AG Culture Lecture 5 (Jan. 2025) PDF

January 21, 2025 (Lecture 5) *RQ 1 average (with boost): 7.22/10 I. Ch. 2: “The Greek Bronze Age: Origins and Collapse”, cont. C. The First Greek Civilisation: Mycenaean (ca. 1650-1100 B.C.) 1. Introduction -centred in mainland Greece, around fortified palaces with massive defensive walls, locat...

January 21, 2025 (Lecture 5) *RQ 1 average (with boost): 7.22/10 I. Ch. 2: “The Greek Bronze Age: Origins and Collapse”, cont. C. The First Greek Civilisation: Mycenaean (ca. 1650-1100 B.C.) 1. Introduction -centred in mainland Greece, around fortified palaces with massive defensive walls, located in defensible positions (raised above the plain): see esp. Tiryns, Mycenae, Argos, Athens, and Thebes: contrast Minoan palaces/locations (centred on islands, no walls, middle of plain) -receives its name from the tradition recorded in the Iliad, that Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, was the High King among the Greeks at the time of the Trojan War; the assumption is that the Mycenaean Civilisation provides the kernel for the Greek legends -the Mycenaeans were Greeks, who (after centuries-long migrations from N. of the Black Sea) first became dominant in mainland Greece (ca. 1650 B.C.); they traded with the Minoans, and came to dominate Cnossus and the rest of Crete sometime after 1500 B.C. (the end of the flourishing of Minoan Civilisation; the Minoan palaces were damaged, sometimes seriously, around 1500; this may be another sign of a Mycenaean takeover)—perhaps ca. 1450 B.C. 2. Linear B -the definitive piece of evidence for the Mycenaean takeover of the Minoan palaces on Crete is the transition there, ca. 1450 B.C., from the Linear A script to the Linear B script (as preserved on clay tablets, hardened through fire in conflagrations), reflecting a change to the language of administration (examples of Linear B are also found in mainland Greece shortly after that time) -Linear B uses the syllabary (contrast “alphabet”) of Linear A, but has been deciphered (by Michael Ventris in collaboration with John Chadwick, 1952) as Greek: e.g., wa-na-ka (wanax), qa-si-re-u (basileus), do-e-ro/do-e-ra (doulos/doule) -detailed lists of possessions indicate that the wanax served as the “king” for each palace community, with basileis serving as noble members of his court, and numerous slaves undergirding the whole system -many of the familiar Greek gods are already named in Linear B: the tablets mention Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Hermes, and Dionysus (but NOT Aphrodite or Apollo), all as receivers of worship 1 3. Burial Practices -a further contrast to the Minoans is seen in burial practices: the wealthiest Mycenaeans were buried together with large collections of hugely expensive goods (e.g., death masks, ornamental weapons, jewelry, decorated pottery, eating and drinking vessels)—see esp. “Grave Circle A” (six shaft graves, with extraordinary goods buried within) at Mycenae, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 -from ca. 1500 B.C., the wealthiest Mycenaeans elaborated their burial practices to be even more ostentatious, constructing massive underground tombs (called “tholos [dome] tombs”), visible from above ground; these were designed specifically to impress surrounding communities -on the basis of their burial practices, we may infer that the Mycenaean society was obsessed with displays of wealth, highly competitive, and carefully striated (see also the special titles—wanax, basileus); the competitive emphasis and vision of a hierarchical society are pervasive elements of later Greek culture as well -the Mycenaeans, then, appear to have been warriors and hunters: note their defensive palaces, their love of weaponry, but also their characteristic art, which as to technique was mainly derivative from Minoan Art, but as to subject matter was especially interested in scenes of violent human struggles, whether against animals (hunting) or against other human beings (war) -in general, the artistic achievements of the Mycenaean Period declined in quality; the exception is in architecture 4. Collapse -for the most part, the Mycenaean period is one of advancing prosperity and population -ca. 1200 B.C. however, the Mycenaean Civilisation suddenly collapsed, as seen in the destruction of many of the fortified palaces at this time; the destruction was apparently the result of the Mycenaean elite being defeated and killed or exiled by foreign invaders; but the identity of the invaders is a mystery (Dorian Greeks?) -other civilisations suffered comparable challenges around the same time—esp. the Hittite Empire, the Egyptians, and the Trojans (cf. the Trojan War) -even if the nature of the invasion is unclear, the results are clear: (1) sudden and sustained decrease in population; (2) decentralisation into small, isolated settlements with inefficient overall administration; (3) greatly reduced class of skilled labourers (e.g., metalworkers); (4) sharp decline in the quality of decorated ceramic vessels; (5) decreased trade, and economic stagnation (e.g., lack of tin for making bronze); (6) cessation of ostentatious burial practices; (7) loss of literacy -the ensuing Dark Age (ca. 1200-776 B.C.), however, maintained an attenuated continuity with the Greek past, through the ongoing activities of aoidoi (wandering bards), who told and re-told the stories of the acts of the Mycenaean heroes, and of the period of their great kingdoms -the ruins of impressive “Cyclopean” (as they were called) fortresses themselves testified to a lost period of Greek flourishing 2 II. Ch. 3: “Ordering the Polis: Government and Public Administration” A. Introduction -the Greeks of the Archaic Age and thereafter structured their society very differently from the Mycenaean kingdoms: communities arranged themselves into poleis (city-states), in which every citizen was expected to participate in the governing and the defense of their polis -every polis was made up of an urban centre surrounded by farmland -within the polis’ urban centre there were three crucial sites: (1) the agora, a marketplace which had not only economic but also political and social functions; (2) a sanctuary, for the worship of the polis’ patron deity; and (3) a citadel (e.g., an acropolis), into which the citizens could flee in case of attack (the sanctuary would often be located within the citadel) -the Classical Period (479-323 B.C.) of Greece was dominated by two poleis, Sparta and Athens; these had particularly distinguished themselves in the Persian Wars (Athens: Marathon, Salamis [Themistocles]. Sparta: Thermopylae [Leonidas], Plataea [Pausanias]) -but while Sparta was traditionally regarded as having a superior status among the Greeks, Athens was newly and increasingly claiming a similarly dominant role for itself -the two poleis were thus in a natural, permanent tension with each other in the Classical Period; that tension was only heightened, however, by the very different political and economic structures of their respective poleis -fundamental to both systems, nonetheless, was a sense of the equality of citizens—in Sparta, those of the hoplite class, or, in other words, those with land, characteristically divided into equal plots (as opposed to women, children, craftsmen without land, hired workers, and slaves); in Athens, the definition was rather broader, as we shall see B. The Development of Spartan Oligarchy in the Archaic Period 1. Political Structure -let’s take the basic Greek governing structure (magistrates, council, assembly; see textbook, pp. 17-19) as a starting point, and see how the Spartan oligarchic model fits -the Spartan political structure, with the gradual transformation of Spartan society to focus on military preparedness (see below), was all ascribed to the semi-legendary VIII B.C. Spartan lawgiver, Lycurgus a. five Ephors (Spartan magistrates), elected annually from among the citizens: these had veto power over the decisions taken by the other bodies b. two Kings: hereditary, functioning as generals rather than as rulers; they were held in check, in that they could be removed from power and could be exiled; one king always had to remain at Sparta in case of attack c. Council of elders (Gerousia): 30 members, of whom the kings were two (the other 28 3  were at least sixty years old); these were responsible for law, determining which bills and other matters would be raised before and voted on by the Assembly d. Assembly of all Spartan citizens: its function was, in essence, just to approve decisions already (provisionally) taken by the Gerousia -what makes Spartan government “oligarchic” has to do with the limited definition of what a Spartan citizen (“Spartiate”) is (see below), and also the fact that the authority is heavily weighted towards the Council (Gerousia) as opposed to the Assembly 2. Conquest and Socio-Economic Structure -during the Archaic Period (800-479 B.C.), the warlike Spartans undertook a policy of expansionism, subjugating or conquering the Greeks settled around them (in the plains of Laconia [E] and Messenia [W]), which led to a highly unusual Spartan polis -those Greeks who were first conquered (closest to Sparta) retained some degree of freedom (perioikoi, “dwellers around”, dependent allies); but as Spartan conquest continued, subsequent Greek populations were simply enslaved to the Spartan polis as a whole (helots, “seized ones”) -thus the Spartan citizens (12% of total adult male population) were badly outnumbered by the Spartan slaves (76%; the other 12% were dependent allies), indicating a highly unstable society, subject to frequent rebellion -in response to this inherent instability, the Spartans developed their unique way of life, characterised by a single-minded commitment to preparation for war -no Spartan citizen was permitted to participate in commerce or trade (these were carried out instead by the perioikoi), and agricultural and other labour was the responsibility of the helots; for citizens instead, a severe military education, called the Spartan agōgē, was instituted from birth (exposure of unfit infants; at 7, removal from home and placement into military “herds” [agelai; sing. agelē]; at 20, admission to communal mess; at 30, permission to marry and to set up their own household, though continued eating at common mess) -women too underwent severe physical training, so as to produce stronger citizens C. The Development of Athenian Democracy in the Archaic Period 1. Consolidation and Socio-economic Structure -in contrast to Sparta, Athens peacefully absorbed surrounding villages, making their citizens into Athenians -in consequence, Athens came to have citizens of vastly different wealth (again, contrast Sparta, whose citizens were all nominally of equivalent wealth [equal landholdings], and did not engage in economic pursuits) -those variations in economic equality led to significant and increasing strife; the poorest citizens, e.g., had eventually to sell their land, and to go into debt to wealthy lenders; when they defaulted 4 on their payments, they could legally be used as slaves by the lenders, in order to recoup their original loans (“debt slavery”; contrast “chattel slavery”) 2. The Reforms of Solon (594 B.C.) -Solon was appointed to formulate and to publish laws to restore peace between the feuding Athenian classes; he famously attempted a “middle way”, moderating the unrealistic demands of poor citizens, while curbing the excessive opportunism of the wealthier ones -he established four classes of citizens, based not on heredity but on wealth (the upper three were of hoplite class); this meant that upwards — and downwards — mobility was possible; unusually for Greece, the lowest class of citizens included landless citizens -the wealthier citizens were satisfied to see encoded in Solon’s laws the idea that greater wealth meant greater political opportunity (e.g., the possibility of running for the highest political positions) -the rights of poorer citizens to participate fully and to vote in the Assembly were enshrined; they were granted greater access to the justice system; when found guilty by a judicial official, they could make an “appeal to the people”; the laws were publicised, with the implication that justice was available for all; debt slaves, including those abroad, were repatriated with public funds, and the institution of debt slavery was abolished 3. The Reforms of Cleisthenes (508 B.C.) a. Political Reorganisation of Attica -Cleisthenes gained the support of the people (viz. the citizens) by re-structuring the political landscape of Athens -citizens were divided, according to basic geographic units (e.g., an urban neighourhood, a town/village) into 140 demes (“divisions”; cf. “democracy”); the demes were then combined, more or less contiguously, into 30 trittyes (“thirds”; each trittys was made up of 1-10 demes); there were 10 trittyes each for the city, the coast, and the other inland region -the genius of Cleisthenes’ model was his combination of three trittyes — one each from the three types — into 10 tribes, thereby combining citizens of vastly different backgrounds into a single political entity (thus each trittys is a “third”—of a tribe) 5