The Questioning of Traditional Beliefs in Athens

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   I think Socrates, and Sophists like Protagoras, would start questioning traditional beliefs in Athenian history because at this time, the war had come to an end and many changes followed. Pericles, ruler of Athens, had died from plague (along with many other Athenians), and the people gave up on the ideals of democracy. With all this confusion, scrambling to obtain power, and having complete control of the future of Athens, Athenians were searching for some kind of truth or meaning in their lives. This is why philosophers emerged in Ancient Greece. Their philosophy was based on two main ideas: that the universe is put together in an orderly way, with absolute and unchanging laws, and that people understand laws through logic and reason. There were many different philosophers with many different ideas that started to come into play in Ancient Greece. For example, one group of philosophers were the Sophists. They questioned peoples beliefs and ideas about many traditional values that had been passed on for generations. Since philosophers started to question these beliefs and values that had been present for so long, there was a huge change appearing in these ancient times. Protagoras, a Sophist, argued that there was actually no universal standard of truth and said that "Man is the measure of all things." This was dangerous to Athens because these ideas seemed way out of proportion and non-acceptable. Over time, more influential philosophers impacted Ancient Greece. For instance, Socrates, a philosopher who opposed Sophist beliefs, believed that absolute standard did exist for truth and justice. He wanted people to question and examine their life, along with their moral character. A famous quote of Socrates states that "The unexamined life is not worth living." He was eventually brought to trial and sentenced to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens" and "neglecting the city's gods." It is very apparent that traditional beliefs were important in Ancient Athens (and Ancient Greece in general). Philosophers and ideas continue to emerge throughout history, and it is due to the state of confusion Athens was in after the Peloponnesian War.

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