HIST 1010 Fall 2024 Lecture 013: The Greeks, Democracy, Hellenism PDF

HIST 1010 Fall 2024 Lecture 013: The Greeks, Democracy, Hellenism By Matt Malczycki  Historiography (Again) – It means different things to different historians: a.) canonical bibliography; b.) the art & science of historical research & writing; c.) historical method. – It invest...

HIST 1010 Fall 2024 Lecture 013: The Greeks, Democracy, Hellenism By Matt Malczycki  Historiography (Again) – It means different things to different historians: a.) canonical bibliography; b.) the art & science of historical research & writing; c.) historical method. – It investigates old claims about the past & makes new claims about the past. – In modern times, it usually strives for objectivity, but always falls short of it (even if some folks won’t admit it.) – It’s different in every time and place.  Homer ca 9th-8th cent. BCE – The Illiad & The Odyssey attributed to him – both were epic poems that mixed religion, myth, and actual events in compelling stories – had and still has some value as historical source BUT not exactly “scientific” & definitely not objective Herodotus (d. ca 425 BCE) – travelled widely in eastern Mediterranean world collecting information for many sources – somewhat rationalist approach to history (= gods exist but they don’t really get involved) – pro-Greek but fairly unbiased for the 5th century BCE – many consider him 1st European historian – narrative style: tell a mostly true good story – If you think history is fun, thank Herodotus. Greek Colonies – like the Phoenicians, the Greeks established colonies throughout the Mediterranean – the Greeks dominated the northern coast of the Med while the Phoenicians dominated the South – these colonies spread Greek language & culture across the Med. The Polis – the basic unit of social and political organization in ancient Greece was the polis or city-state – the city-states were independent of each other – Greek language was lingua franca – Greek mythology & gods in common  Athens – Athens was the capital city of Attica, one of the most historically significant Greek city-states – center of Greek learning, high culture, & art – often called birthplace of democracy – major player until end of Peloponnesian War – had two ancient assemblies: the ekklesia for common folk & the areopagus for the aristocrats – A. was often ruled by tyrants, but at that time “tyrant” didn’t mean the same thing is does today. Back then it just meant someone who took charge. Solon (d. 560 BCE) – Athenian statesman elected as archon at time of deep turmoil in Athens (ca 574 BCE) – the rich and poor were close to civil war – Solon’s reforms: 1. economic: cancelled debts, abolished debt slavery 2. political: took census and created Council of 400, which was a step toward democracy 3. legal: abolished draconian law and crafted punishments to fit crimes = less debt slavery & capital punishment  Early Athenian Democracy Solon’s democracy was based on wealth: – pentakosoimedimenoi: 500-measure men = owned land that produced 500 bushels grain – hippeis: 300-measure men; could bring a horse to war – zeugitai: 200-measure men; could afford a team of oxen to work their land; included craftsmen (= US middle class) – thetes: produced less than 200 bushels; were generally farmers or workers  Cleisthenes (d. 508) below: Athenian bronze “ballots” – came from aristocratic Athenian family but was exiled – took advantage of unpopularity of tyrants & civil strife to take Athens – broke up old kinship tribes and created new artificial tribes – split Athens into three regions: coast, interior, city Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Bronze Ballot Disks." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 28, 2015. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/3750/greek-bronze- ballot-disks/.  Cleisthenes (d. 508) below: Athenian bronze “ballots” – 3 regions: city, country, coast – each region had 10 counties (trittyes) = 30 counties total – within each county were 4-5 townships/demes – deme: citizen body of a township or locality – each of the demes was assigned to one of 10 artificial “tribes” Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Bronze Ballot Disks." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 28, 2015. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/3750/greek-bronze- ballot-disks/.  Cleisthenes (d. 508) below: Athenian bronze “ballots” – 10 “tribes” based on localities – each tribe had to include demes from each region – each tribe elected 50 men to serve on the Council of 500 – any adult male citizen could be elected – larger demes tended to have more reps Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Bronze Ballot Disks." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 28, 2015. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/3750/greek-bronze- ballot-disks/.  Cleisthenes (d. 508) below: Athenian bronze “ballots” – forced different people in different parts of Athenian city-state to cooperate – broke up old aristocracy even more & gave more power to middle class – probably introduced formal ostracism – ostracism = Athens could vote to expel anyone getting too powerful – isonomia: equality before the law & no exemptions from law Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Bronze Ballot Disks." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 28, 2015. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/3750/greek-bronze- ballot-disks/.  Pericles (d. 429 BCE) – a smart & bookish man – left his wife for Aspasia of Miletus, a writer, poetess, & teacher – led Athens during First Peloponnesian War which ended in truce 451 BCE – Funeral Oration: democracy is what makes Athens great – Greek drama, philosophy, & medicine flourished at Athens "Pericles." Online Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Sept. 2009.  Pericles (d. 429 BCE) below: ostracon use to vote for – people past & present loved the ostracism of Pericles him or hated him – populist politician who played to the masses, e.g. he passed anti-foreigner laws – used Delian League money to build Acropolis, Parthenon, & Athenian navy – some say he dragged Athens into 2nd Peloponnesian War – was popular because he gave Athenian people what they Cartwright, Mark. "Ostrakon for Pericles." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified January 27, 2016. wanted … but what people https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4522/ostrakon-for-pericles/. want and what’s best for them aren’t always the same thing  Sparta – dual kingship and military aristocracy with council of elders instead of democracy – male Spartan aristocrats spent most of their lives in military barracks – focused on army as means of keeping helots subdued – The majority of people living in Sparta were helots (landless farmers) rather than aristocrats. – aristocratic Spartan women ran the estates on a day-to-day basis; they had more responsibility and more liberty vase: vase depicting Spartan warrior." Online Photograph. than Athenian women Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Sept. 2009. The Peloponnesian War 431- 404 BCE – war between Athens and Sparta – Sparta had better army but Athens had better navy – war went back and forth for almost 30 years – eventually Sparta won with Persian help – this war was end of Classical Greece in many ways http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/ancient%20w arfare/ancient%20warfare%20maps/peloponnesian_war_keys.gif  Thucydides (d. ca 400 BCE) – wrote a history of war between Athens & Sparta – used personal experience & eye-witnesses – presented character studies with speeches that caught the gist of what was really said – gods were not a factor – focus on war & politics – focus on telling truth before telling good story, but he still had his biases Alexander The Great (d. 323 BCE) – from Macedon, which other Greeks considered a backwater or “country” – built on foundation laid by his father Philip II of Macedon – eventually conquered Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, & reached India – wanted to create a world culture that borrowed best of all cultures – this vision became something of a reality with the spread of Hellenism  Hellenism – literally means something like “Greekism,” but it’s more than that – includes shared language, ideas, art, architecture – but also includes cultural toleration and adaptability – examples: Greek was spoken from Spain to India; temples in Spain look a lot like temples in Bactria even though the gods are different  Alexander's Heirs "Antigonid dynasty: Hellenistic world c. 188 BC." Online Map/Still. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Sept. 2009.  Alexander's Heirs When Alexander died, his generals split his empire into several kingdoms: – Antigonids Anatolia and Syria – Seleucids in Iran and Iraq – Ptolemies in Egypt – and many others from Greece to India – borders waxed and waned but the spread Hellenism continued The End