Introduction to Humanities
Lecture 2a
Greek history
By David Kelsey
Early Greece
•
Early Greece:
– Early Greece was dominated by 3 cultures: the Cycladic civilization, the Minoan
civilization and the Mycenaean civilization
– There are about 1000 islands dotting the Aegean sea
– The climate and the sea
– The sea provided protection, fish and access to trade
– So the Early Greeks developed quickly because of the sea. Seaports are urban areas,
which are more susceptible to change…
Early Greek civilizations
•
•
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Early Greece was
dominated by 3
cultures: the
Cycladic
civilization, the
Minoan
civilization and
the Mycenaean
civilization
This image shows
the extent of their
territories
Source:
tokushinancienthistory.
blogspot.com
The Cycladic culture
•
The Cycladic culture:
– 3000-2000 B.C.
– In the Aegean Sea
north of Crete lies
the group of islands
called the Cyclades
– little more than
some marble idols
remained
– The culture was
discovered only just
in the 20th century
•
Source:
commons.wikimedia.org
Minoan Civilization
•
Source: mrbarbersocialstudies.com
Minoan civilization:
– 2000-1400 B.C.
– Lived on the island of
Crete
– Minoans were not Greek
– There was no warfare for
the Minoans had no
natural enemies
– Their trade empire was
very productive, based
largely on sea trade in the
Mediterranean
Minoan Civilization
•
Source: pinterest.com
Minoan culture
reached its peak
between 2000 and
1800 B.C. with the
building of the
splendid temples at
Knossos, Phaistos,
Mallia and Zacro.
Minoan Religion
•
Minoan religion:
– The chief Deity was an Earth
Goddess
– The religion was centered on
nature worship
– The Queen was the Earthly
representative of the Earth
Goddess
•
Image to the left:
– the snake goddess is typical of
Minoan sculpture. She
symbolizes regeneration.
Source: duchesslicorne.blogspot.com
The Temple at Knossus
•
The palace at Knossus today:
– The seat of the kings
– Built around a central
courtyard
– Included private living
rooms for the royal
family, workshops for
making vases and
jewelry, restrooms and
storage rooms.
•
Source: historywiz.com
The temple at Knossus
•
Source: studyblue.com
Reconstruction of
the Palace complex
at the Temple of
Knossus
The fall of the Minoans
•
The fall of the Minoans:
– The island of Thera is 75 miles north of Crete
– A volcano 4500 feet high erupted (twice) and covered the island of Thera with Ash…
– The second eruption (about 1625 B.C.) lead to the collapse of the volcano which caused
a tsunami that was 300 feet high
– Since most Minoan civilizations were on Crete’s north and east shores, virtually the
entire culture was wiped away by the wave
– The Minoans rebuilt but around 1450 B.C. the Mycenaeans invaded Crete…
The Mycenaean civilization
•
The Mycenaean civilization:
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1600-1100 B.C.
From mainland Greece
The Mycenaean’s came from central
Asia
Consisted of a number of small
independent kingdoms which were
centered in fortified palaces
All kings were equal but owed
allegiance to the great king at
Mycenae
Mycenae on mainland Greece was
the center…
Worshiped the Greek pantheon of
Gods
Image to the right:
–
Shows the Mycenaean Cities which
include Mycenae, Thebes, Athens,
Miletus, Troy and the island of Crete
Source: gophoto.us
The palace at Mycenae
•
Image of the palace at
Mycenae
•
The Mycenaean palaces
were built on hills and
surrounded by gigantic stone
walls
•
Source: christianevidences.org
The Mycenaean’s:
a warlike people
•
Source: pinterest.com
The Mycenaean's were warlike people:
– A male dominated society that
esteemed honor and courage as
evidenced in the Homeric poems.
– The ideal was the heroic life of the
noble warrior.
– Important was being a man of your
word, telling the truth and keeping
faith with king and comrades…
Mycenaean conquest
•
Mycenaean conquest:
– The most famous tale of
Mycenaean conquest
comes in Homer’s
famous poem the Illiad
– The Illiad is a poem
about the Trojan war
– The war was sparked
when Paris, the prince of
Troy, kidnapped Helen,
wife of the king of
Sparta.
– The king of Mycenae
leads the Greeks to
attack Troy.
– The Greeks sacked Troy
10 years later
Image of Mycenaean war chariot
Source: pinterest.com
The Illiad
•
Homer and the Illiad:
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An ancient Greek epic poem set during the Trojan war
The Trojan war: the siege of the city of Troy by the Mycenaean’s
How long did the Trojan war last?
The poem tells of the battles that ensued between the Mycenaean King Agamemnon
and the fearless warrior from Troy Achilles
– The poem tells the story of only the end of the war
– Written somewhere around 750 B.C.
The Illiad
•
From the story:
– The passage describes a conversation between Hector, prince of Troy, and his wife
Andromache…
– “So you, Hector, are father and mother and brother to me, as well as my beloved
husband. Have pity on me now; stay here on the tower; and do not make your boy an
orphan and your wife a widow….”
– “All that, my dear,” said the great Hector of the glittering helmet, “is surely my concern.
But if I hid myself like a coward and refused to fight, I could never face the Trojans and
the Trojan ladies in their trailing gowns. Besides, it would go against the grain, for I have
trained myself always, like a good soldier, to take my place in the front line and win glory
for my father and myself…”
– As he finished, glorious Hector held out his arms to take his boy. But the child shrank
back with a cry to the bosom of his girdled nurse, alarmed by his father’s
appearance…But noble Hector quickly took his helmet off and put the dazzling thing on
the ground. Then he kissed his son, dandled him in his arms, and prayed to Zeus and the
other gods: “Zeus, and you other gods, grant that this boy of mine may be, like me,
preeminent in Troy; as strong and brave as I; a mighty king of Ilium. May people say,
when he comes back from battle, ‘Here is a better man than his father.’ Let him bring
home the bloodstained armor of the enemy he has killed, and make his mother happy.”
The Illiad continued
•
The story continued:
– Hector handed the boy to his wife, who took him to her fragrant breast. She was smiling
through her tears, and when her husband saw this he was moved. He stroked her with
his hand and said: “My dear, I beg you not to be too much distressed. No one is going to
send me down to Hades before my proper time. But Fate is a thing that no man born of
woman, coward or hero, can escape. Go home now, and attend to your own work, the
loom and the spindle, and see that the maidservants get on with theirs. War is men’s
business; and this war is the business of every man in Ilium, myself above all.”
– (taken from Spielvogel, page 58)
– Questions:
• What Greek ideals and viewpoints does Homer hint at in this passage?
• Fate?
• The role of virtue and honor in battle?
• The role of women in the home?
The importance of Homer
•
The importance of Homer:
– Wrote the Illiad and the Odyssey
– The Odyssey is an epic romance that centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his
journey after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus 10 years to reach his home in Ithaca
after the Trojan War
– What happens while Odysseus is on his way home?
– The Illiad and Odyssey were used as standard texts for the education of generations of
Greek males
• Quote from an Athenian about Homer: “My father was anxious to see me develop into a good
man…and as a means to this end he compelled me to memorize all of Homer.”
– Homer taught the virtues, the values of honor and courage
– We see in Homer the Greek idea of Arête
• The idea of excellence, of functioning well as a rational being, fulfilling one’s duties
• Through his willingness to fight, the hero protects his family and friends, preserves his own
honor and that of his family, and earns his reputation.
The fall of Mycenae
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The fall of Mycenae:
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By the late 13th century B.C. Mycenae was showing signs of trouble
The city of Mycenae was burned to the ground around 1190 B.C.
Other palaces fell to invaders from the north…
By 1100 B.C. Mycenaean civilization was coming to an end
The Dark Age of Greece
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The Dark Age:
– 1100-750 B.C.
– Population declined and food
production decreased
– Large numbers of Greeks
migrated
• The Ionian Greeks migrated to
Ionia
• The Aeolian Greeks migrated to
the northwest coast of Asia
minor
• The Dorians migrated to Crete,
Rhodes and Peloponnesus
– One positive: the Phoenician
alphabet
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The Greek Polis
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The Greek Polis:
– A Greek town and the surrounding
countryside
– The acropolis: a religious center
composed of a temple and other
monuments
– The agora: an open space to
assemble
– Athens was the biggest with
250,000 people by the 5th century
– Where all political, economic,
religious, social and cultural
activities took place
–
–
Source of upper image:
irscantinadeivaloep.blogspot.com
Source of lower image:
new.schoolnotes.com
The Polis
•
The Polis continued:
– Greeks had much pride and
loyalty for their Poleis
– Aristotle: “We must regard every
citizen as belonging to the state.”
– Each polis became a fiercely
patriotic sovereign land, the
dedication of each citizen was to
the Polis not to Greece…
– This lead to the Poleis distrusting
one another
– Image to left: the Acropolis at
Athens
Source: blog.bt-store.com
Colonization
•
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Colonization:
– Food and land poverty because of
overpopulation and a widening
gap between rich and poor
– The solution was colonization:
– City-states sent bands of
adventurers to found Greek
colonies throughout the
Mediterranean.
– Some important colonies include:
• Syracuse in 734 B.C.
• Tarentum and others
Tyrants
•
Tyrants & Corinth:
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The Poleis were ruled by aristocracies
But tyrants began to seize power in some of the Poleis during the 6th century
The rich opposed the domination of political power by the aristocrats
Tyrant: ruler of a Polis who seized power by force
• not subject to the law
• Maintained power by way of mercenaries
Corinth
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Corinth:
– During the 8th and 7th centuries, controlled by the Bacchiad family
– They weren’t popular because they were violent so Cypselus overthrew the oligarchy
and assumed sole control
– Cypselus
• Well liked;
• Ruled without a bodyguard
• Corinth prospers by exporting vast amounts of pottery
• Founded new colonies
• His son Periander took control upon his death but was assassinated in 585 B.C.
– Tyranny is largely extinguished by the end of the 6th century B.C.
Sparta
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Sparta:
•
•
Located in the southeastern
Peloponnesus
Conquered the neighboring
Laconians
– Laconians were made
perioikoi, i.e. tax paying
free citizens, or helots,
i.e. land working slaves
In 730 B.C. began its
conquest over Messenia
– Messenians were made
Helots
– The Messenians
constantly threaten to
revolt
– This led Sparta to create
a military state
•
Source: historynotes.info
•
Sparta
•
Sparta:
•
•
Became a perpetual military camp
The lives of spartans were highly
organized:
At birth, those unfit to live were left to die
Boys taken from home at age 7
Lived in Barracks, obtained a military
education
At 20 years old, males were enrolled in
the army
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They were allowed to marry but would
continue to live in the barracks
At 30, males were allowed to live at home
and vote but remained in the army until
the age of 60
Image of Spartan soldier
Source: worldciv1.wikispaces.com
Sparta
•
Sparta:
– Spartan women permitted greater freedom than men
• Permitted to own and inherit land and supervised large estates
– Spartan social structure:
• Spartiates: the ruling class, full Spartan citizens, political rights, owned land worked
by helots
• Perioikoi: free but paid taxes, small merchants and artisans
• Helots: slaves, bound to the land, farmed the land and gave their master half the
produce
• Secret police force: lived among the Helots and could kill any helot considered
dangerous
Sparta
•
Sparta:
– The Spartan state was an oligarchy
– 2 kings
• From different families
• Served as leaders of the Spartan army
– Ephors
• 5 men elected yearly
• Responsible for the education of youth and the conduct of all citizens
– Council of elders
• Composed of the 2 kings and 28 elders, males over the age of 60
• Decided what issues were to be presented to an all male assembly
• The assembly then voted on the proposals set forth by the council
Sparta
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Sparta:
– Turned their backs on the outside world
– Discouraged trade, commerce and travel
– Discouraged foreigners from visiting
• Only the Spartan ideals of war and ruling were encouraged
– All citizens were discouraged from pursuing novel thoughts dangerous to the stability of
the state
– Discouraged: philosophy, art & literature
• Citizens were raised from early childhood to believe that total loyalty to
the Spartan state was their very reason for existence!!!
Sparta and the Peloponnesian alliance
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An alliance:
– In the 6th century B.C.
organized the Peloponnesian
alliance
– Sparta’s strength enabled it
to dominate the alliance
– By 500 B.C. Sparta had
organized a power military
state that maintained order
and stability in the
Peloponnesus.
Source: pinterest.com
Athens
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Athens:
•
By 700 B.C.
established a unified
Polis on the peninsula
of Attica
Aristocrats controlled
political and religious
life by way of the
Areopagus, a council
of nobles, who were
assisted by a board of
9 archons.
There was an
assembly but it
possessed few
powers
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•
•
Source: mappery.com
Political Reform
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By the end of the 7th century B.C.
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Athens was on the verge of a civil war…
Athenian farmers took out loans from the wealthy
They often pledged themselves as collateral
When the farmer was unable to pay their debt they were sold into slavery
Athenian citizens were begging for the debts to be cancelled
The reforms of Solon
•
The reforms of Solon
– To avoid tyranny the aristocrats elect Solon as sole archon in 594 B.C.
– Solon was given full power to make reforms
– Economic reform:
• Solon cancelled all current land debts
• Outlawed new loans having humans as collateral
• Freed people who had fallen into slavery for debt
– Political reform:
• Divided the people into 4 classes based on wealth,
• Only the upper 2 classes could be members of the the council
Pisistratus
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Solon’s reforms created problems:
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The poorer peasants resented Solon’s failure to institute land redistribution
Aristocratic factions continue to vie for power
Pisistratus:
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An aristocrat and distant relative of Solon
Seizes power in 560 B.C. and makes himself a tyrant
Offered land and loans to the needy
Created a building program that created new jobs and beautified the city
Pursued Athenian trade
Athenians rebelled against his son in 510 B.C.
Cleisthenes gains control in 508 B.C.
The reforms of Cleisthenes
•
The reforms of Cleisthenes:
– Created the Demes, the villages and
townships of Attica
– Created 10 tribes, each containing a
cross section of the population of
Attica
– Each of the 10 tribes chose 50
members by lot each year to make a
new council of 500
– The 500 prepared the business that
would be handled by the assembly
– The assembly had final authority in
the passing of laws after free and
open debate
– The foundations for Athenian
democracy…
– By 500 B.C. Athens was more united
than it had been ever before…
Image of the Demes of Attica
Source: ime.gr
The Ionian Rebellion
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The Ionian rebellion:
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Ionian Greek city states fell subject to the Persian empire in the 6th century B.C.
The Ionian cities revolt in 499 B.C.. They refused to pay taxes
They were assisted by the Athenian navy
Athens sends 20 ships to aid the Ionians and together they burn the Persian city
Sardis to the ground
– The Persians then defeat the Greek rebellion and aim to exact revenge
The battle of Marathon
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The Battle of Marathon:
•
In 490 B.C. the Persians sailed across
the Aegean to the plain of Marathon
The Athenians and Plataeans confront
the Persians
Persians wore light armor and relied
heavily on missiles
Greeks wore heavy shields and relied
on spear thrusts at close range
The Greeks: outnumbered, lead by
General Miltiades
The Greek hoplites (short compact
rectangular formation of infantry)
charged across the plain and crushed
the Persians
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•
Source: philbancients.blogspot.com
Athens invests in a navy
•
Athens acquires a new leader
Themistocles
– Persuaded the Athenians to
build a navy
– Financed by a newly
discovered vein of silver
– By 480 B.C., Athens has a navy
of about 200 ships, primarily
Triremes
•
Source: jobspapa.com
The invasion of Xerxes
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The Invasion of Xerxes:
•
Eqypt revolts and Darius
passes in 486 B.C.
Xerxes, Darius’s son, invades
Greece in 480 B.C.
150,000 troops, 700 naval
ships, hundreds of supply
ships
Formed a bridge of ships to
cross the Hellspont, then
marched through Thrace
and Macedonia
•
•
•
•
Souce: unsere-tiere.tierschutzschmallenberg.de
The battle of Thermopylae
•
The Battle of Thermopylae:
– The Greek plan was to meet the Persians with a holding action at the pass of
Thermopylae
– The Greeks numbered close to 9000 were lead by Spartan king Leonidas and his
contingent of 300 Spartan soldiers
– The Greeks held off the Persians for 2 days
– A traitor tells the Persians of a mountain pass they could use to outflank the Greeks
– They fought to the last man
– 300!
The Battle of Salamis
•
The Battle of Salamis:
•
Once defeated, the Athenians
abandon Athens and evacuate
the population of Attica to the
island of Salamis
The Greek fleet remains in the
straits of Salamis
The Greeks were outnumbered
but outmaneuvered the
Persians and won decisively
Xerxes returns to Asia
Early in 479 B.C. the Greeks
formed the largest Greek army
ever constructed and defeat the
Persians at Plataea
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•
•
•
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The Delian League
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The Delian League:
•
To protect itself against further
invasion Athens leads in forming a
confederation of city states called the
Delian league.
Organized in 487 B.C.
Sparta did not join
Athens dominates the Delian league
Headquarters on the island of Delos
Its chief officials were Athenians
Athens provided most of the leagues
300 ships
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•
•
•
Source: marefa.org
The Delian League
•
The Delian League:
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The Delian league unites to defeat the Persian army in Asia Minor in 469 B.C.
The Greek states in the Aegean are free from Persian control
Naxos and Thasos attempted to withdraw from the league
Both states were attacked by Athens, destroying their walls, taking over their fleets, taking
their freedom and forcing them to pay taxes
– The Athenian policy was: no secession…
Pericles
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The Age of Pericles:
•
•
•
Pericles (495-429 B.C.)
First elected general in chief in 461 B.C.
In the 450s B.C., under Pericles Athens
expands democracy, severs ties with
Sparta and expands its empire…
The height of Athenian power
Pericles expands Democracy:
– power is in the hands of the people
– Male citizens voted in the assemblies
and served as jurors in the courts
– Lower class citizens were eligible for
some public offices
– Pay for public office including jury
duty
•
•
•
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Athenian Democracy
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Athenian democracy:
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The assembly: all male citizens over 18 years old (43,000 in the 440s)
Met on the Pnyx, the hillside next to the acropolis
The assembly passed all laws and made final decisions on war and foreign policy
The council of 500: prepared the agenda for the assembly
City magistrates: served one year terms, chosen at random, performed routine
administration of public affairs
– Generals were elected by public vote to guide affairs of the state; the generals could be
re-elected and Pericles was elected 15 times
– All public officials could be ejected from office by the people
The Delian league
•
The Delian league:
– After 470 B.C., all the states of it were involuntary subjects of the Athenian empire
– 454 B.C.: Athenians moves the treasury to Athens & the member states were charged a
tribute for the protection Athens provided
– Pericles also uses the treasury $ of the league to beautify Athens by building new
temples
The 1st Peloponnesian war
• The 1st Peloponnesian war:
– 462 B.C.: Athens attempts to expand its empire on the Greek mainland
– The expansion of the land empire overextends Athens, causing hostility with Sparta
which causes the 1st Peloponnesian war (460-445 B.C.)
– Athens loses a series of battles to Sparta in 445 B.C.
– As a result:
• Athens gives up most of its land empire
• Athens agrees to a 30 year peace
• Sparta recognizes Athens maritime empire
The Great Peloponnesian War
•
The Great Peloponnesian War:
– 431-404 B.C.
– Between the Greek city states of Athens and Sparta
– The causes of the war:
• Sparta feared that Athens would use its superior navy to weaken Sparta’s control of
the Peloponnesian league
• Athens was in disputes with 2 members of the Peloponnesian league: Corinth and
Megara.
• Both Corinth and Megara threatened to withdraw from the league if Sparta did not
back them.
• So Sparta tells the Athenians to either back down from their disputes with Corinth
and Megara or war will ensue…
• The Athenians refuse to back down
• War begins in 431 B.C.
The Great Peloponnesian War
Source: everyhistory.org
The Great Peloponnesian War
•
The first year of the war:
– The Athenians knew the Spartans
would win the land battles
– So Pericles decides to keep the
Athenians behind the walls of
Athens while the navy would keep
them supplied
– The Spartans invade Attica and
ravage the fields and orchards
– Athens retaliates with naval
attacks on the coast of the
Peloponnesus
•
Source: galleryhip.com
The Great Peloponnesian War
•
The second year of the war:
– A plague devastates Athens with
1/3 of the population dying
– Pericles dies in 429 B.C.
•
Power is passed to Cleon, leader
of the war party
– At the battle of Amphipolis in
422 B.C. Cleon and the Spartan
general Brasidas were killed
– In 421 B.C. Athenian power
passes to Nicias who negotiates
a peace treaty called the Peace
of Nicias. Both parties agreed to
keep the peace for 50 years…
•
Source: history.com
The Great Peloponnesian War
•
War begins again:
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War begins again 6 years after the negotiation of the Peace of Nicias
In 415 B.C. the general Alcibiades convinces the Athenians to invade the island of Sicily
Alcibiades was subsequently removed as he was not liked
Alcibiades then flees to Sparta and convinces the Spartans to get help from Sparta both
in battle and in financing a navy with ships.
– The Spartans later follow his advice…
The Great Peloponnesian War
•
Athenian defeat:
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The Athenians pursue Sicily in 415 B.C.
5000 hoplites were sent out, to be reinforced one year later by an even larger army
The Athenians failed to take Syracuse and were captured in their retreat
All the Athenians were either killed or sold into slavery
Finally in 405 B.C. the Athenian fleet is destroyed at Aegospotami on the Hellspont.
Athens is besieged and surrenders the next year in 404 B.C.
The walls of Athens were destroyed, the navy disbanded and the Athenian empire
dissolved…
After the war
•
After the war:
– Sparta controls all the former
Athenian states with the placement
of Spartan oligarchies
– In Athens this proves a disaster
– Sparta places in Athens:
• A ruling faction of 30
• Called the ‘Thirty tyrants’
• Executed close to 1500
democratic opponents
– Athens revolts against the 30 and
reestablishes democracy in 403 B.C.
• Athens also rebuilds their navy
•
Image of the Thirty. Source:
ruhalayaseminary.org
The Corinthian War
•
The Corinthian War (395-386 B.C.)
– Between Sparta and a coalition of
4 states: Athens, Thebes, Corinth
and Argos (backed by Persia)
– Ends when the Greek states accept
the peace offer by the King of
Persia
•
Further battles ensue between
Thebes and Sparta
–
Thebans claim victory at the battle of
Leuctra (371 B.C.) and Sparta victorious
at the battle of Mantinea (362 B.C.)
•
Greece is later conquered by
Phillip of Macedonia…
•
Source: forums.totalwar.com