Category: Culture

Decentering of the Native American culture in the early nineteenth century

By early nineteenth century, most of Native Americans had been driven out of their homelands by the white settlers and placed in reservations that were set a side by the colonial masters. The white settlers came with their own culture and traditions, which they tried to impose on Native Americans in efforts to alter their culture, language, and religions.

During this period, Native Americans tried to preserve their culture, even though the white settlers tried to influence them so that they could abandon their culture, and these situations sometimes reached high levels of tension, with Native Americans reacting aggressively but the white settlers usually overpowered them with the help from the military and the government (Wilmer, 2002, p.9).

The Native Americans were observing their culture through performances, rituals, rites, religious and other ceremonies important to their culture identity. During this era, they craved to have their culture intact and untainted by the white settlers way of life as depicted in the performance of Lakota Ghost Dance, which was a performative cultural and religious response to loss of sovereignty and served as request to return to independent Native way of life (Wilmer, 2002, p.9).

Before arrival of the white settlers, the Native Americans were already well-established hunters who hunted to supplement their foods including beans, tomatoes, fish, squash, and berries. With the arrival of white settlers, metal tools and firearms were introduced which altered the way the Natives used to hunt.

The first interactions between the white settlers and the Plains Indians led to emergency of the buffalo-hunting horseman with feathered headdress, which came to be typical representation of all American Indian ethnic groups in the white peoples way of reasoning (Kittler & Sucher, 2007, P.110).

The Native Americans were very hard working people in their culture who engaged in self-sufficient agriculture, trading activities, and livestock grazing. Additionally, most of the groups such as Hopi, Pueblo, and Navajo people engaged in traditional crafts including pottery, weaving, and silversmithing (Kittler & Sucher, 2007, P.111).

The white settlers significantly changed the way of life of the native people by placing them in reservations, while the agricultural, grazing and other socioeconomic activities of their society were greatly reduced, making the Natives even to try to migrate further a way from white settlers civilization in effort to try to consolidate their culture back.

With the colonial masters feeling that Native Americans beliefs and perceptions were incompatible with their own social, political, and religious systems, they introduced missionization to accompany their economic expansion; since they thought that missionaries were necessary to replace Native religions, languages and customs (Warkentin, & Podruchny, 2001, P.34).

The white settlers in this period were in constant effort to change the ideologies, society set up, and religious beliefs of the Natives since they perceived them as inferior thus wanting the Natives to acclimatize to the western civilization, abandoning their culture. This is a thing that the Native resisted though slowly some elements of white people way of life found acceptance in their culture.

Decentering of the Native American culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were marked with increased urbanization and industrialization that led to great cultural reorientation in the European system.

The Native Americans were already pacified and confined to reservations or moving around in the white settlements, enabling the whites to feel victorious in pursuit of degrading the Natives culture and established form of government and ideologies (Berlo, 1992, P.89). With this cultural reorientation, the white settlers developed a nostalgic feeling about the Native Americans way of life before their arrival, thus viewing the Natives as noble savages, thereby, developing strong interest in the arts and crafts of the native Indians.

According to Berlo (1992), this nostalgia for the pure and noble Indian past fueled the curio trade, which at its helm in 1880-1930, filled museums and private collections with staggering amount of native American art and artifacts; with the native men being encouraged to create narrative images of the myths, rituals, and replicas of traditional rituals arts for museum collections (Berlo, 1992, P.89).

One good example of these efforts was the Culins Zuni Exhibitions that consisted mainly of Zuni Indian objects and they were used to represent the Pueblo people in contrast to other Indian people (Berlo, 1992, P.77).

Apart from to trying to alter or influence the natives culture through arts, the white settlers also involved religion in their efforts. During this period, most of the Native Americans had refused to embrace Christianity, especially the Navajo, Arizona Hopi, Rio Grande Pueblos, Potawatomi, Lakota, and Dakota, choosing to continue observing their traditional religious values and rituals including the sweat lodge purification rites.

In addition, through the European influence, some religions unique to the Native Americans came to emerge such as Drum Dance cult and the Medicine Bundle religions, which involve spiritual elements from a variety of different ethnic groups (Kittler & Sucher, 2007, P.112). With time, more hybrid religions that involved combining of traditional and Christian beliefs evolved leading to Native Church that achieved significant level of success. In addition, more Natives joined Roman Catholicism and various protestant denominations.

Through white people civilization, religion and education in the Native Americans culture were significantly decentered, with many practicing a mixture of the western and traditional way of life. Others chose to embrace the western lifestyle completely, thus losing their originality, while others chose to continue to observe their traditional values and rituals, though the western influences was somehow trying to alter their beliefs.

Impact of the European expansion on the Native Americans culture in nineteenth century

First, the European diseases associated with forced relocation and massacre led to extinction of around one quarter of the Native Indians groups together with their cultures (Kittler & Sucher, 2007, P.110).

Secondly, the white settlers introduced new farming methods and tools that changed the way the Natives farmed, hunted, and grazed, especially through introduction of ranches and programs such as reindeer domestication programs, and all these activities altered the Natives way of life to some extent. Thirdly, through missionary works and Christianity, many of Natives abandoned their traditional beliefs, rituals and values and those who were left observing them still faced more challenges due to western influences.

Fourthly, through the European ecological and economic invasion, the indigenous environment was altered, leading the Native Americans to respond through increased nomadic, equestrian, and bison-hunting activities in the western plains, thus affecting their cultures by removing them from their ancestral land (Isenberg, 2001, P.32).

Additionally, the interaction between the Natives and the white settlers led to emergency of new performing arts, religion, and living of a double lifestyle by the Natives that succeeded in diluting in their culture. Lastly, through education and civilization, most of Natives abandoned their traditional way of life, gradually contributing reduced growth or death of their traditional customs and values.

References

Berlo, J.C. (1992). The Early years of Native American art history: the politics of scholarship and collecting. Washington DC: University of Washington Press.

Isenberg, A.C. (2001). The destruction of the bison: an environmental history, 1750-1920. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kittler, P.G. & Sucher, K. (2007). Food and culture. OH: Cengage Learning.

Warkentin, G. & Podruchny, C., 2001. Decentering the Renaissance: Canada and Europe in multidisciplinary perspective, 1500-1700. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Wilmer, S.E., 2002. Theatre, society and the nation: staging American identities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The strategic American culture has a long history intertwined around strategic security concepts. It can be traced back from the Cold war period during fight against communism and the domination of the Soviet Union. It was during this time that, the US security system started gaining some shape.

The collapse of the Soviet Union war on terror was deemed the most important strategic concept. The country took it upon itself to establish strategic security concepts to improve the security.

The end of the cold war paved way to fight against terror which to date, it still remains the most fundamental thing. American strategic culture makes sure that all the United States concepts are narrowed down to only specific. To Americans, this is a cultural habit that reduces the opposing barriers to only the specific persons.

These people are then reduced to the most symbols that deserve to be treated with psychological capacities and most of all, political capacities. The strategic culture is then built basing on these symbols and once the symbol is done away with, they will create awareness to the world concerning destruction of the enemy.

The major subjects of Americans concerns include Hitler of the World War II and Stalin after the war. Recently, America has had to deal with Saddam Hussain and also Libyan Kaddafi. Osama Bin Laden for instance, was popularly labeled the symbol of war and terrorism in America during 9/11 attacks.

In the recent years, Obama was given approval after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The culture also advocates for the idea that the killings of the symbols is not the end of the war.

According to American analysts, the concept of terror and war is still a fundament aspect in America. This fact still remains a great challenge to the Americans hence the fight against terror is still far from over. According to the American bureaucratic system, it remains an indispensable aspect of the strategic culture.

The United States takes its cultural attitudes seriously by taking strategic stand points. The strategic standpoint in this case is a responsibility of the state department same case for the defense department and all of them are part of the bureaucracy.

The two departments carry out their responsibilities independently. Attention is paid much on the best decisions. However, it has been discovered that change in leadership have great effects on the functions and performance of these departments.

It is also believed that to understand the American Strategic culture, one has to be familiar with the strategic traits of those involved. The culture can also be understood from the basis of linking the ideas of the elites as well as that of the bureaucracy.

The Osama Bin Ladens case paid much attention to the operations of the CIA and some affiliates in Pakistan and, Afghanistan. This was both a strategic and political tactic used to make the operation work. The most important aspect of the entire strategic process revolves around the concepts, decision making, bureaucracy and, symbols. International policies are also important in understanding the strategic culture.

The international policy also depends a lot on the security performance in the United States. In the overall, the United State still has a long way to go as regard to issues of terrorism. So far, their strategies are slowly bearing fruits.

Reference

Soundhaus, L. (2006). Strategic Culture and Ways of War: An Historical Overview. USA: Taylor and Francis.

Forces That Impacted the Culture of Early Civilizations

In the early civilizations, geography played a big role in the way that people lived. Comparing the culture of Mesopotamia and Egypt, it is evident that the geographical location of the two areas played a big role. The Egyptians had great access to the Nile River which they used for agriculture (Trigger, 2003, p 296).

They therefore worshipped the river as a way of life. The Mesopotamians had no fertile land to the extent that the Egyptians had so they had to rely on technological innovations. They also engaged in a lot of trade in order to obtain goods to fulfil their basic needs.

In Italy, the good soil attracted the Romans to be agriculturists while the Greek had to be resourceful traders because of the lack of resources. Other forces that affected the culture of early civilizations were outside influences or conquests. Once a country conquered a particular nation during war, the people were forced to practice the culture and even religion of the rulers. The Aryan race invaded the people who used to live along the Indus river.

The Aryans came to the region and imposed their religious and social culture. They instituted the caste system that relied on social stratification in different classes. Movement across the classes was forbidden. The original habitants of the region had a Dravidian culture and language. The Aryans imposed the Sanskrit language and Vedic religion on the captives.

There was also the influence of the Greek culture on the different nations that they conquered. The Greek spread their culture in the South-West Asia and North-East Africa.

Greek culture and language were spread to these regions due to the conquests by Alexander the Great. The spread of the Greek culture during this period, 323 BC to 146 BC is known as the Hellenistic civilization (Walbank, 1993, p 46). The Asian and African cities had Greek colonists from the mother country to enforce the Greek culture.

The religious belief of the people also had a great impact on the culture of the people in the ancient world. The Egyptians believed in the deity feature of their rulers so they built pyramids and tombs for their pharaohs. The pharaohs life was to be remembered even after death. Most of the countrys art also showed the importance and god-likeness of the pharaoh. They believed in many gods. Most of their gods were in the form of goddesses. The women therefore had a high status in the society.

The Social dynamics in Early Civilization

There were different social structures in ancient civilizations. The people who were deemed to be close to god were esteemed highly. The pharaohs and the women in Egypt were regarded highly.

The priests in India were more important than the kings since they could memorize and sing the Vedus hymns to the gods. In Mesoamerica, the priests were also regarded highly as they were the advisors to the kings and the rulers.

There were slaves and outcasts in the ancient civilizations who were in the lowest classes. These were mostly the people from captured nations, convicts or people with undesirable jobs. Different cultures treated them differently. In India the slaves were despised. However, in the ancient Rome the treatment of slaves was better.

They had a lot of freedom. The culture of the ancient civilizations impacted a lot on the social structures and attitudes in the people. The other people in the society were in the middle classes. These were the traders, peasants, farmers and the craftsmen.

References

Barnes, H. (1982) Revisionism and the Promotion of Peace. The Journal of Historical Review, 3(1), 53-83

Trigger, B (2003). Understanding Early Civilizations. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Walbank, F. (1993) The Hellenistic World. US: Harvard University Press.

Introduction

Wide as the American culture may be deemed to be and the depth to which its norms and virtues root, it is still open to changes that come across from time to time which in the long-run affect the overall perceptions of things and their outlook of various issues and the circumstances they undergo.

The stages of growth which the American culture has undergone over time cannot be summarized in only one piece of work due to the many factors in it that is worth noting, as such there is a tendency by authors and researchers alike to focus on one aspect of this concept in order that they maximally exploit their discoveries.

In his Book To the hills of the montezumas; the Mexican war in the American imagination, author Robert W. Johanssen exploits the perceptions of the general American to the Mexican- American conflict. It digs into the pre and the post war eras, exposing the deep sited feelings among the Americans and the effects of the war towards both their social, cultural and economic structures.

Through the book, he re-activates peoples notions, moods, their feelings about that given period in time and history. He also makes a rejoinder of the generations that came long after the war to it, giving credence to the fact that to many Americans it gave them a sense of pride in nationhood, defined their strategic size and power and the fact that its from the war that Americas star started shining brightly among other nations. It became recognized as a world power to reckon with, as one that could sacrifice anything for the sake of its boundaries.

The American strategic culture

Strategic culture, much as it may have different definitions and peoples understanding of the term may differ, we shall mainly adopt its meaning from the context that this paper tries to explore; a history of conflict and war their effects to the local culture and the long- term repercussions.

As such, strategic culture can be defined as a set of shared beliefs, assumptions, and modes of behavior, derived from common experiences and accepted narratives (both oral and written), that shape collective identity and relationships to other groups, and which determine appropriate ends and means for achieving security objectives (Streeby, 2002).

From the days of yore, war in all its forms, be it cold or confrontational has made tremendous changes in the evolution of culture. He urges the folk to come to terms with the spirit with which their belief systems and their foundations and borders lie, calling it the spirit of age (Johannsen, 1985).

He further continues in his rhetoric that it is deceptively simple to project our own standards of behavior, our own hierarchy of values to a by- gone era, but it does not in the long run, aide us greatly in understanding the past. He further alludes that What is needed is further understanding of the past on its own terms, not on ours (Johannsen, 1985).

This was in respect to the changing circumstances that nations or societies find themselves entangled in, it defeats sense to judge these issues from our present mindsets and views of things, rather he articulates that we delve deeper into history and place ourselves in the shoes of these people at the time, understand their norms and taboos before picking a standpoint.

This he explains to be the best way to take a stance on the myriad issues that define our history, as they in big way afftected societal characters over time. In this context, he was implying that it was an embarrassment for a country of the United States stature to attack a small nation, further more a third world country.

Background of the war

The war broke out in 1846 and went through to 1848; it involved armed warfare between the two nations of the United States and Mexico. This feud arose from Mexicos opposition to the occupation of Texas by the United States, Mexico still considered Texas to be its territory despite Texas earlier protest in 1836 which was renamed the Texas revolution.

In spite of the protest by Mexico, the United States went ahead with its intentions to annex the territory. Their army entered by force into Texas, conquering vast regions of Mexico inclusive of which is the New Mexico, California and a few patches of the Northern side of Mexico.

They not only occupied these regions, they went deeper to the south, where another group of the American army took over the control of Mexico. This, they used as a bait to coerce Mexico to sale of its Northern region to the United States.

The expansion programme was an idea of the then president, Mr. James K. Polk who was the leader of the Democratic Party. He initiated this move despite there being massive resistance to the takeover by a huge chunk of his population and a threat of war by Mexico.

In the United States particularly, controversy was rife with big names that were opposed to slavery and the Whig party totally standing up against this move. The aftermath was highlighted by many casualties on the American side of the war; the cost of the war was also too big for an economy that was still growing then. Due to its financial strength and military might, the United States won the war, forcing Mexico to give up its areas including Alta California and New Mexico.

To this, the United States compensated Mexico with eighteen million dollars as the price for these states, also gave up its debts owed by Mexico. Mexico gave up Texas, marking Rio Grande as its national boundary with the United States. Shortly after, the American government discovered gold in Texas, which immediately attracted investment towards the state.

Politically, the aftermath of the war witnessed the questioning of the government in relation to its stand on slavery which fired up debates regarding the civil war. A compromise was reached at in 1850, which served to briefly quell the tension that was slowly building up once more, both within the United States and among the Mexicans.

Insights into the American culture

This war had myriad effects to the people that witnessed the takeover. The most popular was the change in attitude by the people of the two countries towards each other. He Mexicans of that generation and generations that came later grew up with negative attitudes towards the United States; they usually see it as an enemy and treat the American people rather coldly.

They associate their relationship to one of war, hate and envy. On its part, the United States being the superior power and one far much greater has other responsibilities to boot. Rather than fuel the hate or focus on the country that is Mexico from a negated perception, it has embraced the much greater role that is being the super power.

As such its responsibilities span worldwide, and such its attitudes and perceptions towards Mexicans arent as bold as the Mexican hatred towards it. Altogether, the war was about race, the equality and the degree to which each of the parties could stretch to prove their points.

The American folk believes he is superior, both technically and intelligence wise. In retaliation, the general Mexican doesnt believe this, resulting to the cold war and confrontation that always arises when the parties come to contact.

Conclusion

The Mexican war, as is popularly referred resulted to a period in history that defines the culture of the two states. One action by the Americans caused ripples in their relationship with each other, and generations Mexicans have never healed from the scars. This defines their cultures in that their attitude towards Americans is rather negative and one where emotions usually spill over whenever they disagree.

The full society among the Mexicans have embraced this notion and exude similar attitude towards the Americans, this defines their culture on this aspect. Americans on the other hand have a passive attitude; they do not usually react when they are provoked as relates to their race or culture unless they are extremely pushed to the wall.

They are preserved and maintain a cool demeanor. This is however being watered down with time given the fact they interact with each other at different levels, for example the Mexicans are employed in American firms, they get to interact more lessening the degree to which the animosity spreads.

References

Johannsen R. (1985). To the halls ofmontezumas: Themexican war in the American imagination. New York: Oxford university press.Print

Streeby, S. (2002). American sensations: Class, empire and the production of popular culture. Berkely: University of California press. Print

Introduction

Wide as the American culture may be deemed to be and the depth to which its norms and virtues root, it is still open to changes that come across from time to time which in the long-run affect the overall perceptions of things and their outlook of various issues and the circumstances they undergo.

The stages of growth which the American culture has undergone over time cannot be summarized in only one piece of work due to the many factors in it that is worth noting, as such there is a tendency by authors and researchers alike to focus on one aspect of this concept in order that they maximally exploit their discoveries.

In his Book To the hills of the montezumas; the Mexican war in the American imagination, author Robert W. Johanssen exploits the perceptions of the general American to the Mexican- American conflict. It digs into the pre and the post war eras, exposing the deep sited feelings among the Americans and the effects of the war towards both their social, cultural and economic structures.

Through the book, he re-activates peoples notions, moods, their feelings about that given period in time and history. He also makes a rejoinder of the generations that came long after the war to it, giving credence to the fact that to many Americans it gave them a sense of pride in nationhood, defined their strategic size and power and the fact that its from the war that Americas star started shining brightly among other nations. It became recognized as a world power to reckon with, as one that could sacrifice anything for the sake of its boundaries.

The American strategic culture

Strategic culture, much as it may have different definitions and peoples understanding of the term may differ, we shall mainly adopt its meaning from the context that this paper tries to explore; a history of conflict and war their effects to the local culture and the long- term repercussions.

As such, strategic culture can be defined as a set of shared beliefs, assumptions, and modes of behavior, derived from common experiences and accepted narratives (both oral and written), that shape collective identity and relationships to other groups, and which determine appropriate ends and means for achieving security objectives (Streeby, 2002).

From the days of yore, war in all its forms, be it cold or confrontational has made tremendous changes in the evolution of culture. He urges the folk to come to terms with the spirit with which their belief systems and their foundations and borders lie, calling it the spirit of age (Johannsen, 1985).

He further continues in his rhetoric that it is deceptively simple to project our own standards of behavior, our own hierarchy of values to a by- gone era, but it does not in the long run, aide us greatly in understanding the past. He further alludes that What is needed is further understanding of the past on its own terms, not on ours (Johannsen, 1985).

This was in respect to the changing circumstances that nations or societies find themselves entangled in, it defeats sense to judge these issues from our present mindsets and views of things, rather he articulates that we delve deeper into history and place ourselves in the shoes of these people at the time, understand their norms and taboos before picking a standpoint.

This he explains to be the best way to take a stance on the myriad issues that define our history, as they in big way afftected societal characters over time. In this context, he was implying that it was an embarrassment for a country of the United States stature to attack a small nation, further more a third world country.

Background of the war

The war broke out in 1846 and went through to 1848; it involved armed warfare between the two nations of the United States and Mexico. This feud arose from Mexicos opposition to the occupation of Texas by the United States, Mexico still considered Texas to be its territory despite Texas earlier protest in 1836 which was renamed the Texas revolution.

In spite of the protest by Mexico, the United States went ahead with its intentions to annex the territory. Their army entered by force into Texas, conquering vast regions of Mexico inclusive of which is the New Mexico, California and a few patches of the Northern side of Mexico.

They not only occupied these regions, they went deeper to the south, where another group of the American army took over the control of Mexico. This, they used as a bait to coerce Mexico to sale of its Northern region to the United States.

The expansion programme was an idea of the then president, Mr. James K. Polk who was the leader of the Democratic Party. He initiated this move despite there being massive resistance to the takeover by a huge chunk of his population and a threat of war by Mexico.

In the United States particularly, controversy was rife with big names that were opposed to slavery and the Whig party totally standing up against this move. The aftermath was highlighted by many casualties on the American side of the war; the cost of the war was also too big for an economy that was still growing then. Due to its financial strength and military might, the United States won the war, forcing Mexico to give up its areas including Alta California and New Mexico.

To this, the United States compensated Mexico with eighteen million dollars as the price for these states, also gave up its debts owed by Mexico. Mexico gave up Texas, marking Rio Grande as its national boundary with the United States. Shortly after, the American government discovered gold in Texas, which immediately attracted investment towards the state.

Politically, the aftermath of the war witnessed the questioning of the government in relation to its stand on slavery which fired up debates regarding the civil war. A compromise was reached at in 1850, which served to briefly quell the tension that was slowly building up once more, both within the United States and among the Mexicans.

Insights into the American culture

This war had myriad effects to the people that witnessed the takeover. The most popular was the change in attitude by the people of the two countries towards each other. He Mexicans of that generation and generations that came later grew up with negative attitudes towards the United States; they usually see it as an enemy and treat the American people rather coldly.

They associate their relationship to one of war, hate and envy. On its part, the United States being the superior power and one far much greater has other responsibilities to boot. Rather than fuel the hate or focus on the country that is Mexico from a negated perception, it has embraced the much greater role that is being the super power.

As such its responsibilities span worldwide, and such its attitudes and perceptions towards Mexicans arent as bold as the Mexican hatred towards it. Altogether, the war was about race, the equality and the degree to which each of the parties could stretch to prove their points.

The American folk believes he is superior, both technically and intelligence wise. In retaliation, the general Mexican doesnt believe this, resulting to the cold war and confrontation that always arises when the parties come to contact.

Conclusion

The Mexican war, as is popularly referred resulted to a period in history that defines the culture of the two states. One action by the Americans caused ripples in their relationship with each other, and generations Mexicans have never healed from the scars. This defines their cultures in that their attitude towards Americans is rather negative and one where emotions usually spill over whenever they disagree.

The full society among the Mexicans have embraced this notion and exude similar attitude towards the Americans, this defines their culture on this aspect. Americans on the other hand have a passive attitude; they do not usually react when they are provoked as relates to their race or culture unless they are extremely pushed to the wall.

They are preserved and maintain a cool demeanor. This is however being watered down with time given the fact they interact with each other at different levels, for example the Mexicans are employed in American firms, they get to interact more lessening the degree to which the animosity spreads.

References

Johannsen R. (1985). To the halls ofmontezumas: Themexican war in the American imagination. New York: Oxford university press.Print

Streeby, S. (2002). American sensations: Class, empire and the production of popular culture. Berkely: University of California press. Print

Introduction

The spirit and character of California were changed forever when gold was discovered in the hills and began making some people very wealthy men. Who got wealthy and who was destroyed often depended on the color of a persons skin. Although the population of California was widely diverse prior to the discovery of gold, the sudden influx of men in search of fortune threw these races together in often violent ways. While the changes that happened in California helped to change the way Americans defined themselves, understanding who succeeded and why can provide a great deal of insight as to current conditions within the state today.

Main Text

Characterizing the spirit of the mid-1800s California immediately following the discovery of gold, Holliday suggests that the difference between success and failure was often as simple as the role of the dice. The town was full of people from all walks of life all hoping to discover their fortune. In April 1850, the overwhelmed harbor master at San Francisco estimated the number who had landed during the previous twelve months at more than sixty-two thousand, from ports around the globe (Holliday, 1998). Within this climate of overcrowding, hasty building and lawless society, it becomes clear that those who succeeded were also those who were intelligent enough to branch out into other elements of service such as building, store ownership, gambling house management or pool hall proprietorship. This quest for new means of creating wealth, constantly adjusting to the needs of the moment, gave the country much of its entrepreneurial spirit. In their reckless, roll-the-dice crusade for profit and wealth, the forty-niners pushed America beyond its entwined traditions of European pedigree and New England morality toward a new ethos, unconstrained by privilege or principle and measured only by the democracy of the dollar (Holliday, 1998). This spirit was born more out of necessity rather than design as the gold flowed freely through the streets or those men still living in California struggled to survive the bust times when gold was not so plentiful.

One race that took these concepts and ran with them was the black men who followed the lure of gold. Whether they were already free when they reached California or were still considered slaves upon their arrival, black men went to work in the gold mines and used the money they earned to purchase their own freedom or the freedom of their relatives. When they had no one left to purchase, they invested their money in new businesses, those that would be sustainable well into the future. African Americans hit plenty of pay dirt  by 1863, they were collectively worth about $5 million & But their real gains came outside the goldfields  some of Gold Rush Californias most influential, educated, daring pioneers were African Americans (Magagnini, 1998a). They built schools, newspapers, businesses, stores, restaurants and more. They gave up menial positions and became judges, managers and influential members of society sending encouragement and support back toward the east. California became a haven of sorts for black people seeking a means of finding a happier, more fulfilling life. In 1851, shortly after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, the New Bedford, Mass., Mercury urged its black readers to seek refuge in California (Magagnini, 1998a) and many followed the call. Left to fend for themselves and with the freedom to make of themselves what they will, black settlers proved beyond a doubt that they knew how to care for each other and they were more than capable of bringing about positive change for their community whether it was black, white or some other race.

As hard-working as the blacks in California, the Chinese were equally motivated to make things work for them. Unfortunately for them, the large numbers that arrived in California still needing to pay off the cost of their passage coupled with cultural attitudes that seemed weak in the eyes of the Anglo settlers. From the time they landed, they patiently worked long hours for low pay, quickly earning the resentment of their white competitors (Magagnini, 1998b). While they were unable to achieve the respect of their new countrymen, they were able to make an impact upon the California culture. For example, Yee Fung Cheung introduced the idea of herbal medicine into the Western culture when he failed at gold mining and opened up herbal stores in Fiddletown and Virginia City. He also started a long line of Yee doctors that persists in the area still today before he returned to China as a rich man. The Chinese did face a great deal of persecution, such as not being able to testify in court, but they made themselves useful in a number of ways throughout the community. Despite the virulent racism they faced, many Chinese stuck it out as cooks, cigar makers, restauranteurs, vegetable farmers and merchants. The first Chinese laundry opened in San Francisco & in 1851; a thousand more followed (Magagnini, 1998b). Like the blacks, the Chinese didnt waste time worrying about not being accepted by the whites. They simply got busy making their own lives  starting their own churches, newspapers, stores, entertainment venues and gambling houses. While they did enjoy some success in the mines, the Chinese were much more successful in other areas of business and were soon found working in other occupations, sometimes just as difficult such as working the railroads.

The fate of those Californians of Mexican descent was decided by the masses of white men coming to the state in search of gold and wealth. This is illustrated in the story of Jose de Los Reyes who was shot and killed, along with his twin nephews, as they returned from a fishing trip to their own ranch. They were mistaken for Mexican soldiers by the U.S. Army officers who saw them approaching in their rowboat. Overwhelmed by the white settlers that rushed in to grab the land, the Mexicans went from the owners of wealth, which was the land, to workers who only had their labor to sell (Chavez, 1998). The discovery of gold in California occurred just after the U.S. won its battle with Mexico, both of which fostered Anglo sentiment against them and thus prevented Mexican success in the state for many years to come. In addition to the popular sentiment against them, anyone who appeared to be of Mexican descent was subject to laws established specifically against them such as the Foreign Miners Tax Law of 1850. The statute required non-U.S. citizens to pay $20 a month  a costly sum at the time  for the privilege of panning or digging for gold (Chavez, 1998). Even Mexican landowners who had lived in relative peace with the Anglo Californians prior to the discovery of gold found themselves subject to illegal and legal land grabs from which they had no reasonable means of restitution. This harsh treatment and nearly impossible means of achieving justice led to the development of roving gangs of Mexicans who still struggled to find some form of compensation for what they lost or for the simple right to operate the same as the white people. Unfortunately, these bands only led to worse persecution as Mexicans became increasingly more associated with the idea of menial workers or lawless vagabonds.

The fate of the Indians was similarly not of their own doing so much as it was a product of the white mans greed and his ability to overwhelm any opposition with sheer numbers. Although James Marshall is generally credited with discovering gold in California, it is more accurate to say that he was led to it by the Maidu Indians who were likely already well aware of the material they considered worthless as compared to stronger and more useful substances (Magagnini, 1998). Unlike the Mexicans, though, the majority of Indians fell victim to the illnesses brought into their lands by the sudden influx of gold seekers. Within a decade, as many as 100,000 of the 170,000 Indians living in California had died (Magagnini, 1998). This was true in spite of the fact that the Indians had a great deal of early success in the search for gold. There were more Indians panning for gold earlier in the rush than whites, but even more Indians remained interested in living their traditional lifestyles. Unlike the Mexicans, though, the Indians were even less able to simply return home to get away from the persecution because the persecution was taking place in their homes. By 1850 California, once a relative paradise, had become a purgatory for many Indians. About 100,000 gold-seekers swarmed over every mountain range, stream and hill from Keysville to the Trinity Alps (Magagnini, 1998). The extreme influx of white men in the absence of any white women led to the predictable disaster of fighting over the Indian women who were both driven to become prostitutes in the mining towns as the only means to continue supporting themselves in the ruined environment California had become and were forced to endure the attentions of the white men even when they werent prostitutes. This was because, along with the Mexicans, they werent provided with any legal rights when it came to confronting the wants and desires of white settlers. To get them out of the way, the minors reportedly captured the Indians and sold them into slavery or rounded them up and sent them to reservations far out of the range of the gold-diggers interest.

Conclusion

California underwent some big changes as a result of the gold rush of the 1850s. The entrepreneur, never say die attitude that grew out of this environment was largely the result of the vast fortunes that could be made in a relatively short period of time, but this wasnt necessarily true all the time. Black people were able to find a new freedom in the west that wasnt possible elsewhere in the country and used their newfound wealth to improve things for themselves and their people. The Chinese came over in great numbers dreaming of wealth, but their impact upon society would turn out to be primarily found in other fields as they introduced the West to some of the wisdom of the far East. Although California was largely settled by Mexicans and Indians prior to the gold rush, it was these two groups of people who fared worst as a result of the white mans influx. As one looks at the culture of California today, many of these influences can still be traced in settlement patterns and general attitudes.

References

Chavez, Ken. (1998). States Latinos lost in the rush. Bee Capitol Bureau.

Holliday, J.S. (1998). Gold Fever. Humanities. Vol. 19, I. 1.

Magagnini, Stephen. (1998a). Fortune smiled on many black miners. Bee.

Magagnini, Stephen. (1998b). Chinese transformed Gold Mountain. Bee.

Magagnini, Stephen. (1998c). Indians misfortune was stamped in gold. Bee.

Introduction

People consider trade as one among the human activities that enhanced cultural exchange during the sixteenth century. During this period, merchants embarked on trade missions that lasted months and years on either land or sea. The fact that the commodities involved in the trade were only available in some regions forced these merchants to travel or sail to different destinations in search of those commodities that were not available in their regions.

Cultural values such as religious beliefs, art or aesthetic values, language, and even systems of government are among the cultural values that were exchanged during these trading missions (Sanders et al, 2006, p.69). This paper examines how trading activities during the sixteenth century enhanced the exchange of these values among people of different ethnicities who were involved in trade in the different trade routes that existed in the period.

Cultural aspects exchanged through trade during the sixteenth century

Religion

Some of the worlds famous religions benefitted immensely from the trading activities in the sixteenth century. Merchants spread their religious beliefs and practices along the route of their trade. For instance, Christianity and Islam experienced a substantial boost in the sixteenth century as traders introduced the religions to new people they encountered along their trade routes.

Arab traders from Asia who were engaged in trading activities in North Africa took advantage of the opportunity accorded to them by the trading activities to spread Islam in the region. As a result, even today most of the North African states are Islam states. Christianity and Buddhism also spread immensely to some African, European, American and Asian nations where the beliefs never existed before.

Art/ aesthetic values

Art and aesthetic values were also exchanged immensely during the trading activities of the sixteenth century. The medium of exchange of artistic and aesthetic values was in either written form or oral. The commodities of trade in some aspects inspired this exchange in cases where by traders sold their artifacts to others who fancied them.

In most cases, people considered cultures as superior to others that benefited most from this cultural exchange (Van Tielhof, 2002, p.112). The most civilized cultures passed their aesthetic values to other cultures who considered them as superior.

Language

Just like the artistic and aesthetic values, languages that people considered superior to others were considerably exchanged. As a result, they spread tremendously during the trading activities of the sixteenth century. Languages such as English spread considerably during this period for a couple of reasons.

For instance, most traders found the English language as the best-suited language for business purposes, which made even non-English speakers struggle and muster the language. Second is the fact that the Bible was experiencing more translations into the English language, which made more and more people who had converted to Christianity desire to know the language (Clark, 1999, p.58). Finally, the language was hold with a high esteem, which made people who acquired it feel superior to others who did not.

There are instances where new languages were born because of the interactions that took place through the trading activities. These languages include the Swahili language in the eastern coast of Africa, which was born because of the interaction of the African Bantu communities and the Arab traders who stationed at the coast on their way to other trade destinations or even trading with the local communities.

The language comprises of a mixture of candid Arabic words and African words. Therefore, it eased the communication between the two diverse trading partners (Pirenne, 1987, p.30). Traders had overcome the language barrier and could now negotiate with each other with a common language. Other languages include Mandarin Chinese and the Creole language.

Political values

Another cultural aspect that experienced noticeable change during the sixteenth century is the government ideologies. During this historic period, states were desperate to discover what system of government was most effect to ensure that the states did not fall (Aksel, 1941, p.103).

As traders encountered each other during the various trades, they exchanged political values. Various systems that were considered more effective such as democracy were spread appreciably during this period. The traders from the regions that people considered more politically stable were at an advantage when it came to influencing others and passing their political ideologies on to them.

Major trade routes in the sixteenth century

Irrespective of the nature of the major commodities of trade that were involved in different trade routes in the sixteenth century, it can be argued that cultural values were more exchanged than the actual commodities. Sanders et al. (2006) argues that this is because a trader could fail to reach at an agreement with another and consequently fail to close a sales deal, but in the process of their interaction, the exchange of cultural values and ideas was inevitable (p.70).

The principal trade routes of the period in which cultural exchange is considered to have taken place substantially include the following; the trans- Saharan trade, the Trans Atlantic slave trade, the spice routes, the monsoon trade, the Baltic trade and the Silk Road.

Trans-Atlantic slave trade

The trans- Atlantic slave trade connected the Asian continent with North and West of Africa and Europe. The major commodities of this trade were minerals mostly gold from West Africa. Other things included ceramics and food commodities. The cultural exchange that was most experienced during this trade is the exchange of religious and political values (Clark, 1999, p.70).

The Islam culture was spread to most areas covered in this trade route by the Arab merchants from the Arab world. Most of the nations adopted the Islamic culture. They practice it up until to-date. Values associated to this religious culture replaced the other values that existed before this trade. Political values and aesthetic values were also exchanged in this trade.

Trans- Saharan trade

People consider the trans- Saharan trade, which connected the Eastern coast of the American continent with the western coast of Africa and Europe, as the most infamous trade that ever took place in the history of humanity (De Vries, 1976, p.12).

The major commodity of this trade was slaves who were forcibly removed from their cultures in Africa and taken to the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean to work in plantations and homes. The slaves were introduced to new cultural values, which they integrated with theirs as they settled down in strange lands (Sanders et al., 2006, p.39).

Religious values and other values that justified the slavery to the slaves in order to accept their conditions were instilled on them. In order to avoid more friction with the slaves and as an effort to get along smoothly with the slaves, masters and slave traders had to learn some cultural aspects of the slaves. This helped dissolve the hatred that had emerged between them. Traders also had to learn the languages of other traders that they were involved with in the course of their business (Clark, 1999, p.79).

For instance, in order to achieve this, the Creole language of West Africa, which necessitated the communication among traders and with slaves developed. This language is formed of words that are drawn from both the English language and the native West African languages. Another language that emerged during the time of this trade is Pidgin English, which is also formed by incorporating both English and some native West African languages (Clark, 1999, p.37).

The Silk Road

This trade route is considered the trade route that lasted for many centuries. Some people claim that the trade route exists even today. The trade route connects Asia, mostly China with the Indian sub-continent, Europe and Africa.

The major commodities of this trade included gold and other minerals as well as ceramics and artifacts. According to Pirenne (1987), this trade route is held responsible for the growth of and spread of the Buddhist faith even before the sixteenth century (p.47). Cultural values such as aesthetic values and social ideas were exchanged during the course of this trade.

The Indian Ocean trade

This trade connected the European continent with Asia, Africa, and the Indian sub continent. The major commodities of the trade involved ivory, minerals and at times slaves. This trade achieved its apex during the sixteenth century when the Suez Canal was created (Aksel, 1941, p.34).

This trade route necessitated the spread of the Islam culture and the birth of the Swahili culture. The eastern Africa coast, which was a significant trade zone and destination in this trade, experienced a lot of cultural integration, which further resulted into, inter- marriages.

The spice routes

The spice routes mostly originated from Asia and connected the region with others such as the north of Africa and Europe. These routes include the salt routes that transverse the entire European continent and Asia (Aksel, 1941, p.56). These trade routes served as platforms for traders to exchange ideas both inside and outside the business world.

Political, social and religious values were exchanged during this trade. People consider the cultural values to have been spread the most during this particular trade are the Buddhist religious values and the Buddhist culture (Bentley et al, 2008, p. 23). Aesthetic values, as well as languages, were also profoundly exchanged because of this trade. The Mandarin Chinese language was developed to necessitate communications during the trading activities.

Conclusion

For effective trading, the traders involved in the different trading activities during the sixteenth century had to ensure that they understood each other as much as they could. As a result, this enhanced cultural exchange, which helped to dissolve the differences that existed between them considering that they hailed from different places and held different cultural values.

The traders believed that if they shared similar beliefs with their counterparts in trade, they will easily negotiate and close deals without any problems that their differences could have brought upon them (Van Tielhof, 2002, p.35) Trade, therefore, served as an excellent platform for cultural exchange in the sixteenth century as people exchanged these values during their interactions.

Reference List

Aksel, C. (1941). Dutch Trade to the Baltic about 1600. Journal of culture, 23(1), 1-110.

Bentley, J., Ziegler, H., & Streets, H. (2008). Traditions and encounters: A brief global history. New York: McGraw Hill.

Clark, S. (1999). Trade and Empire. London: Zed Books.

De Vries, J, (1976). The Economy of Europe in an Age of Crisis, 1600-1750. Journal of Economics, 34(4), 12.

Pirenne, H. (1987). The Place of trade in the Cultural History of Medieval Europe. Economic History Review, 2(1), 30-89.

Sanders, T., Nelson, S., Morillo, S., & Ellenberger, N. (2006). Encounters in world history: Sources and themes from the global post volume one: to 1500. New York: McGraw Hill.

Van Tielhof, M. (2002). The Mother of all Trades: The Baltic Grain Trade from the Late Sixteenth to the Early Nineteenth Century. Leiden: Brill.

Popular cultures in the U.S include music, dance, literature, cuisine, arts, gun culture and poetry. However, many historians have alleged that the most popular culture in the U.S is cuisine. The period preceding WW II saw American people practicing various cultures such as gun culture and culture that required men to be the sole breadwinner of the family while women remain as housewives. In this culture, children were supposed to be obedient to their parents and society as a whole. Therefore, hooliganism was highly restricted in the American culture and everyone was required to observe the required norms of the society. As for the African American population, they were still prohibited in fully interacting with other Americans since some form of racial segregation still existed in American society.

During the WW II, American society experienced a significant transformation that lead to changes in American culture. After the WW II, a revolution in American society begun to be apparent as more norms were being adopted in the society while others were being removed. The segregation of the black population subsided as the society moved towards national integration. Music such as rock and roll which was initially perceived to belong to the African American culture was incorporated into American culture through the influence of teenagers. The period after WW II witnessed large concerts of rock and roll music by musicians such as Elvis Presley which attracted a large crowd from both the white and black population. Therefore, music was incorporated into American culture in the 1950s with the influence of rock and roll. Further still, the improvisation of Jazz music set a stage for new music culture in the American society that incorporated and appreciated the works of the black population. Consequently, the American society became integrated and cases of racial segregation became minimal (Faragher, J. M. et al.1999).

The period after WW II saw an emergence of a new teenage group that was defiant and unruly. This generation was eager to earn their freedom from the control of the adult population and as a result, formed their own cultural and social groupings. Consequently, they were able to obtain their freedom and begun challenging authority in the society. As a result of this freedom, juvenile delinquency became so common and the parents lost trust in their children. Indiscipline causes increased among the teenagers who were now able to earn and spend money in their own way. In fact, it is alleged that the youths during this period spent a lot of money than any other youths generation prior to them. The period after WW II especially the 19590s saw the upsurge of various literature works by different authors. The writers of this period differed from their colleagues who wrote articles of the WW I in the sense that they concentrated on writing rebellious literature and post war effects rather than concentrating on the events of WW II. Sexual fictions books also reached their peak during this period thereby transforming the society from the traditional conservative view of sex to the contemporary view (Faragher, J. M. et al.1999).

This period also witnessed changes in gender roles in the society. During the war period, various women were incorporated into the service sector through employment and as the war came to an end, they refused to take up their traditional roles. Instead, women began pushing for equality between them and their male counterparts. Women refused to take up their traditional domestic role of being housewives and instead opt to study and work. Modeling among the women also became so rampant thus improving on their public image which had initially seen them as mere housewives.

This period also saw the widespread of technology in American culture such as Television, radio and other form of technology that promoted social interaction among the society members. Through the programs aired out in these Televisions, the traditional setting of the American family was changed to incorporate new lifestyles seen on various Television shows. For example, the family show on I love Lucy in the 1950s really transformed the society by installing new morals and values in American culture. Lastly, this period saw the upsurge of various civil rights groups agitating for full equality between the black population and the white population. For example, this period produced civil activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. who was in the forefront of campaigning for equality in the American society so that the African Americans would also be incorporated in the Americans societys culture (Faragher, J. M. et al.1999).

In conclusion, the period after the WW II was characterized with a change in American culture with women taking up position of responsibility in the society. The greatest achievement of this period was uniformity that came to prevail in the American society where the young and the old interacted freely with each other unlike in the pre war period where the youths were barred from contributing to societys issues. However, despite the positive changes that occurred in the American culture, this period witnessed very unruly group of youths that were disobedient to social norms and values.

References

1. Faragher, J. M. et al. (1999). Out of Many. A History of the American People: A History of the American People. 3^rd Ed. Prentice Hall.
2. Mintz, S. (2007). The Containment Policy.

The fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fourth century marked the collapse of one of largest civilizations, as well as the beginning of radical cultural and social transformations. Hence, the Empire initiated the significant changes in all spheres of life including culture, art, politics, and philosophy.

The newly emerged civilizations, therefore, applied to the cultural ancestry left by the rich of the Greco-Roman culture. As a result of the transformation, the new world adopted Christianity and rejected the traditions of the Classical Antiquity as well as deviated from the famous Greco-Hellenistic models. Hence, the remnants of the great Roman Empire had been preserved in the philosophical, scientific, and artistic achievements representing the major cultural sources influencing the reformation of the European society in the Middle Ages.

Before the decline of the Roman Empire, Rome had considered the largest center of culture. Along with the Greek rich ancestry, including its philosophy, architecture, and culture, the Rome worshipped Greek-Hellenic models. However, their styles and models differed significantly from those represented in methodological themes.

Hence, they were more concerned with depicting real heroes and current events, including portrayal of military exploits and leaders. In addition, the Romans &celebrated the achievements of a state that was their chief patron so that all the world might stand in awe of the states accomplishments (Sayre 176). In addition, the Roman identity was also expressed in its marvelous architecture.

At this point, its architecture is especially known for the expansive interior spaces combined with the structural strength and unique form of the arch. Being great engineers, the Romans attained much importance to the public work so as to enhance the sense of identity and Roman power.

The adoption of the Christianity was among the most important events marking the development of the medieval society. New civilizations were developing their distinctive styles and visions that significantly deviated from the previously existing norms.

As a result, the Roman world experienced serious decline in cultural terms because the German invaders were not reader to undertake the role of cultural restorers (Perry 132). Nevertheless, the Greco-Roman world left rich ancestry due to high literary, scientific, philosophical, and artistic achievements.

Hence, because the invaders could not meet the high cultural and social structure of the previous civilizations, they heavily relied on religion and church being the only institution ready to reconstruct the civilized life (Perry 132). While denying humanities and prioritizing the role of the church and God in shaping the society, the medieval society centered on Christianity as a new philosophy of salvation.

Despite the new religious ideology, Roman rule both triggered and hampered Christianity. The centralized government guaranteed protection and peace because Rome stood against violence because of the fear of political revolt. At the same time, the Roman government was the major antagonist of the Christianity because it advocated the classical pantheon of Gods.

Roman cultural influence on the development of the European society was also expressed through use of folklore in the Christian literature. Because the religious teaching of the Middle Ages had not been singled out as a single ideological and philosophical teaching, introducing classical traditions complemented its philosophical basis.

In particular, St. Augustine, the pioneer in the Western Christianity often referred to the philosophical teachings of Cicero represented in Hortensius, introduction to philosophy (Highet 10). With the help of these works, the classical philosophy became a part of the Christian tradition and managed to preserve its basis to the present times.

Despite the rejection of previous cultural achievements, Roman cultural influence on the church and religion were still tangible. In particular, the Roman-Christian art focused primarily on spiritual rather than physical representation of the subject. The portrait of Constantine is one of the brightest examples of this artistic tendency (Sayre 258). Apart from sculpture and architecture, Roman culture had a potent impact on Christian music (Porter 202). Many Christian liturgies were largely influenced by the Roman classical traditions.

Despite the ignorance and rejection of the classical tradition at the beginning of the medieval period, the Middle Ages were still marked by the revival of the antique classical traditions, which justified the richness and depth of the Greco-Roman culture. Specifically, the European community in the twelfth century resorted to the scientific teachings of Hippocrates and Galen on medicine, Euclid on mathematics, and Ptolemy on astronomy and geography (Spielvogel 263).

Aristotles scientific works were also highly popular and they were translated in Latin, an international language in the West (Spielvogel 263). In this respect, the European community managed to intellectually recover from the Dark Ages by referring to immortal philosophical and scientific works of the Great Roman and Greek philosophy.

In conclusion, despite the significant influence of the German invasion and the adoption of the Christianity, the threads of classical tradition run through the period and managed to recover and reform the European community at the threshold of the era of enlightenment. Due to the artistic, philosophical, and scientific heritage left after the collapse of the Western Empire, the newly emerged civilization managed to advance their intellectual knowledge and develop different academic disciplines.

Works Cited

Highet, Gilbert. The Classical Tradition, Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature. UK: Oxford University Press, 1985. Print.

Perry, Marvin. Western Civilization: A Brief History. US: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

Porter, Stanley. Christian-Jewish Relations through the Centuries. US: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004. Print.

Sayre, Henry M. The Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change US: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: To 1500. US: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

The period which is now called Classical Greece was marked by significant changes in political, social, artistic and religious life of people. In particular, one can speak about the establishment of a civic state, the adoption of new approaches to education and science, the development of new artistic forms, and more critical attitude toward those people who occupy the positions of authority.

This essay will focus on such concepts that became particularly important during this period, namely eunomania (good governance), polis (collective life), paideia (education), kalokagathia (balance), and hamartia or unintentional sin. These concepts are important because they reflect peoples willingness to live in a just state, and their attempts to determine the limitations of their knowledge. Moreover, they illustrate the aesthetic values of ancient Greeks.

This discussion of these concepts will be based on the study of philosophical and literary works such as Platos The Republic or The Clouds by Aristophanes. Moreover, we will discuss examples from visual arts. At first, it is necessary to explain the concepts related to political and social life of Ancient Greece.

Platos Republic touches upon many important issues, relevant to people of Ancient Greece, but it mostly reflects such a concept as eunomania. Overall, this notion can be defined as a city that is governed by good laws. It should be noted that Plato, himself, does not participate in the dialogues that he describes.

His teacher, Socrates, acts as the main interlocutor who tries to give a definition of justice and tries to identify the characteristics of an ideal city. Moreover, he and his companions discuss various forms of government such as democracy, oligarchy, timocracy, and so forth. In this work, Plato attempts to illustrate how a good city can be constructed.

Socrates makes a debatable statement about good city and good laws. In his opinion, a well-run state ensures that a person works on the task he was naturally suited to, and for which he would keep himself free from other tasks, working at it throughout his life, and taking every opportunity to produce good results (Plato, 57). To a great extent this quotation means the citizen of a good city is able to fulfill his or her talents. Most importantly, it is the best way of creating eunomania or a state that is governed by good laws.

This discussion of eunomania can be closely tied to education and such concept as paideia which occupies an important place in Aristophanes play The Clouds. Moreover, this concept plays a significant part in Platos Republic. Overall, it can be interpreted as education or shaping the moral character of a young person. In this play, Aristophanes attempts to satirize Socratic education and shows that it breeds complete disregard or even rejection of social and moral norms.

This is how he describes Socratic education, they will persuade you to consider everything dishonest as decent, and the decent as dishonest (Aristophanes, 72). Overall, the author suggests that educators should pay attention to traditional values of a society. The purpose of paideia or education is to instill the values and rules that have already been established in the community. This argument is challenged in Platos Apology. In this work, he records Socrates defense during the trial.

The author shows that the goal of Socratic education was to teach the ability to question the scope of ones knowledge. Through Socrates Plato demonstrates that education or paideia can hardly shape a good character unless, educators can acknowledge that they know nothing or at least accept the limitations of their knowledge (Plato, 4). This is one of the most important Platonic arguments.

It should be noted that The Republic reflects another important concept, namely polis. This concept refers to the community of people who engage in self-government. This term can also denote collective life of people. In a series of Socratic dialogues, Plato describes how a good community should function. Overall, this author makes a very radical argument about collective life of people.

In particular, Socrates says that the task of rulers is to use persuasion and compulsion to bring the citizens into harmony, and make each class share with the other classes the contribution they are able to bring to the community (Plato, 226). To a great extent, this quotation means a citizen has to think primarily about the interests of the community but not about his or her personal ambitions. This quotation also implies that polis has to be premised on altruism rather than self-interest.

To understand Classical Greece, one has to examine such concept as kalokagathia or proportion; it is eloquently illustrated in such sculptural work as the Pythian Apollo. This concept can be defined as harmonic combination or unity of physical and moral qualities. This term can be applied to politics, education and art (Gerder and Gaiger, 26).

This sculpture describes an Ancient Greek god Appolo who supposedly attempts to slay a serpent named Python. This sculpture exudes the impression of courage and reserve. It seems that the main objective of the author was to create an idealistic image of a human being (Gerder and Gaiger, 19). This sculpture is closely related to the concept of kalokagathia because it shows that a perfect human being be able to combine both physical and moral beauty.

Finally, we need to discuss such concept as hamartia which is eloquently illustrated in Sophocles play Oedipus the King. This term can be interpreted as a mistake or unintentional sin that is derived from ignorance, rather than malice.

This play is derived from the myth about Oedipus who tried to thwart a prophecy of the Delphic oracle according to which he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. However, by trying to avert this tragedy, Oedipus actually fulfilled the prophecy. A blind prophet, who meets Oedipus, makes a very eloquent statement about ignorance as a cause of evil.

He says to Oedipus You have your eyes, but see not where you are in sin, nor where you live, nor whom you live with (Sophocles, 7). This argument is aimed at showing that sin does not always originate from malice. Very often, it is caused by peoples inability to realize their ignorance. This play shows that overconfidence in ones knowledge can result in hamartia or a fatal error that Oedipus made.

The concepts that have been discussed here tell much about the values of Classical Greece. According to its principles, an idea human being should be aware of his or her limitations, especially, if we are speaking about knowledge. Moreover, such a person has to combine both moral and physical beauty. Finally, these concepts indicate that ancient Greek people attached much importance to a society in which one can develop and realize ones talents.

Works Cited

Aristophanes. The clouds: an annotated translation. Trans. Marie Marianetti. New York: University Press of America, 1997. Print.

Gerder Johann and Gaiger Jason. Sculpture: some observations on shape and form from Pygmalions creative dream. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002. Print.

Plato. The Republic. Trans. Giovanni Ferrari and Tom Griffith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.

Plato. The Apology of Socrates. Trans. Cathal Woods and Ryan Pack. San Francisco: Creative Commons, 2007. Print.

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. David Grene. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Print.