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Part 1: Map Quiz
Part 2: Order in Ancient Greece
Theme: Different approaches in different
city-states
Lsn 15
Agenda
• Government
– Sparta
– Athens
– Corinth
• Philosophy
– Socrates
– Plato
– Aristotle
– Others
Government
Sparta, Athens, Corinth
Sparta
Sparta
Sparta: Helots
• Helots were servants of the Sparta state
– Not chattel slaves, but not free either
– By the 6th Century B.C., helots probably
outnumbered Sparta citizens by 10 to 1
– The large number of helots allowed the Spartans to
cultivate their region efficiently, but also posed the
threat of constant rebellion
• Sparta responded for the need for order by
military means
Sparta: Society
• In theory, all Spartans citizens were equal
– To discourage economic and social distinctions,
Spartans observed an extraordinarily austere lifestyle
as a matter of policy
• No jewelry, elaborate clothes, luxuries, or
accumulation of great private wealth
– Even today, “spartan” means
• Practicing great self-denial
• Unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or
judgment
• Resolute in the face of pain or danger or adversity
Sparta: Society
• What distinctions did exist in Spartan society were
based not on wealth or social status, but on
prowess, discipline, and military talent
• Spartan educational system cultivated such
attributes from an early age
– Boys left their homes at age seven to live in
military barracks under a rigorous regime of
physical training
– At age 20 they went into the military where they
served until retirement
Sparta: Society
• "Come back with your shield - or on it"
was the reported parting cry of Spartan
mothers to their sons.
Sparta: Government
• Highly unusual
government that
contained elements
of democracy,
timocracy,
monarchy, and
oligarchy
King Leonidas
ca. 530 BC-480 BC
Sparta: Government
• Oligarchy
– Rule by a few
– Power was in the
hands of five men
called Ephores who
were elected
annually by the
Council of Elders
• Timocracy
– Government by
people of honor
– All Ephores were over
the age of 60 and had
completed their
military career
– The Ephores
controlled all daily life
in Sparta
Sparta: Government
• Monarchy
– Rule by a hereditary
sovereign
– Under the five
Ephores there were
two Kings that came
from the two noble
families of Sparta
– With divine approval,
shown in an oracle or
an omen, the Ephores
had the power to force
the Kings' abdication
• Democracy
– Election based on
numerical majority
– Under the Kings were
the Council of the Elders.
– The council passed laws
and elected the five
Ephores
– Beneath them all you
had the rest of the free
Spartan men who voted
for the Council of Elders
Athens
Athens
• Whereas Sparta tried to establish order by
military means, Athens instead tried a
government based on democratic principles
– Sought to negotiate order by considering the
interests of the polis’s various constituencies
• Citizenship was restricted to free adult males,
but government offices were open to all citizens
– Broadened the political base
Athens: Solon
• As tensions developed between
aristocrats and less privileged
classes, Solon devised a
compromise
• Aristocrats were allowed to keep
their lands, but at the same time
Solon cancelled debts, forbade debt
slavery, and liberated those already
enslaved for debt
• To prevent future abuses, he
provided governmental
representation for the common
classes by opening the councils of
the polis to any citizen wealthy
enough to devote time to public
affairs, regardless of lineage
Athens: Pericles
• Solon’s reforms gradually
transformed Athens into a
democratic state, but the
high tide of Athenian
democracy was reached
under the leadership of
Pericles from 443 to 429
B.C.
• His government included
hundreds of officeholders
from common classes
• Pericles boasted that
Athens was “the
education of Greece”
Ostrakaphoria
• Each year Athenians
would decide whether
to hold an election to
banish someone from
the city for 10 years
• Means to prevent
politicians from dividing
the community and to
stop tyrants before they
seized power
• First ostrakaphoria held
in 487 B.C.
ostraka,
ballots made from
pieces of pottery
Corinth
Periander, second
tyrant of Corinth
Corinth
• Founded in the 10th Century B. C.
– Strategically located
• Guards the narrow isthmus that connects
the Peloponnesus to the mainland and
hosts the important harbors of Lechaeum
and Cenchreae
– Became the richest port and the largest city in
ancient Greece
Corinth
• The two seaports were
only four miles apart
– Lechaeum, the western
harbor in the Corinthian
Gulf was the trading
port to Italy and Sicily
– Cenchreae, the eastern
harbor in the Saronic
Gulf, was the port for
the eastern
Mediterranean
countries
Corinth: Diolkos
• Periander constructed a
five foot wide rock-cut tract
for wheeling small ships
and their unloaded cargo
from one gulf to the other
• By 400 B.C., a double wall
ran from Corinth to
Lechaeum to protect a two
mile rock paved street,
about 40 feet wide, leading
to the port
Corinth: Government
• With increased wealth and more
complicated trade relations and social
structures, some city-states overthrew
their traditional hereditary kings
– Corinth, the richest city-state, led the way
– Instead of developing long-term solutions to
the societal and economic problems,
ambitious politicians or generals called
“tyrants” seized power by irregular means and
ruled without being subject to the law
Corinth: Government
• Tyrants were not necessarily oppressive despots
– Many were quite popular, in part due to the public
works programs they established
– The word “tyrant” comes from how they gained power
rather than how they governed
• Maintained order by
– reinforcing the state's centralization by consolidating
power with the tyrant and
– encouraging individuals to identify with the state
through their capacity as citizens and building a
common consciousness.
Philosophy
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Others
Greek Philosophy
• Athens’ sophisticated and wealthy society
provided time for thought
• Several great thinkers tried to construct a
consistent system of philosophy based
purely on human reason
– Rationally understand human beings and
human behavior
• Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)
• Turned the course of
philosophical enquiry around-from its earlier focus on natural
science, to a focus on ethics or
public morality
• Keenly interested in such
subjects as justice, beauty, and
goodness
• Optimistic
– Knowing the truly good would
necessarily direct a person to
act in line with this knowledge
– Human beings can lead
honest lives
Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)
• Insisted on the need to reflect on the
purposes and goals of life
• “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
– Human beings have an obligation to strive for
personal integrity, behave honorably toward
others, and work toward construction of a just
society
Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)
• Posed questions that encouraged
reflection on human issues, particularly on
matters of ethics and morality
– “the Socratic method”
• Honor was more important than wealth,
fame, or other superficial attributes
– Scorned those who preferred public
accolades to personal integrity
Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)
• Played the role of “gadfly,” subjecting traditional
ethical teachings to critical scrutiny
• This tactic outraged some of his fellow citizens
– Socrates was brought to trial on charges of
encouraging immorality and corrupting Athenian youth
• A jury of Athenian citizens found him guilty and
condemned him to death
– Drank a cup of hemlock and died in the company of
his friends
Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)
“Death of Socrates” by Jacques-Louis David
Socrates (469 to 399 B.C.)
• Socrates did not
write his thoughts
down, but we
know them
through his
disciple Plato
• Plato writes a
series of
dialogues in
which Socrates
figures as the
principal speaker
“Socrates Teaching”
Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)
• Plato advances from
recording Socrates
views to developing
his own systematic
vision of the world
and human society
• The Theory of Forms
or Ideas
Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)
• Plato was frustrated that he couldn’t gain
satisfactory intellectual control over the
world
– For example, generally speaking, virtue
requires one to honor and obey his parents,
but if parents are acting illegally, it is the
child’s duty to denounce the offense and seek
punishment.
– How can we understand virtue as an abstract
quality if it is situationally dependent?
Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)
• There are two worlds
– The world we live in
– The world of Forms or Ideas
• Our world is a pale and imperfect reflection of
the genuine world of Forms or Ideas
– Only by entering the world of Forms or Ideas can one
understand the true nature of virtue and other
qualities
– This world is available only to philosophers who apply
their rational faculties to the pursuit of wisdom
Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)
• Allegory of the cave
– Prisoners only see the shadows cast on the wall,
not the objects themselves
Plato (427 to 347 B. C.)
• In The Republic Plato describes the ideal
state in which rule was accomplished by
philosopher-kings
– Advocated an intellectual aristocracy
– The philosophical elite would rule and other
less intelligent classes would work at
functions for which their talents best suited
them
Aristotle (384 to 322 B.C.)
• Aristotle started out as a
disciple of Plato but comes
to distrust the Theory of
Forms or Ideas
– Very concrete and real as
opposed to Plato’s abstract
concepts
– Believes philosophers can
rely on their senses to
provide accurate information
about the world and then use
reason to sort things out
Aristotle (384 to 322 B.C.)
• Devises rigorous rules of logic to construct
compelling arguments
– Logic is how we come to know about things
• Will have a profound effect on Christian
philosophy in medieval Europe, especially
through St. Thomas Aquinas
• Also wrote on biology, physics, and literature
– Literature should be structured to represent a
complete and unified action with a beginning, middle,
and end
Others
• Epicureans
– Identified pleasure as the greatest good
• Skeptics
– Refused to take strong positions on contentious
issues because they doubted the possibility of certain
knowledge
• Stoics
– Individuals should focus their attention strictly on
duties that reason and nature demanded of them
• In their own way, all three sought to bring
individuals to a state of inner peace and
tranquility
How was order maintained in
Greece
• Government
– Sparta
– Athens
– Corinth
• Philosophy
– Socrates
– Plato
– Aristotle
– Others
How was order maintained in
Greece?
• Government
– Sparta
• Military means
– Athens
• Democratic means
– Corinth
• Tyrants
How was order maintained in
Greece?
• Philosophy
– Socrates
• Knowing the truly good
would necessarily direct
a person to act in line
with this knowledge
– Plato
• The philosophical elite
would rule and other
less intelligent classes
would work at functions
for which their talents
best suited them
– Aristotle
• Know about things
through logic
• Others
– Epicureans
• Identified pleasure as
the greatest good
– Skeptics
• Refused to take strong
positions on
contentious issues
because they doubted
the possibility of certain
knowledge
– Stoics
• Individuals should focus
their attention strictly on
duties that reason and
nature demanded of
them
Next Lesson
• The Roman Empire
and Western Europe
in the High Middle
Ages