Ancient Greece: People and Culture

• Ancient Greece was located on the southern Balkan Peninsula, the Peloponnese peninsula, islands in the Aegean Sea, Crete, and the western coast of Asia Minor.
• The natural conditions were subtropical.
• People sustained themselves through fishing, cultivating olives, figs, grapes, grain, raising livestock, crafts, and trade.
• Achaji and Ioni settled in 2000 BC, followed by the Dorians in 1200 BC.

The 3 Old Cultures That Emerged in the 3rd Millennium BC

• Cycladic culture (circa 3000 BC)
• Located on islands in the Aegean Sea.
• They knew bronze.
• They crafted unique nude female figurines from marble (Idols)
• They made beautiful cave paintings
• Pottery featured spiral or circular decorations.
• It declined around 2000 BC.
• Minoan culture (circa 3000 BC)
• Located on Crete (advantageous location)
• Named after King Minos.
• Featured typical ruling palaces where the ruler lived with his family
• Palaces were economic centers
• The palace farms included herds of sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs
• Knossos and Faistos were the most famous palaces
• They did not build walls or fortifications because they relied on the sea for protection.
• They made ceramic products and murals
• They used Linear A script (undeciphered) from which Linear B script was derived (used by the Achaeans).
• It declined around 1200 BC (arrival of the Dorians).
• Mycenaean culture (circa 1700 BC)
• Located on mainland Greece with Mycenae as its center
• Influenced by the Cretan civilization
• They had large and powerful fortresses with typical Cyclopean structures built by Cyclops (Lion Gate)
• Residents were warriors and artists, producing frescoes, bronze weapons, clay pots, ivory/gold products, jewelry, and gold death masks.
• They used Linear B script and declined around 1200 BC (arrival of the Dorians).

Periodization of Greek History

• Homeric Period: (1200-800 BC)
• known as the Dark Ages, with only the Iliad and Odyssey surviving.
• Clans formed brotherhoods (Fratrias), which then formed tribes (Fýl) led by a chieftain/king (Basileos).
• Aristocracy gained power at the end of this era
• German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann believed in the existence of Troy and Mycenae and discovered Troy in 1870 and Mycenae in 1876 based on Homeric epics, proving the historical basis of the epics.
• Archaic Period: (800-500 BC)
• Marked by the Great Greek Colonization for settling new territories due to overpopulation and lack of fertile land
• Settlements outside Greece were established as colonies.
• Colonies and their mother cities (Metropolis) engaged in trade
• Goods such as crafts, fabrics, wine, and olive oil were exported from Greece to the colonies
• Grain, wood, luxury goods, and slaves were imported into Greece from the colonies resulting in the impoverishment which lead to enslavement of local farmers
• City-states (Polis) emerged, including Athens, Sparta, Delphi, Thebes, Corinth, and Olympia
• Citizens had civil rights and were obligated to participate in the state's defense; only men over 20 years old were full citizens.

Athens

• Had a democratic character and after the formation of the polis, aristocratic families gained power
• Led by 9 archons elected for one-year terms, with the three most important being Eponymos (political affairs), Basileos (religious affairs), and Polemarchos (military affairs)
• The highest legislative body was the Areopagus which was a council of elders
• The People's Assembly was called Eklesia and the Jury Court was called Heliaia
• Draco's laws were the first laws, known for being very harsh and causing discontent
• Archon Solon enacted significant reforms by revising laws and introducing new measures and weights.
• Solon divided the population into four classes based on wealth, undermining the hereditary aristocracy
• He redeemed Athenian citizens from slavery but did not address the issues of the landless poor which led to discontent
• Peistratos capitalized on this discontent and established tyranny, maintaining power until his death.
• Tyranny: a ruler who seized power through unconventional means and often lacked noble lineage
• Tyrants were often popular leaders who brought positive changes supported culture, sport, and religion; but typically did not stay in power for long and historians viewed them favorably.
• Kleisthenes (Father of Democracy) divided the population into 10 tribes based on territory and each tribe had equal rights and elected one strategos (military official)
• 50 citizens were randomly selected from each tribe to form a council of 500 and once a year, citizens could participate in ostracism, writing the name of an individual they believed threatened democracy on a shard to banish from Athens for 10 years if the name was repeated, signifying a manifestation of democracy.

Sparta

• Founded by the Dorians on the Peloponnese peninsula
• Subjugated the original inhabitants, creating two classes:
• Perioeci who were free but they recognized Dorian rule and lacked political power or access to offices.
• Helots who were enslaved people who rejected Dorian rule.
• Dorian-Spartans: They were full citizens with political power, making up only 1/10 of the population and raised boys with military training.
• Two kings (Basileos) led, administering the state in peacetime and commanding the Spartan army in wartime.
• Five officials (Ephors) oversaw the kings' actions
• A council of elders (Gerousia) advised the kings
• People's Assembly existed called Apella.

Classical/Peak Period (500-338 BC)

• Marked by economic and cultural development with the Greco-Persian Wars where Greeks fought for their freedom and independence
• The cause was the subjugation of Greek settlements in Asia Minor by the Persian Empire, leading the Greek settlements to resist with support from Athens and refusal from Sparta.
• Persia used this as a pretext to invade Greece.
  • The first campaign in 492 BC, led by Persian King Darius I, was thwarted as the fleet was hit by severe storms off Mount Athos, forcing them to retreat.
  • The second campaign in 490 BC, led by Persian King Darius I, reached the Marathon plain, 42 km from Athens
    • The Athenian army, despite being outnumbered, chose to fight.
    • Miltiades devised an excellent battle plan that led to victory.
    • An Athenian soldier, Pheidippides, ran 42 km (the marathon) to deliver news of the victory.
  • The third campaign in 480 BC, led by Darius's son, Xerxes I, reached the Thermopylae pass, defended by Spartan soldiers led by Leonidas
    • The Persians won due to the betrayal of a Greek.
  • The fourth campaign in 480 BC
    • Persians reached Athens and razed it to the ground but they failed to destroy the Athenian fleet
    • A naval battle occurred at Salamis Island - the Greeks, led by Themistocles, won and Persians suffered defeat.
  • The fifth campaign in 479 BC saw the Persians were defeated at Plataea, and the remnants were defeated at Cape Mykale.
• In 478 BC, the Delian League was formed, comprising about 400 Greek city-states
• The Greco-Persian Wars ended definitively around 449 BC with the Peace of Callias, where Persia recognized the independence of the settlements in Asia Minor.
• These wars were described by Herodotus in his work "Histories" as a conflict between the advanced Greek civilization and the barbarian Persian civilization.
• Reasons for Greece's victory were attributed to their knowledge of the terrain, their excellent navy, the well-chosen strategies, and their immense patriotism.
• Peloponnesian War: (431-404 BC)
• Athens grew in significance after the Greco-Persian Wars
• Military commanders (Strategos) gained influence.
• The significance of the Areopagus declined, while the influence of the Ecclesia and Heliaia increased.
• In 443 BC, Pericles (a prominent strategist and highly popular official) enabled propertyless classes to participate in state administration
• He introduced diets, like wages, paying all officials for their official positions
• People were paid for the days they participated in state administration, allowing democracy to reach its peak.
• Pericles began repairing the city which was destroyed by war and surrounded the city with the so-called "Long Walls" and built the Acropolis, including the Parthenon (dedicated to the goddess Athena) using funds from the League treasury.
• Athens did not behave democratically towards other states, leading Sparta to disagree and form its own alliance, the Peloponnesian League.
• Relations between Athens and Sparta culminated in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC - a civil war between the Athenian maritime and Persian Peloponnesian leagues, having 2 phases
• Initially, the forces were balanced with Sparta being stronger on land and Athens at sea but in the first phase, the fortune favored Sparta after Pericles died and a plague epidemic broke out in Athens.
• In 405 BC, the Battle of Aegospotami resulted in the destruction of the Athenian fleet, deciding the outcome in favor of Sparta.
• Athens signed a humiliating peace treaty with very unfavorable terms, requiring them to dismantle the city fortifications, surrender most of their ships, and embrace aristocracy.