According to Evaggelos Vallianatos, the Golden Age captures the best and greatest victories of human achievements. These accomplishments, however, must have the potential of uplifting humanity to a higher plane of living and be sufficiently moral for building civilization.
Greece has two golden ages. Their legacies, especially in science made Western Civilization. The first Greek Golden Age took place after the Greeks defeated the Persians in the early 5th century BC.
During the fifty years between the Persian wars and the Peloponnesian war, Athens, in particular, shone with a flourishing and confident Greek culture, democracy, the building of the Parthenon, philosophy, science, classical architecture, theater, athletic games, and military strength.
The existence of free speech, prosperity, and confidence formed the pillars of this Golden Age. The second Golden Age was the result of another Greek military victory over the Persians. This happened in the second half of the 4th century BC when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and spread Hellenic culture throughout the world. The capital of Alexander's Empire was Alexandria in Egypt.
Alexander the Great, who lived from 352 to 386 BC was the son of King Phillip II of Macedonia. Phillip hired Aristotle to tutor his thirteen-year-old son.
The Greek Kings of Alexander's Empire, especially the Ptolemies of Egypt, created a foundation for a rational Commonwealth characterized by scientific exploration, state-funded research, the scholarly study of earlier Greek culture and the editing of Homer, Heriode and the Greek classics.
The scholars of Alexandria promoted the technics of scholarly research and painstaking study which spread all over the civilized world.
The existence of free speech, prosperity and confidence formed the pillars of this Golden Age!
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