelected general to the council, was the most powerful politician in Athens, the city had its golden era (c. 460-429 B.C.), also known as the Periclean era.

Herodotus (c. 490-425 B.C.) wrote the very first work of history -- The History (of the the Persian War). Among the great playwrights were Sophocles (496-406 B.C., the author of Antigone and King Oedipus, and Euripedes (480-406 B.C.), the author of Medea and Electra.

Among the great philosophers resident in Athens were Protagoras (485-411 B.C.), Parmenides (c. 5th century B.C.), and Zeno of Elea (490-430 B.C.), as well as Socrates. 

The single greatest architectural achievement of the Periclean Era of Athens was the Parthenon, a great temple built on the Acropolis, made of marble and decorated with elaborate carvings, in honor of the goddess Athena, who was the patron goddess of Athens. The forty-foot statue of Athena was covered with ivory, gold and jewels. The Parthenon took fifteen years to build, and its dimensions were exact to fractions of millimeters.