Jeopardy

"When you belong to a minority, you have to be better in order to have the right to be equal."

Socrates, 400BC

Equality in Periclean Athens is a difficult term to define due to the dynamic of the word equality. Equality itself is a word that is orbited by a number of unique and often unusual meanings, or for a better prefix, interpretations.

In terms of the Periclean ideal, equality is divided into the equality of outcome, opportunity and treatment . These three concepts intergrate into the larger image of the Athens of Pericles and the "equality" of democracy.

Athens was obsessed with the idea of the citizen; a made member of the state . Even though partial adult males of true Athenian background, Athenian citizenship established complete membership in all issues that affected the state . This citizenship disregarded the issue of class or wealth despite the involvement of women, children, foreign persons and slaves being disallowed . This notion of class and economic equality within the state, the equality of opportunity, defined and shaped the cornerstone of the Athenian democracy.

This common distinction of equality in respect to the citizen of Athens allow for many cultural trends. Things such as dress, housing and ellabrorate decorative that we see common place in our society today were more unilateral . Despite the equality of an already class removed society, clothing became the unifier; dress was the same throughout the classes as it was easily attainable but often not worn for the belief in a more masculine definition .

Equality, in terms of the State, called for all citizens to partake in the doings and actions of Athens. Unlike in many other cultures were equality, even democracy, were an intangible term, Athens had shown that it was a citizens' State; governed by the people.

The polis was broken into two groups, the citizens and the people. The citizens, as they are stated above, governed the people, by earning the right to do so.

How was this achieved? Through a citizen's service in defense of Athens against her foreign aggressors .

As a soldier citizen, one excised his love for his nation through involvement in conflicts that affected the people as a whole. Sennett explains that in many ways that the lover and the soldier had a common ground in their citizenship ; both loved the nation, creating a lover of the nation who would boldly defend her in times of incursion or annihilation, both on and off shore.

The making of this small and "elite" army had its flaws, which affected the idea of citizenship and lead to radical changes in the dynamic of Periclean Athens.

During the horror of a three decade long struggle of the Peloponnesian War, military trounce, alien conquest, and the implementation of the oligarchy ; the public of Athens demonstrated that amalgamation of obligation and self-discipline that is essential for the endurance of admired administration and existence in a civilized society. This limit is ever the more notable when we judge how effortless it would have been for the Athenian mass (consisting of the demos ) to pillage the affluent and take vengeance upon their adversaries.

The idea of equality therefore is a conundrum in terms of distinction of the classes and their role in society as a unit. Despite being entered into the covenant of citizenship, the lesser classes still had to struggle to maintain a living, while the elite could maintain themselves and each other . This was indeed one of Pericles' fears; being seen as orchestrating an oligarchy in the face of a democracy.

Plato made Periclean democracy and its disproportionate obligation to equality liable for its weakening throughout the wars . On the contrary, having principally criticized of its inequalities, challenging not equality of opportunity for all citizens; but equality of consequence. Governmental or stately equality was the keystone of Athenian democracy; but economic equality was a rejection of the democratic agenda in the "Golden Age of Athens" and afterwards.

The idea of an "elitist" democracy shone through the visage of equality. The assembly, Pnyx , was designed to hold 6,500 people; the citizen count was approximately 60,000 . This general lack of planning allowed the elitist minority, having been informed within their own circles, to place themselves within the Pnyx before the lesser citizens could attend the deliberations.

Appointment of speakers was administered to those that were of the socio-economic supreme ; taught in the art of rhetoric by the most profound educators and were often drawn from the same pools. They were also numbered to a few