MMW 11 FINAL (Ancient Greece)

Key Names and Terms

The Formation of the Greek Polis

Topography of Hellas

• “Hellas” refers to the Balkans

• physical terrain: very hilly and rocky

  • could have led to political fragmentation

• no major rivers, but good harbors

  • made it easy to trade and be pirates

Mycenaean Kingdoms

• had an acroplois

  • citadel on hill tops

• thrived on trade, piracy, raids

• flourished during Bronze age

The Iliad

• epic story of the Trojan War

  • moral values

  • representation of Mycenaean culture

• !emphasizes ideals of Greek tradition

Trade and piracy*

Dorian invasions

• Mycenaean Kingdoms experience wave of invasions from North

  • North: Dorians who were illiterate and less civilized

• Led to Dark Age of Illiteracy

Dark Age of illiteracy

• no record of Greek literacy due to Dorian invasions

• loss of literacy, including writing

  • oral tradition became dominant

Greek colonization of Ionia

• Ionia colonized by Greeks from the Athens region

• Ionia became focus of intellectual life of Greece

• became a social safety valve, allowing geographic separation from each other

• prevented internal wars along with loss of social standards

• allowed cultural diffusion and more conducive to exchange of ideas and values including Democratic system

• brought wealth to Mediterranean world

• expansion of Greek language and culture

Homeric tradition

• “bible” of the Greeks

• honor and bravery of the Greeks

• children indoctrinated with Homeric hero ysmbols

• encompassed the concept of Agon and Arete

Agon (contest)

• belief that power should be earned through merit and competition rather than inheritance

• concept of power always challenged

• ex: Achilles opposing Agamemnon’s conditional power

Arete (well-rounded excellence)

• All-around excellence

• talent in multiple aspects

• ideal citizen capable of multiple things

  • fighting, arts, politcs

  • specialization = characteristic of a slave

• celebration of an individual

Polis

• problematic translation as “city-state”

  • could have been a town, village, or territory

• commonly refers to citizens living within an area that helped govern the city

  • !a governing body

Agora (marketplace)

• where Greeks socialized, traded, engaged in political debates

Acropolis (citadel)

• heart of the polis

• where assemblies were held and decisions were made

• hilltop citadel, defensive centers owned by nobles

Ideal size of polis

• 5000 citizens

  • easier to socialize with each other

  • large enough to be self-sufficient

  • small enough so that citizens can recognize each other by sight

Hoplites

• called upon to defend/fight for city

• provide their own armory and weaponry

• !nobles and commoners fighting side by side

  • little social stratification

  • led to commoners taking a larger role in the political sphere

  • diminished the influence of nobles

Phalanx

• battle strategy

  • heavily armored hoplites in tight formation with coordinated movements

• !played a role in creation of democracy

  • nobles and commoners fighting side by side

  • diminished influence of nobles

  • led to commoners taking a larger role in political sphere'

Solon’s socio-economic reforms

• first of 3 tyrants

• economic reforms

  • abolished debt slavery

  • limited size of estates

  • convinced farmers to switch to suitable crops for soil

    • led to specialization and exportation

• political reforms

  • more power to assembly

  • opened citizenship to more people in Athens

• !Paved way towards democratic society

Pisistratus

• tyrant who came to power by

  • enlisted thugs as body guards

  • pretended he was wounded, asked for help from the city

  • asked a women to dress as Athena, convinced the people that Athena approved of him becoming ruler

• had public services for everyone, including the poor

Cleisthenes

• 3rd tyrant (I think)

• granted dictatorial powers

• famous for Ten Demes

• !paved the way to democracy through socio-economic and political reforms

Ten Demes

• cross section of different classes of society and tribes (Plains, Coast, Hill)

• Policy of Cleistenes, which created ten distinct political units and divided people into them accordingly

• !shattered people’s ties to tribes and clans

  • created cohesion to political unit

• !Integration of the Polis

To Koinon

• “The Common Good”

• no distinction between private and public interests

• political involvement in concrete and immediate

Autocracy paving way for democracy?

• reformers given brief periods of absolute power

  • instrumental in paving way for democratic system

Persian Wars

Herodotus

• historian that recounted Persian Wars

• said that:

  • improved communication upset the balance of world affairs

• Persians and Greeks now knew about each other

  • tensions grew

• Persia = despotism

• Greeks = democracy experiment

Road from Suda to Sardis

• Cyrus’s expansion into Asia Minor

• Conquered Greek-affiliated Ionian cities

• Built road from capital of Susa to Sardis

  • allowed for what was supposed to be a 3-month journey to be traversed within one week

• !upset balance of world power, putting that Persian empire on a “collision course” with the Greek polis

Ionian Rebellion

• led by Aristagoras of Miletus

• Why did Sparta refuse to intervene?:

  • Susa and Sardis believed to be 3 months apart

    • distance would allow for ample warning

    • kingdom too far to be a problem

• Why did Athens and Eretria send ships?

  • Afraid of future Persian expansion

  • Most trade was with Ionians

    • economic incentive

  • Athens and Ionian allies attacked Sardis

Miletus

• Greek city that that revolted against Persia and revolted by burning down Sardis

• Miletus destroyed by Darius

Darius

• Persian emperor, son of Cyrus, responsible for attack of Greece at Battle of Marathon

• destroyed Miletus

Hippias and the “Hill Party”

• Fear of Hippias’s return with Persians

  • Place him as a puppet ruler if they win

  • had a large following in Athens

    • if Persians won, Athenians would be open to him

    • large following in popular class (“Hill” class/commoners)

Miltiades

• argued for a decisive battle at Marathon

• Athens on its own

• battle strategy of Battle of Marathon

  • hit Persians hard when they land

Battle of Marathon

• Persians’ strategy:

  • split their forces

• Miltiades’s strategy:

  • hit Persians hard when they land

• !Real test of the advantages of the Athenian spirit of To Koinon (common good)

• Persians sail away after seeing they were going to lose

Themistocles

• became new leader of Athenian army

• brilliant tactician

• proposed spending silver on navy

• Plan to lure Persians into narrow path in order to trap them

• Threatened to leave and set up a new colony elsewhere if the people did not follow his plan

Silver mines in Sunium or Laureum

• silver found in Athens

  • debate on what to use it on

• silver used for protection

  • spent on navy fleet and wall

• wealthy bought weapons to fight

• poor became rowers

Piraeus

• Establish protected harbor at Piraeus

  • build fortified road that linked Athens to Piraeus (wall on each side)

Battle of Thermopylae

• first battle between the Persians and Greeks (Spartans) during the Persian invasion

Lycurgan Constitution

• all Spartans were equal

• all Spartans had to be loyal to Sparta

• !Dictated how Spartans grew up, large influence on mentality during battle

Battle of Salamis

• Greeks attacked Persians in strait of Salamis

• expected to have the upper hand

  • destroyed almost entire Persian fleet

Impact of trireme rowers

• Greek and Phoenician warship

• sleek and light, powered by 170 oars arranged in 3 vertical tiers

• manned by skilled sailors

• !Capable of short bursts of speed and complex maneuvers

“Golden Age” of Athens rebuilt

• time of Athenian advancement

  • democracy extended

  • city rebuilt

• after Battle of Salamis

• !After second Persian War after Athens was completely destroyed

  • provided chance for Athens to be rebuilt in its most impressive wat

  • “Second life of Athens”

  • money came from “glory of all Greeks”

Athenian Imperialism and Peloponnesian Wars

Thucydides

• historian that recounted the Peloponnesian wars

  • inevitable clash between Athenian alliance and Peloponnesian Confederation

Delian League

• defensive alliance

• extract as many reparations from Persians as possible

• Sparta did not lead this league b/c they were too preoccupied w/ slaves

  • also did not have commercial interest like Athens

Athenian legal system

• new trends in democracy

• demise of Areopagos

• rising power of Boule

• susceptibility to demagoguery

• !ATHENS AS CENTER OF JUSTICE SYSTEM due to LEAGUE

  • sources of revenue for Athens

  • smaller member states had to pay annual fee to maintain alliance and security

Peloponnesian Confederation

• loose confederation of Greek city-states led by Sparta

Helot rebellions

• Sparta in constant danger of rebellion by slaves (Helots)

• Sparta population mostly consisted of slaves who ran daily affairs

  • constant threat of rebellion

• leaving to go to war could incite a rebellion

  • !Sparta’s disinterest in foreign affaies

• Why Sparta focused on making a strong army

Challenges of secession from League

• Thasos and Naxos threatened to leave the League

  • crushed by the rest of the League

  • Athens argued that without the League, Persians would return

Mitylene rebellion on Lesbos 428

• island preparing to revolt from Athens prior to war

  • plans were discovered shortly after the war started

Cleon vs. Diodotus

• Cleon:

  • argued to kill people and sell women and children to slavery

• Diodotus

  • argued not to kill people b/c they would end up being so enraged that they would continue to resist rather than accept they were conquered

Pericles as “strategoi”

• Age of Pericles

• Ruled for 32 years as “strategoi” (military general)

  • only position that had to be voted on rather than randomly by straw ballots

• Embodiment of “gravitas”

  • sense of composure, not easily swayed by provocation/crisis

  • sense of moderation and justice in time of war

The Boule

• council of 500 men for Athenian affairs

  • representatives from 10 Athenian tribes, picked by straw ballot (random)

• only served 1 year, having to learn on the job, no expertise

• part of General Assembly which was picked by straw ballot

• !Athenian faith that commoners could rule (idea of Arete)

“The Old Oligarch’s Critique”

• Athenian democracy is susceptible to demagoguery

• easier to disguise corruption in a democracy than oligarchy

• easy for demagogues to play on emotions and vanity of the masses

Nicias vs. Alcibades

• Debated over Sicilian expedition

• Nicias, leader of Plains faction:

  • maintaining threat of power is better than exposing vulnerability

  • being anti-war does not imply being unpatriotic or cowardly

• Alcibades, nephew of Pericles, student of Socrates:

  • proposed to send troops to Sicily

  • assert Athenian power

  • live out Athenian ethos as “men of action”

Demagoguery

• appealing to prejudices in order to influence politics

Expedition to Sicily

• All Athenians died except for Alcibades

  • Due to Athenian hubris (overconfidence)

• Alcibades switches to Spartan side when death is imminent

Critique of Democracy

Socrates

• philosopher who believed in an absolute right or wrong

• asked students pointed questions to make them use their own reason (Socratic method)

• condemned to death for corrupting young minds

Lysander

• Spartan general that allied with Persians to defeat Athens

Critias and the “The Thirty”

• Dictator, caused reign of terror in Athens

  • led purges, assassinations

• had been an associate of Socrates

• Ruled on behalf of Spartans

• Installed “The Thirty”

  • collaborator-oligarchs

Meaning of “The Apology”

• Plato’s account of Socrates’s trial (reliable, since there were other witnesses to hold him accountable)

• Socrates’s condescending, defiant view towards accusers on jury

• Silences the audience reactions

• did not pander or plead for mercy

  • !testing integrity as a philosopher, acting out his teachings

Crito’s appeal to Socrates

• Crito tells Socrates to run away when finding out he is destined to death

  • Socrates says no because it’d be disrespectful to the polis he grew up in

• Socrates tells him to “pay the rooster we owe to Asclepius”

  • !last words to pay off a debt shows clear consciousness, dying without any attachment/debt to life

Socrates’s daemon

• his conscious, inner voice

• reason he was accused for religious impiety

• society thought his conscious was a God he believed in

• !loyalty to personal conscious

“Gadfly to a lethargic horse”

• horse that was once great, now lethargic

• metaphor for state of Athens

• told judge that he had a duty as philosopher and a soldier, but recognized that Athens was wrong in some aspects

• duty to provoke lethargic horse

What were the accusations towards Socrates?

• Dabbling in Metaphysical Matters

  • the sky and what is below the earth

• Corrupting the youth

• Religious Impiety

  • agnostic stance

  • respectful distance from gods b/c he is not all-knowing that they exist

The “Laws” of Athens for Socrates

• Socrates treated the laws of the polis as his parents — “Son of Athens”

• “Social contract” with Athens

  • !criticized democracy because he has to and wants to keep democracy