Histo of Ancient Greece - Final (Archaic - Hellenistic)

Pnyx - Archaic

Kleroterion - Archaic

Behistun Inscription - Archaic

Temple of Nemesis - Classical

The Amathus Bowl - Archaic

“Why sit you, doomed ones? Fly to the world’s end, leaving

Home and the heights your city circles like a wheel.

The head shall not remain in its place, nor the body,

Nor the feet beneath, nor the hands, nor the parts between;

But all is ruined, for fire and the headlong God of War

Speeding in a Syrian chariot shall bring you low.

Many a tower shall he destroy, not yours alone,

And give to pitiless fire many shrines of gods.

Which even now stand sweating, with fear quivering,

While over the roof-tops black blood runs streaming

In prophecy of woe that needs must come. But rise,

Haste from the sanctuary and bow your hearts to grief.”

Heroditus - Classical

“Not wholly can Pallas win the heart of Olympian Zeus,

Though she prays him with many prayers and all her subtlety;

Yet will I speak to you this other word, as firm as adamant:

Though all else shall be taken within the bound of Cecrops

And the fastness of the holy mountain of Cithaeron,

Yet Zeus the all-seeing grants to Athene’s prayer

That the wooden wall only shall not fall, but help you and your children.

But await not the host of horse and foot coming from Asia,

Nor be still, but turn your back and withdraw from the foe.

Truly a day will come when you will meet him face to face.

Divine Salamis, you will bring death to women’s sons

When the corn is scattered, or the harvest gathered in.”

Heroditus - Classical

“In my opinion, much the greatest courage was shown by Aristodemus, who,

as the sole survivor of the Three Hundred of Thermopylae, had to endure

disgrace and opprobrium. …However, when the question arose as to who had

most distinguished himself, the Spartans who had taken part in the battle

decided that Aristodemus, because of the accusation attaching to him, wishing

to achieve a glorious death had rushed forward from his station like a madman

and wrought valiant deeds, whereas Posidonius, with no wish to die, had

behaved no less valiantly and was thereby the better man. Of course, it may be

that envy was responsible for this view. All those I have recounted as dying in

battle, except Aristodemus, received public honors; but Aristodemus, who

courted death for the reason already explained, received no honors.”

Heroditus - Classical

“But the Lacedaemonians, perceiving what was in prospect, came on an embassy, partly because they

themselves would have preferred to see neither the Athenians nor anyone else have a wall, but more because

their allies urged them on through apprehension, not only of the size of the Athenian navy, which had hitherto

not been large, but also of the daring they had shown in the Persian war. So they requested them not to rebuild

their walls, but rather to join with them in razing the walls of whatsoever towns outside the Peloponnesus had

them standing, giving no indication of their real purpose or of their suspicion with regard to the Athenians, but

representing that the Barbarian, if he should attack them again, would not have any stronghold to make his

base of operations, as lately he had made Thebes; the Peloponnesus, they added, was large enough for all,

both as a retreat and as a base of operations. To these proposals of the Lacedaemonians, the Athenians, by the

advice of Themistocles, replied that they would send ambassadors to Sparta to discuss these matters, and so

got rid of them without delay. Themistocles then proposed that they should send himself as speedily as

possible to Lacedaemon; that they should then choose other ambassadors in addition, but, instead of sending

them immediately, should wait until they should have raised the wall to such a height as was absolutely

necessary for defence; and that the whole population of the city, men, women, and children, should take part

in the wall-building, sparing neither private nor public edifice that would in any way help to further the work,

but demolishing them all.”

Theucydes - Classical

Karameikos Wall - Classical

“But when Pausanias (king of Sparta) was thus convicted of treasonable dealings with Persia, the

Lacedaemonians sent envoys to the Athenians and accused Themistocles also of complicity in the plot, in

accordance with discoveries they had made in connection with their investigation about Pausanias; and they

demanded that he be punished in the same way. The Athenians agreed, but as he happened to have been

ostracised, and, though living in Argos, frequently visited other parts of the Peloponnesus also, they sent some

men, accompanied by the Lacedaemonians (who were quite ready to join in the pursuit), with instructions to

arrest him wherever they chanced to find him <escapes to Persia> The King [=Xerxes], it is said, marvelled at

his purpose and bade him do as he desired. And Themistocles, in the interval of his waiting, made himself

acquainted, as far as he could, with the Persian language and with the customs of the country; but when the

year was ended he came to the King and became more influential with him than any of the Hellenes ever had

been before, both because of the reputation he already enjoyed and of the hope which he kept suggesting to

him that he would make all Hellas subject to him, but most of all in consequence of the insight he manifested,

of which he gave repeated proofs. For indeed Themistocles was a man who had most convincingly

demonstrated the strength of his natural sagacity, and was in the very highest degree worthy of admiration in

that respect. For by native insight, not reinforced by earlier or later study, he was beyond other men, with the

briefest deliberation, both a shrewd judge of the immediate present and wise in forecasting what would

happen in the most distant future.”

Theucydes - Classical

Perikles Ostracon - Classical

Eurymedon Vase - Classical

“But if the evidence cited leads a reader to think that things were mostly as I have described

them, he would not think that things were mostly as I have described them, he would not go wrong,

as he would if he believed what the poets have sung about them, which they have much

embellished, or what the prose-writers have strung together, which aims more to delight the ear

than to be true. Their accounts cannot be tested, you see, and many are not credible, as they have

achieved the status of myth over time. But the reader should believe that I have investigated these

matters adequately, considering their antiquity, using the best evidence available….And as for the

actions of the war, I did not think it right to set down either what I heard from people I happened to

meet or what I merely believed to be true. Even for events at which I was present myself, I tracked

down detailed information from other sources as far as I could. It was hard work to find out what

happened, because those who were present at each event gave different reports, depending on

which side they favored and how well they remembered. This history may no be the most

delightful to hear, since there is no mythology in it. But those who want to look into the truth of

what was done in the past – which, given the human condition, will recur in the future, either in the

same fashion or nearly so – those readers will find this history valuable enough, as this was

composed to be a possession for all time [ktema es aei], and not to be heard for a prize at the

moment of a contest.”

Theucydes - Classical

“The words particular people said in their speeches, either just before

or during the war, were hard to record exactly, whether they were

speeches I heard myself or those that were reported to me at second

hand. I have written down what I thought the situation demanded for

each speaker, keeping as near as possible to the general sense of what

was actually said.”

Theucydes - Classical

“For if the Lacedaemonians’ city were wiped out, and if only their

temples and building foundations remained, I think people in much

later times would seriously doubt that their power had matched their

fame; and yet they own two-fifths of the Peloponnesus and are leaders

of the rest, along with many allies outside. Still, it would seem to have

been rather weak, since it was not settled as one city making use of

costly temples or other buildings, but was made up of villages in the

old Greek style. If the same thing were to happen to Athens, however,

one would infer from what was plain to see that its power had been

double what it was.”

Theucydes - CLassical

“But I see I must still give nearly the same advice now

as I gave before; and I insist, if you agree to the policy we agreed was just,

that you support it even if things go badly for us – otherwise you’ve no

right to boast of your intelligence if all goes well, since events can turn out

as stupidly as people’s intentions, and that is why we usually blame chance

when things don’t turn out as expected. It is obvious that the

Lacedaemonians have been plotting against us, now more than ever. We

agreed in the Thirty Years’ Peace to refer our differences to mutual

arbitration, while each party kept what it had in the meanwhile. But they

have not yet asked for arbitration, and they have not accepted our offers

either; they prefer war to speeches as a means of clearing away the charges,

and they’re already giving orders when they come, instead of complaining

as they did before. They are commanding us to leave Potidaea, restore

autonomy to Aegina, and rescind our decree against Megara…”

Pericles war speech (Theucydes?) - CLassical

“Now as for the war and the resources on both sides, once you

hear a detailed account you must see that we’ll be just as strong as

they will. First, the Peloponnesians work their own land and have

no wealth either in private or public hands. Second, they have no

experience of extended or overseas warfare, since their attacks on

each other are kept brief by their poverty. Such people are unable

to man ships or send out armies of foot soldiers with any

frequency for they’d be far from their own property while still

depending on their own food supplies. Besides, they would be

blockaded by sea…Our naval experience has actually done us

more good on land than their infantry experience has done for

their navy. And they won’t easily learn to be experts at

sea…Consider this: would we be any safer from attack if we were

islanders? Now we should really think like islanders and give up

our land and our farmhouses, but keep watch over the sea and our

city. We must not get so angry over losing our farms that we

engage the Peloponnesians in battle when they outnumber us. If

we won, we would have to fight against just as many men again;

and if we were defeated we would lose our allies, which are the

source of our strength, as they’ll not keep quiet unless we’re

strong enough to fight them. We mustn’t cry over our land and

farms, but save our mourning for the lives of men: farmland won’t

give us men, but emn can win farmland. If I thought I could

persuade you, I’d tell you to go out and destroy the farms

yourselves, and prove to the Peloponnesians that you will enver

surrender in order to save your land.”

Pericles War strategy (Theucydes?) - Classical

Sthenelaidas - Classical

“For to the inheritance [our ancestors] received they

added all the empire we have now, and it was not

without blood and toil that they handed it down to us

of the present generation. And then we ourselves,

assembled here today, who are mostly in the prime of

life, have, in most directions, added to the power of

our empire and have organized our State in such a way

that it is perfectly well able to look after itself both in

peace and in war.”

Pericles Funeral Oration - Classical

“Let me say that our system of government does not copy the institutions of

our neighbours. It is more that case of our being a model to others, than of

our imitating anyone else. Our constitution is called a democracy because

power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. When it is a

question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law;...And,

just as our political life is free and open, so is our day-to-day life in our

relations with each other. We do not get into a state with our next-door

neighbour if he enjoys himself in his own way, nor do we give him the kind

of black looks which, though they do no real harm, still do hurt people’s

feelings. We are free and tolerant in our private lives; but in public affairs we

keep to the laws.”

Pericles Funeral Oration - Classical

“Mighty indeed are the marks and monuments of our empire which we have

left. Future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us now. We

do not need the praises of a Homer, of anyone else whose words may delight

for the moment, but whose estimation of facts will fall short of what is really

true.”

Pericles - CLassical

“This, then, is the kind of city for which these men, who could not bear the

thought of losing her, nobly fought and noble died. It is only natural that

everyone one of us who survive them should be willing to undergo hardships

in her service...What I would prefer is that you should fix your eyes every day

on the greatness of Athens as she really is, and should fall in love with her.

When you realize her greatness, then reflect that what made her great was

men with a spirit of adventure , men who knew their duty, men who were

ashamed to fall below a certain standard. ...They gave her their lives, to her

and to all of us, and for their own selves they won praises that never grow

old, the most splendid of sepulchers – no the sepulcher in which their bodies

are laid, but where their glory remains eternal in men’s minds, always there

on the right occasion to stir others to speech or to action.”

Pericles - Classical

“Dead and dying lay tumbling on top of one another in the

streets, and men lay at every water fountain half-dead with thirst.

The temples also, where they pitched their tents, were all full of

the bodies of those who died in them, for people grew careless of

holy and profane things alike, they were oppressed by the

violence of the calamity, and did not know what to do. And the

laws they had followed before concerning funerals were all

disrupted now, everyone burying their dead wherever they could.

Many were forced, by a shortage of necessary materials after so

many deaths, to take disgraceful measures for the funerals of

their relatives: when one person had made a funeral pyre,

another would get before him, throw on his dead, and give it

fire; others would come to a pyre that was already burning,

throw on the bodies they carried, and go their way again….”

Theucydes - Classical

“the standard of justice depends on the

equality of power to compel and that in fact the strong do what they

have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.”

Melian Dialogue (Theucydes) - Classical

“But those who want to look into the

truth of what was done in the past – which, given the human condition, will

recur in the future, either in the same fashion or nearly so – those readers will

find this history valuable enough, as this was composed to be a possession for

all time…”

Theucydes - Classical

Bacchanalia Senatus Consultum- Hellenistic

Hannibal Coin from Spain- Hellenistic

“Instantly he shrieked aloud as if smitten by a

violent blow and was conducted by his Friends, who led him by the hand

back to his apartments. His chamberlains put him to bed and attended him

closely, but the pain increased and the physicians were summoned. No one

was able to do anything helpful and Alexander continued in great

discomfort and acute suffering. When he, at length, despaired of life, he

took off his ring and handed it to Perdiccas. His Friends asked: “To whom

do you leave the kingdom?” and he replied: “To the strongest.” He added,

and these were his last words, that all of his leading Friends would stage a

vast contest in honour of his funeral. This was how he died after a reign of

twelve years and seven months. He accomplished greater deeds than any,

not only of the kings who had lived before him but also of those who were

to come later down to our time.”

Diodorus Siculus, - Hellenistic

Alexander IV and Phillip Arridaeus coin - Hellenistic

Alexander Sarcophagus (for King Abdalonymos, of Sidon) - Hellenistic

“As quaestor it fell to [Julius Caesar’s] lot to serve in Farther Spain. When he was

there, while making the circuit of the assize-towns, to hold court under commission

from the praetor, he came to Gades, and noticing a statue of Alexander the Great in

the temple of Hercules, he heaved a sigh, and as if out of patience with his own

incapacity in having as yet done nothing noteworthy at a time of life when Alexander

had already brought the world to his feet, he straightway asked for his discharge, to

grasp the first opportunity for greater enterprises at Rome. Furthermore, when he was

dismayed by a dream the following night (for he thought that he had raped his

mother) the soothsayers inspired him with high hopes by their interpretation, which

was: that he was destined to rule the world, since the mother whom he had seen in his

power was none other than the earth, which is regarded as the common parent of all

mankind.”

Suetonius, Life of the Deified Julius Caesar - Hellenistic

Ptolemy Busts - Hellenistic

Alexander tetradrachm - Classical

“Night of the thirtieth: Last part of the night […]

[That month, the equivalent for 1 shekel of silver was: barley] […] kur; mustard, 3 kur, at the end of the month […]; sesame, 1 pân, 5

minas.

At that time, Jupiter was in Scorpio; Venus was in Leo, at the end of the month in Virgo; Saturn was in Pisces; Mercury and Mars,

which had set, were not visible.

That month, the river level […].

That month, the eleventh, panic occurred in the camp before the king [The Macedonians] encamped in front of the king.

The twenty-fourth,note in the morning, the king of the world [erected his] standard […]. Opposite each other they fought and a heavy

defeat of the troops [of the king he inflicted]. The king, his troops deserted him and to their cities [they went] They fled to the land of

the Guti.

[Month seven, the first of which followed the thirtieth of the preceding month;] sunset to moonset 13º30’ […].

Night of the second: The moon was above Jupiter […]

Night of the seventh: Beginning of the night:

[End of the tablet. On the reverse side, the astronomical observations of the month Tašrîtu are illegible. At the end of the tablet, the

following can be read:]

[That month, the equivalent] for 1 shekel of silver was: […]

That month, from the first to the […], came to Babylon, saying: "Esagila [will be restored] and the Babylonians to the treasury of

Esagila [their tithe will give."]

On the eleventh, in Sippar an order of Al[exander to the Babylonians was sent as follow]s: "Into your houses I shall not enter."

On the thirteenth, [the vanguard advanced to the Sikil]la gate, to the outer gate of Esagila and [the Babylonians prostrated

themselves].

On the fourteenth, these Ionians a bull […] short, fatty tissue [lacuna]. Alexander, king of the world, came into Babylon […], horses

and equipment of […] and the Babylonians and the people of […] a message to

[end of tablet]

Babylonian Astronomical Diaries - Classical

“1. What Herodotus the Halicarnassian has learnt by inquiry is here set forth:

in order that so the memory of the past may not be blotted out from among

men by time, and that great and marvellous deeds done by Greeks and

foreigners and especially the reason why they warred against each other may

not lack renown [aklea]…<abduction of Io and Europa> …3. Then (so the

story runs) in the second generation after this Alexandrus son of Priam, having

heard this tale, was minded to win himself a wife out of Hellas by ravishment;

for he was well persuaded that, as the Greeks had made no reparation, so

neither would he. So he carried off Helen.”

Heroditus, Histories - Classical

“The weakness of the olden times is further proved to me chiefly by this circumstance, that before

the Trojan war, Hellas, as it appears, engaged in no enterprise in common. Indeed, it seems to me

that as a whole it did not yet have this name, either, but that before the time of Hellen, son of

Deucalion, this title did not even exist, and that the several tribes, the Pelasgian most extensively,

gave their own names to the several districts; but when Hellen and his sons became strong in

Phthiotis and were called in to the aid of the other cities, the clans thenceforth came more and

more, by reason of this intercourse, to be called Hellenes, though it was a long time before the

name could prevail among them all. The best evidence of this is given by Homer; for, though his

time was much later even than the Trojan war, he nowhere uses this name of all, or indeed of any

of them except the followers of Achilles of Phthiotis, who were in fact the first Hellenes, but

designates them in his poems as Danaans and Argives and Achaeans. And he has not used the term

Barbarians, either, for the reason, as it seems to me, that the Hellenes on their part had not yet been

separated off so as to acquire one common name by way of contrast. However this may be, those

who then received the name of Hellenes, whether severally and in succession, city by city,

according as they understood one another’s speech, or in a body at a later time, engaged together in

no enterprise before the Trojan war, on account of weakness and lack of intercourse with one

another. And they united even for this expedition only when they were now making considerable

use of the sea.”

Thucydides - Classical

“You two [i.e., Athenians and Spartans] sprinkle altars from the same cup like

kinsmen, at Olympia, at Thermopylae, at Pytho—how many other places could

I mention if I had to extend the list—yet when enemies are available with their

barbarian armies, it’s Greek men and Greek cities you’re determined to

destroy.”

Aristophanes, Lysistrata - Classical

“Again, our fathers condemned many to death for defection to the Medes; in our public

assemblies even to this day, before any other business is transacted, the Athenians call

down curses upon any citizen who proposes friendly overtures to the Persians; and, at the

celebration of the Mysteries, the Eumolpidae and the Kerykes, because of our hatred of

the Persians, give solemn warning to the other barbarians also, even as to men guilty of

murder, that they are for ever banned from the sacred rites. So ingrained in our nature is

our hostility to them that even in the matter of our stories we linger most fondly over

those which tell of the Trojan and the Persian wars, because through them we learn of our

enemies’ misfortunes; and you will find that our warfare against the barbarians has

inspired our hymns, while that against the Hellenes has brought forth our dirges; and that

the former are sung at our festivals, while we recall the latter on occasions of sorrow.

Moreover, I think that even the poetry of Homer has won a greater renown because he has

nobly glorified the men who fought against the barbarians, and that on this account our

ancestors determined to give his art a place of honour in our musical contests and in the

education of our youth, in order that we, hearing his verses over and over again, may

learn by heart the enmity which stands from of old between us and them, and that we,

admiring the valour of those who were in the war against Troy, may conceive a passion

for like deeds.”

Isocrates, Panegyricus - Classical

“Those [ethne] who live in a cold climate and in [northern] Europe are

full of spirit, but wanting in intelligence and skill; and therefore they

keep their freedom but have no political organization and are

incapable of ruling over others. Whereas the [ethne] of Asia are

intelligent and inventive, but they are wanting in spirit, and therefore

they are always in a state of subjection and slavery. But the race of

Greeks, which is situated between them, is intermediate in character,

being high-spirited and also intelligent.”

Aristotle, Politics - Classical

“Now that these descendants of Perdiccas are Greeks, as they

themselves say, I myself chance to know and will prove it in the later

part of my history. Furthermore, the Hellenodicae who manage the

contest at Olympia determined that it is so, for when Alexander (I; r.

498/7-454) chose to contend and entered the lists for that purpose, the

Greeks who were to run against him wanted to bar him from the race,

saying that the contest should be for Greeks and not for foreigners.

Alexander, however, proving himself to be an Argive, was judged to

be a Greek. He accordingly competed in the furlong race and tied step

for first place. This, then, is approximately what happened.”

Heroditus, Histories - Classical

“Then there is a point which some find extraordinary, that they everywhere assign

more to the worst persons, to the poor, and to the popular types than to the good men:

in this very point they will be found manifestly preserving their democracy. For the

poor, the popular, and the base, inasmuch as they are well off and the likes of them

are numerous, will increase the democracy; but if the wealthy, good men are well off,

the men of the people create a strong opposition to themselves. And everywhere on

earth the best element is opposed to democracy. For among the best people there is

minimal wantonness and injustice but a maximum of scrupulous care for what is

good, whereas among the people there is a maximum of ignorance, disorder, and

wickedness; for poverty draws them rather to disgraceful actions, and because of a

lack of money some men are uneducated and ignorant.”

Xenophon, Constitution of the Athenians - Classical

“11. Again, this also was a native custom of theirs, neither to eat

nor drink while on a march, nor yet to be seen doing any of the

necessary consequences of eating or drinking. Even yet that same

abstinence prevails, but they make their journeys so short that no

one would be surprised at their ability to resist those calls of nature.

12. Again, in times past they used to go out hunting so often that

the hunts afforded sufficient exercise for both men and horses, But

since Artaxerxes and his court became the victims of wine, they

have neither gone out themselves in the old way nor taken the

others out hunting; on the contrary, if any one often went hunting

with his friends out of sheer love for physical exertion, the courtiers

would not hide their jealousy and would hate him as presuming to

be a better man than they. 13. Again, it is still the custom for the

boys to be educated at court; but instruction and practice in

horsemanship have died out, because there are no occasions on

which they may give an exhibition and win distinction for skill.

And while anciently the boys used there to hear cases at law justly

decided and so to learn justice, as they believed—that also has been

entirely reversed; for now they see all too clearly that whichever

party gives the larger bribe wins the case.”

Cyropaedia xenophon - classical

“Clearchus, Spartan general, leader of the Ten Thousand, invited to a banquet by

Tissaphernes: “In these things that he said Tissaphernes seemed to Clearchus to be

speaking the truth; and Clearchus said: “Then do not those who are endeavouring by false

charges to make us enemies, when we have such grounds for friendship, deserve to suffer

the uttermost penalty?” “Yes,” said Tissaphernes, “and for my part, if you generals and

captains care to come to me, I will give you, publicly, the names of those who tell me that

you are plotting against me and the army under my command.” “And I,” said Clearchus,

“will bring them all, and in my turn will make known to you whence come the reports

that I hear about you.” After this conversation Tissaphernes showed all kindness, inviting

Clearchus at that time to stay with him and making him his guest at dinner. On the

following day, when Clearchus returned to the Greek camp, he not only made it clear that

he imagined he was on very friendly terms with Tissaphernes and reported the words

which he had used, but he said that those whom Tissaphernes had invited must go to him,

and that whoever among the Greeks should be convicted of making false charges ought to

be punished, as traitors and foes to the Greeks”

Xenophon, Anabasis - Classical

“The Lacedaemonians, however, said that they would not enslave a Greek city

which had done great service amid the greatest perils that had befallen Greece,

and they offered to make peace on these conditions: that the Athenians should

destroy the long walls and the walls of Piraeus, surrender all their ships except

twelve, allow their exiles to return, count the same people friends and enemies

as the Lacedaemonians did, and follow the Lacedaemonians both by land and

by sea wherever they should lead the way.”

Xenophon, Hellenica - Classical

“Theramenes acted as spokesman for the

embassy, and urged that it was best to obey the

Lacedaemonians and tear down the walls. And

while some spoke in opposition to him, a far

greater number supported him, and it was

voted to accept the peace. After this Lysander

sailed into Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the

Peloponnesians with great enthusiasm began to

tear down the walls to the music of flute-girls,

thinking that that day was the beginning of

freedom for Greece.”

Xenophon, Hellenica - Classical

Main source for the post-Pelop war (30 tyrants, Thrasybulus)

Xenophon, Classical period author

“Peisander and Charicles, who were regarded in those days as the most fervent of

democrats, were members of the commission of inquiry. These two maintained that

the outrage was not the work of a small group of criminals, but an organized attempt

to overthrow the popular government: and that therefore inquiries ought still to be

pursued as vigorously as ever.”

Andocides, On the Mysteries - Classical

“Did you, O men of Athens, execute Socrates the sophist because he was shown to have been the teacher of Critias, one of the Thirty who put down the democracy …?”

Aeschines, Against Timarchus, Classical

“So that when Tiribazus ordered those to be present who desired to give ear to the peace which the King had sent down, all speedily presented themselves. And when they had come together, Tiribazus showed them the King’s seal and then read the writing. It ran as follows:

“King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia should belong to him, as well as Clazomenae and Cyprus among the islands, and that the other Greek cities, both small and great, should be left independent [autonomous], except Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros; and these should belong, as of old, to the Athenians. But whichever of the two parties does not accept this peace, upon them I will make war, in company with those who desire this arrangement, both by land and by sea, with ships and with money.””

Xenophon, Hellenica - Classical

“But if cattle and horses and lions had hands

or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do,

horses like horses and cattle like cattle

also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies

of such a sort as the form they themselves have.

...

Ethiopians say that their gods are snub–nosed [σιμούς] and black

Thracians that they are pale and red-haired.”

Xenophanes - Classical?

Dipylon Krate - Archaic

Proto-Attic/Phaleron Ware (?) Polyphemus Painter - Archaic

Possible Cylon skeletons - Archaic

Axones wooden boards and kyrbeis - archaic

Draco’s law” First axon.And or Even if anybody kills anybody not from forethought, he shall be

exiled.The kings shall pronounce responsible for homicide [the one who himself killed or the one?]

whoplanned it; the appeal judges shall decide it. There shall be reconciliation, if there are a fatheror

brother or sons, to be granted by all, or the objector shall prevail. If these do not exist, then as far as

cousinhood and cousin, if they are all willing to grantreconciliation, or the objector shall prevail. If

none of these exists but hekilled unwillingly and the fifty-one appeal judges decide that he

killedunwillingly, let ten members of the phratry allow him to enter if they are willing: let these

bechosen by the fifty-one on the basis of their excellence. And those who killed previously shall be

liable to this ordinance. There shall be a proclamation against thekiller in the agora by those as far

as cousinhood and cousin; there shall join in the prosecutioncousins and cousins’ sons and

brothers-in-law and fathers-in-lawand phratry members . . . is responsiblefor homicide . . . the fifty-

one . . . convictof homicide . . . If anybodykills a killer, or is responsible for his being killed, when

he is keeping away from a frontiermarket and Amphiktyonic contests and rites, he shall be liable to

the same things as forkilling an Athenian; the appeal judges shall decide. . . . . . he is a freeman.

And if he kills a man by defending immediately when the man is forcibly and unjustlytaking and

removing, that man shall have been killed without penalty . . .”

Draco’s law exerpt - Archaic

And he arranged the constitution in the following way: he divided the people by assessment into

four classes, as they had been divided before, Five-hundred-measure man, Horseman, Teamster and

Labourer, …Any man had to be rated as a Five-hundred-measure man the produce from whose

estate was five hundred dry and liquid measures jointly, and at the cavalry-rate those who made

three hundred,—or as some say, those who were able to keep a horse, and they adduce as a proof

the name of the rating as being derived from the fact, and also the votive offerings of the ancients;

for there stands dedicated in the Acropolis a statue of Diphilus on which are inscribed these

lines:Anthemion Diphilus’s son dedicated this statue to the gods

. . . having exchanged the Labourer rating for the Cavalry—

and a horse stands beside him, in evidence that ‘cavalry’ meant the class able to keep a horse.

Nevertheless it is more probable that the cavalry were distinguished by their amounts of produce as

the Five-hundred-measure men were. And men had to be rated in the Teamster class who made two

hundred measures, wet and dry together; while the rest were rated in the Labourer class,

Aristotle, Athenian Constitution - classical

Achilles and Ajax playing game - Archaic

“the standard of justice depends on the

equality of power to compel and that in fact the strong do what they

have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.”

Melian Dialogue, Theucydes - CLassical

Athenian Herm - Classical