Summary

This document discusses different periods of Greek history, focusing on the defining characteristics of each period. It also analyzes the significance of the Persian Wars and the Macedonian conquests on the Greek world. The document contains questions about various aspects of Greek history and culture.

Full Transcript

7KH UHHN :RUOG IURP WKH URQ H H WR WKH 5RPDQ RQT HVW 5212 2 F ( U H JH F ( DU JHV F ( UFKDLF 3HUL G ( ODVVLFDO 3HUL G...

7KH UHHN :RUOG IURP WKH URQ H H WR WKH 5RPDQ RQT HVW 5212 2 F ( U H JH F ( DU JHV F ( UFKDLF 3HUL G ( ODVVLFDO 3HUL G ( 7KH 3HO S HVLD DU ( HOOH LVWLF 3HUL G 1752 8 7 21 6 PHWLPH L WKH HLJKWK FH WXU ( D DULVW FUDWLF UHVLGH W I WKH UHH WUDGL J F O of Pithekoussai—located on the tiny island of Ischia just o the coast of Naples in Italy—held a V PS VLXP DW KLV K PH 0 VW I KDW KDSSH HG DW WKH SDUW VWD HG DW WKH SDUW EXW KDW H G LV WKDW LW PXVW KD H EHH D J G H 2 H I WKH JXHVWV SUHVXPDEO SHUDWL J X GHU WKH in uence of his host’s excellent wine, took the liberty of scratching the following ditty onto one of his host’s ne exported ceramic wine cups: “I am the Cup of Nestor, good to drink from. Whoever GUL V IU P WKLV FXS VWUDLJKWD D WKH GHVLUH I EHDXWLIXOO FU HG SKU GLWH LOO VHL H KLP While party pranks do not commonly make history, this one has: this so-called XS I HVW is one of the earliest examples of writing in the HHN DOSKDEHW DV HOO DV WKH HDUOLHVW written reference to the Homeric epics. Overall, this cup and the inscription on it exemplify the P ELOLW I WKH FLH W UHH V D G WKHLU E UU L J I V LOOV D G FXOWXUH IU P WKHUV DU X G WKH Mediterranean while, at the same time, cultivating a set of values speci c to themselves. After all, MXVW OL H WKH HU UHVLGH WV I 3LWKH XVVDL WKH FXS KDG ULJL DOO PDGH WKH M XU H DOO WKH D from the island of Euboea, o the coast of Athens, to Pithekoussai, on the island of Ischia. )XUWKHUP UH WKH H VFULSW L KLFK WKH GDUL J JXHVW U WH WKH FXS KDG MXVW UHFH WO EHH E UU HG D G DGDSWHG E WKH UHH V IU P WKH K H LFLD V D VHDIDUL J DWL EDVHG L P GHU 3DJH )L UH D 7KH S RI 1HVWRU 3 WKHNRXVVDL )L UH E 7KH S RI 1HVWRU HWDLOHG WKLV VR FDOOHG XS RI 1HVWRU LV R H RI WKH HDUOLHVW UHFR VWUXFWLR RI WKH L VFULSWLR H DPSOHV RI ULWL J L WKH UHHN DOSKDEHW DV HOO DV WKH XWKRU VHU EDFKPD HDUOLHVW N R ULWWH UHIHUH FH WR WKH RPHULF HSLFV 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V XWKRU VHU WR LXV 3UR LPR LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 GD /HED , GHHG XU FOH HU S HW U WH IU P ULJKW W OHIW MXVW OL H WKH 3K H LFLD V )L DOO the poem mentions Nestor, one of the heroes of PH V D HSLF DE XW WKH MD D and a source of common values that all Greeks held dear: military valor, competitive excellence on both the battle eld and in all areas of everyday life, and a sense of brotherhood that manifested LWVHOI P VW E L XVO L WKH VKDUHG OD JXDJH I DOO WKH UHH V 7KDW IHHOL J I L VKLS IDFLOLWDWHG F OODE UDWL I DOO WKH UHH V L WLPHV I FULVLV IU P WKH P WKLFDO 7U MD DU W WKH H VLD D V, and nally, during the Greeks’ resistance against the Roman conquest. 0DS 0DS RI WKH VODQG RI VFKLD DQG WKH (QYLURQV KH XS RI 1HVWRU MRXU H HG IURP WKH LVOD G RI (XERHD RII WKH FRDVW RI WKH V WR 3LWKHNRXVVDL R WKH LVOD G RI ,VFKLD XWKRU VHU 1RUPD (LVWHL 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 48(67 216 72 8 ( 285 5( 1 , KDW D V GLG UHH JH JUDSK D G W S JUDSK LPSDFW WKH KLVW U I WKH D FLH W UHH UOG What are the di erent periods of Greek history, and what are the chief de ning characteristics I HDFK SHUL G KDW SULPDU V XUFHV DUH D DLODEOH I U WKH VWXG I UHH KLVW U D G KDW DUH WKH OLPLWDWL V I WKHVH V XUFHV KDW HUH WKH P VW LPS UWD W GH HO SPH WV L WKH UHH UOG L WKH UFKDLF 3HUL G What was the signi cance of the Persian Wars for the subsequent history of the Greek World? KDW HUH WKH VWDJHV I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU GLG WKH XWF PH I WKH DU LPSDFW UHHFH L WKH I XUWK FH WXU KDW HUH V PH I WKH P VW LPS UWD W F WULEXWL V I ODVVLFDO WKH V L WKH DUHDV I DUW J HU PH W D G OD SKLO V SK D G OLWHUDWXUH How and why did the Macedonians conquer the Greek world? Why did the empire conquered by Philip and Alexander disintegrate after Alexander’s death? KDW HUH V PH I WKH VWUH JWKV D G HD HVVHV I WKH HOOH LVWLF L JG PV DV S OLWLFDO H WLWLHV K GLG WKH SU H W EH L KHUH WO X VWDEOH KDW HUH V PH I WKH DFKLH HPH WV D G OHJDFLHV I WKH HOOH LVWLF SHUL G.( 7(506 FKDHPH LG (PSLUH VLD 0L U Alexander the Great WKH LD GHP FUDF Alexandria WKH V WLJ LG G DVW DWWOH I KDHU HD UFKDH O JLFDO H LGH FH DWWOH I /HXFWUD UFKDLF 3HUL G DWWOH I 0DUDWK UFKLGDPLD DU DWWOH I 7KHUP S ODH UFKLPHGHV I 6 UDFXVH U H JH ULVW SKD HV KLJL DVH ULVW WOH ODVVLFDO 3HUL G 3DJH OHLVWKH HV Macedonian Wars with Rome / OH SDWUD 9,, 7KLUG 0DFHG LD DU UHWH 0DJ D UDHFLD “Cup of Nestor” “Mask of Agamemnon” LF SKLO V SKHUV 0DXU D (PSLUH UXV WKH UHDW 0HJDUD EODHD DULXV 0HVVH LD DU JHV 0L D V HFHOHD DU 0 FH DHD V HOLD /HDJXH WKH LD (PSLUH 2OLJDUFK HOSKL 2O PSLF DPHV NNOH LD 2ULH WDOL L J VW OH (SLFXUHD LVP 2WKL PR (SLGDXUXV 3D HOOH LF (XULSLGHV Peace of Nicias )LUVW 3HO S HVLD DU 3HLVLVWUDWXV H R LD 3HO S HVH Great Library of Alexandria 3HO S HVLD DU UHH DOSKDEHW 3HULFOHV UHH F O L DWL 3HUVLD DUV D X DK Pharos of Alexandria HOOH LVWLF 3HUL G 3KLOLS ,, I 0DFHG HO WV 3K H LFLD V HU G WXV 3ODW HU SKLOXV I KDOFHG 3ROL SROHL PHU 3W OHPDLF (J SW Homer’s ,OLDG 3W OHP , 6 WHU Hoplite phalanx 3 WKLD.L JG P I 3HUJDP 6D L D OHR 6HOHXFLG (PSLUH ,VWKPXV I UL WK 6HSWXDJL W /L HDU Sicilian Expedition /L HDU 6 HSWLFLVP 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 6 FUDWHV KHWH 6 O 7KXF GLGHV 6 SK FOHV 7 UD 6SDUWD 7 UD I WKH 7KLUW 6SDUWD F VWLWXWL 7U MD DU 6W LF SKLO V SK 7 UWDHXV 7KHED HJHP DUV I WKH LDGRFKL 7KHED 6DFUHG D G Xerxes (2 5 3 1 7232 5 3 This chapter’s title refers to the Greek World, rather than Greece. While Greece is a uni ed country today, the territory of the present-day country was not uni ed under one rule until the ULVH I WKH 0DFHG LD V L WKH I XUWK FH WXU ( , VWHDG WKH EDVLF X LW I UJD L DWL L WKH SHUL G F HUHG L WKLV FKDSWHU DV WKH S D L GHSH GH W FLW VWDWH KLFK F VLVWHG I D DOOHG FLW WKDW F WU OOHG D G SU WHFWHG WKH IDUPOD G DU X G LW LVW ULD V HVWLPDWH WKDW FO VH W I WKHVH FLW VWDWHV G WWHG WKH D FLH W UHH OD GVFDSH (DFK I WKHVH S SOXUDO I UP I SROL S VVHVVHG LWV I UP I J HU PH W OD F GH DUP FXOWV I SDWU J GV D G HUDOO FXOWXUH WKDW VHW LW DSDUW IU P WKH WKHU FLW VWDWHV KLOH WKH W P VW IDP XV SROHL WKH V D G SD WD F WU OOHG DVW WHUULW ULHV I IDUPOD G P VW city-states were quite small, with a population of just a few thousand citizens. Furthermore, the Greek world in antiquity encompassed much more than present-day Greece, extending as far as ,WDO L WKH HVW D G WKH WHUULW ULHV I P GHU GD 7XU H D G 8 UDL H L WKH (DVW 7KH JH JUDSK D G W S JUDSK I WKH UHH PDL OD G D G WKH 0HGLWHUUD HD UHJL surrounding it in uenced the history of the Greek people in a number of crucial ways. First, the mountainous nature of mainland Greece, especially in the north, allowed di erent regionsto remain V PH KDW LV ODWHG 7KH P VW LV ODWHG I DOO 7KHVVDO D G 0DFHG HUH LH HG DV X FL LOL HG EDUEDULD V E WKH UHVW I WKH UHH V L WKH UFKDLF D G ODVVLFDO SHUL GV H IW PH WL HG example of their “barbarism” in Greek literature is that they drank their wine undiluted!)and ODUJHO HSW W WKHPVHO HV X WLO WKHLU ULVH W PLOLWDU SU PL H FH L WKH PLG I XUWK FH WXU ( 7KH P X WDL V WKU XJK XW WKH UWKHU S UWL I PDL OD G UHHFH L DGGLWL W LV ODWL J UHJL V IU P HDFK WKHU D G SU P WL J UHJL DO FXOWXUH DOV SU LGHG WDFWLFDO GHIH VHV L WKH face of external attacks. Most famously, the Persians learned the hard way about the challenges of D LJDWL J WKH UHH OD GVFDSH GXUL J WKH VHF G 3HUVLD L DVL I UHHFH L ( , GHHG WKH VW U I WKH 6SDUWD V K I XJKW W WKH GHDWK DW WKH DWWOH I KH P S ODH DGGUHVVHV WKH FKDOOH JH I WKH 3HUVLD DUP WU L J W FU VV WKH P X WDL V W WKH UWK I WWLFD L UGHU W L DGH WKH V E OD G 7KH ,VWKPXV D DUU VWULS I OD G F WU OOHG E UL WK SOD HG D VLPLODU U OH L VHSDUDWL J PDL OD G UHHFH IU P WKH ODUJH SH L VXOD I WKH HO S HVH L OD G FLW L V XWKHU 3DJH 0DS 0DS RI WKH QFLHQW UHHN FLW VWDWHV DW WKH EH LQQLQ RI WKH 3HUVLDQ :DUV LVWRULD V HVWLPDWH WKDW FORVH WR RI WKHVH FLW VWDWHV GRWWHG WKH D FLH W UHHN OD GVFDSH XWKRU VHU LEL 6DL W 3RL 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 Peloponnese, Sparta conquered HVVH LD LWV VXUU X GL J UHJL HDUO L LWV KLVW U D G extended political control over much of the peninsula by early fth century BCE. Unless the L WHUHVWV I 6SDUWD KHUVHOI HUH GLUHFWO L O HG 6SDUWD SUDFWLFHG D S OLF I LV ODWL D G OLPLWHG military intervention in other city-states a airs and wars, a practice enabled due to Sparta’s far V XWKHU O FDWL L 3HO S HVH No less in uential for the history of the Greek city-states than the topographical features were the resources that the land in di erent regions provided for agriculture and manufacturing. Mainland UHHFH DV W UL XVO X VXLWDEOH I U DJULFXOWXUH U L J WKH JUDL VWDSOHV KHDW D G EDUOH L WKH rocky and clay- lled soil of Athens was especially di cult, while the mountainous regions across the entire mainland were optimal for herding, rather than agriculture. One notable exception, however, 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 HUH OL H WUHHV KLFK JUH DEX GD WO Olive oil, as a result, was ubiquitously used I U HDWL J EDWKL J D G ODPSV D G H H DV FXUUH F U SUL H I U LFW UV L DWKOHWLF JDPHV , DGGLWL HDUO L WKHLU KLVW U WKH L KDELWD WV I WWLFD D G UL WK I X G a way to pro t from the clay in their soil by GH HO SL J DG D FHG FHUDPLF S W PD L J D G decorating techniques. Remains of Athenian D G UL WKLD DUHV KD H EHH I X G DW DUFKDH O JLFDO VLWHV DOO HU WKH 0HGLWHUUD HD DWWHVWL J W WKHLU S SXODULW DEU DG Figure 5.2 | Corinthian black- gure amphora, GHSLFWLQ WKH P WK RI 3HUVH V DQG QGURPHGD )L DOO SUHFL XV PHWDOV HUH L VK UW c. 575-550 BCE, found in Cerveteri, Italy | KH VXSSO L WKH PDL OD G EXW WKH IH WKDW HUH inhabitants of Attica and Corinth found a way to pro t D DLODEOH KDG D LPSDFW WKH KLVW U I WKHLU IURP WKH FOD L WKHLU VRLO E GHYHORSL J DGYD FHG FHUDPLF SRW PDNL J D G GHFRUDWL J WHFK LTXHV UHJL V 0 VW IDP XVO WKH GLVF HU I WKH 5HPDL V RI WKH LD D G RUL WKLD DUHV KDYH EHH VLO HU PL HV DW /DXUL L WWLFD F WULEXWHG IRX G DW DUFKDHRORJLFDO VLWHV DOO RYHU WKH 0HGLWHUUD HD W WKH L FUHDVHG SU VSHULW I WKH V L WKH DWWHVWL J WR WKHLU SRSXODULW DEURDG XWKRU VHU XWNR mid- fth century BCE. 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V XW WKH W S JUDSK D G JH JUDSK I LFH VH 6 PDL OD G UHHFH D G WKH 3HO S HVH O 0DS 0DS RI WKH UHHN EO H DUHDV DQG 3KRHQLFLDQ FLW VWDWHV DQG FRORQLHV UHG DUHDV F ( XWKRU VHU -DYLHUIY 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH VHU -DYLHUIY 3DJH tells us a part of the story. The Aegean is lled with islands, some of which remained autonomous, but most came under the control of the Athenian maritime empire in the fth century BCE. In DGGLWL WKH HHN F O L DWL movement of the seventh and sixth centuries BCE resulted L WKH I X GDWL I XPHU XV UHH FLW VWDWHV L VLD L P GHU GD 7XU H D D DHFLD V XWKHU ,WDO 6LFLO D G WKH ODF 6HD OLWW UDO The history of the Greek world from its earliest settlements to the Roman conquest, therefore, is inextricably tied together with the history of the Mediterranean as a whole. And since the Greek areas of in uence overlapped with those controlled by the Phoenicians, Persians, and eventually the Romans, interactions, often warlike, were unavoidable as well. As the modern historians Peregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell noted, the Mediterranean was “the Corrupting Sea” K VH inhabitants were like frogs around the pond, watching each other, and borrowing each other’s cultural and technological achievements. As this chapter and the next will show, the Greeks and the Romans were the farthest-leaping frogs of all. 3(5 2 6 2) 5((. 6725 Historians today separate Greek history into particular periods, which shared speci c features throughout the Greek world: 7KH H H F ( D SHUL G FKDUDFWHUL HG E WKH XVH I EU H W OV D G HDS V , DGGLWL W SDUWLFXODU SHUL GV GXUL J WKH U H JH DUH FUXFLDO L WKH development of early Greece: the Minoan Age on the island of HWH F ( D G WKH 0 FH HD SHUL G PDL OD G UHHFH F ( E WK I WKHP FKDUDFWHUL HG E PDVVL H SDODFHV UHP D WV I KLFK VWLOO SU XGO VWD G W GD 7KH 0L D D G 0 FH DHD FL LOL DWL V KDG ULWL J GXEEHG L HD D G L HD UHVSHFWL HO KLFK WKH XVHG I U HHSL J OLVWV D G SDODFH L H W ULHV 7KH D N HV (c. 1,100 – 700 BCE) – a period that is “dark” from the archaeological SHUVSHFWL H KLFK PHD V WKDW WKH P XPH WDO SDODFHV I WKH 0 FH HD SHUL G GLVDSSHDU D G WKH DUFKDH O JLFDO UHF UG UH HDOV D JH HUDO S HUW D G O VV I FXOWXUH WKU XJK XW WKH UHH UOG ) U L VWD FH WKH /L HDU D G /L HDU ULWL J V VWHPV GLVDSSHDU 7KH UHH V G W UHGLVF HU ULWL J X WLO WKH L H WL I WKH UHH DOSKDEHW DW WKH H G I WKH DU JHV U WKH HDUO UFKDLF 3HUL G FKDLF H L G F ( WKH HDUOLHVW SHUL G I U KLFK ULWWH H LGH FH VXU L HV WKLV LV WKH DJH I WKH ULVH I WKH UHH FLW VWDWHV F O L DWL D G WKH 3HUVLD DUV ODVVLFDO H L G F ( WKH SHUL G IU P WKH H G I WKH 3HUVLD DUV W WKH GHDWK I OH D GH WKH HDW 2 H I WKH P VW LPS UWD W H H WV GXUL J WKLV SHUL G LV WKH 3HO S HVLD DU ( KLFK SLWWHG WKH V DJDL VW 6SDUWD D G I UFHG DOO WKHU UHH city-states to choose to join one side or the other. This period ends with the death of Alexander the Great, who had uni ed the Greek world into a large kingdom with himself at its helm. HOOH LVWLF H L G (323 – 146 BCE) – the period from the death of Alexander to the Roman conquest of Greece; this is the age of the Hellenistic monarchies ruling over territories previously conquered by Alexander and his generals. Some historians end this period in 30 1 Peregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell, e Corrupting Sea: A Study of Mediterranean History (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000). 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 ( LWK WKH GHDWK I OH SDW D ,, WKH ODVW VXU L L J UXOHU I (J SW K DV D GHVFH GD W of one of Alexander’s generals. The rest of this chapter will be devoted to examining each of these periods in greater detail, F HUL J FKLHI S OLWLFDO PLOLWDU D G FXOWXUDO GH HO SPH WV 0(7 2 2 2 6285 (6 1 352 (0 HI UH ODX FKL J L W WKH VW U I WKH HDUO UHH UOG LW LV LPS UWD W W F VLGHU WKH PHWK G O J WKDW UHH KLVW ULD V XWLOL H , WKHU UGV K G H KDW H DE XW WKH UHH UOG 0 GHU VFK ODUV I D FLH W KLVW U DUH W UL XVO EVHVVHG LWK H DOXDWL J WKHLU SULPDU V XUFHV FULWLFDOO D G LWK J G UHDV 6WXG L J UHH KLVW U HVSHFLDOO L LWV HDUOLHVW SHUL GV LV OL H SXWWL J W JHWKHU D SX OH P VW I K VH SLHFHV DUH PLVVL J D G V PH pieces from another puzzle have also been added in for good measure. Greek history requires careful consideration of a wide range of sources, which fall into two broad categories: literary sources (including both ction and non- ction), and material culture. The job of the historian, then, is to reconstruct the story of the Greek people using these very di erent sources. KLOH KLVW ULD V I WKH P GHU UOG UHO VXFK DUFKL DO V XUFHV DV H VSDSHUV PDJD L HV D G SHUV DO GLDULHV D G F UUHVS GH FH I L GL LGXDOV D G JU XSV KLVW ULD V I WKH D FLH W UOG PXVW XVH H HU D DLODEOH V XUFH W UHF VWUXFW WKH UOG L KLFK WKHLU VXEMHFW G HOOHG /LWHUDU V XUFHV VXFK DV HSLFV O ULF S HWU D G GUDPD PD VHHP VWUD JH I U KLVW ULD V W XVH as they do not necessarily describe speci c historical events. Yet, as in the case of other early FL LOL DWL V VXFK V XUFHV DUH D FUXFLDO L G L W WKH FXOWXUH D G DOXHV I WKH SH SOH K SU GXFHG WKHP ) U L VWD FH WKH SLF RI LOJDPH K, discussed in Chapter 2, is a key text for the VWXG I HDUO 0HV S WDPLD 7KH HDUOLHVW OLWHUDU V XUFHV I U UHH KLVW U DUH WKH PHULF HSLFV ,OLDG D G 2G H 7KH DUH K H HU H I WKH P VW FKDOOH JL J V XUFHV W L WHUSUHW LWK H P GHU KLVW ULD GXEEL J them a “historian’s headache.” Composed orally before the existence of the Greek alphabet, the epics were not written down until sometime in the sixth century BCE. The epics most likely do not re ect the society of any particular Greek city-state in any one period, but rather consist of an DPDOJDP I IHDWXUHV IU P WKH U H JH W WKH HDUO UFKDLF 3HUL G 7KHLU DOXH I U KLVW ULD V as a result, rests more on their impact on subsequent Greek culture, rather than on their providing L I UPDWL DE XW U H JH UHH V 0 UH WKD D WKHU OLWHUDU V XUFH WKH PHULF (SLFV in uenced the mentality of the Greeks in thinking about war and what it means to be a hero. 0 VW WKHU OLWHUDU V XUFHV IU P WKH UFKDLF D G ODVVLFDO SHUL GV DUH HDVLHU W L WHUSUHW WKD WKH PHULF (SLFV DV H IWH FD GDWH WKHVH ODWHU V XUFHV P UH SUHFLVHO D G WKXV WKH period whose values or problems they re ect. There is, however, one important limitation to keep in mind: the overwhelming majority of surviving literature is from Athens, with very few sources from other city-states. Some of this distribution of evidence has to do with the di ering values of the city-states themselves. For example, while Greeks of the Classical period considered Sparta to 2 Kurt Raa aub, “A Historian’s Deadache: How to Read ‘Homeric Society’?” in N. Fisher and H. Van wees eds., Archaic Greece: New Approaches and New Evidence (London: Duckworth: 1998). 3DJH EH DV JUHDW D FLW DV WKH V 6SDUWD V DOXHG PLOLWDU DO U HU DOO HOVH V WKH GLG W FXOWL DWH DUWV D G OHWWHUV WKH D WKH LD V GLG V D UHVXOW WKH O OLWHUDU V XUFHV IU P 6SDUWD DUH WKH works of two poets, Alcman and Tyrtaeus. Tyrtaeus’ military elegies, like the Homeric epics, JO ULI KHU LF GHDWK L EDWWOH HU OLIH LWK XW K U D G HUH OL HO VX J E 6SDUWD DUUL UV DV WKH PDUFKHG L W EDWWOH Several genres of non- ction survive as well, allowing historians to study speci c events and SU EOHPV L WKH KLVW U I WKH UHH UOG D G HVSHFLDOO WKH V 7KH U V I WKUHH PDM U KLVW ULD V VXU L H IU P ODVVLFDO WKH V H G WXV GXEEHG WKH )DWKHU I LVW U U WH WKH L WR LH about the Persian Wars in mid- fth century BCE. KXF GLGHV D WKH LD JH HUDO L WKH 3HO S HVLD DU U WH D KLVW U I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU HU WKH F XUVH I WKH DU ( )L DOO ;H SK U WH D KLVW U I WKH H G I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU VWDUWL J LWK 411 BCE, where Thucydides’ work ended, and into the fourth century. In addition to the works of the KLVW ULD V SKLO V SKLFDO WUHDWLVHV P VW WDEO WK VH I ODW D G LVW WOH SU LGH FUXFLDO insight into the political thought, moral values, and perceptions of the world in late fth and fourth centuries BCE. The approximately 100 surviving courtroom speeches from the same period likewise SU LGH XV LWK D L G L W WKH WKH LD OHJDO V VWHP )L DOO WKH LSS FUDWLF F USXV D VHULHV of medical treatises and physicians’ journals from the Classical period, help us to understand the Greeks’ views of the human body and diseases. But in addition to the geographical restrictions of WKHVH V XUFHV KLFK ODUJHO G FXPH W WKH V LW LV DOV LPS UWD W W WH W WKHU H OLPLWDWL V I WKH D DLODEOH H LGH FH )LUVW LUWXDOO DOO I WKH OLWHUDU V XUFHV HUH ULWWH E PH D G SU LGH very little evidence of the lives and perspectives of women in the Greek world, except as seen through WKH H HV I PH 6HF G P VW I WKH DXWK UV HUH HDOWK D G V FLDOO SU PL H W L GL LGXDOV WKXV their perspective does not re ect that of less a uent citizens and slaves. FKDH O LFDO H LGH FH thankfully allows historians to ll V PH I WKH JDSV L WKH OLWHUDU H LGH FH EXW DOV F PHV LWK SU EOHPV I LWV 2 H M H WKDW UHIHUV W WKH SWLPLVP I archaeologists re ects some of these problems of interpretation: whenever an archaeologist nds WKUHH VW HV WKDW DUH W JHWKHU KH labels the nd as a Minoan palace. Whenever he nds two stones WKDW DUH W JHWKHU KH WKL V KH KDV I X G D FLW DOO KH H HU KH Figure 5.3 | Megara Hyblaea, main road, looking north | KH nds one building stone, he thinks FDUHIXO SOD L J RI WKH URDG D G WKH EXLOGL JV LV VWLOO HYLGH W DV WKH KH KDV I X G D K XVH UXL V R ERWK VLGHV RI WKH URDG DUH SHUIHFWO DOLJ HG XWKRU VHU OX 6DOW 6WLOO DUFKDH O JLFDO V XUFHV 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V SU LGH XV LWK H L I UPDWL LFH VH 6 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 about di erent aspects of everyday life in di erent city-states. For example, the excavations of the sixth-century BCE colony H D D EODHD L 6LFLO VK V WKDW UHH F O LVWV HUH L WHUHVWHG in city planning and in equality of FLWL H V DV GHP VWUDWHG E WKH equal size of the lots. Material nds, such as pottery remains, in di erent sites across WKH 0HGLWHUUD HD DOV DOO KLVW ULD V W PDS WUDGL J U XWHV Figure 5.4 | Attic Black-Figure Hydria, c. 520 BCE | 6KR V I U L VWD FH )LJXUHV D G RPH JHWWL J DWHU IURP D SXEOLF IRX WDL XWKRU VHU -DVWUR VK DVHV WKDW HUH PDGH L 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V (XE HD D G UL WK UHVSHFWL HO LFH VH 6 EXW HUH I X G L UHH F O LHV L ,WDO , DGGLWL LPDJHV S WWHU SU LGH L I UPDWL DE XW VW ULHV D G P WKV WKDW KD H H WHUHG S SXODU FXOWXUH D G that sometimes re ect further aspects of everyday life. For instance, the prevalence of images I PH JDWKHUL J DW SXEOLF I X WDL V WKH LD K G LDH (water pots) from the late sixth FH WXU ( VK V WKH LPS UWD FH I WKH SXEOLF I X WDL V I U WKH V FLDO OLIH I PH L WKH V L WKH SHUL G )L DOO ULWWH DUFKDH O JLFDO V XUFHV VXFK DV L VFULSWL V VW H U S WWHU VKDUGV IU P DOO HU WKH UHH UOG D G SDS UL IU P Hellenistic Egypt, are the equivalent I G FXPH WDU DUFKL HV IU P WKH D FLH W UOG 7KH H LGH FH IU P HSLJUDSK L VFULSWL V L FOXGHV OD V WKDW HUH ULWWH ODUJH VW HV D G VHW XS L SXEOLF VXFK DV WKH P XPH WDO OD F GH IU P UW UHWH D G OLVWV I DU GHDG DV HOO DV SUL DWH W PE L VFULSWL V 3DS UL WKH WKHU KD G L FOXGH VXFK SUL DWH G FXPH WV DV Figure 5.5 | The Gortyn Code (c. fth century BCE) | ORVH XS SUH XSWLDO DJUHHPH WV DP J WKH RI SDUW RI WKH L VFULSWLR XWKRU VHU IUD N VWUD JHVW DUH SUH XSWLDO G FXPH WV 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V I U EU WKHU VLVWHU PDUULDJHV OHJDO LFH VH 6 3DJH L (J SW EXW KHUH HOVH L WKH UHH UOG GL UFH G FXPH WV O D V D G LOODJH S OLFH UHS UWV (cattle theft appears to have been a serious problem in the Faiyum in the Hellenistic Period!). 7D H W JHWKHU WKH OLWHUDU D G DUFKDH O JLFDO V XUFHV DOO WKH KLVW ULD W F PSOHWH PXFK P UH I WKH SX OH WKD XOG KD H EHH S VVLEOH LWK MXVW H I WKHVH W SHV I V XUFHV 6WLOO signi cant gaps in knowledge remain nevertheless, and are, perhaps, one of the joys of studying ancient history: the historian gets to play the part of a sleuth, attempting to reconstruct the history I H H WV EDVHG MXVW D IH D DLODEOH FOXHV )520 0 7 2 2 72 6725 The terms “mythology” and “history” may seem, by modern de nitions, to be antithetical. IWHU DOO P WK O J UHIHUV W VW ULHV WKDW DUH FOHDUO IDOVH I O J I UJ WWH J GV D G KHU HV D G WKHLU PLUDFXO XV IHDWV LVW U WKH WKHU KD G UHIHUV W DFWXDO H H WV WKDW L O HG UHDO SH SOH And yet, the idea that the two are opposites would have seemed ba ing to a typical resident of the ancient Mediterranean world. Rather, gods and myths were part of the everyday life, and historical H H WV F XOG EHF PH VXEVXPHG E P WKV MXVW DV HDVLO DV P WKV F XOG EHF PH D SDUW I KLVW U ) U L VWD FH LOJDPHVK WKH KHU I WKH 6XPHULD SLF RI LOJDPH K DV D UHDO L J I 8UX HW KH DOV EHFDPH WKH KHU I WKH HSLF (DFK UHH FLW VWDWH L SDUWLFXODU KDG D I X GDWL P WK GHVFULEL J LWV ULJL V DV HOO DV LWV SDWU J GV D G J GGHVVHV (WL O JLFDO P WKV furthermore, served to explain why certain institutions or practices existed; for instance, the tragic WULO J 2 H WHLD I WKH WKH LD S HW HVFK OXV WHOOV WKH HWL O JLFDO P WK I U WKH HVWDEOLVKPH W I WKH WKH LD PXUGHU F XUWV L WKH ODVVLFDO SHUL G Yet, while the Greeks saw mythology and history as related concepts and sometimes as two sides of the same coin, one speci c mythical event marked, in the eyes of the earliest known Greek KLVW ULD V WKH EHJL L J I WKH VW U I UHH VSHD L J SH SOHV 7KDW H H W DV WKH 7U MD DU RPHU DQG WKH 7URMDQ :DU It is telling that the two earliest Greek historians, Herodotus, writing in the mid- fth century BCE, and Thucydides, writing in the last third of the fth century BCE, began their respective KLVW ULHV LWK WKH 7U MD DU HDFK WUHDWL J LW DV D KLVW ULFDO H H W 7KH PHULF HSLFV ,OLDG D G 2G H portray the war as an organized attack of a uni ed Greek army against Troy, a city in Asia Minor (see map 5.2). The instigating o ense? The Trojan prince Paris kidnapped HOH WKH P VW EHDXWLIXO PD L WKH UOG IU P KHU KXVED G 0H HODXV L J I 6SDUWD 7KLV o ense, interpreted as a slight to Menelaus’ honor, prompted Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Menelaus’ brother, to raise an army from the entire Greek world and sail to Troy. The mythical tradition had it that after a brutal ten-year siege, the Greeks resorted to a trick: they presented the Trojans with a hollow wooden horse, lled with armed soldiers. The Trojans tragically accepted WKH JLIW VWH VLEO L WH GHG DV D GHGLFDWL W WKH J GGHVV WKH D 7KDW VDPH LJKW WKH DUPHG contingent emerged from the horse, and the city nally fell to the Greeks. Picking up the story ten HDUV DIWHU WKH H G I WKH 7U MD DU WKH 2G H then told the story of Odysseus’s struggles to 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 UHWXU K PH DIWHU WKH DU D G WKH FKD JHV WKDW UH HUEHUDWHG WKU XJK XW WKH UHH UOG DIWHU WKH IDOO I 7U 7KH PHULF HSLFV HUH WKH I X GDWL I UHH HGXFDWL L WKH UFKDLF D G ODVVLFDO SHUL GV and, as such, are a historian’s best source of pan-Hellenic values. A major theme throughout E WK HSLFV LV SHUV DO K U KLFK PHULF KHU HV DOXH P UH WKD WKH F OOHFWL H FDXVH ) U example, when Agamemnon slights Achilles’ honor in the beginning of the ,OLDG FKLOOHV WKH EHVW KHU I WKH UHH V LWKGUD V IU P EDWWOH I U PXFK I WKH HSLF H H WK XJK KLV DFWL causes the Greeks to start losing battles until he rejoins the ght. A related theme is competitive excellence, with (eternal glory) as its goal: all Greek heroes want to be the best; thus, even while ghting in the same army, they see each other as competition. Ultimately, Achilles has to make a choice: he can live a long life and die unknown, or he can die in battle young and have everlasting glory. Achilles’ selection of the second option made him the inspiration for such historical Greek warriors and generals as Alexander the Great, who brought his scroll copy of the ,OLDG LWK KLP DOO FDPSDLJ V )L DOO WKH SUHVH FH I WKH J GV L WKH EDF JU X G I WKH 7U MD War shows the Greeks’ belief that the gods were everywhere, and acted in the lives of mortals. 7KHVH J GV F XOG EH S HUIXO EH HIDFW UV D G SDWU V I L GL LGXDOV K UHVSHFWHG WKHP D G V XJKW WKHLU ID U U LFL XV H HPLHV EH W GHVWUXFWL , GHHG HDUO L WKH ,OLDG WKH J G S OO VH GV D SODJXH WKH UHH DUP DW 7U DV SX LVKPH W I U GLVUHVSHFWL J KLV SULHVW It is important to note that while the Homeric epics in uenced Greek values from the Archaic period on, they do not re ect the reality of the Greek world in any one period. Furthermore, they HUH W F PS VHG E D VL JOH S HW PH ; indeed, it is possible that Homer never existed. HFDXVH WKH HSLFV HUH F PS VHG UDOO E PXOWLSOH EDUGV HU WKH SHUL G I VH HUDO KX GUHG HDUV WKH F PEL H GHWDLOV DE XW WHFK O JLFDO D G WKHU DVSHFWV I WKH U H JH LWK WK VH I WKH DU JHV D G H H WKH HDUO UFKDLF JH ) U L VWD FH WKH KHU HV XVH EU H HDS V VLGH E VLGH LWK LU UFKDH O JLFDO H LGH FH K H HU DOO V KLVW ULD V W UHF VWUXFW W V PH extent a picture of the Greek world in the Bronze Age and the Dark Ages. 5.8.2 Greece in the Bronze Age, and the Dark Ages While there were people living in mainland Greece already in the Neolithic Period, historians typically begin the study of the Greeks as a unique civilization in the Bronze Age, with the L D V. The rst literate civilization in Europe, the Minoans were a palace civilization that ourished on the island of HWH F ( As be ts island-dwellers, they were traders and seafarers; indeed, the Greek historian Thucydides credits them with being the rst Greeks to sail on ships. Sir Arthur Evans, the archaeologist who rst excavated Crete in the early 1900s, dubbed them Minoans, after the P WKLFDO UHWD L J 0L V K DV EHVW I U EXLOGL J D ODE UL WK W K XVH WKH 0L WDXU D P VWHU WKDW DV KDOI PD KDOI EXOO XOOV DSSHDU H HU KHUH L VXU L L J 0L D DUW VXJJHVWL J WKDW WKH L GHHG KHOG D SU PL H W SODFH L 0L D P WK O J D G UHOLJL Four major palace sites survive on Crete. The most signi cant of them, Knossos, has been restored and reconstructed for the bene t of modern tourists. 3DJH 0DS 0DS RI 0LQRDQ UHWH XWKRU VHU LEL 6DL W 3RL 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 LVW ULD V K S WKHVL H WKDW WKH SDODFHV HUH WKH K PHV I O FDO UXOHUV K UXOHG D G SU WHFWHG the surrounding farmland. The palaces seem to have kept records in two di erent writing systems, the earliest known in Europe: the UHWD KLHU JO SKLF D G /L HDU VFULSWV 8 I UWX DWHO HLWKHU I WKHVH V VWHPV KDV EHH GHFLSKHUHG EXW LW LV OL HO WKDW WKHVH HUH SDODFH L H W ULHV D G UHF UGV SHUWDL L J W WUDGH 7KH SDODFHV KDG VXUU X GL J DOOV VXJJHVWL J WKDW WKH UHWD V PDL WDL HG SHDFH LWK HDFK WKHU D G IHOW VDIH IU P XWVLGH DWWDF V VL FH WKH OL HG D LVOD G 7KLV VH VH I VHFXULW SU HG W EH D PLVWD H DV DU X G ( WKH )L UH 7KH OO HDSLQ )UHVFR IURP.QRVVRV XWKRU VHU -HEXOR SDODFHV HUH L OH WO GHVWU HG E 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V L DGHUV S VVLEO WKH FH DHD V LFH VH 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 who arrived from mainland Greece. Recent GLVF HULHV DOV VXJJHVW WKDW DW OHDVW V PH I WKH GHVWUXFWL PD KD H EHH WKH UHVXOW I WVX DPLV KLFK DFF PSD LHG WKH 6D W UL L 7KHUD OFD LF HUXSWL L WKH V ( 7KH 0 FH DHD V VLPLODUO W WKH 0L D V HUH D SDODFH FL LOL DWL )O XULVKL J PDL OD G UHHFH F ( WKH UHFHL HG WKHLU DPH IU P 0 FH DH WKH P VW HODE UDWH VXU L L J SDODFH D G WKH P WKLFDO K PH I JDPHP WKH F PPD GHU L FKLHI I WKH UHH DUP L WKH 7U MD DU The archaeological excavations of graves in )L UH 5HFRQVWU FWHG 1RUWK 3RUWLFR DW.QRVVRV XWKRU VHU HU DUG DJ R 0 FH DH UH HDO D SU VSHU XV FL LOL DWL WKDW 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V SU GXFHG HODE UDWH S WWHU EU H HDS V LFH VH 6 and tools, and extravagant jewelry and other objects made of precious metals and gems. One of the most famous nds is the so-called DVN I DPHP D EXULDO PDV LWK KLFK H DULVW FUDW DV EXULHG PDGH I KDPPHUHG J OG The Mycenaeans also kept palace records in a syllabic script, known as Linear B. Related to the Cretan Linear A script, Linear B, however, has been deciphered, and identi ed as Greek. UFKDH O JLFDO H LGH FH DOV VK V WKDW V PHWLPH L WKH V ( WKH 0 FH DHD SDODFHV su ered a series of attacks and were gradually abandoned over the next century. The period WKDW EHJL V DU X G ( LV DV WKH “Dark Ages” because of the notable decline, L F WUDVW LWK WKH SUHFHGL J SHUL G 7KH 0 FH DHD /L HDU VFULSW GLVDSSHDUV D G DUFKDH O JLFDO H LGH FH VK V D S UHU UHHFH LWK D GHFOL H L PDWHULDO HDOWK and life expectancy. Some contact, however, PXVW KD H UHPDL HG LWK WKH UHVW I WKH 0HGLWHUUD HD DV VK E WKH HPHUJH FH I WKH UHH DOSKDEHW DGDSWHG IU P WKH 3K H LFLD ULWL J V VWHP W DUGV WKH H G I WKH DU JHV U HDUO L WKH UFKDLF 3HUL G 5 5(( ( Figure 5.8 | Mask of Agamemnon, Mycenae 7KH VW U I WKH UHH UOG L WKH DU XWKRU VHU XD KH JHV F XOG P VWO EH GHVFULEHG DV D VW U 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH of fragmentation. With a few exceptions, 3DJH )L UH RPSDUDWLYH FKDUW RI ULWLQ V VWHPV LQ WKH QFLHQW 0HGLWHUUDQHDQ V WKLV FKDUW VKR V in addition to the in uence of the Phoenician alphabet on the Greek, there were close connections between the 3KRH LFLD (J SWLD D G HEUH ULWL J V VWHPV DV HOO XWKRU 6DPXHO 3ULGHDX UHJHOOHV 6RXUFH RRJOH RRNV LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 L GL LGXDO VLWHV KDG OLPLWHG F WDFW LWK HDFK WKHU 7KH UFKDLF SHUL G K H HU DSSHDUV W KD H been a time of growing contacts and connections between di erent parts of mainland Greece. Furthermore, it was a time of expansion, as the establishment of overseas colonies and cities EU XJKW WKH UHH V W ,WDO D G 6LFLO L WKH HVW D G VLD 0L U D G WKH ODF 6HD OLWW UDO L WKH (DVW )XUWKHUP UH KLOH UHH V L WKH UFKDLF SHUL G VD WKHPVHO HV DV FLWL H V I L GL LGXDO FLW VWDWHV WKLV SHUL G DOV LW HVVHG WKH ULVH I D D HOOH LF LGH WLW DV DOO UHH V VD WKHPVHO HV F HFWHG E LUWXH I WKHLU F PP OD JXDJH UHOLJL D G PHULF DOXHV 7KLV Pan-Hellenic identity was ultimately cemented during the Persian Wars: two invasions of Greece E WKH 3HUVLD (PSLUH DW WKH H G I WKH UFKDLF SHUL G 5LVH RI WKH RSOLWH 3KDODQ DQG WKH 3ROLV UL WKLD DVH W GD DV WKH KL L DVH PDGH L WKH PLG VH H WK FH WXU ( SUHVH WV D WD WDOL L J JOLPSVH I WKH FKD JL J WLPHV IU P WKH DU JHV W WKH UFKDLF 3HUL G 7D L J XS PXFK I WKH GHF UDWHG VSDFH WKH DVH LV D EDWWOH VFH H 7 DUPLHV I DUUL UV LWK U X G VKLHOGV KHOPHWV D G VSHDUV DUH IDFL J HDFK WKHU D G DSSHDU W EH PDUFKL J L I UPDWL W DUGV HDFK WKHU L SUHSDUDWL I U DWWDF 0 GHU VFK ODUV ODUJHO F VLGHU WKH DVH W EH WKH HDUOLHVW DUWLVWLF S UWUD DO I WKH K SOLWH SKDOD , a new way of ghting that spread around the Greek world in the early Archaic Age and that coincided with the rise of another key institution for subsequent Greek history: the SROL or city-state. From the early Archaic period to the conquest of the Greek world by Philip and Alexander in the late fourth century BCE, the SROL DV WKH FH WUDO X LW I UJD L DWL L WKH UHH UOG KLOH DUIDUH L WKH ,OLDG F VLVWHG ODUJHO I GXHOV EHW HH L GL LGXDO KHU HV WKH K SOLWH phalanx was a new mode of ghting WKDW GLG W UHO WKH V LOO I individuals. Rather, it required all V OGLHUV L WKH OL H W U W JHWKHU DV D K OH UPHG L WKH VDPH D LWK D KHOPHW VSHDU D G WKH U X G VKLHOG WKH KRSOR KLFK JD H WKH K SOLWHV WKHLU DPH WKH V OGLHUV HUH DUUD JHG L U V S VVLEO DV PXFK DV VH H GHHS (DFK V OGLHU FDUULHG KLV VKLHOG KLV OHIW DUP SU WHFWL J WKH OHIW VLGH I KLV E G D G WKH ULJKW VLGH )L UH 8QUROOHG UHFRQVWU FWHG LPD H IURP WKH KL L 9DVH I KLV F PUDGH W WKH OHIW U L J XWKRU VHU 3KRNLR 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V together as one, then, the phalanx LFH VH 6 3DJH would execute the D PDVV VK H GXUL J EDWWOH LWK WKH J DO I VK L J WKH H HP phalanx o the battle eld. Historians do not know which came into existence rst, the phalanx or the SROL EXW WKH W clearly re ect a similar ideology. In fact, the phalanx could be seen as a microcosm of the SROL exemplifying the chief values of the SROL D VPDOO VFDOH (DFK SROL was a fully self-su cient unit of organization, with its own laws, de nition of citizenship, government, army, economy, and local cults. Regardless of the di erences between the many SROHL L PDWWHUV I FLWL H VKLS government, and law, one key similarity is clear: the survival of the SROL GHSH GHG WKH GHGLFDWL I DOO LWV FLWL H V W WKH F OOHFWL H HOO EHL J I WKH FLW VWDWH 7KLV GHGLFDWL L FOXGHG service in the phalanx. As a result, citizenship in most Greek city-states was closely connected to military service, and women were excluded from citizenship. Furthermore, since hoplites had to provide their own armor, these citizen-militias e ectively consisted of landowners. This is not to say, though, that the poorer citizens were entirely excluded from serving their city. One example of a way in which they may have participated even in the phalanx appears on the Chigi Vase. Marching between two lines of warriors is an unarmed man, playing a double-reed ute (seen on the right end of the top band in Figure 5.10). Since the success of the phalanx depended on marching together in step, the ute-player’s music would have been essential to ensure that H HU H HSW WKH VDPH WHPS GXUL J WKH PDUFK UHHN 5HOL LRQ 2 H WKH U P GHU VFK ODUV KD H SU S VHG I U WKH ULVH I WKH SROL F HFWV WKH O FDWL V I WKH FLW VWDWHV W FXOW VLWHV 7KH WKH U DUJXHV WKDW WKH UHH V I WKH UFKDLF SHUL G EXLOW FLW VWDWHV DU X G WKHVH SUHFL FWV I DUL XV J GV L UGHU W OL H FO VHU W WKHP D G SU WHFW WKHP KLOH LPS VVLEOH W I U VXUH LI WKLV WKH U U D WKHU UHJDUGL J WKH ULVH I WKH S OLV LV WUXH WKH EXLOGL J I WHPSOHV L FLWLHV GXUL J WKH UFKDLF SHUL G VK V WKH L FUHDVL J HPSKDVLV WKDW WKH SROHL HUH SODFL J UHOLJL It is important to note that Greek religion seems to have been, at least to some extent, an HOHPH W I F WL XLW IU P WKH U H JH W WKH UFKDLF SHUL G D G EH G 7KH LPS UWD W U OH WKDW WKH J GV SOD L WKH PHULF HSLFV DWWHVWV W WKHLU SU PL H FH L WKH UDO WUDGLWL J L J EDF W WKH DU JHV )XUWKHUP UH DPHV I WKH I OO L J PDM U J GV UVKLSSHG L WKH Archaic period and beyond were found on the deciphered Linear B tablets: Zeus, king of the gods and god of weather, associated with the thunderbolt; Hera, Zeus’ wife and patroness of childbirth; 3 VHLG J G I WKH VHD HUPHV PHVVH JHU J G D G SDWU I WKLH HV D G PHUFKD WV WKH D goddess of war and wisdom and patroness of women’s crafts; Ares, god of war; Dionysus, god of L H D G WKH W L V S OO J G I WKH VX D G E WK J G I WKH SODJXH D G D KHDOHU D G UWHPLV J GGHVV I WKH KX W D G WKH P OO I WKHVH J GV F WL XHG W EH WKH PDM U GL L LWLHV L UHH UHOLJL I U LWV GXUDWL D G PD I WKHP HUH UVKLSSHG DV SDWU J GV I L GL LGXDO FLWLHV VXFK DV UWHPLV DW 6SDUWD D G WKH D DW WKH V KLOH PD O FDO FXOWV I H H PDM U J GV HUH WUXO O FDO L DSSHDO D IH O FDO FXOWV DFKLH HG WUXO 3D HOOH LF DSSHDO UD L J LVLW UV IU P DOO HU WKH UHH UOG WKHVH 3D HOOH LF 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 cults were seen as belonging equally to all the Greeks. One of the most famous examples is the FXOW I VFOHSLXV DW SLGDX XV VFOHSLXV V I S OO DV D KHDOHU J G D G KLV VKUL H DW (SLGDXUXV DWWUDFWHG WKH SLOJULPV IU P DOO HU the Greek world. Visitors su ering from illness SUDFWLFHG L FXEDWL WKDW LV VSH GL J WKH LJKW L WKH WHPSOH L WKH K SHV I UHFHL L J D LVL L WKHLU GUHDPV VXJJHVWL J D FXUH , JUDWLWXGH I U the god’s healing, some pilgrims dedicated casts of their healed body parts. Archaeological ndings L FOXGH D SOH WLWXGH I HDUV VHV DUPV D G IHHW 6WDUWL J XW DV O FDO FXOWV VH HUDO UHOLJL XV IHVWL DOV WKDW L FOXGHG DWKOHWLF F PSHWLWL V DV SDUW I WKH FHOHEUDWL DOV DFKLH HG 3D HOOH LF )L UH 7KHPLV DQG H H V KH 3 WKLD VHDWHG R WKH WULSRG D G KROGL J D ODXUHO EUD FK SU PL H FH GXUL J WKH UFKDLF SHUL G 7KH P VW V PEROV RI SROOR KR DV WKH VRXUFH RI KHU in uential of these were the O PSLF DPHV SURSKHFLHV KLV LV WKH R O VXUYLYL J LPDJH RI WKH HJL L J L ( WKH 2O PSLF DPHV HUH 3 WKLD IURP D FLH W UHHFH XWKRU VHU LEL 6DL W 3RL held in Olympia every four years in honor of Zeus; 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V WKH GUH F PSHWLW UV IU P DOO HU WKH UHH LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL UOG D G H H 3HUVLD 7KH 3D HOOH LF DSSHDO of the Olympics is signi ed by the impact that these games had on Greek politics: for instance, a truce was in e ect throughout the Greek world for WKH GXUDWL I HDFK 2O PSLFV , DGGLWL WKH 2O PSLFV SU LGHG D 3D HOOH LF V VWHP I GDWL J H H WV E 2O PSLDGV U I XU HDU F FOHV Finally, perhaps the most politically in uential of the Pan-Hellenic cults was the oracle of S OO DW HOSKL HVWDEOLVKHG V PHWLPH L WKH HLJKWK FH WXU ( DLODEOH I U F VXOWDWL only nine days a year, the oracle spoke responses to the questions asked by inquirers through D SULHVWHVV DPHG WKH WKLD. The Pythia’s responses came in the form of poetry and were notoriously di cult to interpret. Nevertheless, city-states and major rulers throughout the Greek UOG F VLGHUHG LW HVVH WLDO W F VXOW WKH UDFOH EHI UH HPEDU L J D PDM U H GHD U VXFK DV DU U I X GL J D F O 0DULWLPH 7UDGH DQG RORQL DWLRQ 7KH KLVW ULD HU G WXV UHF UGV WKDW V PHWLPH F ( WKH L J I WKH VPDOO LVOD G I 7KHUD traveled to Delphi to o er a sacri ce and consult the oracle on a few minor points. To his surprise, the oracle’s response had nothing to do with his queries. Instead, the Pythia directed him to found a colony in Libya, in North Africa. Having never heard of Libya, the king ignored the advice. A seven- year drought ensued, and the Therans felt compelled to consult the oracle again. Receiving the same response as before, they nally sent out a group of colonists who eventually founded the city of Cyrene. 3DJH KLOH WKLV VW U PD V X G DEVXUG LW LV VLPLODU W WKHU I X GDWL VW ULHV I UHH F O LHV D G HPSKDVL HV WKH LPS UWD FH I WKH HOSKLF UDFOH W WKH VDPH WLPH WK XJK WKLV VW U VWLOO leaves open the question of motive: why did so many Greek city- VWDWHV I WKH UFKDLF SHUL G VH G XW F O LHV W WKHU SDUWV I WKH UHH UOG UFKDH O J D G I X GDWL OHJH GV VXFK DV WK VH recorded by Herodotus, suggest two chief reasons: population SUHVVXUHV DO J LWK VK UWDJH I SU GXFWL H IDUPOD G L WKH FLWLHV PDL OD G UHHFH D G L FUHDVHG HDVH I WUDGH WKDW F O LHV DEU DG IDFLOLWDWHG , DGGLWL W UHV O L J WKHVH W SU EOHPV K H HU WKH F O LHV DOV KDG WKH X I UHVHH LPSDFW I L FUHDVL J L WHUDFWL V I WKH UHH V LWK WKH ODUJHU 0HGLWHUUD HD UOG D G the ancient Near East. These interactions are visible, for instance, L WKH V FDOOHG LH WDOL L VW OH I DUW L WKH UFKDLF SHUL G D VW OH WKH UHH V E UU HG IU P WKH 0LGGOH (DVW D G (J SW V VHFWL LOO VK K H HU WKH SUHVH FH I UHH F O LHV L VLD 0L U DOV SOD HG D PDM U U OH L EUL JL J DE XW WKH UHF 3HUVLD DUV 5.9.4. Aristocracy, Democracy, and Tyranny in UFKDLF UHHFH )L UH UFKDLF /DWHU UHH KLVW ULD V L FOXGL J HU G WXV D G 7KXF GLGHV (youth) statue, c. 530 BC | WHG D FHUWDL WUH G L WKH WUDMHFW U I WKH KLVW U I P VW UHH 1RWH WKH (J SWLD KDLUVW OH D G ERG SRVH SROHL : most city-states started out with a monarchical or quasi- XWKRU VHU 0RX WDL P DUFKLFDO J HU PH W 2 HU WLPH WKH SH SOH JDL HG JUHDWHU 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V UHSUHVH WDWL D G D DVVHPEO I DOO FLWL H V KDG DW OHDVW V PH LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL GHJUHH I S OLWLFDO S HU DOWK XJK V PH GHJUHH I VWULIH W SLFDOO PDWHULDOL HG EHW HH WKH DULVW FUDWV D G WKH S UHU HOHPH WV 7D L J DG D WDJH I VXFK FL LF con icts, W D WV FDPH W S HU L P VW FLW VWDWHV I U D EULHI SHUL G EHI UH WKH SH SOH ED GHG W JHWKHU D G GU H WKHP XW WKH FHI UWK UHSODFL J WKHP LWK D P UH S SXODU I UP I J HU PH W 0D P GHU KLVW ULD V DUH V HSWLFDO DE XW V PH I WKH VW ULHV WKDW WKH UHH KLVW ULD V WHOO DE XW ULJL V I V PH SROHLs; for instance, it is questionable whether the earliest Thebans truly were E U IU P GUDJ WHHWK 6LPLODUO WKH VW ULHV DE XW V PH I WKH UFKDLF W UD WV VHHP W EHO J more to the realm of legend than history. Nevertheless, the preservation of stories about tyrants in HDUO UDO WUDGLWL VXJJHVWV WKDW FLW VWDWHV OL HO H W WKU XJK SHUL GV I WXUP LO D G FKD JH L WKHLU I UP I J HU PH W EHI UH GH HO SL J D P UH VWDEOH F VWLWXWL )XUWKHUP UH WKLV OL H I GH HO SPH W DFFXUDWHO GHVFULEHV WKH HDUO KLVW U I WKH V WKH EHVW G FXPH WHG SROL , WKH HDUO UFKDLF SHUL G WKH V ODUJHO KDG D DULVW FUDWLF F VWLWXWL LGHVSUHDG GHEW slavery, however, caused signi cant civic strife in the city and led to the appointment of O DV lawgiver for the year 594/3 BCE, speci cally for the purpose of reforming the laws. Solon created a 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 more democratic constitution and also left poetry documenting justi cations for his reforms—and di erent citizens’ reactions to them. Most controversial of all, Solon instituted a one-time debt- I UJL H HVV HL DFKWKHLD which literally means “shaking o.” He proceeded to divide all citizens into ve classes based on income, assigning a level of political participation and responsibility commensurate with each class. Shortly after Solon’s reforms, a tyrant, HLVLVW DWXV LOOHJDOO seized control of Athens and remained in power o and on from 561 to 527 BCE. Peisistratus seems to have been a reasonably popular ruler who had the support of a signi cant portion of the WKH LD S SXODWL LV W V V LSSLDV D G LSSDUFKXV K H HU DSSHDU W KD H EHH OHVV HOO OL HG 7 PH DUP GLXV D G ULVW JHLW DVVDVVL DWHG LSSDUFKXV L ( WKH L ( WKH WKH LD V LWK WKH KHOS I D 6SDUWD DUP SHUPD H WO GU H XW LSSLDV In subsequent Athenian history, Harmodius and Aristogeiton were considered heroes of the GHP FUDF D G FHOHEUDWHG DV W UD LFLGHV Figure 5.13 | The structure of the Classical Athenian democracy, fourth century BCE XWKRU VHU 0DWKLHXJS 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 3DJH Immediately following the expulsion of Hippias, Athens underwent a second round of GHP FUDWLF UHI UPV OHG E OHLVWKH HV. The Cleisthenic constitution remained in e ect, with few changes, until the Macedonian conquest of Athens in the fourth century BCE and is considered W EH WKH ODVVLFDO WKH LD GHP F DF H WUDO W WKH GHP FUDF DV WKH SDUWLFLSDWL I DOO citizens in two types of institutions: the D DVVHPEO I DOO FLWL H V KLFK IX FWL HG DV WKH FKLHI GHOLEHUDWL H E G I WKH FLW D G WKH OD F XUWV W KLFK FLWL H V HUH DVVLJ HG E O W as jurors. Two chief o ces, the generals and the archos, ruled over the city and were appointed I U H HDU WHUPV 7H JH HUDOV HUH HOHFWHG D XDOO E WKH HNNOH LD I U WKH SXUS VH I OHDGL J the Athenian military forces. Finally, the leading political o ce each year, the nine archons, were DSS L WHG E O W IU P DOO HOLJLEOH FLWL H V KLOH WKLV WL I DSS L WL J WKH W S S OLWLFDO OHDGHUV by lot may seem surprising, it exempli es the Athenians’ pride in their democracy and their desire to believe that, in theory at least, all Athenian citizens were equally valuable and capable of leading WKHLU FLW VWDWH Developing in a very di erent manner from Athens, Sparta was seen by other Greek SROHL as a very di erent sort of city from the rest. Ruled from an early period by two kings – one from HDFK I WKH W U DO K XVHV WKDW UXOHG M L WO 6SDUWD DV D WUXH OLJDUFK L KLFK WKH S HU )L UH 6WU FW UH RI WKH 6SDUWDQ RQVWLW WLRQ XWKRU VHU 3XWL RYDF 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 UHVWHG L LWV D F X FLO I WKLUW HOGHUV K VH XPEHU L FOXGHG WKH W L JV KLOH D assembly of all citizens existed DV HOO LWV S HUV HUH PXFK P UH OLPLWHG WKD HUH WK VH of the Athenian assembly. Yet EHFDXVH I PXFK P UH UHVWULFWL H FLWL H VKLS UXOHV 6SDUWD DVVHPEO I FLWL H V XOG KD H IHOW DV D P UH VHOHFWL H E G DV )LJXUH LOOXVWUDWHV FUXFLDO P PH W L 6SDUWD history was the city’s conquest of WKH HDUE UHJL I 0HVVH LD L WKH HLJKWK FH WXU ( The Spartans annexed the 0HVVH LD WHUULW U W WKHLU D G PDGH WKH 0HVVH LD V 0DS 0DS RI 6SDUWD DQG WKH (QYLURQV KHO WV KLOH WKH KHO WV F XOG XWKRU VHU 0DUV DV W EH E XJKW U V OG WKH HUH 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 SHUPD H WO WLHG W WKH OD G L D VWDWXV D L W PHGLH DO (XU SHD VHUIV 7KH D DLODELOLW I KHO W ODE U DOO HG WKH 6SDUWD V IU P WKDW S L W W I FXV WKHLU DWWH WL PLOLWDU WUDL L J 7KLV I FXV WUD VI UPHG 6SDUWD L W WKH XOWLPDWH PLOLWDU VWDWH L WKH UHH UOG LGHO UHVSHFWHG E WKH WKHU UHH SROHL I U LWV PLOLWDU SU HVV 2WKHU UHH V HUH IDVFL DWHG E VXFK 6SDUWD SUDFWLFHV DV WKH F PPX DO EUL JL J XS I DOO FKLOGUH apart from their parents and the requirement that all Spartan girls and women, as well as boys and men, maintain a strict regimen of exercise and training. But while Athens and Sparta sound like each other’s diametrical opposites, the practices I E WK SROHL ultimately derived from the same belief that all city-states held: that, in order to ensure their city’s survival, the citizens must place their city-state’s interests above their own. A democracy simply approached this goal with a di erent view of the quali cations of its citizens WKD GLG D OLJDUFK A nal note on gender is necessary, in connection with Greek city-states’ de nitions of FLWL H VKLS 2 O FKLOGUH I OHJDOO PDUULHG D G IUHHE U FLWL H SDUH WV F XOG EH FLWL H V L P VW FLW VWDWHV PH KDG D DPELJX XV VWDWXV L WKH UHH SROHL. While not full- edged citizens WKHPVHO HV WKH SU GXFHG FLWL H V 7KLV LH I WKH SULPDU LPS UWD FH I L HV L WKH FLW DV WKH P WKHUV I FLWL H V UHVXOWHG L GLDPHWULFDOO SS VLWH OD V L WKH V D G 6SDUWD VK L J the di erent values that the respective cities emphasized. In Athens, if a husband caught his wife LWK D DGXOWHUHU L KLV K PH WKH OD DOO HG WKH KXVED G W LOO VDLG DGXOWHUHU WKH VS W 7KH 3DJH adultery law was so harsh precisely because adultery put into question the citizenship status of S WH WLDO FKLOGUH WKHUHE GHSUL L J WKH FLW I IXWXUH FLWL H V F WUDVW 6SDUWD OD DOO HG an unmarried man who wanted o spring to sleep with the wife of another man, with the latter’s consent, speci cally for the purpose of producing children. This law re ects the importance that 6SDUWD SODFHG SU GXFL J VWU J IXWXUH V OGLHUV DV HOO DV WKH F PPX DO DWWLWXGH I WKH FLW W DUGV IDPLO D G FLWL H VKLS 7KH 3HUVLDQ :DUV HVSLWH FDVWL J WKHLU HW IDU D G LGH L I X GL J F O LHV WKH UHH V VHHP W KD H UHPDL HG in a state of relatively peaceful coexistence with the rest of their Mediterranean neighbors until the sixth century BCE. In the mid-sixth century BCE, Cyrus, an ambitious king of Persia, embarked on a swift program of expansion, ultimately consolidating under his rule the largest empire of the ancient world and earning for himself the title “ XV WKH HDW Cyrus’ FKDHPH LG PSL H E UGHUHG WKH DUHD I VLD 0L U WKDW KDG EHH SUH L XVO colonized by the Greeks. This expansion of the Persian Empire brought the Persians into direct con ict with the Greeks and became the origin of the Greco-Persian Wars, the greatest military con ict the Greek world had known up until that point. Over the second half of the sixth century, the Persians had taken over the region of Asia Minor, DOV DV , LD L VWDOOL J DV UXOHUV I WKHVH UHH FLW VWDWHV W UD WV O DO W 3HUVLD , ( K H HU WKH UHH FLW VWDWHV L VLD 0L U M L HG I UFHV W UHEHO DJDL VW WKH 3HUVLD UXOH Athens and Eretria sent military support for this Ionian Revolt, and the rebelling forces marched on the Persian capital of Sardis and burned it in 498 BCE, before the revolt was nally subdued E WKH 3HUVLD V L ( 6HH L J UH H JH WKH V D G (UHWULD WKH 3HUVLD L J D LXV launched an expedition in ( Darius’ forces captured Eretria in PLG VXPPHU GHVWU HG WKH FLW D G H VOD HG LWV L KDELWD WV 6DLOL J D VK UW GLVWD FH DFU VV WKH ED WKH 3HUVLD DUP WKH OD GHG DW 0DUDWK 7KH UULHG WKH LD V VH W D SOHD I U KHOS W 6SDUWD 7KH 6SDUWD V L WKH PLGGOH I D UHOLJL XV IHVWL DO UHIXVHG W KHOS 6 6HSWHPEHU ( WKH WKH LD V LWK O D VPDOO I UFH I 3ODWDHD V KHOSL J IDFHG WKH PXFK ODUJHU 3HUVLD DUP L WKH DWWOH I 0DS 7KH FKDHPHQLG (PSLUH QGHU WKH U OH RI U V D DWK 7KH GHFLVL H WKH LD XWKRU VHU DEDJRRO LFW U VK HG WKH VXSHUL ULW I WKH 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V Greek hoplite phalanx and marked the LFH VH 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 0DS 0DS RI WKH UHHN :RUOG G ULQ WKH 3HUVLDQ :DUV ( XWKRU VHU LELE 6DL W SRL 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 end of the rst Persian invasion of Greece. Furthermore, the victory at Marathon, which remained D S L W I SULGH I U WKH WKH LD V I U FH WXULHV DIWHU GHP VWUDWHG W WKH UHVW I WKH UHH V WKDW 6SDUWD DV W WKH O JUHDW PLOLWDU S HU L UHHFH DULXV GLHG L ( KD L J H HU UHDOL HG KLV GUHDP I UH H JH DJDL VW WKH UHH V LV V H HV, however, continued his father’s plans and launched in 480 BCE a second invasion I UHHFH LWK D DUP V ODUJH WKDW DV WKH KLVW ULD HU G WXV FODLPV LW GUD H WLUH UL HUV GU LWV PDUFK 7KH UHH UOG UHDFWHG L D PXFK P UH UJD L HG IDVKL W WKLV VHF G L DVL than it did to the rst. Led by Athens and Sparta, some seventy Greek SROHL I UPHG D V U alliance to ght together against the Persians. This alliance, the rst of its kind, proved to be the H W GHIHDWL J WKH 3HUVLD V DV LW DOO HG WKH DOOLHV W VSOLW I UFHV VWUDWHJLFDOO L UGHU W JXDUG DJDL VW 3HUVLD DWWDF E E WK OD G D G VHD 7KH IH UHH FLW VWDWHV K GHFODUHG O DOW W WKH 3DJH 3HUVLD (PSLUH L VWHDG P VW WDEO 7KHEHV HUH VHH DV WUDLW UV I U FH WXULHV W F PH E WKH UHVW I WKH UHH V Marching through mainland Greece from the north, the Persians rst confronted the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass that stood in the way of the Persians’ DFFHVVL J D S L W V XWK , WKLV OHJH GDU EDWWOH 6SDUWD V OHG E WKHLU L J /H LGDV VXFFHVVIXOO GHIH GHG WKH SDVV I U W GD V EHI UH EHL J EHWUD HG E D O FDO K VK HG D roundabout route to the Persians. The Persians then were able to out ank the Spartans and kill WKHP W WKH ODVW PD 7KLV EDWWOH DOWK XJK D O VV I U WKH UHH V E XJKW FUXFLDO WLPH I U WKH UHVW I WKH UHH I UFHV L SUHSDUL J W IDFH WKH 3HUVLD V ,W LV DOV LPS UWD W W WH WKDW DOWK XJK WKH 6SDUWD V HUH F VLGHUHG H H L WKH D FLH W UOG W EH WKH KHU HV I 7KHUP S ODH WKH HUH DOV DFF PSD LHG E VPDOO F WL JH WV IU P VH HUDO WKHU UHH FLW VWDWHV L WKLV H GHD U The victory at Thermopylae ful lled the old dream of Darius, as it allowed access to Athens I U WKH 3HUVLD V 7KH WKH LD VWDWHVPD 7KHPLVW FOHV K H HU KDG UGHUHG D IXOO H DFXDWL I WKH FLW L DG D FH I WKH 3HUVLD DWWDF WKU XJK D X XVXDO L WHUSUHWDWL I D HOSKLF UDFOH VWDWL J WKDW GH DOOV LOO VD H WKH V 7D L J WKH UDFOH W PHD WKDW WKH GH DOOV L question were ships, Themistocles built a massive eet which he used to send all of the city’s L KDELWD WV W VDIHW LV JDPEOH SU HG W EH VXFFHVVIXO D G WKH 3HUVLD V FDSWXUHG D G EXU HG D P VWO HPSW FLW The Athenians proceeded to defeat the Persian eet at the Battle of Salamis, o the coast of WKH V WKXV VK UWO EHI UH L WHU WXU L J WKH WLGH I WKH DU L ID U I WKH UHH V )L DOO L -X H of 479 BCE, the Greek forces were able to strike the two nal blows, defeating the Persian land and VHD I UFHV WKH VDPH GD L WKH DWWOH I 3ODWDHD OD G D G WKH DWWOH I 0 FDOH VHD 7KH LFW U DW 0 FDOH DOV UHVXOWHG L D VHF G , LD UH OW KLFK WKLV WLPH H GHG L D LFW U I U WKH Greek city-states in Asia Minor. Xerxes was left to sail home to his diminished empire. It is di cult to overestimate the impact of the Persian Wars on subsequent Greek history. Seen E KLVW ULD V DV WKH H G S L W I WKH UFKDLF 3HUL G WKH 3HUVLD DUV FHPH WHG 3D HOOH LF LGH WLW DV WKH VD F SHUDWL D X SUHFHGH WHG VFDOH DP J WKH UHH FLW VWDWHV , DGGLWL WKH 3HUVLD DUV VK HG WKH UHH PLOLWDU VXSHUL ULW HU WKH 3HUVLD V E WK OD G D G VHD )L DOO WKH DUV VK HG WKH V L D H OLJKW W WKH UHVW I WKH UHH V V WKH L HUV I Marathon in the rst invasion and the leaders of the navy during the second invasion, the Athenians HPHUJHG IU P WKH DUV DV WKH UL DOV I 6SDUWD I U PLOLWDU SUHVWLJH DP J WKH UHH V 7KLV ODVW point, in particular, proved to be the most in uential for Greek history in the subsequent period. 7 ( 66 3(5 2 6 IDU WKH VW U I WKH UHH UOG L WKLV FKDSWHU KDV SU FHHGHG IU P D DUUDWL H I WKH fragmented Greek world in the Dark Ages to the emergence and solidi cation of a Pan-Hellenic LGH WLW L WKH UFKDLF 3HUL G 7KH VW U I WKH UHH V L WKH ODVVLFDO 3HUL G E F WUDVW LV EHVW GHVFULEHG DV WKH VWULIH I U OHDGHUVKLS I WKH UHH UOG )LUVW WKH V D G 6SDUWD VSH W much of the fth century BCE battling each other for control of the Greek world. Then, once both were weakened, other states began attempting to ll the power vacuum. Ultimately, the Classical 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 3HUL G LOO H G LWK WKH UHH UOG X GHU WKH F WU O I D S HU WKDW DV LUWXDOO X W the Greeks at the beginning of the fth century BCE: Macedon. )URP WKH HOLDQ HD H WR WKH WKHQLDQ (PSLUH , ( EDUHO D HDU DIWHU WKH H G I WKH 3HUVLD DUV D JU XS I UHH FLW VWDWHV PDL O WK VH O FDWHG L , LD D G WKH LVOD G EHW HH PDL OD G UHHFH D G , LD I X GHG WKH HOLD HD XH LWK WKH DLP I F WL XL J W SU WHFW WKH UHH V L , LD IU P 3HUVLD DWWDF V Led by Athens, the league rst met on the tiny island of Delos. According to Greek mythology, the W L J GV S OO D G UWHPLV HUH E U HO V V D UHVXOW WKH LVOD G DV F VLGHUHG VDFUHG ground and, as such, was a tting neutral headquarters for the new alliance. The league allowed member states the option of either contributing a tax (an option that most members selected) 0DS 0DS RI 7KH WKHQLDQ (PSLUH LQ ( XWKRU VHU 0DUV DV 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 3DJH or contributing ships for the league’s navy. The treasury of the league, where the taxes paid by PHPEHUV HUH GHS VLWHG DV K XVHG HO V Over the next twenty years, the Delian League gradually transformed from a loose alliance of states led by Athens to a more formal entity. The League’s Athenian leadership, in the meanwhile, JUH W EH WKDW I D LPSHULDO OHDGHU 7KH IH PHPEHUV K WULHG W VHFHGH IU P WKH /HDJXH VXFK as the island of Naxos, quickly learned that doing so was not an option as the revolt was violently VXEGXHG )L DOO L ( WKH WUHDVXU I WKH HOLD /HDJXH P HG W WKH V 7KDW P PH W PDU HG WKH WUD VI UPDWL I WKH HOLD /HDJXH L W WKH WKH LD PSL H Since the Athenians publicly inscribed each year the one-sixtieth portion of the tribute that WKH GHGLFDWHG W WKH D UHF UGV VXU L H OLVWL J WKH F WULEXWL J PHPEHUV I U D XPEHU I HDUV WKHUHE DOO L J KLVW ULD V W VHH WKH PDJ LWXGH I WKH WKH LD SHUDWL While only the Athenian side of the story survives, it appears that the Athenians’ allies in the Delian League were not happy with the transformation of the alliance into a full- edged Athenian Empire. Non-allies were a ected a well. The fth-century BCE Athenian historian Thucydides dramatizes in his history one particularly harsh treatment of a small island, Melos, which e ectively UHIXVHG W M L WKH WKH LD FDXVH 7 DGG L VXOW W L MXU FH WKH WUHDVXU I WKH (PSLUH KDG EHH P HG W WKH V WKH WKH LD V KDG XVHG V PH IX GV IU P LW I U WKHLU EXLOGL J SU MHFWV WKH P VW IDP XV I WKHVH SU MHFWV EHL J WKH 3DUWKH WKH JUHDW WHPSOH W WKH D WKH FU S OLV 7KH E OG GHFLVL W P H WKH WUHDVXU I WKH HOLD /HDJXH W WKH V DV WKH EUDL FKLOG of the leading Athenian statesman of the fth century BCE, Pericles. A member of a prominent DULVW FUDWLF IDPLO 3HULFOHV DV D SUHG PL D W S OLWLFLD I U I UW HDUV IU P WKH HDUO V ( W KLV GHDWK L ( D G DV L VWUXPH WDO L WKH GH HO SPH W I D P UH S SXODU GHP FUDF L WKH V 8 GHU KLV OHDGHUVKLS D HVSHFLDOO LEUD W IHHOL J I WKH LD SDWUL WLF SULGH VHHPV to have developed, and the decision to move the Delian League treasury to Athens ts into this SDWWHU DV HOO 6K UWO DIWHU P L J WKH WUHDVXU W WKH V 3HULFOHV VS V UHG D LWL H VKLS HFUHH L ( WKDW UHVWULFWHG WKH LD FLWL H VKLS IU P WKH FH DUGV O W L GL LGXDOV K KDG W IUHH E U D G OHJLWLPDWHO HG WKH LD SDUH WV E WK I K P HUH DOV E U I WKH LD SDUH WV 7KH F ( 3HULFOHV VXFFHVVIXOO SU S VHG D GHFUHH DOO L J WKH WKH LD V W XVH HOLD /HDJXH IX GV I U WKH LD EXLOGL J SU MHFWV D G F ( KH VS V UHG WKH WKH LD L DJH HFUHH D GHFUHH Figure 5.15 | Model of the Acropolis, with the Parthenon WKDW LPS VHG WKH LD VWD GDUGV I LQ WKH PLGGOH XWKRU VHU H VR.XD HLJKWV D G PHDVXUHV DOO VWDWHV WKDW 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V HUH PHPEHUV I WKH HOLD /HDJXH LFH VH 6 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 Later in his life, Pericles famously described Athens as “the school of Hellas;” this description would certainly have t Athens just as much in the mid- fth century BCE as, in addition to the ourishing of art and architecture, the city was a center of philosophy and drama. 7KH JU L J HDOWK D G S HU I WKH V L WKH W H W U V HDUV VL FH WKH 3HUVLD DUV GLG W HVFDSH 6SDUWD D G OHG W L FUHDVL JO WH VH UHODWL V EHW HH WKH W OHDGL J S HUV L UHHFH 6SDUWD KDG VWHDGLO F V OLGDWHG WKH 3HO S HVLD /HDJXH L WKLV VDPH WLPH SHUL G EXW Sparta’s authority over this league was not quite as strict as was the Athenian control over the HOLD /HDJXH )L DOO L WKH SHUL G I ( WKH 6SDUWD V D G WKH WKH LD V H JDJHG L D VHULHV I EDWWOHV W KLFK P GHU VFK ODUV UHIHU DV WKH L VW HO S HVLD D , BCE, the two sides swore to a Thirty Years Peace, a treaty that allowed both sides to return to their pre-war holdings, with few exceptions. Still, Spartan unease in this period of Athenian expansion D G SU VSHULW KLFK UHVXOWHG L WKH )LUVW 3HO S HVLD DU DV PHUHO D VLJ I PXFK P UH serious con ict to come. As the Athenian general and historian Thucydides later wrote about the reasons for the Great Peloponnesian War, which erupted in 431 BCE: “But the real cause of the DU DV H WKDW DV I UPDOO HSW XW I VLJKW 7KH JU L J S HU I WKH V D G WKH IHDU WKDW LW L VSLUHG L 6SDUWD PDGH WKH DU L H LWDEOH 7KXF GLGHV , 7KH 3HORSRQQHVLDQ :DU ( Historians today frown on the use of the term “inevitable” to describe historical events. Still, Thucydides’ point about the inevitability of the Peloponnesian War is perhaps appropriate, as following a con ict that had been bubbling under the surface for fty years, the war nally broke out over a seemingly minor a air. In 433 BCE, Corcyra, a colony of Corinth that no longer D WHG W EH X GHU WKH F WU O I LWV P WKHU FLW DV HG WKH V I U SU WHFWL DJDL VW UL WK The Corinthians claimed that the Athenian support of Corcyra was a violation of the Thirty Years Peace. At a subsequent meeting of the Peloponnesian League in Sparta in 432 BCE, the allies, DO J LWK 6SDUWD WHG WKDW WKH SHDFH KDG EHH EU H D G V GHFODUHG DU DJDL VW WKH V At the time of the war’s declaration, no one thought that it would last twenty-seven years and would ultimately embroil the entire Greek-speaking world. Rather, the Spartans expected that they would march with an army to Athens, ght a decisive battle, then return home forthwith. The long duration of the war, however, was partly the result of the di erent strengths of the two OHDGL J S HUV WKH V DV D D DO HPSLUH LWK DOOLHV VFDWWHUHG DOO HU WKH , LD 6HD 6SDUWD on the other hand, was a land-locked power with supporters chie y in the Peloponnese and with D W VSHD I DW WKH XWVHW I WKH DU The Peloponnesian War brought about signi cant changes in the government of both Athens D G 6SDUWD V WKDW E WKH H G I WKH DU HLWKHU S HU O HG DV LW GLG DW LWV XWVHW WKH V L particular, became more democratic because of increased need for manpower to row its eet. 7KH O HVW FH VXV EUDF HW WKH K VH S HUW D G L DELOLW W EX WKHLU DUP U KDG previously excluded them from military service, became by the end of the war a full- edged part of the Athenian forces and required a correspondingly greater degree of political in uence. , WKH FDVH I 6SDUWD WKH DU KDG H GHG WKH 6SDUWD S OLF I UHODWL H LV ODWL LVP IU P WKH 3DJH rest of the a airs of the Greek city-states. The length of the war also brought about signi cant FKD JHV W WKH DWXUH I UHH DUIDUH KLOH war was previously largely a seasonal a air, with many con icts being decided with a single EDWWOH WKH 3HO S HVLD DU I UFHG WKH UHH FLW VWDWHV W VXSS UW VWD GL J DUPLHV )L DOO KLOH VLHJHV I FLWLHV D G DWWDF V FL LOLD V HUH SUH L XVO IU HG XS WKH EHFDPH WKH UP E WKH H G I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU , short, Thucydides’s narrative of the war shows that the war had a detrimental e ect on human DWXUH H F XUDJL J D SUH L XVO X SUHFHGH WHG GHJUHH I FUXHOW E WK VLGHV ,W LV LPS UWD W W WH WK XJK WKDW DV EUXWDO DV VLHJHV F XOG EH GXUL J WKH 3HO S HVLD DU UHH VLHJH warfare during the fth century BCE was still quite primitive, as no tools existed for ramming U WKHU LVH GDPDJL J WKH FLW JDWHV U DOOV )XUWKHUP UH FDWDSXOWV V XVHIXO I U WDUJHWL J a city from the outside, rst came into being in 399 BCE, ve years after the war had ended. 0 GHU KLVW ULD V GL LGH WKH 3HO S HVLD 0DS 0DS RI WKH 3HORSRQQHVLDQ :DU OOLDQFHV DU L W WKUHH GLVWL FW VWDJHV EDVHG WKH at the Start and Contrasting Strategies, 431 BCE XWKRU VHU 0DJ XV 0D VNH tactics used in each: the FKLGDPLD D 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V WKH HDFH I LFLDV D G WKH HFHOHD D LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL The rst stage, the Archidamian War (431 – ( LV DPHG DIWHU WKH 6SDUWD L J UFKLGDPXV K SU S VHG WKH VWUDWHJ I D XDO L DVL V I WWLFD DW WKH EHJL L J I WKH DU HJL L J L ODWH VSUL J D G HDUO VXPPHU I ( UFKLGDPXV OHG WKH 6SDUWD DUP W L DGH WWLFD L UGHU W GH DVWDWH WKH DJULFXOWXUDO OD G DU X G WKH FLW 7KH 6SDUWD V WKHUHE K SHG W SU H WKH WKH LD V W D EDWWOH 3HULFOHV K H HU UHIXVHG W H WHU L W EDWWOH DJDL VW the Spartans, and instead ordered all inhabitants of Attica to retreat within the city. Pericles’ GHFLVL DV LVH DV WKH WKH LD V XOG OL HO KD H O VW D OD G EDWWOH DJDL VW WKH 6SDUWD V LV GHFLVL WK XJK KDG X I UHVHH UHSHUFXVVL V , ( WKH FU GHG F GLWL V LWKL WKH V UHVXOWHG L WKH XWEUHD I D LUXOH W SODJXH KLFK E V PH HVWLPDWHV LOOHG DV PXFK DV twenty- ve percent of the city’s population over the following three years. Among the dead was H WKHU WKD 3HULFOHV KLPVHOI The plague had signi cant repercussions for Athens during the rst phase of the war because of not only the loss of ghting men to disease and the consequent lowered morale in the city, but also the death of Pericles, the moderate leader. The subsequent leaders who emerged, such as 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 OH HUH DV DU KD V 0HD KLOH WKH 6SDUWD V F WL XHG WKHLU D XDO L DVL V I Attica until 425 BCE, when luck was nally on the Athenians’ side. In 425 BCE, the Athenian eet faced a new Spartan eet in the Battle of Pylos in the 3HO S HVH 7KH WKH LD V WKH EDWWOH D G DOV PD DJHG W WUDS 6SDUWD V WKH WL island of Sphacteria, just o the coast of Pylos. Sending shockwaves through the entire Greek UOG WKH 6SDUWD V VXUUH GHUHG EUL JL J WKH K VWDJHV W WKH V WKH WKH LD V SXW D H G W WKH D XDO L DVL V I WWLFD )L DOO L ( LWK WKH GHDWK I WKH P VW SU DU JH HUDOV E WK VLGHV WKH WKH LD V LWK WKHLU DOOLHV VLJ HG D SHDFH WUHDW LWK 6SDUWD V D G WKHLU DOOLHV Named the “Peace of Nicias” after the Athenian general who brokered this treaty, it was supposed to be a fty years’ peace; it allowed both sides to return to their pre-war holdings, with a few exceptions. As part of the peace terms, the Spartan hostages from Pylos were nally released. Despite its ambitious casting as a fty years’ peace, the Peace of Nicias proved to be a short and uneasy time lled with minor battles and skirmishes. One problem with the treaty was that while WKH V D G DOO I LWV DOOLHV VLJ HG WKH SHDFH VH HUDO H DOOLHV I 6SDUWD L FOXGL J UL WK D G 7KHEHV UHIXVHG W G V )XUWKHUP UH WKH V PDGH WKH GLVDVWU XV GHFLVL GXUL J WKLV VWDOHPDWH W ODX FK WKH LFLOLD SHGLWL , a venture that took much of the Athenian eet to Sicily in 415 BCE. Syracuse, however, proved to be a di cult target, and the expedition ended in 413 BCE with a complete destruction of the Athenian navy. That same year, the Spartans renewed the ghting, launching the third and nal phase of the Peloponnesian War. , WKH WKLUG VWDJH I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU DOV DV WKH HFHOHD DU WKH 6SDUWD V W WKH DU W WWLF V LO E FFXS L J HFHOHD D LOODJH L WWLFD SU SHU D G WUD VI UPL J LW L W D 0DS 0DS RI WKH 6LFLOLDQ ( SHGLWLRQ XWKRU VHU.H P HU 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 3DJH PLOLWDU I UW 7KLV FFXSDWL DOO HG WKH 6SDUWD V W SUH H W WKH WKH LD V IU P IDUPL J WKHLU land and cutting o Athens from most supply routes, e ectively crippling the Athenian economy for the remainder of the war. Losing the Sicilian Expedition and the challenge of the Decelean DU SU GXFHG D KLJK OH HO I UHVH WPH W W DUGV WKH GHP FUDWLF OHDGHUV L WKH V 7KHUHI UH L 411 BCE, an oligarchic coup brie y replaced the democracy with the rule of the Four Hundred. While this oligarchy was quickly overthrown and the democracy restored, this internal instability KLJKOLJKWHG WKH SUHVH FH I WKH DULVW FUDWLF HOHPH W L WKH FLW DV HOO DV WKH GLVVDWLVIDFWL I DW OHDVW WKH DULVW FUDWLF FLWL H V LWK WKH O J DU Remarkably, in a testament to the resilience and power of the Athenian state, the Athenians managed to rebuild a navy after the Sicilian Expedition, and even managed to continue to win battles on sea during this nal phase of the war. In 405 BCE, however, the Spartan general Lysander GHIHDWHG WKH V L WKH D DO EDWWOH I HJ VS WDPL H SU FHHGHG W EHVLHJH WKH V D G WKH FLW nally surrendered in 404 BCE. For the second time in a decade, the Athenian democracy was HUWKU W EH UHSODFHG WKLV WLPH E WKH 6SDUWD VD FWL HG OLJDUFK DV WKH D I WKH KL W 7KH UXOH I WKH 7KLUW SU HG W EH D PXFK P UH EUXWDO OLJDUFK WKD WKDW I WKH Four Hundred. A year later, an army formed largely of Athenian democrats in exile marched on WKH FLW D G HUWKUH WKH 7KLUW 7KH GHP FUDF WKXV DV UHVW UHG L ( D G WKH SDL IXO SU FHVV I UHF HU IU P WKH DU D G WKH OLJDUFKLF UXOH F XOG EHJL WKHQLDQ OW UH G ULQ WKH 3HORSRQQHVLDQ :DU Because it drained Athens of manpower and nancial resources, the Peloponnesian War proved to be an utter practical disaster for Athens. Nevertheless, the war period was also the SL DFOH I WKH LD FXOWXUH P VW WDEO LWV WUDJHG F PHG D G SKLO V SK 7UDJHG D G F PHG L WKH V HUH HU PXFK S SXODU H WHUWDL PH W L WH GHG W DSSHDO W DOO FLWL H V 7KXV LVVXHV F VLGHUHG L WKHVH SOD V HUH IWH HV I SDUDP X W F FHU I U WKH FLW DW WKH WLPH KH WKH SOD V HUH ULWWH V H FKDUDFWHU L D F PHG ELWWHUO M HG L D DGGUHVV W WKH DXGLH FH P UH WKH LD V DWWH GHG WUDJLF D G F PLF SHUI UPD FHV WKD FDPH W WH DW DVVHPEO meetings. Not surprisingly, war was a common topic of discussion in the plays. Furthermore, war DV W S UWUD HG S VLWL HO DV WKH SOD ULJKWV UHSHDWHGO HPSKDVL HG WKH F VWV I DU I U E WK L HUV D G O VHUV SK FOHV H I WKH W P VW SU PL H W WKH LD WUDJHGLD V GXUL J WKH 3HO S HVLD War era, had served his city as a general, albeit at an earlier period; thus, he had direct experience LWK DU 0D I KLV WUDJHGLHV WKDW HUH SHUI UPHG GXUL J WKH DU GHDOW LWK WKH GDU HU VLGH of ghting, for both soldiers and generals, and the cities that are a ected. By tradition, however, WUDJHGLHV WDF OHG F WHPS UDU LVVXHV WKU XJK L WHJUDWL J WKHP L W P WKLFDO VW ULHV D G WKH W P WKLFDO DUV WKDW 6 SK FOHV S UWUD HG L KLV WUDJHGLHV HUH WKH 7U MD DU DV L MD D G 3KLORFWHWH D G WKH DIWHUPDWK I WKH DU I WKH 6H H DJDL VW 7KHEHV L KLFK 3 O LFHV WKH V of Oedipus, led six other heroes to attack Thebes, a city led by his brother Eteocles, as in 2HGLS DW ROR. Sophocles’ plays repeatedly showed the emotional and psychological challenges of war I U V OGLHUV D G FL LOLD V DOL H WKH DOV HPSKDVL HG WKH IXWLOLW I DU DV WKH KHU HV I KLV SOD V 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 just as in the original myths on which they were based, died tragic, untimely deaths. Sophocles’ X JHU F WHPS UDU X LSLGHV KDG D VLPLODU L WHUHVW L GHSLFWL J WKH K UU UV I DU D G U WH D XPEHU I WUDJHGLHV WKH LPSDFW I DU WKH GHIHDWHG VXFK DV L 3KRH LFLD :RPH D G HF ED; both of these plays explored the aftermath of the Trojan War from the perspective I WKH GHIHDWHG 7U MD V While the tragic playwrights explored the impact of the war on both the ghters and the civilians WKU XJK DUUDWL J P WKLFDO H H WV WKH F PLF SOD ULJKW LVW SKD HV DV IDU OHVV VXEWOH 7KH D WL DU FL LOLD K VD HV WKH GD D G H GV WKH DU DV D F PP KHU L WKH ULVW SKD LF F PHGLHV ) U L VWD FH L WKH FKD LD ( WKH PDL FKDUDFWHU LV D DU HDU IDUPHU who, frustrated with the ine ciency of the Athenian leadership in ending the war, brokers his SHUV DO SHDFH LWK 6SDUWD 6LPLODUO L 3HDFH ( D WKHU D WL DU IDUPHU IDWWH V up a dung beetle in order to y to Olympus and beg Zeus to free Peace. Finally, in / L W DWD ( WKH L HV I DOO UHH FLW VWDWHV PLVVL J WKHLU KXVED GV K DUH DW DU ED G W JHWKHU L a plot to end the war by going on a sex-strike until their husbands make peace. By the end of the SOD WKHLU LVK F PHV WUXH 8 GH LDEO IX WKH M HV L WKHVH F PHGLHV H HUWKHOHVV KD H D ELWWHU HGJH D L W WKH S UWUD DO I DU L WKH WUDJHGLHV 7KH HUDOO LPSUHVVL IU P WKH DU HUD GUDPD LV WKDW WKH SOD ULJKWV DV HOO DV SHUKDSV WKH WKH LD V WKHPVHO HV VSH W PXFK I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU GUHDPL J I SHDFH KLOH WKH SOD ULJKWV HUH GUHDPL J I WKH WKL JV I WKLV UOG P VW WDEO DU WKHLU F WHPS UDU F DWHV, was dreaming of di cult questions. One of the most prominent SKLO V SKHUV I WKH D FLH W UOG 6 FUDWHV KDV W OHIW D ULWL JV I KLV EXW WK XJKWV DWWULEXWHG W KLP VXU L H L GLDO JXHV SH HG E KLV VWXGH W WKH I XUWK FH WXU SKLO V SKHU ODW. In Plato’s writings, Socrates comes across as someone who loved di cult questions and who was not above confronting any passers-by with such questions as “What is courage?”; “What is moral?”; “What would the ideal city look like?” Using what became known ever since as the “Socratic method,” Socrates continued to probe further every de nition and answer that his conversation partners provided, guiding them to delve deeper in their re ections on the topics at KD G WKD WKH KDG EHI UH V D UHVXOW I KLV O H I VXFK GHEDWHV 6 FUDWHV DV VHH DV F HFWHG W WKH 6 SKLVWV SKLO V SKLFDO GHEDWH WHDFKHUV K DV ULVW SKD HV M HG F XOG WHDFK D H to convince others of anything at all, regardless of reality or truth. But Socrates radically di ered IU P WKH 6 SKLVWV E W FKDUJL J IHHV I U KLV WHDFKL J , VWHDG DV KH KLPVHOI LV SXUS UWHG W have said, he was a pest-like gad y that kept disturbing Athens from growing too content and encouraged all with whom he spoke to keep thinking and questioning. 7KH )R UWK HQW U ( , ( D VH H W HDU OG WKH LD DV SXW WULDO I U LPSLHW D G I U F UUXSWL J WKH XWK F LFWHG D G VSHHGLO VH WH FHG W GHDWK 7KH WULDO LV HVSHFLDOO VK F L J VL FH WKH PD in question was none other than Socrates, the philosopher who had spent his life wandering the VWUHHWV I WKH V H JDJL J L H GOHVV GLDO JXHV UHJDUGL J WKH PHD L J I OLIH K GLG WKH WKH LD V suddenly turn against this public teacher and judge him worthy of execution? The answer, most 3DJH 0DS 0DS RI 7KH 7KHEDQ H HPRQ XWKRU VHU 0HJLVWDLV 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL OL HO LV W WKH SH O VWDWHG FDXVHV I WKH WULDO EXW UDWKHU WKH F HFWL V WKDW 6 FUDWHV SUH L XVO KDG W OLJDUFKLF OHDGHUV , SDUWLFXODU 6 FUDWHV KDG WDXJKW ULWLDV K EHFDPH H I WKH 7KLUW L ( )XHOHG E WKHLU KDWUHG I DOO H HPLHV I WKH GHP FUDF D G D H K KDG DVV FLDWHG LWK WKH 7KLUW WKH WKH LD V F GHP HG 6 FUDWHV W GHDWK 7KLV WULDO VK V K GHHSO WKH VFDUV went in the collective psyche and how di cult it was for the Athenians to forget the terrible end of WKH 3HO S HVLD DU G KLOH DV XVXDO P UH L I UPDWL VXU L HV DE XW K WKH WKH LD V P UH WKD D WKHU SROL GHDOW LWK WKH DIWHUPDWK I WKH DU LW LV FOHDU WKDW I U WKH UHVW I WKH 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 UHH UOG WKHLU OLIH L WKH I XUWK FH WXU ( DV HU PXFK WKH UHVXOW I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU 7KH HDUO I XUWK FH WXU VD D S HU DFXXP HPHUJH L WKH UHH world for the rst time since the HDUO UFKDLF 3HUL G HIHDWHG L WKH DU WKH V DV O JHU D (PSLUH KLOH WKH L HU 6SDUWD )L UH 7KH 0DFHGRQLDQ 3KDODQ KH HGJH IRUPDWLR had su ered a catastrophic decline XVL J WKH 0DFHGR LD VDULVVD D VSHDU DERXW HLJKWHH IHHW L OH JWK L LWV S SXODWL HU WKH F XUVH XWKRU VHU ODJRV I WKH 3HO S HVLD DU W WKH 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 3XEOLF RPDL VDPH WLPH 7KHEHV KDG UH DPSHG itsmilitary,introducing the rst two signi cant changes to the hoplite phalanx way of ghting since its inception: slightly longer spears, and wedge formation. The nal key to the Theban military supremacy was the KHED DF HG D G I UPHG L ( HOLWH F UH I DUUL UV WKH ED G F VLVWHG I F XSOHV EDVHG the assumption that the lovers would ght most bravely in order not to appear to be cowardly to their EHO HG , ( WKH 7KHED V GHP VWUDWHG WKH VXFFHVV I WKHLU PLOLWDU UHI UPV E GHIHDWL J WKH 6SDUWD V DW WKH DWWOH I HXFW D 7KH F WL XHG D DJJUHVVL H SU JUDP I military expansion over the next decade, a period known DV WKH KHED H HP Sometime in the 360’s ( D X J 0DFHG LD SUL FH VWD HG I U VH HUDO HDUV L 7KHEHV DV D K VWDJH KLOH WKHUH KH FDXJKW WKH H H I WKH PLOLWDU UHI UPHU (SDPL GDV K W WKH SUL FH X GHU KLV L J LUFD ( WKH SUL FH UHWXU HG W 0DFHG D G L ( KH DVFH GHG W WKH WKU H DV L J KLOLS ,, 0DS 0DS RI WKH RQT HVWV RI 3KLOLS KH.L JGRP RI 0DFHGR 8S X WLO WKDW S L W L UHH DW WKH GHDWK RI 3KLOLS ,, KLVW U WKH 0DFHG LD V XWKRU VHU 0DUV DV 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V KDG ODUJHO EHH I U LFH VH 6 two things: drinking their 3DJH L H X GLOXWHG KLFK KDG PDU HG WKHP DV F PSOHWH D G XWWHU EDUEDULD V L WKH H HV I WKH UHVW of the Greeks, and being excellent horsemen. With Philip at the helm, this estimation was about W FKD JH V V DV KH FDPH W WKH WKU H 3KLOLS EHJD WUD VI UPL J WKH 0DFHG LD PLOLWDU L W D P UH VXFFHVVIXO LPDJH I KDW KH KDG VHH DW 7KHEHV 3KLOLS IXUWKHU OH JWKH HG WKH DOUHDG O JHU VSHDUV XVHG E WKH 7KHED V FUHDWL J WKH 0DFHG LD D VSHDU I DE XW HLJKWHH IHHW L OH JWK G XEOH WKDW I WKH WUDGLWL DO UHH K SOLWH VSHDU H UHWDL HG WKH 7KHED HGJH I UPDWL EXW DOV DGGHG KHD FD DOU W WKH OL H WKXV incorporating the Macedonians’ strongest element into the phalanx. The results spoke for themselves, as over the next twenty years, Philip systematically conquered all of mainland Greece, with the exception of Sparta, which he chose to leave alone. Philip’s nal great victory, which he shared with his teenage son Alexander, was at the DWWOH I KDH HD ( L KLFK WKH Macedonian armies defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes. Philip’s conquest of the entire mainland was the end of an era, as for the rst time, the entire territory was united under the UXOH I D L J By all accounts, it appears that Philip was not going to stop at just conquering the Greek world. H GLG W K H HU KD H WKLV FK LFH , ( KLOH KLV D W D WKHDWULFDO SHUI UPD FH Philip was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards. His son Alexander, then twenty years old, )L UH OH DQGHU WKH UHDW Alexander ghting Darius in the Battle of Issus (333 BCE). Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii. Note Alexander on the left side of the mosaic, ghting on horseback, KLOH DULXV DOPRVW DW WKH PLGGOH FKDUJHV L D FKDULRW XWKRU VHU HUWKROG :HU HU 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 3DJH 5 5 : 5 5 5 5 succeeded and continued his father’s ambitious program of conquests. Alexander’s rst target was the Persian Empire, motivated in part by his love of Homer’s ,OLDG D G WKH SHUFHSWL DP J WKH UHH V WKDW WKLV H FDPSDLJ DV WKH F WL XDWL I WKH ULJL DO P WKLFDO DU DJDL VW VLD Moving farther and farther East in his campaigns, Alexander conquered the Balkans, Egypt, and WKH WHUULW ULHV I P GHU GD /HED 6 ULD D G ,VUDHO EHI UH KH DFKLH HG D GHFLVL H LFW U HU DULXV ,,, DW WKH DWWOH I DXJDPHOD L ( Continuing to move eastwards, Alexander invaded India in 327 BCE, planning to conquer WKH UOG D G DVVXPL J WKDW KH DV FO VH W WKLV DFKLH HPH W VL FH WKH UHH V I KLV day were not aware of China’s existence. His war-weary troops, however, rebelled in 326 BCE and demanded to return home (see Chapter 3). It appears that this mutiny was not the rst that occurred in Alexander’s army; indeed, over the course of his rule, Alexander had also been the target of a number of failed assassinations. However, this mutiny forced Alexander to give in. Leaving several of his o cers behind as satraps, Alexander turned back. In 323 BCE, he and his DUP UHDFKHG DE O WKH FLW WKDW KH KDG K SHG W PD H WKH H FDSLWDO I KLV UOG HPSLUH There, Alexander fell ill and died at the ripe old age of thirty-three. 0DS 0DS RI WKH FDPSDL QV DQG FRQT HVWV RI OH DQGHU XWKRU VHU ,UDNOL X D 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V LFH VH 6 While Alexander’s rule only lasted thirteen years, his legacy reshaped Greece and the rest of ancient Eurasia for the next several centuries. A charismatic leader, albeit one prone to emotional outbursts, Alexander rede ned what it meant to be king and general. His coinage re ects this reinvention. On one coin minted during his lifetime, for instance, appears Alexander dressed as 3DJH the hero Heracles, while Zeus, whom Alexander alleged to be his real father, DSSHDUV WKH WKHU VLGH In addition, by conquering WHUULW ULHV WKDW HUH SUH L XVO W part of the Greek world, Alexander VSUHDG UHH FXOWXUH IDUWKHU WKD KDG D H HOVH EHI UH KLP W WKH VDPH WLPH E PDUU L J VH HUDO UHH SUL FHVVHV D G H F XUDJL J VXFK )L UH 6LOYHU FRLQ RI OH DQGHU DV HUDFOHV marriages by his troops, Alexander also XWKRU VHU :RUOG ,PDJL J encouraged the creation of a “melting- 6RXUFH :LNLPHGLD RPPR V S W HPSLUH KH IXUWKHU FHPH WHG WKLV LFH VH 6 FUHDWL E I X GL J H FLWLHV DPHG after himself all over his new empire. In particular, Alexandria, the city that he founded in Egypt, EHFDPH D FH WHU I UHH FL LOL DWL DOEHLW LWK D (J SWLD W LVW DV VHH DV D H WKH V well into the Roman Empire. Alexander’s brief time in India produced a signi cant impact as well, as in 321 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya was able to unify India into a single kingdom for the rst WLPH HVWDEOLVKL J WKH DX D PSL H (see Chapter Three). Finally, in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Greek world, Alexander’s generals divided his conquests into several kingdoms that they and their descendants continued to rule until the Romans conquered these respective ar

Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser