Order in Ancient Greece

Theme: Different approaches in different city-states

Lsn 17

ID & SIG

• Aristotle, Athens, Corinth, democracy, oligarchy, Pericles, Plato, Socrates, Solon, Sparta, The Republic, tyrants

Agenda

• Government– Sparta– Athens– Corinth

• Philosophy– Socrates– Plato– Aristotle– Others

Government

Sparta, Athens, Corinth

Sparta

Sparta

Sparta: Helots

• Helots were servants of the Sparta state– Not chattel slaves, but not free either– By the 6th Century B.C., helots probably

outnumbered Sparta citizens by 10 to 1– The large number of helots allowed the Spartans to

cultivate their region efficiently, but also posed the threat of constant rebellion

• Sparta responded for the need for order by military means

Sparta: Society

• In theory, all Spartans citizens were equal– To discourage economic and social distinctions,

Spartans observed an extraordinarily austere lifestyle as a matter of policy

• No jewelry, elaborate clothes, luxuries, or accumulation of great private wealth

– Even today, “spartan” means• Practicing great self-denial• Unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or

judgment • Resolute in the face of pain or danger or adversity

Sparta: Society• What distinctions did exist in Spartan society were

based not on wealth or social status, but on prowess, discipline, and military talent

• Spartan educational system cultivated such attributes from an early age– Boys left their homes at age seven to live in

military barracks under a rigorous regime of physical training

– At age 20 they went into the military where they served until retirement

Sparta: Society

• “Come back with your shield - or on it” was the reported parting cry of Spartan mothers to their sons.

Sparta: Government

• Highly unusual government that contained elements of democracy, timocracy, monarchy, and oligarchy

King Leonidas ca. 530 BC-480 BC

Sparta: Government• Oligarchy

– Rule by a few– Power was in the

hands of five men called Ephores who were elected annually by the Council of Elders

• Timocracy– Government by

people of honor– All Ephores were over

the age of 60 and had completed their military career

– The Ephores controlled all daily life in Sparta

Sparta: Government

• Monarchy– Rule by a hereditary

sovereign– Under the five

Ephores there were two Kings that came from the two noble families of Sparta

– With divine approval, shown in an oracle or an omen, the Ephores had the power to force the Kings’ abdication

• Democracy– Election based on

numerical majority– Under the Kings were

the Council of the Elders. – The council passed laws

and elected the five Ephores

– Beneath them were the rest of the free Spartan men who voted for the Council of Elders

Athens

Athens

• Whereas Sparta tried to establish order by military means, Athens instead tried a government based on democratic principles– Sought to negotiate order by considering the

interests of the polis’s various constituencies• Citizenship was restricted to free adult males,

but government offices were open to all citizens– Broadened the political base

Athens: Solon• As tensions developed between

aristocrats and less privileged classes, Solon devised a compromise

• Aristocrats were allowed to keep their lands, but at the same time Solon cancelled debts, forbade debt slavery, and liberated those already enslaved for debt

• To prevent future abuses, he provided governmental representation for the common classes by opening the councils of the polis to any citizen wealthy enough to devote time to public affairs, regardless of lineage

Athens: Pericles• Solon’s reforms gradually

transformed Athens into a democratic state, but the high tide of Athenian democracy was reached under the leadership of Pericles from 443 to 429 B.C.

• His government included hundreds of officeholders from common classes

• Pericles boasted that Athens was “the education of Greece”

Ostrakaphoria

• Each year Athenians would decide whether to hold an election to banish someone from the city for 10 years

• Means to prevent politicians from dividing the community and to stop tyrants before they seized power

• First ostrakaphoria held in 487 B.C. ostraka,

ballots made from pieces of pottery

Corinth

Periander, second tyrant of Corinth

Corinth

• Founded in the 10th Century B. C.– Strategically located

• Guards the narrow isthmus that connects the Peloponnesus to the mainland and hosts the important harbors of Lechaeum and Cenchreae

– Became the richest port and the largest city in ancient Greece

Temple of Apollo

Corinth• The two seaports were

only four miles apart– Lechaeum, the western

harbor in the Corinthian Gulf was the trading port to Italy and Sicily

– Cenchreae, the eastern harbor in the Saronic Gulf, was the port for the eastern Mediterranean countries

Corinth: Diolkos

• Periander constructed a five foot wide rock-cut tract for wheeling small ships and their unloaded cargo from one gulf to the other

• By 400 B.C., a double wall ran from Corinth to Lechaeum to protect a two mile rock paved street, about 40 feet wide, leading to the port

Corinth: Government

• With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, some city-states overthrew their traditional hereditary kings– Corinth, the richest city-state, led the way – Instead of developing long-term solutions to

the societal and economic problems, ambitious politicians or generals called “tyrants” seized power by irregular means and ruled without being subject to the law

Corinth: Government

• Tyrants were usually members of the ruling aristocracy who either had a personal grievance or led an unsuccessful faction

• They were generally supported by the politically powerless new wealthy and by poor farmers

• Once in power they often seized land from the aristocrats and divided it among their own supporters

Corinth: Government

• Tyrants were not necessarily oppressive despots– Many were quite popular, in part due to the

public works programs they established and the debts they cancelled

– The word “tyrant” comes from how they gained power rather than how they governed

Corinth: Government

• Tyrants maintained order by: – reinforcing the state’s centralization by

consolidating power – encouraging individuals to identify with the

state through their capacity as citizens and building a common consciousness

– pursuing peaceful relations with other tyrants • Did not want to build a citizen army because it

might become a threat to their rule

Philosophy

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Others

Greek Philosophy

• Athens’ sophisticated and wealthy society provided time for thought– “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there

spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”

• Several great thinkers tried to construct a consistent system of philosophy based purely on human reason– Rationally understand human beings and human

behavior

• Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)

• Turned the course of philosophical enquiry around--from its earlier focus on natural science, to a focus on ethics or public morality

• Keenly interested in such subjects as justice, beauty, and goodness

• Optimistic – Knowing the truly good would

necessarily direct a person to act in line with this knowledge

– Human beings can lead honest lives

Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)

• Insisted on the need to reflect on the purposes and goals of life

• “The unexamined life is not worth living.”– Human beings have an obligation to strive for

personal integrity, behave honorably toward others, and work toward construction of a just society

Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)

• Posed questions that encouraged reflection on human issues, particularly on matters of ethics and morality– “the Socratic method”

• Honor was more important than wealth, fame, or other superficial attributes– Scorned those who preferred public

accolades to personal integrity

Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)

• Played the role of “gadfly,” subjecting traditional ethical teachings to critical scrutiny

• This tactic outraged some of his fellow citizens – Socrates was brought to trial

on charges of encouraging immorality and corrupting Athenian youth

• A jury of Athenian citizens found him guilty and condemned him to death– Drank a cup of hemlock and

died in the company of his friends

“Death of Socrates” by Jacques-Louis David

Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)

• Socrates did not write his thoughts down, but we know them through his disciple Plato

• Plato wrote a series of dialogues in which Socrates figured as the principal speaker “Socrates Teaching”

Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)

• Plato advanced from recording Socrates views to developing his own systematic vision of the world and human society– The Theory of

Forms or Ideas

Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)

• Plato was frustrated that he couldn’t gain satisfactory intellectual control over the world– For example, generally speaking, virtue

requires one to honor and obey his parents, but if parents are acting illegally, it is the child’s duty to denounce the offense and seek punishment.

– How can we understand virtue as an abstract quality if it is situationally dependent?

Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)

• There are two worlds– The world we live in– The world of Forms or Ideas

• Our world is a pale and imperfect reflection of the genuine world of Forms or Ideas– Only by entering the world of Forms or Ideas can one

understand the true nature of virtue and other qualities

– This world is available only to philosophers who apply their rational faculties to the pursuit of wisdom

Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)• Allegory of the cave

– Prisoners only see the shadows cast on the wall, not the objects themselves

Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)

• In The Republic Plato described the ideal state in which rule was accomplished by philosopher-kings– Advocated an intellectual aristocracy– The philosophical elite would rule and other

less intelligent classes would work at functions for which their talents best suited them

Aristotle (384 to 322 B.C.)

• Aristotle started out as a disciple of Plato but came to distrust the Theory of Forms or Ideas– Very concrete and real as

opposed to Plato’s abstract concepts

– Believed philosophers could rely on their senses to provide accurate information about the world and then use reason to sort things out

Aristotle (384 to 322 B.C.)

• Devised rigorous rules of logic to construct compelling arguments– Logic is how we come to know about things

• Will have a profound effect on Christian philosophy in medieval Europe, especially through St. Thomas Aquinas

• Also wrote on biology, physics, and literature– Literature should be structured to represent a

complete and unified action with a beginning, middle, and end

Others

• Epicureans– Identified pleasure as the greatest good

• Skeptics– Refused to take strong positions on contentious

issues because they doubted the possibility of certain knowledge

• Stoics– Individuals should focus their attention strictly on

duties that reason and nature demanded of them• In their own way, all three sought to bring

individuals to a state of inner peace and tranquility

How was order maintained in Greece

• Government– Sparta– Athens– Corinth

• Philosophy– Socrates– Plato– Aristotle– Others

How was order maintained in Greece?

• Government– Sparta

• Military means

– Athens• Democratic means

– Corinth• Tyrants

How was order maintained in Greece?

• Philosophy– Socrates

• Knowing the truly good would necessarily direct a person to act in line with this knowledge

– Plato• The philosophical elite

would rule and other less intelligent classes would work at functions for which their talents best suited them

– Aristotle• Know about things

through logic

• Others– Epicureans

• Identified pleasure as the greatest good

– Skeptics• Refused to take strong

positions on contentious issues because they doubted the possibility of certain knowledge

– Stoics• Individuals should focus

their attention strictly on duties that reason and nature demanded of them

Next Lesson

• The Roman Empire and Medieval Europe