Hellenic and Hellenistic Greece
Greece and Rome
Ancient West
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•
•
•
•
Mediterranean-centered
Cities and trade
Self-government
Rise of empire
Decline and discontinuity
Shared culture (Greco-Roman)
– Chart: RGH p. 136
Classical Greece and the
Mediterranean basin, 800-500 BCE
Acropolis: the highest, most
easily defensible part of the
polis.
Athens
Greek Civilization
• Considered one of the
foundational sources of
“Western civilization”
• The source of philosophy,
democracy, architectural
ideals
• …yet its transmission to
Europe was not direct
and unbroken…
Chronology of Ancient Greece
• 2200-1100 BCE
Minoan society
• 1600-1100 BCE
Mycenaean society
• 800-338 BCE
Era of the polis
• 500-479 BCE
Persian Wars
• 431-404 BCE
Peloponnesian War
• 359-336 BCE
Reign of Philip of Macedon
• 336-323 BCE
Reign of Alexander of Macedon
Greece in the Hellenic Period
7th-3rd BCE- “Before Empire”
The Polis (city-state)
“one of the wonders of human social organization”
“like a hothouse flower, could only thrive under the right conditions”
Autonomy (Independence) and Autarky (self-sufficiency)
Amateurism vs. Professionalism
Political evolution—Athens (democracy) and Sparta (monarchy)
Monarchy
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Tyranny
Democracy
Classical Greece and the
Mediterranean basin, 800-500 BCE
Two approaches to population &
social problems:
• Sparta
• Athens
– “closed society”
– “open society”
– Turned Sparta into a
police state
– birth of “democracy”
– Men and women lived
a “Spartan lifestyle”
– emphasis on
individualism and
wealth from trade
The “Spartan” Lifestyle
• Boys were taken from families
to begin military training at 7
• They didn’t establish their own
households until they were 30
• They remained in the military
until they were 60
• Enslaved “helots” did farming
for polis
• Spartan women were
encouraged to be physically fit
in order to bear strong sons
Athenian “democracy”
• Debates on issues
were public
• Decisions were made
directly by casting lots
• All “citizens” could
speak out at
assemblies and vote
Democracy
How did Athenians define it?
“We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public
affairs, not as harmless, as worthless” (Pericles)
• Rights vs. Duty
• Citizenship—who?
• Participation – how?
– Military service-the Phalanx
– Wealthy subject to special taxes
– All citizens attended the 40 annual
sessions of the Assembly
– Offices chosen by lot, with no pay
– Must be ready to serve in any capacity
…but “citizens” did NOT include
• Landless males
• Slaves [1/3 of population]
• Women
• Which meant only 10-15% of
the population voted
• Compared to modern
democracies, Athenian
democracy was more
exclusive and directly
participatory
Legacies of Greece:
Olympic Games
• Competition and sports
were important parts of
Greek life
• Games figured in local
and Pan-Hellenic
festivals [including at
Nemean, Isthmian,
Pythian, Olympia
• Olympic games
established 776 BCE [?]
The Olympics
What Greek values did the Olympics reflect?
Are the same values still important for us
today?
1. Individualism (Humanism)
2. All-around excellence (Arête)
3. Devotion to your polis (Nationalism,
Patriotism)
Greek, made in Athens about 367366 BC
Found at Teucheira, Cyrenaica
4. Amateur ideal
(modern Libya)
5. Patriarchy
A prize for a victor at
the Athenian games
6. Militaristic values
7. Intellectuality and Art
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/olympics/olym
picintro.shtml
What happens to
Hellenic Greece?
Persian
Wars
490460BCE
Persia: “The Enemy”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG52ZyHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG5
2ZyHQ
Persian Invasion of Greece
Two attacks:
• 490 BCE:
Battle of Marathon
• 480 BCE:
Xerxes attacks again
Statue of Pheidippides
The Persian Wars 500-479 BCE
But Greece wins!
See Pericles’ Funeral Oration (RGH pp. 136-140)
Greek naval technology
Greek Trireme
170 rowers in tiers
Empire Strikes Back!
“Progress Broke the Polis”
Athenian Imperialism
Greek Colonies and Greek Empire
Delian League and Peloponnesian War
• Formed as defensive alliance
against Persia
• As the threat of war waned,
became tribute system to
Athens / “Athenian Empire”
• Height of Athen’s “golden age”
• Resentment against Athens
led to Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian Wars
(431-404BCE)
Athens vs. Sparta
Athens Loses, but
so does all of
Hellenic Greece
Why?
'A War Like No Other': Where Hubris Came From
New York Times Article, 10/23/05
Legacies of Greece
Architecture
Lincoln
Memorial
• Key themes:
balance, harmony,
proportion
White House
Classical (Golden Age of Greece)
5th BCE
• Pericles
• Ideals and Values
– Humanism and Secularism
– Reason
– Individualism
“Athens among her
contemporaries is superior to
the report of her”
» (Pericles)
The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David, 1787
Legacies of Greece:
Olympic Games
• Competition and sports
were important parts of
Greek life
• Games figured in local
and Pan-Hellenic
festivals [including at
Nemean, Isthmian,
Pythian, Olympia
• Olympic games
established 776 BCE [?]
Greek religion
Zeus
Athena
Aphrodite & Pan
Apollo
Diadoumenos of Polykleitos, c. 430 B.C..
National Museum Athens.
Lacoon and His Sons, 200 bce.
Hellenistic: real man
Hellenic: ideal man
In the meanwhile, to the north…
Philip II of Macedonia
Alexander of Macedonia
Mosaic of Battle of Issus
The heroic personality of Alexander the Great is apparent in a painting by Philoxenos
of Eretria, from about 300 B.C.E., which survives only in this Roman mosaic form. It is
believed to be of Alexander's victory over the Persian king, Darius III, in 33 B.C.E. at
the Battle of Issus. (National Museum, Naples/Art Resource, NY)
Alexander’s Empire
Hellenistic Greece
• Cosmopolis
• Hellenistic Philosophies—
individualistic, mystic
• Philosophy – Aristotle
• Science – Archimedes, Euclid,
Eratosthenes, Hippocrates
• Hellenistic Exchange-Greek,
ideas, food, trade-blending of
Greek and Asian cultures
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great’s Empire
The Hellenization of Asia
The Economy of the Hellenistic World
Hellenistic Philosophers
$ Cynics  Diogenes
 ignore social conventions &
avoid luxuries.
 citizens of the world.
 live a humble, simple life.
$ Epicurians  Epicurus
 avoid pain & seek pleasure.
 all excess leads to pain!
Hellenistic Philosophers
$ Stoics  Zeno
 nature is the expansion of
divine will.
 concept of natural law.
 get involved in politics, not
for personal gain, but to
perform virtuous acts for the
good of all.
 true happiness is found in
great achievements.
Hellenism: The Arts & Sciences
$
Scientists / Mathematicians:
 Aristarchus  heliocentric theory.
 Euclid  geometry
 Archimedes  pulley
$
Hellenistic Art:
 More realistic; less ideal than
Hellenic art.
 Showed individual emotions,
wrinkles, and age!
Eratosthenes’ Map of the World