.
Admittedly, the Athenian military power could not be attributed wholly to democracy, as the Spartans ran a drastically different political system and also produced amazing armies. Also, Greece was, on the whole, a very successful area, despite an array of varying political systems, and while Athens was one of the most successful, it could not have been completely due to the democratic system. One critic of the Athenian democracy, named only the "Old Oligarch," argued primarily that the lower class was incapable and not worthy of becoming politically involved. He stated, .
Naturally, since the smallest amount of intemperance and injustice, together with the highest scrupulousness in the pursuit of excellence, is to be found in the ranks of the better class, while within the ranks of the People will be found the greatest amount of ignorance, disorderliness, rascality- (The "Old Oligarch", p. 105) .
Such a statements clearly identified the popular thoughts of the people of the times, and whether it was a strong argument then or not, in reality, it showed only that the democratic form of government was very new and faced serious skepticism. .
Athenian art and high culture, however, could well have been directly correlated with the democratic ways of the polis. The spirit in Athens, which was repeatedly discussed by Pericles in his oration, was the very heart of the matter. Attitude was a key factor not only in the pride of the city, but in the day-to-day lives of the citizens, it would have seemed. Pericles spoke of the ways in which the people of Athens were able to enjoy themselves and the appreciation they seem to have had for life itself. This inherent happiness was rooted in a faith in each other and a faith in the democratic system. Unlike its rival city, Sparta, Athens drew from a well of personal ambition and self-confidence rather than a forced initiation into the city life.