Chapter 10

Mediterranean Society: The Greek Phase

Chapter 10, Mediterranean Society: The Greek Phase

• Early Development of Greek Society – Minoan and Mycenaean Societies – The World of the Polis

• Greece and the Larger World – Greek Colonization – Conflict with Persia – The Macedonians and the Coming of Empire – The Hellenistic Empires

• The Fruits of Trade: Greek Economy and Society – Trade and the Integration of the Mediterranean Basin – Family and Society

• The Cultural Life of Classical Greece – Rational Thought and Philosophy – Popular Religion and Greek Drama – Hellenistic Philosophy and Religion

Ancient Greece • Bronze Age – 2 nd millennium B.C.E.

– Minoan Crete, 2200­1450 B.C.E. – Mycenaean Greece, 1600­1150 B.C.E.

• Dark Age, 1150­800 B.C.E. • Archaic Period, 800­500 B.C.E.

– Rise of the Polis • Classical Period, 500­323 B.C.E.

– High Point of Greek Civilization • Hellenistic Period, 323­30 B.C.E.

– Alexander the Great, 356­323 B.C.E.

Geography of Greece • Mainland Greece

– Rocky and Mountainous – Fertile plains – No navigable rivers – Limited natural resources – Long coastline with many harbors

• Aegean Islands – The Cycladic Islands – Crete

Bronze Age Greece • Heinrich Schliemann, the Trojan War, and the recovery of Bronze Age Greece

• Mycenaean Greece • Minoan Crete

– King Minos, Queen Pasiphaë, the Minotaur, and the Labyrinth

– Sir Arthur Evans and the excavation of Knossos

Heinrich Schliemann, excavator of Troy and Mycenae

Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos

Minoan Crete, c. 2000­1450 B.C.E.

• Palaces – Major palace: Knossos

• Control of sea trade • Wall Paintings • Religion • Literate – Linear A

– Undeciphered • Peaceful

– No fortifications

Linear A

Mycenaean Greece, c. 1600­1200 B.C.E.

• Palaces – Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Thebes, Athens, etc.

– Fortified citadels • “Cyclopean” masonry

• Militaristic – Warrior Burials – Conquest of Minoan Crete – Trojan War – Agamenmon of Mycenae

• Literate – Linear B – Greek

Linear B Tablet

The End of the Bronze Age

• Mycenaean citadels destroyed c. 1200 B.C.E.

• Invasions? Climate change? Famine? • Connection with the end of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean (Hittites, Egypt)

The Fall of Late Bronze Age Civilizations

• The 12 th century B.C.E. – a period of major changes and disruption throughout the Mediterranean World – Mycenaean World – Hittites – Syria – Egypt – Philistines (one of the Sea Peoples) – Israel

• Interdependence

The Trojan War • [Mycenaean] Greeks vs. Troy, c. 1250 B.C.E.

• Homer – Lived in the 8 th century B.C.E.

– Iliad • Achilles and the Trojan War

– Odyssey • Odysseus’ voyage home

• To what era do the stories belong?

Homer

• Disappearance of Mycenaean Civilization – No Writing – No Palaces – No International trade

• Depopulation – from 12 th to 9 th centuries B.C.E.

• Collapse of agricultural production – More herding, less farming

• Some Greeks migrate across the Aegean to the west coast of Turkey

Dark Age Greece, c. 1150­800 B.C.E.

End of the Dark Ages: Major changes in the 8 th cent.

B.C.E. • Rise in population • Improvements in agriculture

– Economy shifted from herding to farming

• Iron replaced bronze • Competition for resources • Revival of trade

– Phoenicians trading with Greece • Writing re­introduced

• The Polis (plural Poleis) = City­State – Urban Center – Acropolis – Agora (market)

• Poleis varied in size, natural resources, wealth

• Citizenship – Each polis was a community in which all citizens were entitled to participate at some level

• Each polis functioned as a political, economic, social, and religious unit

The Rise of the Polis, c. 800 B.C.E.­480 B.C.E.

• • Monarchy Monarchy – Typical Bronze Age Government – Few monarchies survived in Greece after the Bronze Age

• Aristocracy – aristos = best; cratos = rule

• Oligarchy – oligos = few; archos = power

• Tyranny • Democracy

Governments of the Poleis, c. 800 B.C.E.­480 B.C.E.

• Changes in society during the Archaic Period led to political change: – Wealth

• From farming, trade – Colonization – Military Changes

Political Changes in the Poleis

• Overpopulation • Motives:

– Economic frustration – Political frustration

• New poleis founded throughout the eastern Mediterranean – Colony – Mother­city

• Trade and commerce • Cultural diffusion

– 1500 Greek city­states

Greek Colonization, c. 750­550 B.C.E.

What aspects of the colonies’ locations facilitated trade between them and the city-states in Greece?

• Alphabet • Coinage • Art • Architecture

Cultural Changes Resulting from Greek Colonization

• Bronze Age warfare – chariots and heavily armed soldiers

• Early Iron Age warfare ­ cavalry • Military Change in the 8 th century: Hoplites – Heavily armed infantrymen

• Shield (hoplon) • Helmet, breastplate, leg guards • Thrusting spear • Sword

– Phalanx formation • 4 to 8 rows deep

A New Military System

• Aristocrats in power • Excluded people

– Poor – Middle class – The new rich

• What could those excluded from power do about it? – Political tension – Refusal to fight to support the polis – Support alternative leaders

• Tyrants

Outgrowth of the Changes = Political Changes

• Laconia • Conquered Messenia, c. 730 B.C.E.

– Population reduced to slaves ­ Helots • Military Service

Sparta: The Military Ideal

The Spartan State • Dual kings

– Assisted by a council of elders (gerousia) and an assembly of all male citizens (Spartiates)

• Society – Spartiates – Perioeci (“those who live around”) – Helots

• Family Life – Boys – Girls – Marriage – Wives and Mothers

• Athens in the Dark Age – Governed by aristocrats

• Tensions in the 7 th century B.C.E. – Debt slavery

• 6 th century – emerging democracy – Draco, 620 B.C.E. – Solon, 594 B.C.E.

Athens

• Pisistratis, Tyrant of Athens, 560 ­556 B.C.E. & 546­527 B.C.E. – Very popular – Athens very peaceful and prosperous – Succeeded by unpopular sons Hippias and Hipparchus (assassinated in 514 B.C.E.) • Hippias forced into exile in 510 B.C.E.

• The Reforms of Cleisthenes, 508­501 B.C.E. – Weaken the power of localities and regions – Council of 500, fifty representatives from each of 10 new tribe

• Democracy (demos, “people,” and kratia, “power”)

Athens: The Move to Tyranny …and then Democracy

Full­blown Democracy Pericles • The Assembly (Ecclesia)

– All male citizens over 18 participate – Responsible for laws, foreign policy, declaring war

• Council of 500 (introduced by Cleisthenes) – 50 men elected by lot from each tribe; Prepared agenda for Assembly

• Magistrates – Chosen by lot

• Board of 10 Generals (strategoi) – Elected by vote

• Ostracism • Law Courts • Direct democracy

– All can participate; All officials paid

• “Mob­ocracy”

• Greece in the 5 th century B.C.E. • Begins and ends with wars

– Persian Wars, 490 B.C.E. & 480­479 B.C.E.

– Peloponnesian War, 431­404 B.C.E. • The high point of Greek culture (history writing, philosophy, architecture, sculpture, painting, etc.)

Classical Greece

• Ionian Revolt of the Greeks, 499 B.C.­ 494 B.C.E. – Athens helps

• 1 st Persian War – Athens vs. _______ in 490 B.C.E.

• 2 nd Persian War – All Greece vs. _______ in 480­479 B.C.E.

The Challenge of Persia

Will Persia Come Back? • Athens prepares for _________________

• Delian League – League members pay central treasury

– Greek states in Ionia liberated from Persian empire

– Money used to build ships – guess where?

• Athenian imperialism

The Peloponnesian War

• _______ War in Greece ­ 431­404 B.C.E. • 431 B.C.E. ­ Sparta invades Attica • Athens invades Peloponnesus by sea • _______________ (c. 460­c. 400 B.C.E.)

– The History of the Peloponnesian War

The End of the Peloponnesian War • Surrender of Athens, ________B.C.E.

– Democracy [somewhat] re­established • Athenians look for a scapegoat…and find one • But conflict continued between Sparta and other poleis

Decline of the Greek States, 404­338 B.C.E.

• Sparta • Athens • Thebes • Persia • _________

King Philip II, 359­336 B.C.E.

Alexander the Great

• 356­323 B.C.E. – Tutored by Aristotle

• King of Macedonia from _______ B.C.E.

• Greek city­states revolt in 335 B.C.E. – Crushed by Alexander – Thebes burnt to the ground as an example to other poleis

• Fulfills Philip’s dream

Alexander’s Legacy • The Hellenistic Age, 323­30 B.C.E.

– Hellas = Greece – Hellenic = Greek

• term used to apply specifically to Greece in the Archaic and Classical Periods

– Hellenistic =___________________ • Monarchy

– Military strength, divine rule • Culture

– Urbanism – Art, architecture, language, literature

“To the Strongest” • Three main successor states

after the death of Alexander • Antigonus (382­301 B.C.E.)

– Macedon and much of Asia Minor

– Antigonid Dynasty lasts to 146 B.C.E.

• Seleucus (d. 281 B.C.E.) – Syria and Mesopotamia – Seleucid Syria lasts to 63 B.C.E.

• _________ (d. 283 B.C.E.) – Egypt – Ptolemaic Egypt lasts to 30 B.C.E.

The Hellenistic Monarchies • How did the Hellenistic Kings stay in power?

• Military – Greek mercenaries – Phalanx – Elephants – Siege machinery

• Ruling class – Greeks and Macedonians

• _______ of Greek Culture and that of Mesopotamia and Egypt – An imperfect mixture

• Greek the language of business and government

• Ways of the East persisted

Ptolemy II

The Social and Cultural Life of Greece

• The Cultural Life of Classical Greece – Rational Thought and Philosophy – Popular Religion and Greek Drama – Hellenistic Philosophy and Religion

Women in Classical Athens • The first woman: Pandora • Women’s life

– Women engaged in public life only at: • Public funerals • Religious Festivals

• Marriage – Arranged by fathers when women were still young (as young as 5)

– Bride in her teens, husband about 30 years old – Ceremony; “I give this woman for the procreation of legitimate children”

• Prostitution • Hetairai, “___________________”

– Symposium

Daily Life in Classical Athens • The citizens of Athens • Everyone else:

– Women – Metics (resident aliens) – Slaves

• Domestic slaves vs. state­owned slaves

The Culture of Classical Greece: Drama – Tragedy & Comedy

• Part of religious festivals • Subject matter ­ Myths and Legends from Greece’s heroic past

• Aeschylus – Oresteia

• Sophocles – Oedipus Rex (c. 420 B.C.E.)

• Euripides (Iphigenia at Aulis at MCCC 11/10­11; 11/17­ 18, 2006)

• Aristophanes (c. 450­385 B.C.E.) – Lysistrata

The Culture of Classical Greece: Philosophy

• Pioneers of Rational Thought • What are the elements from which all material things are made?

• 6 th century B.C.E.: The _____________ Philosophers (also known as the Ionian School)

The Culture of Classical Greece: Philosophy

• Thales of Miletus, 6 th century B.C.E. – 1 st Greek to predict an eclipse – Water the basic element

• Leucippus and student Democritus, 5 th century B.C.E. – The universe is made up of indivisible units =Atoms

• Hippocrates of Cos, 5 th century B.C.E. – Environment and health – “Father of Medicine”

• The Pre­Socratic Philosophers – Why are they called philosophers rather than scientists? – “Lovers of Wisdom”

Greek Philosophy: Socrates, 470­399 B.C.E.

• The Socratic Method • Student: _________ • Public gadfly, condemned on charges of immorality

• Forced to drink hemlock

Death of Socrates, Jacques­Louis David, 1787; Metropolitan Museum, NY

Greek Philosophy: Plato, 430­347 B.C.E.

• Systematized Socratic thought • Dialogues • The Academy • The Republic

– What is the ideal government? – Parable of the Cave – Theory of Forms/Ideas

Greek Philosophy: Aristotle, 389­322 B.C.E.

• Student of __________ • Scientific method

– Emphasis on empirical findings, reason • “Golden Mean” [everything in moderation] • Tutor of ______________ • Massive impact on western thought

Hellenistic Philosophies

• Epicureans – Pleasure, distinct from Hedonists

• Skeptics – Doubted possibility of certainty in anything

• Stoics – Duty, virtue, morality – Emphasis on inner peace The Stoa in Athens

Greek Religion

• Polytheism • Zeus principal god • Festivals • Ritual, Sacrifice, Prayer – No body of dogma – No special class of priests

• No consolation or promise of life after death

• Mystery Religions Temple of Apollo, Delphi

Hellenistic Religion

• Fusion with Eastern Gods and Cults – Syncretism – New Gods and Goddesses

• Mystery Religions – Cult of Isis

• Initiation

Hellenistic Cameo, 2 nd century B.C.E.

Culture in the Hellenistic World

• _______ ­ the center for Literature and Art – Philosophy – Theater – History writing

• __________ – the center for science and medicine

Hellenistic Cities • Alexandria • Greek culture – Polis – Language • Koine Greek

– Architecture • Temples, theaters, baths, gymnasia, etc.

• Library, Museum • Cities spread Hellenistic culture

Hellenistic Science • With immense resources available Greek rulers were able to support researchers in many fields

• Library of Alexandria – 700,000 scrolls (equivalent to about 50,000

books) • Museum of Alexandria

– Aristarchus of Samos (c. 310­230 B.C.E.) • Heliocentric view of the universe

– Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 275­194 B.C.E.) • Earth round, circumference of 24,675 miles • (actual circumference is 24,860 miles)

– Euclid (c. 300 B.C.E.) • Elements

Hellenistic Science

• Other scientists: – Archimedes of Syracuse (287­212 B.C.E.) • “Archimedes’ Screw” • Value of pi • Hydrostatics

• Doctors: – Herophilus – Erasistratus

The Jews in the Hellenistic Period

• The Jews in the Hellenistic World • Judea – struggle between Hellenism and Hebrew identity – Part of the Ptolemaic and then the Seleucid Kingdom

• Seleucid King Antiochus IV (175­163 B.C.E.) – New policies of intolerance – Led to war with Jews led by Judas Maccabaeus, 164 B.C.E.

– Hanukkah, Festival of Light • Jewish Independence (until Roman Conquest in 63 B.C.E.)