greek unifiers
Greek Unifiers
The Ancient Greeks were a group of independent city-states that often rivaled each other. Although the Greeks were fiercely independent they were united and in all sorts of ways, such as athletics, religion and fear of Persia. The Greeks all had a common love for athletics to honor Zeus and to display human perfection. Religion and worship were the same in every city-state. The Persians were the most powerful and feared culture, which caused the Greeks to come together to protect their land.
The athletics of Ancient Greece were a huge part in unifier the different city-states by bringing them together to compete against each other. The Olympics were considered the most important unifier. It brought them all together every four years and stopped all wars at the time of the games. No women were allowed to watch the games and only Greek nationals could participate. (“Ancient”) Often during the athletic events different city-states would form alliances such as the sacred truce. During the truce, wars were suspended, armies were prohibited from entering Elis or threatening the Games, and legal disputes and the carrying out of death penalties were forbidden. (“Ancient”) Human perfection was a huge thing in Ancient Greece and the Olympics were a perfect way to display their perfect bodies. The Greeks were fixated with the human body, and to them the perfect body was an athletic body.
In each city-state they would practice the same religion although they were Girouard 2
fiercely independent all Greeks worshiped the same gods as well as the god of their city. They thought they were like adult humans - always falling in love, arguing, having children, playing music and partying. Like the Romans, the Greeks believed that different gods were responsible for different things. (“Barrow”) The Greeks, to show the gods how important
The Ancient Greeks were a group of independent city-states that often rivaled each other. Although the Greeks were fiercely independent they were united and in all sorts of ways, such as athletics, religion and fear of Persia. The Greeks all had a common love for athletics to honor Zeus and to display human perfection. Religion and worship were the same in every city-state. The Persians were the most powerful and feared culture, which caused the Greeks to come together to protect their land.
The athletics of Ancient Greece were a huge part in unifier the different city-states by bringing them together to compete against each other. The Olympics were considered the most important unifier. It brought them all together every four years and stopped all wars at the time of the games. No women were allowed to watch the games and only Greek nationals could participate. (“Ancient”) Often during the athletic events different city-states would form alliances such as the sacred truce. During the truce, wars were suspended, armies were prohibited from entering Elis or threatening the Games, and legal disputes and the carrying out of death penalties were forbidden. (“Ancient”) Human perfection was a huge thing in Ancient Greece and the Olympics were a perfect way to display their perfect bodies. The Greeks were fixated with the human body, and to them the perfect body was an athletic body.
In each city-state they would practice the same religion although they were Girouard 2
fiercely independent all Greeks worshiped the same gods as well as the god of their city. They thought they were like adult humans - always falling in love, arguing, having children, playing music and partying. Like the Romans, the Greeks believed that different gods were responsible for different things. (“Barrow”) The Greeks, to show the gods how important
Cited: "Ancient Greece Olympics." n.pag. Web. 9 Apr 2013. . Barrow, Mandy. "Ancient Greece ." n.pag. Web. 9 Apr 2013. . Martin, Phillip. "The Persian Wars." n.pag. Web. 9 Apr 2013. . Walker, Robert. Prologue To The Present. Ontario: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.