Introduction to HumanitiesLecture 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

• 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

• 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

Source: mrbarbersocialstudies.com

Minoan Civilization

• Minoan culture reached its peak between 2000 and 1800 B.C. with the building of the splendid temples at Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Zacro.

Source: pinterest.com

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

• Reconstruction of the Palace complex at the Temple of Knossus

Source: studyblue.com

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:– 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

• 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…

Source: pinterest.com

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 chariotSource: pinterest.com

The Illiad

• Homer and the Illiad:– 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

• The fall of Mycenae:– 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Tyrants

• Tyrants & Corinth:– 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

• 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

• 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– 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 soldierSource: 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Source: mappery.com

Political Reform

• By the end of the 7th century B.C.– 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

• Solon’s reforms created problems:– The poorer peasants resented Solon’s failure to institute land redistribution– Aristocratic factions continue to vie for power

• Pisistratus:– 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 AtticaSource: ime.gr

The Ionian Rebellion

• The Ionian rebellion: – 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.tierschutz-schmallenberg.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

• Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Delian League

• 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

• Source: marefa.org

The Delian League

• The Delian League:– 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

• 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

• Athenian democracy:– 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:– 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:– 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