6 ancient societies periods antiquity 800 600 bc

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Ancient Societies – [Periods: “Antiquity” – 800-600 BC, “Classical” – 500-330 BC, “Hellenistic” –
330- 146 BC]
Ancient Societies in the west, such that of Greece, and the Mediterranean region in general, were
arranged politically into what was called the Polis , i.e. “city-states” (Small in population, centered
politically around a large-town, and politically autonomy from other cities). Long before the idea of the
nation was invented, each large city formed its own political whole, and much of Greek history is a series
of conflicts between these different city-states (Athens, Macedonia, Sparta, Thrace, Ionia, etc., the
Peloponnesian wars, Persian Invasion, i.e. the 300 movie  ). Each city-state was its own hole and large
powerful families usually dominated politics. Individual’s lives were determined largely by the family one
was born into, and one merely did what one’s father did, or some similar trade (black-smith, potter,
farmer, soldier, politician, manufacturer, etc.), while women were primarily in charge of the home (food,
clothing, the land on which the house sat, the servants and slaves, etc.). In Athens at this time the first
democracy was born into the world, were every adult male of standing had an equal say in the role of
the state. In this sense their senate was open to the public, and anybody could go propose action, argue
a point, and vote on issues. Daily life in Athens consisted of working if you had a trade, or going to the
Agora , a central spot in the city where commerce and conversation were had (like union square in NYC).
The Agora was central to life in ancient Greece, as at any given time you could find or see the most
important and influential members of society walking around or talking. At night one might take in a
play, go drink at a Symposium (party), make love to a partner, play music, etc. (aside-most ancient
societies were also slave-societies). The major point for us to take away from this is that in Ancient
societies, one’s identity, set of values, sense of self, sense of one’s place in the world, desires,
preferences, etc., were all by and large determined by the customs and hegemonic tendencies of the
city-state one lived in, beyond this, the “I” was nothing.
Modern Societies – [1450-Presnet AD]
Modern societies arose with the collapse of Feudalism or the middle-ages, this was in conjunct with the
renaissance, the scientific revolution, the reformation, the enlightenment, the birth of the printing-
press, and a series of other social phenomenon together completely revolutionized the paradigm in
which humans had lived for centuries. In feudalism, Europe was divided largely into different fiefdoms,
and realms of influence (i.e. “kingdoms”), wherein command of territory, control of the population, and
security for all, was a task sub-divided amongst an elite noble-class of kings, lords, barons, dukes,
knights, and their religious affiliates in the clergy. Beyond this, the remainder of society were members
of the serf or peasant class. Given a set of land by the king to raise, the serf-class tilled the lands for the