Download The Abnormal States: Sparta and Athens

Cities and Kings
Patrons and Clients
“O son of the most mighty god Poseidon and of
Aphrodite, hail! For other gods are either far
away or do not have ears, or do not exist, or do
not pay attention to us at all; but you we can see
in your presence, not in wood and not in stone,
but in truth. And so we pray to you.”
~Athenian hymn to Demetrius I Poliorcetes
(Atheneaus, 6.253e)
The Needs of the Polis in the Hellenistic
Period
 Protection against external threats
 Secure Grain Supply (agoranomoi and
sitonia)

Compare Athens’ interest in the Black Sea
region during the “Second Athenian League”
 Financial Stability and Alleviation of
Public Debt
Problem Cases
 Euphron of Athens in 318-317 BCE
 Agathocles and Hephaestion of Callatis at
Istria ca. 200-150 BCE
 Protogenes of Olbia in late third or early
second centuries BCE
 Cillus of Paros in second century BCE
Military Dangers: Lamian War, 323-322 BCE
Euphron of Athens (Austin #26)
“[since Euphron] son of Adeas of Sicyon has [previously on every occasion]
continued to show himself a good man towards the people of Athens, both
himself and his ancestors; [and during] the Greek/ [war] which [the people of
Athens began] on behalf of the Greeks, Euphron, returning [from exile]
expelled [the] garrison from the [Acropolis with the support of the] Sicyonians
and [after freeing] the city made it a [friend and] ally of the people [of Athens
the first of the] cities [in]/ the Peloponnesus; and during all the [time] that the
people was [fighting the war], he collaborated with the people and [gave
assistance] to the troops and all others involved in [the war]; and when it
happened that Greece suffered [misfortune and garrisons] were sent into the
cities which had [expelled them], he/ preferred death at the hands of his
enemies, [fighting] for the democracy, rather than to see his [own native city]
or the rest of Greece enslaved…be it resolved by the people, that all the
[privileges] granted by the [people] of Athens to Euphron in his honor should
be confirmed.”
Danegeld:
Agathocles at Istria, 200-150 BCE (Austin #98)
“Agathocles son of Antiphilus, born of a father who was a
benefactor, continues to be a good and honorable man
towards the city and the citizens…and after this, when (the
Thracians of the chieftain Zoltes) [invaded] the land, laid
siege to Bizone and ravaged the land, and the harvest was
imminent, he was elected ambassador and traveled to the
(Thracian) army, and as the citizens had given him
instructions to redeem the land and the crops at [all]/ cost,
he persuaded Zoltes and the Thracians at a cost of 600 gold
pieces [not to invade] the land nor to approach the city,
which enabled [the] citizens to secure all the [crops] from
the land.”
Euergetism and Debt Relief:
Hephaestion of Callatis, 200-150 BCE
(Austin #102)
“Resolved by the council and the [people]; Dionysius [son of] Hieron
was magistrate; the councilors [moved]: since Hephaestion [son of
Matris]/ from Callatis, when the city owed him for [many] years for a
[loan] made by his father 300 gold pieces [according to] a written
agreement, and [considerable] interests had accumulated,/ he proved
himself a good and honorable man and showed [understanding] for the
difficulties facing the city, and remitted [the] interest which amounted
to 400 [gold pieces], and [agreed] to recover the sum that was owed
him/ according to the [written] agreement, which amounted to 300 gold
pieces, without interest [over] a period of two [years]; for [these
services] Hephaestion son of Matris from [Callatis] should be praised.”
Great Patrons and Public Calamities:
Protogenes of Olbia, ca. 200 BCE
(Austin #97)
“Deserters were reporting that the Galatians (Celts) and the Sciri had
formed an alliance, that a large force had been collected and would be
coming during the winter, / and in addition that the Thisamatae,
Scythians and Saudaratae were anxious to seize the fort, as they
themselves were equally terrified of the cruelty of the Galatians.
Because of this many were in despair and prepared/ to abandon the
city... The people met in assembly in deep despair, as they saw before
them the/ danger that lay ahead and the terrors in store, and called on
all who were able-bodied to help and not to allow their native city, after
it had been preserved for many years, to be subjected by the enemy.
When no one would volunteer/ for all or part of the demands of the
people, (Protogenes) promised he himself would build both the walls
and would advance the whole cost of construction, although not less
than 1,500 gold pieces had been advanced by him”
Threats of Famine and Starvation
Cillus of Paros, 2nd century BCE (Austin #110)
“Cillus son of Demetrius…made every effort to ensure that
the people should enjoy prosperity and abundance and be
supplied with bread and barley at the lowest prices and of
the highest quality…be it resolved to praise Cillus son of
Demetrius and/ to honor him with a gold crown [and] a
marble statue for his merits and for the zeal which he
continuously displays for the people [and] to proclaim the
crown at the tragic contest during the Great Dionysia,
proclaiming/ [the] reasons why [the] people has crowned
him.”
The Polis’s Rewards
 Gold Crown
 Bronze and Marble Statues in Public
Places
 Prohedria = Seat of Honor at Games and
Festivals
 Honorific Inscriptions in Public Places
Emergence of Hellenistic Monarchs
and Royal Power: Super Patrons
 Access to King Difficult
 Kings as Founders of Cities (Alexander
and Alexandria)
 Kings Re-establish Old Cities: synoecism
 Kings Restore Existing Cities: Demetrius
and Sicyon in 302 BCE
 Kings as Super Patrons: Relief at Rhodes
in 227-226 BCE
Kings and Reestablishment of Old Cities:
Synoecism of Teos and Lebedos, ca. 303 BCE
(Austin #40)
“King Antigonus to the council and people of Teos,
greetings. When we [previously considered]/ the quickest
ways of completing the synoecism, we could not see where
you would find the money [you need] in order to [give] the
Lebedians the price of their [houses without delay]... [we
therefore think it right] that ‘the wealthiest’ should be
reckoned as numbering 600, [and that these] should make
advance contributions in proportion to their property.”
King as Refounders of Cities:
Demetrius I and Sicyon, 302 BCE
(Austin #41; Diodorus 20.102.2-4)
“Demetrius made a surprise attack by night and forced his
way inside the fortifications….He was on the point of
bringing forward siege engines when the panic-strucken
troops surrendered the acropolis by agreement and sailed
back to Egypt. Demetrius moved the Sicyonians to the
acropolis and razed the part of the city which adjoined the
harbor, as it was strategically a very weak spot. He joined
with the body of the citizens in the construction work and
restored their freedom to them, for which benefaction they
granted him godlike honors.”
Royal Relief at Rhodes, 227-226 BCE
Polybius 5.88-90
“At about the same time the Rhodians, seizing the occasion
presented by the earthquake which had taken place shortly
before and in which the great Colossus and the larger part
of the walls and dockyards had collapsed, used the incident
in such a skilful and practical way that the disaster became
a source of advantage to them rather than of damage.
Rhodian diplomacy enhanced the magnitude and
importance of the disaster, while their envoys conducted
themselves with dignity and seriousness in public audiences
and at private meetings. In this way they made such an
impression on the cities, and especially on the kings, that
not only did they receive presents beyond measure but they
even made the donors feel under obligation to them.”
Autonomy and Freedom
 Aristotle on Freedom: “To be in no way under the
constraint of another” (Rhetoric 1367a32-33)
 Hellenistic Monarchs as Protectors of Freedom and
Autonomy
 Polis-Freedom in the Context of Hellenistic Monarchy
 The Rhetoric:



Immunity from taxation
Freedom from garrisons
The Reality:


From taxation to syntaxis (free-will contributions)
The epistates in the polis (protector of king’s interests)
Poleis and Kings: The Need for
Intermediaries

Intermediaries as Civic Patrons
 Athens and the poet Philippides in
283-282 BCE
 Athens and Callias of Sphettus in
270-269 BCE
“Philippides has on every occasion continued to show his
goodwill to the people, and/ having gone abroad to King
Lysimachus and having previously discussed the matter with the
king, he brought back to the people a gift of 10,000 Attic
measures of wheat for distribution to all the Athenians in the
archonship of Euctemon (299/8)...and when King Lysimachus
won the battle at Ipsus and Antigonus [and] Demetrius, he
secured burial/ at his own expense for the citizens who had
perished in the [emergency], and [as to all those who] were taken
prisoner he interceded with the [king and] secured their release;
for those who wished to serve in the army he obtained the right
to enrol [in] separate formations with their own commanders,
while to those who chose to leave he provided clothes and
supplies/ from his own resources and sent them each to their
chosen destination, more than 300 men altogether, and he also
appealed for the release of all the Athenian citizens who had been
placed in custody by Demetrius and Antigonus and were
captured in Asia, and has constantly shown himself helpful/ to
any Athenian who meets him and calls on his assistance.”
“When the people expelled the soldiers from the city,
but the fort on the/ Mouseion was still occupied, and
war raged in the countryside because of the (soldiers)
from the Piraeus, and Demetrius was coming with his
army from the Peloponnese against the city, Callias, on
hearing of the danger threatening the city, selected
1,000 of the soldiers/ who were posted with him at
Andros, gave them their wages and food rations, and
immediately came to the rescue of the people in the city,
acting in accordance with the goodwill of King Ptolemy
(I) towards the people, and leading out into the
countryside the soldiers who were following him, he
protected/ the gathering of the grain, making every
effort to ensure that as much grain as possible should
be brought into the city.”