The social and cultural conditions in the city of Athens between 440 and 370 B.C.E., a time when philosophers and military leaders such as Aristotle, Socrates and Pericles were at the height of their powers, can be compared to the current situation in the United States in three important ways. First, in the decades just before the Peloponnesian War, the city of Athens reached the pinnacle of its power and prosperity, often referred to as the Golden Age of ancient Athens. Economically, the city was much like any of a number of modern American cities like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, due to society being divided into classes based on economic income. For example, the wealthy citizens of Athens lived in private homes, either in the city or in the countryside; the middle class, usually those that did the hard work to support the activities of Athens, lived rather modestly in the city or in villages on its outskirts, while the poor were forced to live in rented houses or in tenements runs by the Athenian government.
             Second, following the end of the Peloponnesian War, the city of Athens re-established its democratic principles and became a major force in international politics. In the first half of the 4th century B.C.E., Athens and other city-states experienced shifting alliances among its citizens and political leaders. By the mid 350's B.C.E., Athens' efforts to extent its power over all of Greece, with Sparta standing firmly in the way, ended in failure. This struggle for supremacy finally ended in a stalemate and allowed the kingdom of Macedonia, the stronghold of Alexander the Great, to expand its influence in Greece. This situation is very similar to what is now happening between the U.S. and Iraq, namely, that the U.S. is attempting to spread its influence and power in order to fight terrorism, something closely akin to Athens' attempts to destroy Sparta and the Persian Empire (the current location of Iraq and...