Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
Early Greece
A Basic Chronology
!
1a. Bronze Age - Minoans 1900-1450 BCE
1b. Bronze Age - Mycenaeans 1450-1200
2. Iron Age (Dark Ages) 1200-750
3. Archaic Period 750-480
4. Classical Period 480-323
!
1a. Bronze Age Greece - Minoans
The Minoan Civilization (1900-1450 BCE)
!
!
Knossos, Crete
1b. Bronze Age Greece - Mycenaeans
The Mycenaean Civilization (1450-1200 BCE)
Mainland Greece,
especially the Peloponnesus
Mycenae – P
Megaron
Mycenae –
Demons?
The Bronze Age - Collapse
!
Greek Palace structures are destroyed in about 1200-1150 BCE
!
Knossos
Mycenae
Pylos
Thebes
Tiryns
Troy(!)
We do not know how or by whom the devastation occurred - the Greeks told a story of
invaders (the “Dorian invasion”)
2. The Greek
“Dark Age” - the Iron Age
!
1200-750 BCE
Lefkandi – Heroön
plan
2. The Iron Age
!
1200-750 BCE
Early Geometric Vase
850 BCE
Iron Age – Movement to the Archaic Period
Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
Early Greece
A Basic Chronology
!
1a. Bronze Age - Minoans 1900-1450 BCE
1b. Bronze Age - Mycenaeans 1450-1200
2. Iron Age (Dark Ages) 1200-750
3. Archaic Period 750-480
4. Classical Period 480-323
!
3. The Archaic Period
!
750-480 BCE
530 BCE
750 BCE
700 BCE
600 BCE
560 BCE
Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
The Archaic Period
750-480 BCE
Background to the “Classical Moment”
!
!
The Archaic Period
Mantiklos
Apollo,
700-650 BC
The Archaic Period
Mantiklos
Apollo,
700-650 BC
The Archaic Period
Geometric
bronze horse, c.
700 BC
The Archaic Period
New York
Kouros
c. 600 BC
The Archaic Period
Mentuemhet,
Egypt, 7th c.
Kouros
c. 600 BC
The Archaic Period
Kleobis & Biton, c. 590 BC
The Archaic Period
Calf Bearer Kouros, 560 BC
• “Archaic smile”
The Archaic Period
Kroisos (Anavysos ) Kouros c.
530 BC
• Note original paint
The Archaic Period – Movement to the Classical
Cf. Kritios Boy, 480 BC
The Archaic Period
Maiden from Auxerre, c.
650 BC
The Archaic Period
Phrasikleia Kore, c. 550 BC
The Archaic Period
Peplos Kore c. 530 BC
The Archaic Period
Maiden of Chios, c. 510 BC
The Archaic Period – Movement to the Classical
Cf. Caryatids from the Porch of Maidens,
Erechtheion, Acropolis; Stele of Ampharete
A Basic Chronology
!
1a. Bronze Age - Minoans 1900-1450 BCE
1b. Bronze Age - Mycenaeans 1450-1200
2. Iron Age (Dark Ages) 1200-750
3. Archaic Period 750-480
4. Classical Period 480-323
!
3. Archaic Period 750-480
480 BCE
480 BCE
The Persian War
480
The Persian War
480
The Persian (Achaemenid) Empire
Herodotus
“The Father of History”
“The History of the Persian Wars”
Herodotus
What is “History”?
Herodotus
What does it mean to write “History” before “History” has
been invented?
Herodotus
But what does it mean to “invent” history?
Herodotus
History as a formal narrative about the past
(the study of such narratives is call historiography)
Herodotus
History as a formal narrative about the past
•
•
NOT “A COLLECTION OF FACTS ABOUT THE PAST”
NOT “WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST”
… AT LEAST NOT SIMPLY THAT
Herodotus
History as a formal narrative about the past
•
•
•
•
•
Story (narrative)
Memorialization
Analysis
Selection
Meaning
Herodotus, proem:
“presentation to the public,” “researches” = historiê, “time
not erase”, “great and marvelous deeds,” “glory” = kleos,
“why”, “war/quarrel”
Herodotus
The Snatchings of Women
NI
IO
A
Erythraean Sea
Herodotus
The Snatchings of Women
Io
Europa
NI
IO
Medea
A
Erythraean Sea
Helen
Herodotus
The Snatchings of Women
Io
Europa
Medea
Helen
NI
IO
A
“The Persians Say”
Erythraean Sea
“The Greeks Say”
“The Phoenicians Say”
Herodotus
The Snatchings of Women
“The Persians Say”
“The Greeks Say”
“The Phoenicians Say”
NI
IO
Themes:
A
Erythraean Sea
WEST / EAST
Herodotus
The Snatchings of Women
“The Persians Say”
“The Greeks Say”
“The Phoenicians Say”
NI
IO
Themes:
A
WEST / EAST
Erythraean Sea
Women as objects
Cause of the quarrel
Refusal of ransom
Herodotus
The Story of Gyges
LYDIA
NI
IO
A
Corinth •
• Miletus
Herodotus
The Story of Gyges
H al y
s riv
er •
1.3s Lydia, Sardis, Ephesus, Miletus. The Maeander River flows just north of Miletus, and
Herodotus
The Story of Gyges
Themes