Download DOCA Ch 2 The Rise of Greek Civilization

The Rise of Greek Civilization
 Illustrations, Maps, & Tables
Restored portion of the Palace of Minos (p. 35)
Periods of the Aegean Bronze Age (p. 36)
2900 – 2100 BCE
2100 – 1575 BCE
1575 – 1150 BCE
1575 – 1500 BCE
1500 – 1400 BCE
1400 – 1150 BCE
Early Minoan
Middle Minoan
Late Minoan
Late Minoan I
Late Minoan II
Late Minoan III
2900 – 1900 BCE
1900 – 1580 BCE
1580 – 1150 BCE
1580 – 1500 BCE
1500 – 1425 BCE
1425 – 1150 BCE
Early Helladic
Middle Helladic
Late Helladic
Late Helladic I
Late Helladic II
Late Helladic III
Linear B tablet from Pylos (p37)
The Aegean Area in
the Bronze Age (p. 38)
Menelaus Painter showing Homer blinding the Cyclops (p. 39)
*Kingship in Ithaca (p. 40)
Odysseus has been away from home for twenty years during which
time his infant son Telemachus has grown to manhood…
Now the wooers clamoured throughout the shadowy halls, and each
one uttered a prayer to be her bedfellow. And wise Telemachus first
spake among them:
'Wooers of my mother, men despiteful out of measure, let us feast
now and make merry and let there be no brawling; for, lo, it is a good
thing to list to a minstrel such as him, like to the gods in voice. But
in the morning let us all go to the assembly and sit us down, that I
may declare my saying outright, to wit that ye leave these halls: and
busy yourselves with other feasts, eating your own substance, going
in turn from house to house. But if ye deem this a likelier and a
better thing, that one man's goods should perish without atonement,
then waste ye as ye will; and I will call upon the everlasting gods, if
haply Zeus may grant that acts of recompense be made: so should ye
hereafter perish within the halls without atonement.'
So spake he, and all that heard him bit their lips and marvelled at
Telemachus, in that he spake boldly.
Continued…
Then Antinous, son of Eupeithes, answered him: 'Telemachus, in
very truth the gods themselves instruct thee to be proud of speech
and boldly to harangue. Never may Cronion make thee king in
seagirt Ithaca, which thing is of inheritance thy right!'
Then wise Telemachus answered him, and said: 'Antinous, wilt thou
indeed be wroth at the word that I shall say? Yea, at the hand of
Zeus would I be fain to take even this thing upon me. Sayest thou
that this is the worst hap that can befal a man? Nay, verily, it is no ill
thing to be a king: the house of such an one quickly waxeth rich and
himself is held in greater honour. Howsoever there are many other
kings of the Achaeans in seagirt Ithaca, kings young and old;
someone of them shall surely have this kingship since goodly
Odysseus is dead. But as for me, I will be lord of our own house and
thralls, that goodly Odysseus gat me with his spear.’
*Excerpt from The Odyssey
7th Century BCE
Trojan Horse
Vase (p 41)
8th Century BCE Hoplite Phalanx Vase (p 43)
The Temple of Hera at Paestum (p 44)
Phoenician and Greek
Colonization 700BCE (p 45)
Late 6th Century BCE
Jar showing the olive
Harvest (p 46)
Herodotus on the Corinthian Tyranny (p 47)
Sosicles the Corinthian exclaimed: "Surely the heaven will soon be below,
and the earth above, and men will henceforth live in the sea, and fish take
their place upon dry land, since you, Lacedaemonians, propose to put down
free governments in the cities of Greece, and to set up tyrannies in their
stead. There is nothing in the whole world so unjust, nothing so bloody, as a
tyranny....If you knew what tyranny was as well as ourselves, you would be
better advised than you now are in regard to it. The government at Corinth
was once an oligarchy, and this group of men, called the Bacchiadae, held
sway in the city, marrying and giving in marriage among themselves....
Eventually, Cypselus, the son of Aetion, [one of the Bacchiadae] became
master of Corinth.
Having thus got the tyranny, he (Cypselus) showed himself a harsh ruler--many of the Corinthians he drove into banishment, many he deprived of his
fortune, and a still greater number of their lives. His reign lasted thirty
years, and was prosperous to its close; insomuch that he left the
government to Periander, his son....Where Cypselus had spared any, and
had neither put them to death nor banished them, Periander complete what
his father had left unfinished. One day he stripped all the women of Corinth
stark naked, for the sake of his own wife Melissa....
2900 – 1150 BCE
1900 BCE
1600 – 1150 BCE
1250 BCE
1200 – 1150 BCE
1100 – 750 BCE
750 – 500 BCE
725 BCE
700 BCE
700 - 500 BCE
508 BCE
499 BCE
490 BCE
480 BCE
Minoan Period
Arrival of the Greeks on the Mainland?
Mycenaean Period
Sack of Troy
Fall of the Mycenaean Kingdom
The Greek Dark Ages
Major Greek Colonial Expansion
Homer Flourished (probable)
Hesiod Flourished (probable)
Major Period of Greek Tyranny
Clisthenes Inaugurates Athenian
Democracy
Miletus Rebels against Persia
Persian Wars: Darius
Persian Wars: Xerxes
(P 48)
The Spartan poet Tyrtaeus wrote this poem in the seventh century BCE as
a dedication to the brave hoplites who gave their lives for Sparta.
And he who so falls among the champions and loses his sweet life,
so blessing with honor his city, his father, and all his people,
with wounds in his chest, where the spear that he was facing has transfixed
that massive guard of his shield, and gone through his breastplate as well,
why, such a man is lamented alike by the young and the elders,
and all his city goes into mourning and grieves for his loss.
His tomb is pointed to with pride, and so are his children,
and his children’s children, and afterward all the race that is his.
His shining glory is never forgotten, his name is remembered,
and he becomes an immortal, though he lies under the ground,
when one who was a brave man has been killed by the furious War God
standing his ground and fighting hard for his children and land.
Tyrtaeus
Attica Map (p 50)
Peloponnesus Map (p 51)
Thucydides: Development of the Athenian Polis (P 53)
When the Spartans invaded Attica at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, the
Athenians were forced to leave their homes in the country to seek safety behind the
walls of Athens. The historian Thucydides takes the opportunity to describe the
development of the Athenian polis from a collection of separate towns into a single
political unit. He wrote several centuries after the unification of Athens, and the
details of the events are legendary, but the general outlines of what took place are
credible.
The Athenians … began to carry in their wives and children from the
country, and all their household furniture, even to the woodwork of their
houses which they took down. Their sheep and cattle they sent over to
Euboea and the adjacent islands. But they found it hard to move, as most of
them always used to live in the country.
From very early times this had been more the case with the Athenians than
with others. Under Creops and the first kings, down to the reign of
Theseus, Attica had always consisted of a number of independent
townships, each with its own town hall and magistrates. Except in times of
danger the king at Athens was not consulted; in ordinary seasons they
carried on their government and settled their affairs without his
interference; sometimes they even waged war against him, as in the case…
(Thucydides, continued) …of the Eleusinians with Eumolpus against
Erechtheus. In Theseus, however, they had a king of equal intelligence and
power; and one of the chief features in his organization of the country was to
abolish the council chamber and town hall of the present capital. Individuals
might still enjoy their private property just as before, but they were henceforth
compelled to have only one political center, Athens, which thus counted all the
inhabitants of Attica among her citizens, so that when Theseus died he left a
great state behind him. Indeed, from him dates the Synoecia, or Feast of Union,
which is paid for by the state, and which Athenians still keep in honor of the
goddess. Before this city consisted of the present citadel and the district
beneath it looking rather southwards. This is shown by the fact that the
temples of the other deities, besides that of Athene, are on the citadel;… Again,
from their old residence in that quarter, the citadel is still known among
Athenians as the city.
The Athenians thus long lived scattered over Attica in independent
townships. Even after the centralization of Theseus, old habit still prevailed;
and from the early times down to the present war most Athenians still lived in
the country with their families and households, and were consequently not at
all inclined to move now, especially as they had only just restored their
establishments after the Median invasion. Deep was their trouble and
discontent at abandoning their houses and the hereditary temples of the ancient
constitution, and having to change their habits of life and to bid farewell to
what each regarded as his native city.
A Hymn by Callistratus
In myrtles veil'd
will I the falchion wear,
For thus the patriot sword
Harmodius and Aristogeiton bare,
When they the tyrant's bosom gored,
And bade the men of Athens be
Regenerate in equality.
Oh! beloved Harmodius! never
Shall death be thine,
who liv'st for ever.
Thy shade, as men have told, inherits
The islands of the blessed spirits,
Where deathless
live the glorious dead,
Achilles fleet of foot, and Diomed.
Aristotle: The Rule of the Tyrant Pisistratus (p 56)
Although tyranny came to have a bad reputation, the first tyrants were often
popular because they broke the unchallenged domination of the aristocrats. Their
careers were sometimes remembered fondly when compared with those of their
successors.
Such was the origin and such the vicissitudes of the tyranny of Pisistratus.
His administration was temperate… and more like constitutional government than
a tyranny. Not only was he in every respect humane and mild and ready to forgive
those who offended, but, in addition, he advanced money to the poorer people to help
them in their labors, so that they might make their living by agriculture. In this he
had two objects, first that they might not spend their time in the city, but might be
scattered all over the face of the country, and secondly that being moderately well off
and occupied with their own business, they might have neither the wish nor the
time to attend to public affairs. At the same time his revenues were increased by
the thorough cultivation of the country, since he imposed a tax of one tenth on all the
produce. For the same reasons he instituted the local justices, and often made
expeditions in person into the country to inspect it and to settle disputes between
individuals, that they might not come to the city and neglect their farms. It was one
of these progresses that, as the story goes, Pisistratus had his adventure with the
man of Hymettus, who was cultivating the spot afterwards known as “Tax-free
Farm.”
(Continued) …He saw a man digging and working a very stony piece of ground, and
being surprised he sent his attendant to ask what he got out of this plot of land.
“Aches and pains,” said the man, “and that’s what Pisistratus ought to have a tenth
of.” The man spoke without knowing who his questioner was; but Pisistratus was so
pleased with his frank speech and his industry that he granted him exemption from
all taxes. And so in matters in general he burdened the people as little as possible
with his government, but always cultivated peace and kept them in quietness.
Hence the tyranny of Pisistratus was often spoken of proverbially as “the age of
gold”; for when his sons succeeded him the government became much harsher. But
most important of all in this aspect was his popular and kindly disposition. In all
things he was accustomed to observe the laws without giving himself any
exceptional privileges. Once he was summoned on a charge of homicide before the
Areopagus [ancient tribunal], and he appeared in person to make his defense; but
the prosecutor was afraid to present himself and abandoned the case. For these
reasons he held power long, and whenever he was expelled he regained his position
easily. The majority alike of the upper class and of the people were in his favor; the
former by his social intercourse with them, the latter by the assistance which he
gave to their private purses, and his nature fitted him to win the hearts of both.
Moreover the laws in reference to tyrants at the time in force at Athens were very
mild, especially the one that applies more particularly to the establishment of
tyranny. The law ran as follows, “These are the ancestral statutes of the Athenians;
if any persons shall make an attempt to establish a tyranny, or if any person shall
join in setting up a tyranny, he shall lose his civic rights, both himself and his whole
house.”
The Events in the Early History of Sparta & Athens
(p 57)
725 – 710 BCE
650 – 625 BCE
632 BCE
621 BCE
594 BCE
560 – 550 BCE
546 – 527 BCE
510 BCE
650 – 625 BCE
First Messenian War
Second Messenian War
Cylon tries to establish a Tyranny in
Athens
Draco publishes a Legal Code at Athens
Solon institutes reforms at Athens
Sparta defeats Tegea: Beginning of the
Peloponnesian League
Pisistratus reigns as Tyrant of Athens
(main period)
Hippias, son of Pisistratus, deposed as
Tyrant of Athens
Clisthenes institutes reforms at Athens
Mourning Athena
From Athens, 475 BCE
(p 58)
Hesiod’s Farmers’ Almanac (p 59)
But when the House-carrier climbs up the plants from the earth to
escape the Pleiades, then it is no longer the season for digging vineyards,
but to whet your sickles and rouse up your slaves. Avoid shady seats and
sleeping until dawn in the harvest season, when the sun scorches the body.
Then be busy, and bring home your fruits, getting up early to make your
livelihood sure. For dawn takes away a third part of your work, dawn
advances a man on his journey and advances him in his work, -- dawn
which appears and sets many men on their road, and puts yokes on many
oxen.
But when the artichoke flowers, and the chirping grass-hopper sits
in a tree and pours down his shrill song continually from under his wings in
the season of wearisome heat, then goats are plumpest and wine sweetest;
women are most wanton, but men are feeblest, because Sirius parches head
and knees and the skin is dry through heat. But at that time let me have a
shady rock and wine of Biblis, a clot of curds and milk of drained goats with
the flesh of an heifer fed in the woods, that has never calved, and of firstling
kids; then also let me drink bright wine, sitting in the shade, when my
heart is satisfied with food, and so, turning my head to face the fresh
Zephyr, from the ever flowing spring which pours down unfouled thrice pour
an offering of water, but make a fourth libation of wine.
Amphora - Musician
playing the cithara and
singing. Attributed to the
“Berlin Painter,” Attica,
490BCE (p 60)
Greek Sphinx of Spata, Attica,
570 BCE (p 60)
Temple of Apollo at Delphi (p 61)
Dionysus
& the
Maenads
(p 62)
*Theognis of Megara: Fear of Poverty
For noble minds, the worst of miseries,
Worse than old age or wearisome disease,
Is poverty — from poverty to flee!
From some tall precipice prone to the sea
It were a fair escape to leap below!
In poverty, dear Kumus! We forego
Freedom in word and deed — body and mind.
Action and thought, are fettered and confined.
Let me then fly, dear Kumus, once again!
Wide as the limits of the land and main,
From these entanglements; with these in view^
Death is the lighter evil of the two.
* Similar to the writing found on page 63
The Persian Empire (p 64)
559 – 530 BCE Reign of Cyrus the Great
546 BCE
Persians conquer Lydia
530 – 522 BCE Reign of Cambyses II
522 – 521 BCE Civil War in Persia
521 – 485 BCE Reign of Darius
485 – 465 BCE Reign of Xerxes
The Persian Invasion s of Greece (p 66)
Bronze Helmet of
Miltiades (p 67)
The Greek Wars Against Persia
560 – 546 BCE
546 BCE
499 – 494 BCE
490 BCE
480 – 479 BCE
480 BCE
479 BCE
Greek cities of Asia Minor conquered
by Croesus of Lydia
Cyrus of Persia conquers Lydia and
gains control of Greek Cities
Greek Cities rebel (Ionian rebellion)
Battle of Marathon
Xerxes invasion of Greece
Battles of Thermopylae, Artemisium,
and Salamis
Battles of Plataea Mycale
The Athenian Assembly Passes Themistocles’
Emergency Decree
The Gods
Resolved by the Council and People
Themistocles, son of Neocles, of Phrearrhioi, made the motion:
To entrust the city to Athena the Mistress of Athens and to all the
other Gods to guard and to defend against the Barbarian on behalf of the
land. The Athenians themselves and the foreigners who live in Athens are
to send their children and women to safety in Troizen, their protector being
Pittheus, the founding hero of the land. They are to send the old men and
their movable possessions to safety on Salamis. The treasurers and
priestesses are to remain on the Acropolis guarding the property of the gods.
All the other Athenians and foreigners of military age are to embark
on the 200 ships that are ready and defend against the Barbarian for the
sake of their own freedom and that of the rest of the Greeks along with the
Lacedaemonians, the Corinthians, the Aeginetans, and all others who wish
to share the danger.
Greek Hoplites (left) and
Ostracons (below – p. 69)