Untitled Flashcards Set

Aischylos 1:

Aischylos = The “Father of Tragedy” (because his is the earliest work of tragedy that survives)

and one of three tragedians who makes the Greek “canon” of tragedy (with Sophokles and

Euripides). He fought at Marathon with his brother Kynegiros, as well as at Salamis and Plataia

Canon = . The “established” works of literature we use to define the genre

Atossa = Xerxes’ mother and wife of Darius I

Trilogy = three plays that continue one story, OR three plays which deal with the same theme

(Persians is linked thematically)

Aischylos 2:

Darius = Xerxes’ father

Ritual Lamentation = Public mourning of beating breasts, shouting loudly, tearing out hair,

tearing clothes

Classical Athens 1:

Pentekontaetia = “The 50 year period” of recovery from the Persian wars that brought about

the rise of Athens referred to as “The Golden Age of Athens”

Pausanias = Spartan general who became leader of the allied Greek forces who pressed the

Greek assault as far north as Byzantion and as far east as Cyprus. People became suspicious

that he might be sympathetic to the Pesian cause because:

● Increasingly violent! Becoming vicious as his campaign moved forward

● Worry that he could switch sides to Persian side because power-hungry

● He starts to take on Persian attributes (Starts to wear pants, Takes Egyptian and

Persian bodyguards

● Persian royals under his watch managed to escape

Hegemon = Polis acting as leader of the Greek forces

Delian League = Group of allied forces joined with Athens so-called because their treasury was

kept on the island of Delos. Terms included:

● United defense against repeat of Persian invasion

● One vote for each member

● Representatives from each poleis have one vote (over 150 poleis)

● Agree to focus on the navy and sea domination

● Offer tribute to Athens (money, ships, or men for ships)

● Agreement of shared friends and shared enemies

● Athens looks over the treasury and elects treasurers

Peloponnesian League = Group of allied forces joined with Sparta (see map on lecture notes)

Cleruchy = Colony of Athenian citizens still politically dependent on Athens

Classical Athens 2:

Archons = Chief magistrates of the polis whose duties encompassed civic, military, religious,

and judicial concerns In 487 archons were no longer elected, but were chosen at random

Archon basileus = Chief priest of Athens who conducted sacrifices on behalf of the polis

Polemarch = Commander of the Athenian army

Eponymous archon = Head of state from whom the year received its name

Ephialtes = A strategos and political rival of Kimon who reformed the Council of the Areopagus,

shifting power away from them (exception - homicide cases) and turning it over to the Boule

Boule = The Council of 500 whose new duties included:

● Reviewing incoming and outgoing candidates for/of office

● Overseeing construction and management of public buildings

● Assessing readiness of Athenian fleet, ensuring upkeep and construction of ships

● Supervising officials in charge of leases, taxes, and revenues into treasury

● Reviewing number of horses owned by the state

Bouleutai = Members of the Boule (there were 500)

Prytaneis = the 50 monthly leaders of the Boule who were on call in Tholos their entire shift

Perikles = Another Strategos who was also a rival of Kimon. He instituted changes in

citizenship, requiring both parents to be from Athens, and reissuing rules about inclusion in the

Ekklesia:

Open to any Athenian male citizen 20+

Had to perform military service for two years

Met 40x per year, 4x per month (one meeting of which known as the Kyria Ekklesia)

Mistho = The payment for jury service introduced between 454 and 451 BC.

Dikastikon = The state fund out of which payments for the Mistho were drawn (for jury pay)

Theorikon = Grant for underprivileged classes to attend festivals and state functions so they

could engage in civic events.

Athenian Court System = DIFFERENT FROM TODAY: Men over the age of 30 made up juries

of 500, 1000, and 1500 men drawn from a pool of 6000 men. The large number of jurors

reduced the likelihood of jury tampering and trial rigging. They were chosen by lot from a voting

machine into which each man would drop two colored tokens into the top. The color that

emerged at the bottom would determine whether or not he served. There were no rules for

evidence of procedure, so rhetorical persuasion often ended in slander, personal attacks, and

innuendo (pg. 203). There were no rules for jury conduct, no deliberation. They voted as soon

as the representatives were finished showing their evidence.

Classical Athens 3:

Politeia = The Athenian constitution, which at this time, was becoming more egalitarian. It

increased the number of men participating in running the Athenian empire (according to

Aristotle, up to 700 at one point) and the Athenian fleet (at least 90 triemes at sea at any given

time). There was a symbiotic relationship between democracy and the empire that was shown

through the “machinery of empire” - namely, those who kept the ships running (harbormasters,

ship builders, dock workers, etc.) including oarsmen (needed 150 men per ship, making 13,500

rowers at any time) who by their numbers and position gained power - the politeia engaged all

levels of society, including slaves.

Lapis Primus = A vertically standing stone on which Athens kept their record of tributes,

recorded from 454 to 440 but missing the record from 449 potentially because of peacetime

Peace of Kallias = A period of peace (treaty) negotiated by Kallias who may or may not be real

due to lack of records. Thucydides wrote about this period from his personal perspective, so

didn’t include a record of him. But Herodotus does mention him as the ambassador to Persia.

The treaty might have been informal - BUT we know Athens stopped going after Persian

territory during Periklean Athens

Periklean Athens 1:

Dithyrambs = Songs sung in honor of Dionysus that were light-hearted and satirical in content,

sung by a chorus of about 50 accompanied by an aulos player. Their origin (in question) is

attributed to Arion of Lesbos.

Thespis = Playwright who introduced the idea of one actor interacting with the chorus during

performance

Aischylos/Aeschylus = (see Aischylos slides above) Added a second actor and trilogy

structure to the stage interactions, making actors the focus of the performance rather than the

chorus, which he reduced to 12 men

Sophokles/Sophocles = Added a third actor and increased the chorus to 15 men, and brought

in backdrop scene painting called skenographia

Euripides = Diminished both roles of chorus and gods, but used deus (man) ex machina

(machine), having a god intervene in the end played by a man hooked up to rigging (the

machine) and flying over the stage.

Choregos = The financier in charge of a production including training the actors and chorus,

procuring costumes, etc.

Katharsis = Defined by Aristotle as the feeling evoked by participating in the “imitation of an

action that is serious” that purges the emotions of pity and fear that lie otherwise repressed or

under the surface

Dionysia = The 2nd largest Athenian festival held in honor of Dionysus over several days in

which processions, sacrifices, libations occur, including a presentation of city beneficiaries,

tribute from Athens’ allies, a procession of sons whose fathers died in battle, and several days

of theater (dithyramb) contests including comedies, tragedies, and satyr plays

Lenaia = Smaller festival held during the winter that focused on five performances of comedy to

begin with, then later added two tragedies. The comedies dealt with the habits and attitudes of

the social culture and commented on current events, satirizing well-known figures in a direct

manner (like SNL, today).

Aristophanes = A playwright who wrote several plays having to do with current events,

including Wasps (a play on professional jurists), Frogs (another tragedy), as well as two plays

that were written and performed “too close” to the events of the Peloponnesian War, riling up

the audience. He was banished from performing these plays again and fined.

Theater of Dionysus = Located right below the Acropolis, originally made of wood before

transitioning to stone. Parts of the theater include the Theatron (audience seats - orchestra area

for influential people with reserved seats), Orchestra (front surrounding the stage where chorus

was positioned), Thymele (stage), Parados (aisles for chorus and actors to access stage),

Proskenium (where actors would produce their lines, Skene (building housing machinery,

costumes, etc). During festivals, empire and democracy combine with praise for empire,

processions and events that celebrate and commemorate imperial power while also including all

social strata who have voting power over plays and an opportunity to be civically engaged.

Periklean Athens 2:

Acropolis = Area that housed several civic buildings - Source of Athenian pride, showcase of

power, and intersection of religion, community, democracy, and empire. Engaged by Perikles to

beautify the area and create space for several different segments of society to come together

for events, etc., made possible by tributes accumulated through empire.

Phidias = Preeminent sculptor who helped beautify and create sculptures for the Acropolis

buildings

Parthenon = First building commissioned by Perikles, constructed from 447-438 BC, and built

around the old ruins of the Temple of Athena destroyed during the P. war. Had an ornamental

sculpture program and was painted throughout with mythological scenes on the outermost

facade, and from the Panathenaic procession on the inner-outer facade. There are no straight

lines - optical illusion (see links in lecture slides). Much of the ornamentation has been displayed

at the British Museum - there is a current debate around where these items should live (read

links provided under “pages” from professor in primary course canvas page)

Pediments = Triangular structures over the building that display carved contests between

Athena and Poseidon, and the Birth of Athena in a kind of narrative form

Erechtheion = Temple dedicated to Athena Poleis holding a statue of Athena in the East side

and Poseidon on the West, and supposedly the site of the mythical founder of Athen’s grave.

The temple commemorates Athena as the patron goddess of Athens, and features the Porch of

the Karyatids

Porch of the Karyatids = Columns shaped like women on the Erechtheion

Propylaia = Gateway that separates the outer and inner sections of the Acropolis with a

staircase, framed by columns that, when inside, offer a view of Salamis (Athenian navy’s big

victory). Construction started 437 BC

Temple of Athena Nike = Reconstructed during the Peloponesian war with artwork depicting

historical scenes of battles against the Persians in vibrant colors. Priestess oversees who was

chosen randomly and receives a salary.

Nike Adjusting her Sandal = A relief on the Temple of Athena Nike featuring a “wet drapery”

technique, specifically used by artists to maintain goddesses modesty while also rendering an

anatomically correct human body - a technique shown throughout the Acropolis.

Periklean Athens 3:

Cella = The innermost part of the Parthenon that houses the Chryselephantine Statue of Athena

Chryselephantine = A mixture of ivory and gold that the Statue of Athena in the Cella was

made of. In her hand is the Athena Nike figure symbolizing victory

Athena Nike = A small figure representing victory held in the hand of the Chryselephantine

statue of Athena in the Cella of the Parthenon

Athenian Exclusion = Segments of Athenian population were not allowed to participate in

democracy, namely women, enslaved peoples, and metics (foreign residents). Their

perspectives are often silenced in discussions of Athenian society (even today) because so few

first-hand accounts exist, and aristocratic men who did write about them often did so through a

filtered perspective that had no idea of their true experiences

Sappho = A female poet from the island of Lesbos who wrote lyrics that portrayed women. Her

reach was far - some fragments were recently found in an Egyptian tomb

Pandora = Mythical figure who held a jar encasing all the woes of humankind including danger,

diseases, and pain. When she opened the jar, they all flew out...the last to emerge was hope,

which can go both ways. She symbolizes the idea that women were created as a punishment

for men.

Semonides = A misogynistic writer who categorized women as different types of animals, all

explicitly negative with the exception of the bee, which still objectifies women as being created

to keep house and birth noble sons.

Marriage = Women were kept from public areas and public life, treated as property of their

fathers until ownership changed hands to the husband. They were married at 14, their husbands

older (30+), and there were no thoughts of her happiness or wishes. There were strict beliefs

about the importance of men being heavy-handed with their wives, and stories (Lysias) that

warn against being too lax leading to corruption of women as they take other lovers and have

illegitimate children. Belief that those children would be the downfall of Athens (and other poleis)

Hetairai = Women who acted as professional companions at men’s symposiums (drinking

parties) - they were skilled in singing, dancing, rhetoric, often educated. The relationship was

both intellectual and physical.

Pornai = Women (and young men) who were considered prostitutes, used for sex and treated

as objects for that purpose.

Pederasty = The practice of older males partnering with younger males for educational and

aspirational purposes. The relationship was sexual (intercrural sex) but once the younger male

grew any facial hair the relationship was ended, after which the younger male took on their own

younger male to “train”. To continue the relationship was considered shameful (kinaidos)

Erastes = The term given for the older male in the pederastic relationship

Eromenos = The term given for the younger male in the pederastic relationship

Douloi = Enslaved persons who worked throughout Greece in fields, homes, minds, etc. and

guaranteed sources of income for their owners. Often they were the original inhabitants of the

land they worked on (like helots). Some (Choris oikuntes) were semi-independent craftsmen

who worked to support themselves and their owners, and others (demosioi) were public slaves

taken from battles or colonized lands who worked as clerks, secretaries, sweepers, and police.

Metics = Foreign residents of Athens who had previously been granted citizenship, but under

new rules were relegated in the margins. They needed an Athenian patron, had to register in the

deme, and pay an annual tax to live in the city. However, they conducted trade and

manufacturing in the port of Piraeus, affecting economic progress and interacting with the

military. They also had the responsibilities of citizens without the benefit of citizenship (eg they

had to perform in military service) but if they were wealthy, they could offer sponsorships to

grow their renown in the city and to themselves

Liturgies = The sponsorships that Metics could offer the cities such as acting as choregos in

the theater, trierarch in building up the navy, and gymnasiarch in sponsoring torch runs, etc.