Download Greek History II

The Four Cornerstones of Greek
History
Steve Wood
TCCC
Two Importance Places
There are two places (and the institutions
that developed from those places) that
shaped Greek culture over the next several
hundred years.
Olympia and the Olympic Games
Delphi and the Oracle of Apollo
Two More Importance Places
After those two places, there were a number
of Greek cities that were important,
including the two most famous: Athens and
Sparta.
Olympia and The Olympic
Games
The date of the first
Olympics is the first
recorded date in Greek
history (776).
A 200 yd. race
was the only
event until 724.
Only citizens
with no criminal
records and no
relatives with
criminal records
Evolution of the Games
724 BC: 14th Olympiad adds a
second footrace (about onehalf mile)
720 BC: 15th Olympiad adds
long distance race of 2.5
miles
708 BC: 18th Olympiad adds
the pentathlon: broad
jumping, javelin, 200 yard
Evolution of the Games
696 BC: 23rd Olympiad adds
boxing
682 BC: 25th Olympiad adds
chariot race
650 BC: 33rd Olympiad adds noholds barred boxing/wrestling
competition, which becomes
one of the most popular
competitions.
Olympia
Olympia was a neutral religious site
dedicated to Zeus.
The games themselves were protected by a
Sacred Truce overseen by Zeus.
As the various city-states (the polis) became
more powerful, rivalries did develop.
The competitions celebrated Homeric
virtues.
Vocabulary
“agon” – contest
“arete” – excellence
“kleos aphthiton” – undying glory
“polis” – a city-state, the basic political unit in
Greece for the next several centuries
“eris” – strife, which could be good (as in
competition that drives one to achieve arete) or
bad (which encourages envy of others’ skills and
accomplishments)
Victory
The victors at these
games were celebrated
in song throughout
Greece; their lineages
were traced back to
the mythic heroes of
the Mycenaean age.
Delphi and The Oracle of Apollo
A sacred city, Delphi was
thought to be the center of
the Greek universe.
Apollo, the god of light,
truth, and prophecy, was
the central deity there,
although the sacred space
had temples to many gods.
Delphi
Delphi came to be a
mediator between the
various city-states.
It offered judgments on
disputes and border
conflicts in addition to
personal advice.
Like Olympia, Delphi was
not the province of any
particular city-state.
Sparta
Sparta conquered the
Messenians (650-600
BC) and turned their
entire population into
serfs known as helots.
Thus, a small
population of Spartans
held a much larger
population in
servitude.
Spartan Government
The Spartans had two kings at a time.
A council of five (known as “euphors”) ran
the administrative duties of the government.
A Council of Thirty Elders advised the
kings and served as a court.
All male citizens were members of a
general assembly. These full citizens were a
small group known as the Spartiates.
Spartan Citizenship
Boys were drafted into the army at an early
age. Crippled infants who would not be
able to do so were killed.
A secret society, the cryptaea, sent the
young men out to live off the land.
Those who survived would eventually rule
as Spartiates; they called themselves
“homoioi” – the Equals.
A Closed Society
Periodically, the Spartans would expel all
foreigners, both out of a fear of the revolt of
the helots as well as a fear that foreign ideas
would destroy their culture.
Commerce was restricted by the use of
metals bars instead of coins.
Athens
The other city-state that
would dominate Greek
history was Athens.
Named after Athena,
Athens came to represent
many important aspects of
Greek culture –
democracy, philosophy,
drama, sculpture, and
poetry.
City of Many Governments
Athens was, at various times, an aristocracy
(ruled by members of a privileged upper
class), a plutocracy (ruled by the wealthiest
members of society), an autocracy (ruled by
a single individual, known as a tyrant to the
Athenians regardless of how benevolent),
and a limited democracy (ruled by the
people themselves).
Golden Age of Athens
It was under the tyrant Pisistratus and the
democratic government begun by
Cleisthenes that Athens developed into a
major power.
This “Golden Age” lasted approximately
100 years (508-405 BC).
Golden Age of Athens
During this time, Athens was known for its
riches, its dominance over the other Greek
city-states, the rise of its dramatic arts and
poetry, and its love of philosophy and
learning.
This is the age of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Sophocles, Euripides, and Pythagoras.
Links
For more information on Olympia, click
here.
For more information on the Oracle at
Delphi, click here.
For a modern explanation of the Oracle’s
powers, click here.
Links
For more information on the history of
ancient Sparta, click here.
For an account of how the Spartans saved
the Western world, click here.
For more information on the history of
ancient Athens, click here.