Archaic Greece

Years of Archaic Greece

750/700 to 480 BCE

What did Archaic Greece signify?

The beginning of the democratic age

Polis meaning

city

Poleis

plural of Polis

Who said a “human being is by natural a political animal”?

Aristotle, Politics

What is a Polis?

geographical area comprising of a city and its adjacent territory, which together make up a single political unit 

What was included under the Polis?

land, people, communal worship, council of elders, assembly of men fighting

Why was it important for people to be able to vote?

for themselves as well as for the people and the city as a whole

Synoecism

process of political unification; every town, village and hamlet accepted as single political areas 

What is an example of synoecism?

All those who lived in the territory of Attica referred to themselves as Athenians

Which place could never unite their peoples?

Argos could not manage to unite area of Argolis

How did the government work in Archaic Greece?

local land owning aristocracy rules collectively; council of elders had an increased role; power of the assembly of the people decreased

Wealthy and powerful vs. _____  

poor and dependent

Government in Sparta 

dual kingship, authority in military sphere, politically curbed by five elected magistrates 

Ephors

overseers

Government in early city states

oligarchy

Oligarchy

rule by the few (good thing at the time); rich people or people who have more power

Aristokratia

rule by the aristocracy

Aristoi

the best

What did the Aristokratia refer to themselves as?

Aristoi

Archon

the leader

What was the ‘leader’ called in Athens and elsewhere in Central Greece?

Archon

Prytanis

presiding officer

Who exercised authority through the Boule in Archaic Greece?

elders 

Hoi Agathoi

‘the good’ (birth in higher families)

Hoi Kakoi

‘the bad’ (those not born into nobility

How could a man have economic upward mobility?

Marrying up or starting a successful business

What was the ratio of wealthy to poor in Archaic Greece?

12 to 20% wealthy and 20 to 30% poor and dependent 

_______ of lesser means were banned from office, sometimes no vote in assembly 

noble-citizens 

Spartan helots

agricultural laborers, whose status fell between free persons and slaves

What was sometimes worse than being a slave in some city states?

helot

Origins of helots

native inhabitants taken over by colonizers

Hoplites

army; heavily armed foot soldiers; no distinction of wealth or birth

How were hoplites arranged in battles?

phalanx

Phalanx meaning

one soldier stands next to another and they push forward

Why were they called ‘hoplites’

their shield was called a Hoplon so, Hoplite = those who fight with Hoplon

Prorophalanx

similar to phalanx but looser formation; move into a spear range then hand to hand battle

What did hoplites wear?

spear and sword, helmets, upper body armor/shin and knee protectors, hoplon

What was a hoplon made of?

wood covered with bronze

How much did the Hoplites’ equipment weigh?

70 lbs

Why did Hoplites fight?

dying was a service to the Polis

How did Hesiod’s Works and Days view higher power?

looks down upon kings and acknowledges demos; marriage customs are different for the wealthy vs. the poor; misogynistic; ethic of work

Archaic age of tyrants marked…

step closer to democracy 

Time of the Archaic age of tyrants

670 to 500 BCE

Tyrant

starts from working class (demos) and starts speaking out against Aristoi for the good of the Demos 

What led to the rise of tyrants?

conflicts between aristocratic families among hetaireiai

Tyrannos/Trrannis

tyranny; borrowed word from Lydia in Asia Minor; form of gov rule by a man who seizes control of the city-state by a group of governors illegally 

How did tyrant eventually become a negative word?

aristocratic families through propaganda turned the title to mean ‘the oppressive despot’

lyric poetry

song presented in performance; solo or chorus

What instruments were played alongside lyric poetry?

lyre and aulos (wind instrument of a pair of pipes)

When were lyrics performed?

during symposia or at festivals

What did lyric poetry show?

people beginning to come together and how social classes begun to respect each other

What were lyrics typically about?

harvests, weddings, funerals, rituals, hymns, fables, drinking songs, and love songs

Archilochus of Paros

poems about drinking and carousing, sexual adventures, losing comrades in shipwrecks, and hating his enemies

Hipponax of Ephesus

poems about drunken fights and escapades for recitation at symposia

Mimnermus

personal musing on wine and love, sad necessity for these pleasures to end with old age

Anacreon of Teos

pleasure of wine and love as proper topics of symposia

Sappho

only woman poet from Archaic Greece that survives; wedding songs performed by chorus of young girls; political verses, erotic love

Alcaeus

complicated intrigues, political deals, partisan hatreds and violence; against the aristocrat Pittacus, current enemy

What introduced workshops?

Corinthian pottery worshops

_____ led to a mass production that led to Corinthian pottery _____

popularity; decline

When was there Athenian black-figure pottery?

550 BCE

What was the focus on black-figure pottery?

lyric poetry

When was there red-figure pottery?

530 BCE

What was the focus of red-figure pottery?

everyday life

When did the first marble statues begin to appear?

650 BCE

Kouros

youth

Kore

maiden