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Ancient Grece PDF
Ancient Grece PDF
AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
Marshall Cavendish
Reference
New York
Marshall Cavendish This publication represents the opinions
Copyright © 2011 Marshall Cavendish Corporation and views of the authors based on personal
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Ancient Greece : an illustrated history.
p. cm. Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of
Includes index. Times Publishing Limited
ISBN 978-0-7614-9955-8 (alk. paper) All websites were available and accurate
1. Greece--History--To 146 B.C. 2. Greece--Civilization--To when this book was sent to press.
146 B.C.
DF215.A55 2010
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CONTENTS
Foreword 4 Macedon and Alexander
the Great 154
Bronze Age Greece 6
After Alexander 166
The Minoans 14
The Greek Legacy 174
Mycenae and Troy 26
Glossary 184
The Dark Age and
Greek Expansion 40 Major Historical Figures 187
From Tyranny to
Democracy 64
Greek Religion 80
The Great
Philosophers 122
The Peloponnesian
War 138
FOREWORD
4
FOREWORD
and eastward as far as the Hindu Kush and artifacts as well as presenting modern views of
northern India—where Alexander the Great ancient sites—sustains the reader’s interest.
made the final thrusts of his military campaign. Instructors will enjoy teaching from this book
Alexander’s death in Babylon in 323 BCE and students who learn from it will come away
marked the beginning of the Hellenistic Age. with a strong sense that “the glory that was
It may indeed be no exaggeration to say that we Greece,” vis-à-vis Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “To
are still living in the Hellenistic Age, because Helen” (1845), is no frothy sentiment of poetic
the Greek cultural diffusion, quickened by hyperbole, but in fact an assertion well worth the
Alexander’s wide reach and later extended by scrutiny and analysis of every generation.
the Romans and the Byzantines, has not yet
ended. Michele Ronnick
Ancient Greece: An Illustrated History has many Michele Ronnick is president of the Classical
merits and is a commendable asset to the 21st- Association of the Middle West and South and a pro-
century classroom. Its prose is clear and well- fessor in the Department of Classical and Modern
paced, and its pagination and format are visually Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Wayne State
attractive. In addition to the neat summations of University, Detroit, MI.
information arranged in time lines and the valu-
able details of geography conveyed by the vol- Additional related information is available in the
ume’s many maps, a positive boon is the book’s 11-volume History of the Ancient and Medieval
illustrations. World, second edition, and the corresponding
The images are large, mostly in color, and online Ancient and Medieval World database at
their varied arrangement—depicting actual www.marshallcavendishdigital.com.
5
BRONZE AGE
GREECE
n the third millennium BCE, a relatively sophisticated culture
TIME LINE
c. 6500 BCE
I grew up on both the Greek mainland and the surrounding
islands. In particular, the inhabitants of the Cyclades began to
Farming produce beautiful works of sculpture.
communities
established on
Greek mainland. Greece consists of mainland Greece on third millennium BCE. In addition to a
c. 3000 BCE
the Balkan Peninsula and a mass of knowledge of bronze, the invaders intro-
Distinctive culture
islands, large and small, scattered over the duced the swing-plow, which greatly
emerges on Aegean Sea and extending as far south as improved farming methods. The period
Cycladic islands Crete in the Mediterranean.The climate between around 2800 and 2600 BCE
in Aegean Sea. is volatile, with extreme fluctuations in (called Early Helladic I) was a time of
c. 2800 BCE temperature, strong winds, and sudden great change. Walled hilltop villages
Invaders with downpours of torrential rain. The main appeared, with a chief who ruled over
knowledge of agricultural products are olives, grapes, the surrounding farmland. Trading with
metalwork arrive and figs. In ancient times, both cattle and other communities, some of them over-
on Greek mainland; horses were grazed in the eastern central seas, led to the emergence of a wealthy
beginning of
Early Helladic I regions of mainland Greece. class, who built their houses of stone
period. rather than mud bricks. Along with the
Greece in the Stone Age rise of this merchant class came the
c. 2600 BCE
There is evidence of Stone Age hunters craftsman class and the use of symbols to
Beginning of Early
Helladic II period. living in mainland Greece in the mark goods and seal containers.
Sophisticated Paleolithic Age, and by the seventh mil- During the period called Early
stone settlements lennium BCE it seems that farming Helladic II (c. 2600–2100 BCE), this civ-
built. communities were established. These ilization peaked, building settlements
c. 2100 BCE early farmers lived in villages of circular surrounded by towering stone walls and
Migrants from mud huts, grew grains, peas, and lentils, containing houses with several rooms.
central Asia and kept animals, such as pigs, cattle, Excavations at Lerna have uncovered
arrive on Greek goats, and sheep, for meat and milk. The what was probably an important civic
mainland to
establish Minyan
farmers supplemented their diet by building, the massive House of Tiles,
culture. hunting and fishing and made stone tools which was built two stories high with a
such as axes and chisels. By the end of the balcony on the upper story. The house
c. 1500 BCE
Neolithic Age, people were living in takes its modern name from a number of
Traditional date walled towns, in which some large hous- small, flat tiles of baked clay that were
given for eruption
of volcano on es had a central hall—indicating that found in its ruins. The tiles may have
Greek island of some individuals had now become covered a sloping roof and are thought to
Thera. wealthier than others, or had even be the earliest roof tiles ever discovered.
become chieftains. From 2100 BCE onward, successive
On the mainland, metalworking waves of hostile migrants from central
invaders arrived in the first part of the Asia swept through the Balkan Peninsula
6
BRONZE AGE GREECE
and destroyed most of the fortified uncovered it in the late 19th century CE This marble
towns. In their place, the invaders built when he was excavating at Orchomenus, sculpture, made on
dwellings of more primitive, one-storied, a city in Boeotia that rose to prominence the island of Keros
houses. The invaders brought with them in the Mycenaean era. Schliemann around 2000 BCE,
a new kind of pottery, which was made named both the pots and the people who depicts a musician
on a wheel and whose angular shapes had produced them Minyan. These playing the harp.
seemed to imitate metal pots. This pot- Minyans spoke an Indo-European lan-
tery was first discovered by the German guage and have since come to be consid-
archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who ered the first Greeks.
7
ANCIENT GREECE
ITALY
Scoglio del
Tonno
SICILY
8
BRONZE AGE GREECE
Troy
GREECE
Se a
A e g e an LESBOS ANATOLIA
Orchomenus Gla
Mycenae
DELOS Miletus
MYKONOS
CYCLADES
MILOS
dit
r ra
e
ne THERA
an
Se
a
CRETE
and goats, and caught fish, particularly hard rock that the sculptors obtained
tuna, in the Aegean. There is evidence from Naxos. Details were then often
from some excavated sites that these peo- picked out in red and blue paint.
ple were familiar with copperworking The figurines are extremely distinc-
from around 4000 BCE. tive in their style. To begin with, they
almost always portray women rather than
Cycladic art men.The elongated figures stand upright
From around 3000 BCE, the Cycladic with the head tilted back, while the arms
islanders began to develop a distinct cul- are usually folded across the chest, with
ture of their own. They became expert the left arm above the right.The legs and
at carving small, elegant figurines in feet touch one another. The statues vary
the pure white marble that they found in size enormously; the smallest are only
on the islands of Paros and Naxos. 2 inches (5 cm) tall, while the largest are
Archaeologists have discovered these almost life-size.
statuettes in burial chambers. To achieve Archaeologists are unsure about the
a smooth surface, the figures were purpose of these statuettes. Because
rubbed with emery stones, a dark, very many of these figurines were found in
9
ANCIENT GREECE
The early
inhabitants of
Greece were skilled
at metalworking.
This gold
headband from
around 2100 BCE
depicts a group of
warriors.
Cultural developments
This Early Cycladic era is divided
into two separate periods: Early
Cycladic I (c. 3200–2700 BCE) and
Early Cycladic II (c. 2700–2400
BCE), based on significant burial-site
finds at Grotta-Pelos and Keros-Syros,
respectively. Besides the female figurines,
other artifacts found in tombs of this
This ancient Greek Early Cycladic period include a seated
sculpture depicts a male marble figure, depicted playing a
man carrying a calf. musical instrument, plus items such as
Much of Bronze Age bowls, bottles, and vases. Because the
Greek life revolved quality and quantity of goods vary from
around farming. grave to grave, archaeologists believe that
10
BRONZE AGE GREECE
11
ANCIENT GREECE
The island of
Santorini, called
Thera in ancient
times, is now a
popular tourist
destination.
12
BRONZE AGE GREECE
cano exploded, enormous boulders came into that of the Mycenaeans.The Cyclades
crashing down on the town and the were also in contact with the Phoenicians,
sky darkened with ash. Next, tons of who visited the islands to trade for pre-
molten lava engulfed the hapless town, cious metals. By around 1000 BCE, the
which was buried under 16 feet Cycladic culture had completely disap-
(5 m) of debris and so preserved almost peared. Most of the islands had been set-
intact, rather like the later Roman town tled by Ionians from Anatolia, while
of Pompeii. Dorians from northwestern Greece had
occupied Milos and Thera.
Cycladic life Two young boys
When the town of Akrotiri, on Thera, See also: box in this fresco
was eventually excavated, it gave a very The Minoans (page 14) • Mycenae and Troy found in the town
clear picture of what life was like in the (page 26) of Akrotiri.
Cyclades before around 1500 BCE. The
people lived in houses consisting of sev-
eral rooms, arranged on either two or
three stories. The narrow streets of the
town were equipped with a simple
drainage system for removing sewage.
The houses contained wooden furniture
and pottery and, on the ground floor,
large earthenware jars for storing food-
stuffs such as grain, vegetables, dried fish,
wine, and oil.
One room in each house was
arranged as a shrine and decorated with
wall paintings (frescoes) showing land-
scapes with animals, birds, and flowers
such as lilies and crocuses. In other hous-
es excavated at Phylakope on Milos, fres-
coes have been found depicting battles,
festivals, and, in one famous painting, a
school of flying fish.
Because no human remains have
been found at Thera, it is thought that
the inhabitants may have had time to
escape, but where they went is a mystery.
Another mystery linked to Thera is that
of the lost world of Atlantis, which was
the subject of later Greek legends. It has
been thought that these legends may
refer to Thera.
13
THE
MINOANS
he Minoan culture, which flourished on Crete between around
TIME LINE
c. 3000 BCE
T 2500 and 1450 BCE, was one of the first major cultures to
emerge in Europe. Much of what is known about the Minoans has
People living in been gained through excavations at Knossos.
Aegean begin to
make bronze by
mixing copper In the spring of 1900 CE, there was great extending over 6 acres (2.4 ha). Evans
and tin; dawn of excitement on the island of Crete in the named it the Palace of Minos (see box,
Minoan culture
on Crete. Mediterranean Sea. British archaeologist page 18). The 1,400 rooms, which
Arthur Evans and his team had just included ceremonial chambers, were
c. 2000 BCE unearthed the first signs of a sophisticat- connected by corridors and staircases,
First large palace ed Bronze Age civilization on the island. and many of the walls were decorated
complexes built at
Knossos and
The excavations were centered on a large with elaborate paintings showing young
Phaistos. mound, called Kephala (or Knossos), in men and women and more sea creatures.
the north of the island. Local legend had There were also paintings of bulls, sug-
c. 1700 BCE
it that this was the site of a great palace gesting that the palace was indeed the
Early palaces belonging to the mythical King Minos. source of the Minotaur legend.
destroyed, either
by invaders or by According to the legend, Minos’s palace The site that Evans had discovered
an earthquake; was home to a monster known as the was the center of a Bronze Age culture
later rebuilt. Minotaur, which lived in a labyrinth and that flourished on Crete from around
c. 1525 BCE devoured young men and women as sac- 2500 to 1450 BCE. It was the first
Kings based rificial victims (see box, page 20). sophisticated civilization to develop in
at Knossos reach The first finds were fragments of pot- Europe; it was a civilization centered on
height of power. tery decorated with images of sea crea- trade and an efficient bureaucracy, and
c. 1500 BCE tures such as starfish, dolphins, sea urchins, unlike most other early civilizations, it
Volcanic eruption
and octopuses.The subject matter of the seemed entirely unwarlike. Prior to the
on nearby island designs suggested that the pottery was Minoans (as Evans called these people),
of Thera results in produced by a seagoing people. Even life on Crete had been primitive.
vast quantities of more exciting were the fragments of a
ash showered The Neolithic period
over Crete.
wall painting that showed a man in a
loincloth carrying a vase. Similarly Before around 6000 BCE, Crete may
c. 1450 BCE clothed figures had been painted on the have been uninhabited, but in the sixth
Minoan civilization walls of ancient Egyptian tombs, where millennium BCE, groups of people
comes to end. they were identified as the Keftiu (island from Anatolia settled in mainland Greece
Palaces burned
down, possibly people) paying tribute to the pharaoh. It and on Crete, bringing with them a
by Mycenaean seemed that the Cretans and the Keftiu knowledge of farming. These early
invaders. could have been one and the same.
Very soon, evidence of walls, floors, This mosaic depicts the Greek hero Theseus
and columns came to light, indicating killing the Minotaur. According to legend, the
the presence of an enormous palace Minotaur lived in a maze on Crete.
14
ANCIENT GREECE
Cretan settlers found a large island (the This ivory figurine was found in the
fifth largest in the Mediterranean) with palace at Knossos. It dates to around the
mountains covered in trees and a large 17th century BCE.
fertile plain in the center.The warm cli-
mate made it a favorable Early Minoan (3000–2000)
area for growing crops. BCE), Middle Minoan
The farmers grew (2000–1600 BCE), and
barley, oats, and Late Minoan (1600–1050
wheat, as well BCE). However, other
as pulses and historians have chosen
peas. They kept to divide Minoan his-
goats, sheep, cattle, and pigs tory into three alternate periods
and supplemented their diet by spanning a shorter time: First Palace
hunting and fishing.They fashioned pots (1900–1700 BCE), Second Palace (1650–
out of clay by hand and made axes and 1540 BCE), and Third Palace (1450–
chisels from stones that they ground to 1200 BCE).
a sharp edge. During the Early Minoan period, the
Minoans started to use bronze to make
The Bronze Age metal tools such as daggers, adzes, and
Around 3000 BCE, people living in double-headed axes. They grew olives
the region of the Aegean discovered and grape vines and traded the resulting
how to make bronze by mixing cop- olive oil and wine with neighboring
per with tin, so beginning the peri- peoples in the Aegean, taking to the sea
od known as the Bronze Age. in ships propelled by a combination of
The people living on Crete in the oars and square sails attached to masts.
early Bronze Age built houses of The Minoans used seals to stamp
mud bricks. The houses had sepa- impressions on wet clay, possibly to seal
rate living rooms, kitchens, and storage jars to guard against theft.
workrooms.The Cretans became They also began building extensive
skilled metalworkers, producing settlements, although few traces of
beautiful jewelry in gold and them now remain.
silver.
At the same time that the The age of the palaces
Minoan civilization was devel- It was in the Middle Minoan
oping on Crete, other cultures period that the Minoans started
were developing in different parts to build great palaces at sites such as
of the Mediterranean region. One cul- Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia, and Zakro.
ture arose on a group of islands in the These palaces consisted of a complex of
Aegean called the Cyclades. The early buildings surrounding a large open court
inhabitants of the Cyclades are most and the main royal residence.The build-
famous for the finely wrought figurines ings, which served as the island’s admin-
that they carved out of stone.The Greek istrative center, included workshops for
mainland saw the rise of another culture, craftsmen and artisans, plus special stor-
the Helladic, which in its later stages was age rooms for oil, wine, grain, and other
known as the Mycenaean civilization. farming produce.
When Arthur Evans was excavating The first palaces have disappeared
the palace at Knossos, he divided Minoan almost completely, but there have been
history up into three main periods: numerous smaller finds from this period.
16
THE MINOANS
CRETE
Knossos
Mallia
ANATOLIA
ge
an
Se
a
GREECE Athens
Mycenae
CYCLADES
M
ed
ite
rra
CANAAN
ne
Thera
an
Sea
CRETE
One of the most striking of these finds is have a small central court that possibly
a type of thin-walled pottery called served as an air and light shaft. Some of
Kamares ware, which was produced on a the houses are shown with window
potter’s wheel and decorated with spirals openings painted bright red, which
and plant motifs in red, orange, yellow, might indicate that the early inhabitants
and white on a blue-black background. of Crete used oiled parchment as an early
This refined pottery was crafted by spe- type of windowpane.
cialized potters both for the domestic
market and for export. The palace at Knossos
A collection of small plaques found Around 1700 BCE, all the Minoan
in the palace at Knossos gives a good palaces were destroyed, either by earth-
idea of the architecture of this period. quakes or invaders. They were all soon
The plaques are made of faience (a fine rebuilt, however. The new palace at
grade of pottery covered with a glaze) Knossos became even more elaborate
and depict city houses built of stone, than its predecessor, with at least three
bound together with large wooden stories and many rooms, including a
beams. All the houses have a least two magnificent throne room. The kings of
floors and a flat roof, and many appear to Knossos reached the peak of their power
17
ANCIENT GREECE
18
THE MINOANS
between around 1550 and 1500 BCE, striking. They were long, narrow base-
dominating the Aegean region and trad- ment rooms containing rows of enor-
ing extensively with the Greek mainland, mous storage jars called pithoi in which
the Aegean islands, Anatolia (present-day grain, oil, and wine were kept.
Turkey), Egypt, and the Canaanite
Syrian coast. Social structure
The basic plan at Knossos—which Minoan society was divided into several
was echoed in the other palaces—was regions and groups. Presiding over the
that of a large central courtyard sur- country as a whole was the king. Below
rounded by reception halls, living quar- the king were the nobles, who were
ters, workshops, and storerooms. The provincial rulers living in country man-
palace was not protected by fortifica- sions. A group of officials controlled the This artist’s
tions, and its western side looked out operations of the merchants, who con- illustration depicts
over wide agoras (public courtyards used tributed to the region’s wealth through how the palace at
for ceremonies and gatherings). The trade. In particular, merchants supplied Knossos may have
whole palace was supplied with water imported materials such as ivory to the looked.The palace
through an elaborate system of pipes, craftsmen who lived and worked in the was spread over
while drains and conduits removed waste palace. Below these classes came the a large area
water and sewage from the site. The farmers, who produced the agricultural and contained
storerooms at Knossos are particularly goods that were so important for the several floors.
ANCIENT GREECE
20
THE MINOANS
spring. Another important goddess was is Gournia, which stands on a ridge over-
the snake goddess. Usually portrayed looking the sea around 38 miles (60 km)
holding a snake in each hand, she was east of Knossos. This town, excavated at
seen as the guardian of the house. around the same time as Knossos, con-
Many replicas of bull’s horns carved sisted of a maze of winding streets con-
in stone have been found in Crete, sug- necting small square houses and court-
gesting that the bull played an important yards.The houses were up to three stories
part in some religious cult.There are also and had flat roofs. The first floor usually
several wall paintings that show young contained workshops or storerooms, Athletes are shown
men and women somersaulting over a while the living quarters were on the vaulting over a
charging bull. This sport possibly took second floor, which was reached by an charging bull in this
place in the palace courtyard and may outside staircase. From the tools found in fresco from the east
have been part of a religious ritual. the workshops, it is clear that the town’s wing of the palace
inhabitants included potters, weavers, at Knossos. Experts
Minoan towns and villas metalsmiths, and carpenters, as well as are divided over
Minoan palaces were encircled by large fishermen and farmers. whether bull leaping
cities, which were connected to each A number of villas have also been was a religious
other and to other Cretan towns by excavated on Crete, and they were all ritual or just a
paved roads. One famous Minoan town built to the same plan as the palaces, dangerous sport.
21
The remains of the Minoan town of Gournia are extremely well albeit on a smaller scale. Some historians
preserved. Like a number of other Minoan towns, Gournia was the believe that these villas, which are all
site of a large palace. located within 7 to 10 miles (11 to 16
km) of each other, were the regional
offices of a central power.
THE PALACES AT PHAISTOS
Minoan art
Knossos was just one of the many locations where The interiors of the palaces were deco-
Minoan palaces were built.Another location was Phaistos, rated with colorful murals, some made
in the south of the island.The site was occupied by up of abstract patterns, others depicting
around 4000 BCE, but the first palace at Phaistos was plants, animals, and people. These paint-
not built until around 2000 BCE, roughly the same time ings are often called frescoes, but true
as the palace at Knossos.What is now known as the frescoes are painted on wet plaster,
“old palace” at Phaistos was destroyed by fire around whereas the Minoan murals were paint-
1700 BCE. Another palace was built in its place. ed on dry plaster walls. The so-called
House of the Frescoes at Knossos is
Like the palace at Knossos, the “new palace” at Phaistos famous for its murals showing a park
was built around a magnificent central courtyard, lined where various flowering plants are com-
with pillars.The royal quarters stood to the north. plemented by high-spouting fountains
Workshops were found to the east, while storerooms and a blue bird. Murals showing dolphins
were located to the west.The west wing also contained and flying fish have been found in sever-
rooms that were used for religious purposes; religious al other places.
figurines were found there and pictures of double The paintings of men and women
axheads (a religious motif) were carved into the walls. provide a clear idea of how the Minoans
Like the other great palaces, the palace at Phaistos was looked and dressed.When taking part in
destroyed around 1450 BCE when the Minoan civiliza- rituals, men often covered their bodies
tion came to an end. with a type of red powder for ceremoni-
al purposes, so the men are often shown
22
THE MINOANS
23
ANCIENT GREECE
This ivory figurine depicts a Minoan acrobat taking part in a The pots and ceramic ware from this
bull-leaping ritual.The figurine was found in the palace at Knossos period show that there was a great tech-
and was made around 1550 BCE. nical and artistic tradition. Motifs from
the plant kingdom, inherited from the
earlier Kamares ware, were mingled with
HUMAN SACRIFICE images of marine creatures. These deco-
rations were painted in dark colors on a
It seems clear that some religious rituals practiced light background.
by the Minoans involved the slaughter of animals as a It is obvious from a number of other
sacrifice to the gods. However, there may have been found items that sections of Minoan
an even more dramatic and sinister practice. In 1979, society were very affluent. Beautiful jew-
a major sanctuary was excavated in the mountains elry was wrought in gold, while elegant
around 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Knossos. Among stone vases were made of rock crystal,
the items found were a cult statue and a number of obsidian (a kind of volcanic glass),
votive offerings.What caused the greatest excitement alabaster, or marble. Gold signet rings
was evidence that when the sanctuary was destroyed engraved with scenes of rituals have also
by an earthquake, a human sacrifice had been in been found.
progress.The body of a young man found tied to a low Other important sources of informa-
altar had died as a result of having his throat cut. Other tion on Minoan life are the numerous
finds in Knossos have included children’s bones that seals that have been found. They were
show knife marks, suggesting that child sacrifice took engraved with many designs, including
place—or even cannibalism.There have been further geometric patterns and representations
archaeological indications to support the idea that of human beings and animals. After 2000
these were not isolated instances. BCE, the seals bear a type of writing that
Arthur Evans termed hieroglyphic.Three
24
THE MINOANS
centuries later, this writing was replaced torch. Whatever the reason, the existing This fresco depicts a
by a simplified script called Linear A (see social order was overthrown. Minoan ship
box, page 23). Seals were used for placing Invaders, probably Greek-speaking entering a port.The
a personal or official stamp on objects as Mycenaeans from the mainland, came to Minoans were highly
a signature.They were also used as orna- dominate Crete. They made Knossos, successful traders.
ments and charms. which had suffered relatively little
damage, their administrative center,
The Third Palace period but by 1300 BCE, the town appears
Around the 15th century BCE, the to have been destroyed by unknown
Minoan people suffered a series of disas- attackers. Occupied by the Mycenaeans,
ters. At the beginning of the century, the Crete became a Greek city-state, and
volcano on the island of Thera in the the Minoan civilization that had flour-
Cyclades erupted violently, causing cata- ished for more than 1,000 years was at
strophic destruction over a wide area. an end.
Around 50 years later, many Minoan
centers were destroyed by fire, and the See also:
palaces and other settlements may have Bronze Age Greece (page 6) • Mycenae
been ransacked before being put to the and Troy (page 26)
25
MYCENAE
AND TROY
he Mycenaean civilization was the first major culture to
TIME LINE
c. 3000 BCE
T develop on the Greek mainland. It flourished from around
1600 BCE until around 1250 BCE. According to legend, a major
First settlement rival of the Mycenaean kingdoms was the Anatolian city of Troy.
appears at Troy.
c. 1600 BCE Around the same time that the Minoan Most of the knowledge about the
Mycenae becomes civilization was flourishing on Crete, Mycenaeans is of fairly recent origin.
major power another culture was developing on the The obsession of a German archaeolo-
on Greek
Greek mainland. This new culture was gist, Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890),
mainland.
the Mycenaean culture, which was with the story of Troy led to the city of
c. 1450 BCE named after the ancient city of Mycenae, Mycenae being discovered in the 19th
Mycenaeans one of the culture’s centers. The century CE. That Mycenaeans spoke
invade Crete, Mycenaean civilization was not a single Greek was only established in 1952,
making Knossos
administrative kingdom; it consisted of a group of city- when a cryptographer succeeded in de-
center; fortress states united by a common language and ciphering the script on clay tablets that
at Tiryns built way of life. Other great centers of had been found at Pylos and Mycenae
around this Mycenaean society were the cities of (see box, page 30).
time.
Athens,Thebes, Pylos,Tiryns, and Gla.
c. 1275 BCE Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans Schliemann and Homer
Tomb known as were a warlike people. However, they The epic poems the Iliad and the
Treasury of were also successful traders and skillful Odyssey, attributed to the Greek poet
Atreus built craftsmen. Their origins are still a mys- Homer, describe a Greek world in which
at Mycenae.
tery. Some historians believe they were a Agamemnon ruled Mycenae, the para-
c. 1250 BCE Greek-speaking people from the north- mount Greek city, while his brother
Mycenaean era east who migrated to mainland Greece Menelaus was king of Sparta and Pylos
comes to end, around 2000 BCE. Other experts, while and Ithaca were ruled by Nestor and
possibly as result accepting that such people did arrive in Odysseus respectively. Both of these epics
of invasion from Greece, remain unconvinced that they were once regarded as complete fiction,
the north.
Troy VIIa, the were the Mycenaeans. Wherever they but historians now accept that they give
Troy of Homer, came from, the Mycenaeans had become some very valuable glimpses into the
destroyed. a major power in the Aegean region by Mycenaean civilization of the 12th cen-
1600 BCE. They were to dominate the tury BCE.
c. 1050 BCE
region for the next 400 years. Around In the late 19th century CE, nothing
Troy VIIb destroyed;
city abandoned 1450 BCE, they invaded Crete, where was known about Greek history prior to
for several they made the city of Knossos their 800 BCE, but Heinrich Schliemann
centuries. administrative center.They also occupied became convinced that the world
many other Aegean islands and their described by Homer was based on fact
commercial empire extended through- and that Troy and Mycenae had really
out the Mediterranean region. existed. In 1876, Schliemann set out to
26
MYCENAE AND TROY
prove that Mycenae was the city of Dating from the has since been established that the mask
Agamemnon. While excavating a burial 16th century BCE, dates from the 1550s BCE, around 300
ground close to the ruins of Mycenae, this gold death mask years before the time of the Trojan War.
Schliemann came across a tomb contain- was discovered in a
ing many exquisite gold objects, includ- shaft burial at The city of Mycenae
ing a gold death mask—a replica of a Mycenae. At the Like many other cities in the ancient
dead person’s facial features. Schliemann time, it was world, Mycenae had been built on a hill
was convinced he had found the tomb of mistakenly believed to make it easy to defend if attacked. At
the Mycenaean king. “I have looked to have belonged to the top of the hill was the upper city, or
upon the face of Agamemnon,” he the legendary king citadel, which contained the royal palace.
declared triumphantly in a telegram Agamemnon. During the Late Mycenaean period (c.
written to the king of Greece. 1550–1100 BCE), the citadel was sur-
Schliemann was mistaken, however. It rounded by a defensive wall almost half a
27
ANCIENT GREECE
mile (805 m) long, 30 feet (9.1 m) high, At the center of the citadel lies the
and at least 20 feet (6.1 m) thick. The palace, which covers an area of 200 by
wall was constructed of massive lime- 180 feet (61 by 55 m). Built on uneven
stone blocks so heavy that later genera- terrain, the palace probably gave the
tions believed the wall must have been impression of being a stepped or terraced
built by the Cyclopes, a mythical race of structure.The entrance to the palace was
one-eyed giants. As a consequence, this approached by a grand staircase, some of
type of masonry is called Cyclopean. which still survives.
On the west side of the fortress, the
Lion Gate, the main gateway into the A royal residence
city, was an impressive structure, crowned The palace was an enormously impor-
by two stone lions standing on their hind tant building. Besides housing the royal
legs on either side of a column.The lions family, it acted as a regional center and a
are thought to have been a symbol of military headquarters. In addition to a
kingship.The gate was closed by a set of throne room, the palace contained halls,
double doors, and the spindle holes for storerooms, and workshops. The core
these doors can still be seen in the room was the megaron—a large rectan-
threshold and the massive lintel. The gular room where the king presided over
doors were hung on the spindle ends that state business. This audience chamber
protruded from the holes. A feature of had a large central hearth where a fire
the gate that seems to bring the ancient was kept burning, and the walls were
city to life is the fact that the threshold painted with colorful scenes of daily life.
still shows traces of wear from the con- The citadel, which contained several
stant passage of chariots and carts. houses as well as the palace, had many
underground vaults and a system of
underground drains. A reliable water
supply was crucial to the city, particular-
HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN ly in time of siege, and Mycenae had a
secret underground reservoir outside the
Heinrich Schliemann, born in January 1822, in Germany, wall of the citadel. Historians believe that
was the son of an impoverished pastor. Schliemann left the water was brought into the citadel by
school at 14 and, after a succession of odd jobs, sailed an underground channel.
for California, where he made a fortune during the In addition to the king and his rela-
Gold Rush. Schliemann next established himself in tives, the citadel housed a number of
Russia, where he became a successful businessman and other noble families, probably in separate
eventually grew rich enough to retire in his late thirties, houses. Most of the houses were spacious
devoting himself to archaeology. and had two stories. In the late 1960s,
a sanctuary containing the remains of
Schliemann had been obsessed with the stories of the terra-cotta figures 2 feet (0.6 m) high
Trojan War since childhood, and he used the fortune was found within the walls.These figures
that he had amassed to pursue his dream. He not only were possibly cult statues.
excavated the cities of Troy and Mycenae, but also the From the remains of a number of
city of Tiryns. Schliemann publicized his discoveries dwellings found on the hillside outside
through books and letters to British newspapers. the citadel, it has been assumed that a
substantial town extended from the foot
Schliemann died in Naples on December 26, 1890, as of the city walls. In times of war, the
the result of an ear infection. population of the town would have
taken refuge within the citadel.
28
MYCENAE AND TROY
Troy
Ae ANATOLIA
ge
THE BALKANS an
Iolkos Se
a
Gla
GREECE Lefkandi
Thebes
Athens
Mycenae
Asine Tiryns
Me
di t
er Pylos
ra
ne
an
Se
a
CRETE
29
ANCIENT GREECE
shaft tombs, called Grave Circle B, was Another type of Mycenaean tomb
discovered outside the citadel walls. was the tholos tomb, which was used from
The treasures that were buried with around 1500 BCE.These more elaborate
the deceased in these shaft tombs are a tombs were built by master craftsmen.
testimony to the power and wealth of Schliemann excavated many of these
Mycenae in those days. As well as gold tombs, which appear to have been
death masks, the graves yielded many reserved for the elite. The tholos tomb
richly decorated weapons, including a had a dome-shaped roof, and because of
number of daggers inlaid with gold or the domed appearance, the tombs are
silver. Some of the daggers featured also known as beehive tombs.
entire scenes, including hunts and battles, In a tholos tomb, the burial space
depicted in inlay work. The hilts of the consisted of a round hole in the ground
daggers were often made of wood or covered by a dome of stone blocks. The
bone to which reliefs of hammered gold blocks were laid in such a way that each
were applied. layer protruded inward over the layer
The deceased were not only provid- below, leaving only a small opening
ed with weapons, however. A number of at the top. The opening was then
other splendid objects have also been closed with an apex stone. The stone
found in the burial shafts. These objects blocks were covered with soil and peb-
include vases, dishes, golden rhytons (an bles, and the mound thus created was
ornate type of drinking vessel), beautiful- given an identifying mark or gravestone.
ly crafted diadems, earrings, hairpins, Inside the tomb, the protruding portions
necklaces, and bracelets, as well as hun- of the stone blocks were removed, and
dreds of tiny gold disks, which were the surface was smoothed, creating a
probably used to decorate clothes. conical dome.
Archaeologists have also found a number A tholos tomb was often built into the
of cylinder seals and signet rings. side of a hill and was approached by a
MYCENAEAN WRITING
When archaeologist Arthur Evans was excavat- script represented an unknown language of the
ing the Minoan city of Knossos in the early 20th Minoans, because the signs of Linear B were
century, he unearthed a number of clay tablets clearly based on those of Linear A.
inscribed with three distinct types of script.
Evans called these scripts hieroglyphic (the earli- Ventris tried to establish a phonetic value for
est form), Linear A, and Linear B. Evans never the syllable signs, based on assumptions about
succeeded in deciphering any of these scripts. the place names on the tablets. Starting from
such names as Konoso and Aminiso (Knossos
In 1939, excavations at the Mycenaean palace at and Amnissos),Ventris was able to uncover an
Pylos turned up many more Linear B tablets, archaic form of Greek. In 1953, together with
and thousands more were subsequently found John Chadwick, a specialist in Greek historical
at Mycenae,Tiryns, and Thebes. Using the tablets linguistics,Ventris published his findings.The ini-
from Pylos and Knossos, a cryptographer, tial article was controversial, but the decipher-
Michael Ventris, set about deciphering Linear B ment is now generally accepted—the language
in the 1950s. Most people believed that the of the Mycenaeans was Greek.
30
MYCENAE AND TROY
A secret tunnel
provided an
escape route
from the citadel
in case of siege.
long open corridor called a dromos. One have been found in Tiryns. Probably the This artist’s
particularly splendid tholos tomb discov- most striking features of these buildings illustration depicts
ered in the citadel of Mycenae was are the covered corridors and casements how the citadel of
named the Treasury of Atreus (see box, enclosing impressive galleries. Mycenae may
page 32). The floorplan of one building, have appeared.
Nestor’s Palace at Pylos, has been partic-
Other Mycenaean centers ularly well preserved. Named after one of
Although Mycenae was the mightiest the city’s semimythical kings, Nestor’s
center of the Mycenaean world, other Palace comprised several buildings,
royal fortresses and palaces of similar or which were not protected by massive
even greater size were built at Tiryns, surrounding walls but were probably
Asine, Pylos, Athens,Thebes, and Iolkos. guarded by fortresses along the coast. At
At Tiryns, a fortress was built in three the gateway to the citadel, there was a
stages some time after 1450 BCE. This guardroom, as well as another room
fortress has mighty walls that surpass where records were kept of the daily
those of Mycenae both in height and in business of the palace, produce received
the size of their stone blocks. Several in taxes, and work to be carried out by
palace buildings, including a megaron, officials. At the center of the citadel was
31
ANCIENT GREECE
was a mythical king of Mycenae who was involved Using evidence from this and other tombs,
in a bitter and tragic battle with his brother archaeologists have tried to imagine what a royal
Thyestes for the city’s throne.The identity of the funeral would have been like. It probably started
real-life king who was buried in the tomb remains with the funeral procession—consisting of the
a mystery, however. body of the king drawn on a chariot, followed by
priests and mourners—moving slowly along the
One of the most spectacular features of the dromos toward the entrance to the tomb, where
dome is its impressive dromos (entrance passage), great doors of bronze would open to admit the
which measures 120 feet (36.6 m) long and procession. Inside the tomb, the king would be
20 feet (6.1 m) wide.This dromos leads up to a laid to rest on a golden carpet. He would be
majestic doorway that is 30 feet (9.1 m) tall and dressed in his robes of state, and around him
would have been elaborately decorated. A gigantic would be laid his provisions for after death—
stone block weighing 120 tons (108,862 kg) food and wine, together with his weapons.
closes off the top of the entrance. Inside the Animals would be sacrificed, roasted on fires
tomb, the vast dome has a diameter and height of lit within the tomb, and eaten by the mourners.
approximately 45 feet (13.7 m) each and consists Everyone would then have withdrawn, the doors
of 33 layers of stone blocks fitted snugly together. would have been closed, and the entrance would
Remnants of bronze nails suggest that the inside have been filled up.
The dromos
(entrance
passage) of the
Treasury of
Atreus.The
Treasury of
Atreus is one
of the most
splendid
examples of a
tholos tomb.
32
MYCENAE AND TROY
Mycenaean society
Despite its loose political organization,
the Mycenaean world was surprisingly
united in its social, religious, and linguis-
tic aspects. Each region had its own king
(wanax), who acted as its head. Under
him was the lawagetas (people’s leader),
who was possibly an army commander.
Then there were the telestai, who are help support the royal family, priests, Tiryns, the ruins of
thought to have been wealthy landown- bureaucrats, and the army. which are seen here,
ers. Freemen were referred to as damos. Another section of Mycenaean socie- was one of the
Each class had its own kind of landown- ty included the skilled craftsmen. The most important
ership or tenancy. most important of these were the Mycenaean cities.
Everything was controlled by the bronzesmiths, who made the weapons
palace—the ownership and use of land, for the army. There were also jewellers,
the labor employed, and the products of potters, carpenters, and cabinetmakers,
craftsmen. The tablets that have been who carried out intricate inlay work.
recovered make it clear that most Large-scale textile manufacturing was
Mycenaeans were poor farmers who carried out by spinners and weavers, most
worked on land that was owned by the of whom were women. Many slaves were
king.They grew crops such as barley and employed in Mycenaean society; most of
wheat and kept groves of olive trees to them had been bought in slave markets
produce olive oil. They raised animals in Anatolia.
such as goats and sheep, which provided The Mycenaeans were aggressive and
both meat and wool, and grew flax to warlike, and each king kept his own
make linen. Most of this produce had to standing army, which he had to feed,
be taken to the palace. It was then sold to clothe, and arm.The commanders of the
33
ANCIENT GREECE
MYCENAEAN RELIGION
34
MYCENAE AND TROY
army wore heavy armor made of bronze ed on the edge of Lake Kopaïs in
and leather helmets made fearsome with Boeotia. This fortress had walls 2 miles
the addition of boar’s tusks.The infantry (3.2 km) long and covered a total area of
wore tunics of leather and carried 50 acres (202,343 m2). In comparison,
shields, swords, and daggers. Chariots, Mycenae had walls slightly over 0.5 miles
which usually carried two men and were (0.8 km) long encircling an area of 7.5
drawn by two horses, played an impor- acres (30,351 m2).The fortress at Gla was
tant role in the army. Chariots were used probably intended to be a central refuge
both to lead charges in battle and to for the entire surrounding area, at a time
carry information back to headquarters. when Mycenaeans all over Greece were
The Mycenaeans came to dominate apparently feeling a threat of invasion.
most of the Aegean area, subjugating This theory is borne out by clay
Knossos on Crete and occupying other tablets found at Pylos, which mention
parts of the island. The influence of the sending sentinels to the coast, drafting
Mycenaeans reached to all corners of soldiers, and hiring rowers. One of the
their world—Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, tablets refers to an unprecedented sacri-
southern Italy, and the Mediterranean fice of 13 golden vases and 10 people,
islands of Sicily, Cyprus, and Sardinia. obviously an attempt to secure the favor
From the 1600s BCE onward, the of the gods at a time of great emergency.
Mycenaeans dominated sea trade in the That the threat was not imaginary
Mediterranean.Trading posts were set up was proved by the widespread destruc-
in southern Italy and Anatolia, and tion that took place after 1250 BCE.
Mycenaean merchants traded goods such This destruction has frequently been
as cloth, pottery, grain, and oil with explained as the result of an invasion by
countries as far away as North Africa, the Dorians, a tribe from the Balkans and
Scandinavia, and the Middle East. This Mycenaean northern Greece.The Dorians are said to
jar is decorated have annihilated the Mycenaean civiliza-
Decline and fall with a picture of tion, but this idea is flawed. There is no
Over the course of the 13th century an octopus. gap in the archaeological record that
BCE, the Mycenaeans carried out a would correspond to the arrival of a
significant amount of construction in huge group of newcomers. On the
their territory. Many new buildings contrary, the overall impression is
were erected, and the fortresses one of continuity after the
of Tiryns, Mycenae, and destruction. Many of the
Athens were expanded former settlements were
and reinforced. Even in rebuilt, and the existing
Pylos, where there Mycenaean culture
were no surrounding simply continued.
walls, the palace was However, the size
modified to make it of the population
less open. Storerooms dropped dramatical-
were enlarged and ly, and society as a
measures were taken to whole descended to a
secure supplies of drink- lower cultural plane.
ing water. So what caused the
At the same time, in central decline if it was not the
Greece, a gigantic fortress was Dorians? The whole eastern
being erected near Gla, which is locat- Mediterranean area was in ferment
35
ANCIENT GREECE
36
MYCENAE AND TROY
37
ANCIENT GREECE
that Helen, the beautiful wife of Menelaus, king of The Odyssey, a sequel to the Iliad, deals with the
Sparta, has been abducted by Paris, a Trojan difficult voyage home of one of the Greek
prince.When Menelaus discovers that his wife is princes, Odysseus of Ithaca.The tale opens with
gone, he and his brother Agamemnon, king of the stress that his prolonged absence has caused
Mycenae, call upon the princes of Achaea to assist his household. Since no word has been heard
in punishing Troy and bringing Helen home. A fleet from him for 10 years, Odysseus is assumed to be
is prepared, and the warriors sail for Troy, where dead. Greedy suitors are ruining his property as
a drawn-out siege follows. they court his wife, Penelope.
In the Greek camp outside Troy, a dispute arises Odysseus himself then relates his adventures to
between the Greek prince Achilles and the supreme the king and queen of Scheria. Among other
commander, Agamemnon, who has abused his escapades, Odysseus tells them of his encounter
authority by taking a beautiful slave away from with the man-eating giant Polyphemus and the
Achilles. Achilles, deeply insulted, refuses to con- temptations of the goddess Calypso, who offered
tinue fighting.Without Achilles, the Greeks prove Odysseus immortality.
to be weaker than the Trojans, and disaster
threatens. Achilles finally agrees to allow his The Odyssey ends with the return of Odysseus
friend, Patroclus, to take part in the conflict, and to the island of Ithaca, where the hero discovers
Hector, the Trojan commander, kills Patroclus.The what has been going on in his absence. He kills
grieving Achilles feels compelled to avenge the the suitors who have been besieging his supposed
death of his friend and in turn kills Hector, which widow and is reunited with his wife, son, and aged
heralds the beginning of the end for the Trojans. father.
This Roman
mosaic depicts
Odysseus being
tempted by
the sirens.
38
MYCENAE AND TROY
Homer.The three succeeding Troys were attacked and taken by the Romans, who
each larger than the one before. then built Troy IX, which became an
Troy VI was heavily influenced by the important trading city until it was
Mycenaeans and attracted many new set- eclipsed by Constantinople in the fourth
tlers. It was destroyed around 1300 BCE, century CE.Around 400 CE, the site was
to be succeeded by what is called Troy finally abandoned and gradually disap-
VIIa. Most archaeologists now believe peared under the mound of Hissarlik,
that this is the Homeric Troy. Fragments until the cities were finally rediscovered
of pottery found at this level indicate that by Schliemann.
the city dates from the mid-13th centu- Schliemann died in 1890, and the
ry BCE. Some human remains, one of work at Hissarlik was carried on by his
which is a human skeleton showing assistant, Wilhelm Dorpfeld, who made
injuries to the head and a broken jaw- further excavations in 1893 and 1894.
bone, have been found in the streets, After that point, nothing more was done
which suggests the city was destroyed by until the 1930s, when the American
war.There is also evidence that Troy VIIa archaeologist Carl Blegen (1887–1971)
was put to the torch. The next city, Troy carried out careful excavations over a
VIIb, also seems to have been destroyed seven-year period, from 1932 to 1938.
by fire. Historians believe this destruction He took many photographs and was
happened around 1050 BCE. instrumental in establishing much of the
chronology of the city. In particular, it
The fall of Troy was Blegen who established that the Troy
After the destruction of Troy VIIb, the of Homeric legend was almost certainly
city seems to have been abandoned for Troy VIIa.
several centuries, but at the start of the
seventh century BCE, the site was reoc- See also:
cupied by Greeks and became known as Bronze Age Greece (page 6) • The Minoans
Ilium. Around 85 BCE, this city was (page 14)
39
THE DARK AGE AND
GREEK EXPANSION
fter the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, Greece entered
TIME LINE
c. 1250 BCE
A a period that is now known as the Dark Age. Gradually,
however, Greece emerged from this era, and exiles from the
Influx of Dorian country founded colonies all around the Mediterranean region.
invaders from
north heralds
beginning of By the mid-13th century BCE, the cities grounds declined sharply, while the
end of Mycenaean and palaces of mainland Greece were primitive style of buildings and earthen-
culture.
feeling under threat. New construction ware show that the people lived in great
c. 1100 BCE surrounded many of the cities with poverty. The complete disappearance of
Greece enters strong fortified walls, and measures were the complex society once centered on
Dark Age, period taken to protect underground water sup- the palaces meant that writing skills were
marked by
poverty and
plies, suggesting that imminent invasion also lost.The social organization seems to
depopulation. was feared. This fear seems not to have have broken down into small communi-
been misplaced. By the end of the centu- ties, each led by a basileus. In the palace
c. 850 BCE
ry, all the palaces had been burned, and hierarchy, this title had been used for a
Greeks begin the once great Mycenaean civilization subordinate figure, but in the Dark Age,
migrations to
Cyprus, Crete, was in terminal decline. the title referred to a powerful chieftain
Aegean islands, The cause of this collapse was a vast who held independent authority.
and Anatolia. influx of Dorian peoples from central It seems that the population increased
c. 750 BCE Asia. These aggressive tribesmen swept again in the ninth century BCE, possibly
Beginning of down mainland Greece from the north, due to a reduction in mortality or an
Archaic period; traveling in ox-drawn covered wagons increase in migration. What is certain is
developments and inspiring terror with their horned that the Greeks began to migrate from
include helmets. By 1100 BCE, all the main the mainland around this time, some to
reintroduction
of writing, Mycenaean centers had fallen to these Cyprus, Crete, and the Aegean islands,
increased trade, invaders, and for the next few centuries, others to Anatolia. Over the course of
and emergence Greece entered what is called the Dark the ninth century, representatives of three
of poleis. Age, about which very little is known. main dialect groups (see box, page 44)
c. 700 BCE settled in much of the coastal region of
New style of An age of poverty Anatolia and on the islands off this coast.
poetry emerges Archaeological excavations suggest that Those speaking the Aeolic dialect settled
in works of Greece became impoverished and par- on the island of Lesbos and in the region
Hesiod and
Archilochus;
tially depopulated in the turbulent peri- from north of the Dardanelles on the
poems contrast od following the collapse of the northwest coast of Anatolia down to
with epics of Mycenaean culture. The arrival of the
Homer. Dorians resulted in a change in the spo- The Temple of Hera on the island of Samos
ken dialect and in iron being used in in the Aegean Sea. Samos was settled by
preference to bronze, but the number Ionians during the Dark Age and later
and size of both settlements and burial became an important trading center.
40
ANCIENT GREECE
42
THE DARK AGE AND GREEK EXPANSION
Olbia
Tyras
B l ac k S ea Phasis
Sinope
THRACE
ANATOLIA
Cyrene
EGYPT Memphis
two epics were almost certainly first least one settlement that was called a KEY
composed in the oral tradition. city (also, confusingly, called a polis), no
The beginning of the Archaic period matter how small or unlike a city it The Greek world in
900 BCE
also saw the emergence of the polis (plu- actually was.
ral: poleis), which was an autonomous Each polis was completely independ- Coast under
political unit covering a small territory, ent. In theory, all the freemen who were Greek influence by
around 500 BCE
usually averaging between 50 and 100 its citizens organized the political affairs of
square miles (260 km2), with a popula- the polis (from which the term politics is
tion of between 2,500 and 4,500. Some derived) in community assemblies, but in
poleis were larger than this, particularly fact, much of the real power rested with
those of Sparta, Argos, Corinth, Athens, the aristocracy. The basileus, who in the
and Thebes. There were also some very Dark Age had ruled as a king, was
small units covering a territory of no replaced in most cases by magistrates who
more than 15 square miles (39 km2) and were elected annually from the ranks of
having a population of only around 250. the nobles. These aristocrats owed their
However large or small, each polis had at dominant position to a combination of
43
ANCIENT GREECE
44
THE DARK AGE AND GREEK EXPANSION
power and wealth, which, in the early Greek world. Within the poleis, social
Archaic period, was often expressed in the relations were changing as some citizens
number of horses one owned. After 700 became a great deal richer than others.
BCE, the possession of bronze armor was An elite of aristocrats and wealthy citi-
another indicator of status. zens emerged as a result of trading with This sixth-century-
the east. In several poleis, these small BCE Greek vase
Colonization groups of aristocrats managed to seize painting shows Ajax
The emergence of the poleis took place control and end the community assem- carrying the body of
during a time of rapid population blies, thereby undermining the funda- Achilles.The tales of
growth.This rise in population led to the mental principle of the poleis. As the Homer were not
conquest of sparsely populated regions majority of the citizens still had to work written down until
and to armed conflicts between neigh- to survive, they were often forced into a the Archaic period.
boring poleis in attempts to expand their
territories.The rise also encouraged fur-
ther emigration of Greeks from the
mainland. In the eighth century BCE,
Sparta subjected the region of Laconia
and began the conquest of neighboring
Messenia. Argos extended its power over
the Argolis region, while Athens united
the peninsula of Attica into one polis.
The emigration of many Greeks to set-
tlements on the Mediterranean and
Black Sea coasts led to what is called the
Archaic colonization.
Developments such as colonization
and the subsequent flourishing of trade,
the growing contact between the various
poleis, and the use of writing to record
the laws and decrees of a polis commu-
nity all had an influence on the relations
between the many small states of the
ANCIENT GREECE
46
THE DARK AGE AND GREEK EXPANSION
The Temple of
Ceres at Paestum.
Paestum, a Greek
colony in southern
Italy, was founded
around the
beginning of
the seventh
century BCE.
47
ANCIENT GREECE
started with no more than one or two land to support farming.The Greek pres-
hundred people, to be joined by other ence there became so dominant that the
colonists at a later stage.The new colony area was called Magna Grecia (Great
would always hold its parent metropolis Greece). In the fifth century BCE,
in esteem and would preserve the reli- Syracuse on Sicily became the most
gious customs of the parent city despite highly populated of all Greek cities.
any political differences. The metropolis Other new settlements were situated on
and satellite polis would send official the Aegean islands along the northern
envoys to each other’s religious festivals, coast of the Aegean Sea; on the northern
and the special relationship was some- coast of Anatolia along the Hellespont
times demonstrated by the provision of and the Bosporus; around the Black Sea;
military aid by the parent to the colony. on the north African coast in Cyrenaica
For example, Corinth helped the city of (present-day Libya); and on the south
Syracuse to fight the Athenians during coast of France and the northeastern
the Peloponnesian War, because Syracuse coast of Spain.
was Corinth’s colony. The Greek colonists avoided areas
The Sicilian town of where other peoples had a significant
Syracuse, the site of The spread of settlements presence. These areas included the east-
this ancient Greek Colonies fanned out in all directions ern coast of the Mediterranean, which
theater, was settled from the Greek mainland. Some of the was already well occupied, and the
by exiles from earliest settlements were on Sicily and in northeast African coast, which was large-
Corinth in the southern Italy, where the colonists were ly avoided because of the dominance of
eighth century BCE. attracted by the good harbors and fertile Egypt in the area. The African coast to
THE DARK AGE AND GREEK EXPANSION
the west of Cyrenaica was entirely in the wanted to go and had consulted an ora-
hands of the Phoenicians, as was the cle before setting out to ensure a favor-
western part of Sicily, the whole of able outcome to the voyage. At least,
Sardinia, most of the smaller islands in that is what they were supposed to do.
the western Mediterranean, and a large Colonies that did not possess the text of
part of the Spanish coast. an oracle, or that could not point out
the tomb of an original founder, often
Adventurous colonists produced forgeries in order to ensure
Why the Greek colonists wanted to leave their standing.
the mother country is not completely When the immigrants disembarked at
clear.The theory that they were escaping their destination, the first thing they did
overpopulation on the mainland has was to drive away the native population,
been largely discredited, but they may if there was one. It is not known whether
have been fleeing from an unsatisfactory it was common practice to subdue the
political situation at home, or seeking original inhabitants and bind them in
land of their own, or simply searching for servitude to the Greeks, but this
adventure. When a group of emigrants undoubtedly happened from time to
boarded a ship or—as some sources time. The second task was to find a site
imply—were taken aboard forcibly, the where the new city could be built and
people were already well prepared for divide the surrounding land equally
their enterprise. They knew where they among the colonists.This practice served
49
ANCIENT GREECE
50
THE DARK AGE AND GREEK EXPANSION
51
SPARTA AND
ATHENS
he rivalry of the two city-states Sparta and Athens formed an
TIME LINE
c. 1200 BCE
T important part of the history of ancient Greece. Both cities
underwent changes in their political structure from the eighth
Twelve cities century BCE onward.
of Attica united by
Theseus according
to legend; form The eighth century BCE saw the emer- the other side of the Taygetus Mountains
city-state of gence in Greece of the polis (plural: lay the highly fertile region of Messenia.
Athens.
poleis), the city-state.Two city-states that After a lengthy war, the Spartans suc-
c. 950 BCE had very different histories and charac- ceeded in conquering Messenia toward
Dorian invaders teristics were Sparta and Athens. the end of the eighth century. From that
settle on Eurotas time onward, the original settlement on
Plain; over next two Sparta
centuries, they form
the Eurotas Plain remained the heart of
city-state of Sparta. The polis of Sparta had its origins in sev- the state, while Messenia was regarded as
eral small settlements on the Eurotas occupied territory.
c. 725 BCE Plain in Laconia in the southern part of The Messenians found the regime
Spartans conquer the Peloponnese. In the 10th century under the Spartans so oppressive that
neighboring region
of Messenia; BCE, the Eurotas Plain was invaded by they revolted in the seventh century
numerous revolts warriors who spoke the Doric dialect. BCE; the rising was only finally put
occur during Subduing the native population, the down after decades of strife. During this
following century. invaders moved into several villages period, the Spartan poet Tyrtaeus wrote
c. 650 BCE grouped near the hills in the center of battle songs, and his verses constitute the
Spartan state the plain and formed the settlement that oldest written record of Sparta’s history.
reorganized; was to become Sparta. Over the next In one song, Tyrtaeus describes the
changes credited two centuries, the Spartans, as they came rewards that the conquerors would enjoy
to lawgiver
named Lycurgas. to be called, developed a regime that dif- when all the Messenians were made into
fered considerably from that of other helots: “Like heavily laden donkeys, they
c. 625 BCE Greek city-states.The highest level of the will be forced by hard means to hand
Social inequality social hierarchy of this new polis consist- over to their masters half of what they
leads to unrest
in Athens.
ed of the conquering warriors—the harvest in their fields.”This prophecy was
Spartans—who were led by two kings. soon to be fulfilled.
c. 600 BCE The conquered people consisted of
Athenian statesman helots, or serfs, and perioikoi, who were The helots
Solon makes neighboring freemen who recognized By the mid-seventh century BCE, Sparta
changes to
Athenian society, the authority of the Spartan kings. had finally subdued the Messenians and
including abolishing By the eighth century BCE, Sparta was the largest of all the Greek city-
debt slavery. had expanded to such an extent that states. Sparta had an immense labor force
there was not sufficient land in Laconia of helots to work its fertile lands, making
to provide a reasonable living for all the it also one of the most prosperous city-
warriors of the growing population. On states. The helots functioned as serfs,
52
SPARTA AND ATHENS
This statue is a
copy of the Athena
Promachos, a giant
statue of the
goddess Athena
that stood in Athens.
The deity was the
city’s patron, and
the original statue
was destroyed in the
13th century CE.
53
ANCIENT GREECE
carrying out all the agricultural work wartime. In neither case did the helot
while their Spartan masters concentrated acquire full Spartan civil rights.
on military matters. In time of war, helots Although they were essential for the
were used to row the long galleys or as agricultural economy, helots were by no
low-ranking soldiers in the field. They means always well treated. Spartan citi-
had no civil rights, but in contrast to zens were vastly outnumbered by helots
slaves, helots could not be owned by and lived in constant fear of an uprising.
individual Spartans. Consequently, the Spartans attempted to
Best described as “slaves of the state,” keep the helots firmly under control by
the helots belonged to particular plots systematic humiliation and intimidation.
of land and could not be bought and This treatment included the krypteia—a
sold individually. When land was kind of secret police in which young
allocated to a Spartan citizen, it came Spartans were enrolled to hunt and kill
complete with helots, and he was helots in the wilderness. This practice
not allowed to sell or release them. The seems to have been a sort of initiation
state determined the percentage of ritual that involved a period of isolation
the harvest that the helots had to hand followed by the killing of an “enemy.”
over to their masters. The helots were However, it is probable that only a few
allowed to keep the remainder of the helots were murdered in this way; a
food for themselves. large-scale culling of the workforce
There were a few legal ways for a would have had serious negative eco-
helot to secure freedom.A Spartan father nomic implications.
Greek ruins in the could adopt any children he had by a
Messenia region, helot mother, making the children Perioikoi
which was Spartan citizens. From the fifth century The other people who were not entitled
conquered by BCE onward, helots could earn the sta- to Spartan civil rights were the
Sparta in the eighth tus of freeman by fighting with the perioikoi—usually translated as neighbors
century BCE. Spartans as full-fledged soldiers in or out-dwellers. These people were
SPARTA AND ATHENS
B l ac k S
ea
MACEDON
Aeg
THESSALY
LESBOS
ea n
LYDIA
Sea
AETOLIA
M BOEOTIA
Thebes
ed
Athens
i te
rra
Syracuse MESSENIA
Se
Sparta
a
CRETE
freemen descended from the pre-Dorian who formed the class of traders and
inhabitants of the region and lived on the craftsmen that exported iron ore, lime-
outskirts of the polis. Most of the peri- stone for building, bronze figurines, and
oikoi were farmers, and although they painted pottery.
had no political rights within the Spartan
state, their communities were internally Lycurgus and the constitution
autonomous. In peacetime, Sparta had After the final subjugation of the
little interest in the settlements, but in Messenians, a number of changes took
times of war, the settlements were place in Spartan society. While the basic
expected to supply soldiers. administrative and social structure that
Spartan males were trained from had existed since the conquest of
a young age to become soldiers and Laconia continued, it was adapted and
were banned from engaging in trade or systematized in the late seventh and early
crafts. For this reason, it was the perioikoi sixth centuries BCE.These reforms have
55
ANCIENT GREECE
Two Greek wrestlers traditionally been attributed to the great could not propose its own motions. Nor
prepare to fight in lawgiver Lycurgus, although it is not could the assembly make amendments to
this relief sculpture. clear whether any such man ever existed. motions laid before it.Voting took place
In ancient Sparta, It is more probable that the reformed by means of booing or cheering, the out-
sports such as constitution was not the work of one come being determined by the group
wrestling were man, but rather the result of an evolu- that made the most noise.
considered an tionary process. However it was arrived The most powerful of the governing
important part of at, the constitution of the revised state is bodies was the gerousia, which consisted
military training. generally referred to as the Lycurgan of 28 men all aged 60 and above. Each
Constitution, to distinguish it from the member was either related to one of the
earlier society. kings or came from an aristocratic fami-
Under the Lycurgan Constitution, ly, and they were all elected for life. The
the joint rule of two kings continued. gerousia prepared motions to be debated
However, apart from their joint com- in the assembly and served as a Supreme
mand of the army, most of their func- Court, with authority to try even the
tions were purely honorary. The real kings if it seemed they had fallen short of
power lay not with the kings but with their duties.
three other institutions: the assembly, the When motions were voted on in the
council of elders, and the magistrates. assembly, the volume of noise was judged
The public assembly, called the apella, by the five ephors (overseers), the highest
was an assembly of adult warriors with magistrates in the polis.These officials, in
Spartan civil rights. This assembly had whom ultimate authority lay, were elect-
the power to vote on motions presented ed annually by the assembly and consti-
by the council of elders (the gerousia) but tuted the actual government of Sparta,
56
SPARTA AND ATHENS
supervising the entire range of state for the rest of his life, and he became
affairs. The ephors held regular eligible to vote in the assembly.
meetings with the gerousia, influ- Spartan males were conditioned
encing the choice of items to to relate primarily to other
be debated at the assembly, men. Indeed, part of their
and had monthly meetings youthful training involved
with the two kings, at being paired with another
which the kings pledged older boy in what was
themselves to observe almost certainly a sexual
the laws. In return, relationship.
the ephors promised to Even when a man and
support the kings, pro- a woman married, they
vided the kings did lived in separate male and
indeed observe the laws. female quarters, although
If the kings and the ephors they were allowed to share
had disagreements, the a room at night. Marriage
ephors, who had the last was endorsed by the state,
word, could charge the kings since it was necessary to raise
with misconduct, fine them, another generation of warriors
dethrone them, and even send and mothers of warriors. Since it
them into exile. was deemed important that women
should be healthy to bear healthy chil-
Military training This 19th-century- dren, great attention was devoted to the
In Lycurgan Sparta, the army was of CE engraving physical education of girls.The girls par-
paramount importance, and all Spartan depicts the Spartan ticipated—naked, to the amazement of
boys had to undergo rigorous training lawgiver Lycurgus, other Greeks—along with boys in the
from a very early age for a military life. who is credited with athletics program until the age of 18. To
At birth, infants were inspected by state transforming ensure that girls would not embark on
officials, and any infants deemed to be Sparta’s political pregnancy too young, the marriageable
defective were exposed on the moun- structure. age for girls in Sparta was higher than
tains and left to die. At the age of seven, elsewhere in Greece.
boys were taken from their homes and
brought up in “packs,” which were An austere life
supervised by older boys. When they From the sixth century BCE, Spartan
were twelve, the boys were placed in bar- society became increasingly austere and
racks, where they lived on a basic diet of rigid. Everything was focused on the
porridge enriched with bits of pork. maintenance of a powerful army, and
Their education was primarily physical, Sparta became an introverted communi-
consisting mostly of athletics and combat ty where change was seen as undesirable
sports practiced naked in all weathers and strangers were not welcome. The
outdoors. Throughout, the emphasis was Spartan ideology was rooted in the pri-
on learning to obey orders without hes- macy of the state over the needs of the
itation and to endure hardships. individual. Even today, the word Spartan
At age 20, the warrior graduated and carries a connotation of strict austerity in
was allotted a plot of land that would all aspects of lifestyle.
provide food to feed himself and his fam- The settlement of Sparta itself was no
ily. He joined a sussitia (one of the mili- more than a collection of villages, not
tary messes) to which he would belong worthy of being called a city. With the
57
ANCIENT GREECE
THE HOPLITE
By the fifth century BCE, the hoplite’s armor The hoplites were not professional soldiers, but
would consist of a large circular shield known as rather an army of citizens who took up arms
an aspis, a breastplate, a pair of greaves (shin pro- when the need arose. Because armor was fairly
tectors), and a helmet.There were various styles expensive, the hoplites came from the wealthier
of helmet, but one of the most common was the ranks of society. In the case of most cities, the
Corinthian, which protected both the bridge of hoplites had jobs and farms to go back to, so
the nose and the cheeks. Early Corinthian hel- campaigning seasons were short.
mets also covered the ears, but this design made
hearing difficult. Because soldiers needed to hear The most fearsome hoplites were those from
instructions in the heat of battle, later variations Sparta. Although they were not professional sol-
had holes cut out for the ears. In illustrations on diers, in the sense of being a paid, standing army,
Greek vases, helmets are usually topped by a the fact that all Spartan men trained in military
magnificent crest, but historians believe that many skills from birth meant that Spartan hoplites were
helmets did without such decorations. In total, fitter, more organized, and more disciplined than
the armor could weigh up to 60 pounds (27 kg), those from other cities.
so hoplites needed to be very strong.
This relief from the fifth century BCE depicts two
In battle, the hoplites fought by marching forward hoplites following a chariot and carrying the typical
in a dense formation several rows deep.The left- round shield (aspis) and long spear.
59
ANCIENT GREECE
the late Helladic period, through the land, which was usually worked by their
Dark Age, to the Archaic period. There tenants. In the second rank were the
is therefore a grain of truth in the zeugitai, men who owned a zeugos or
claim by the Athenians that they were yoke for a pair of oxen.These men were
the original indigenous Greeks whose farmers who owned enough land to be
domain had never been conquered economically independent. Below both
by invaders. of these groups were the thetes, who were
small farmers and day laborers. In princi-
Social groups ple, all these groups, from the aristocrats
As far as its social and political structure to the landless, were Athenian citizens.
was concerned, Athens followed the pat- This situation was fairly unusual, because
tern of many of the other Greek city- in many city-states, land ownership and
A shoemaker goes states. There were three distinct social civil rights were linked.
about his daily work groups. Dominating the others were the From the seventh century BCE, or
in this illustration hippei—horsemen or knights.These men perhaps earlier, Athens had a board
from a Greek vase. were the aristocrats who owned the most of nine magistrates, called the archons,
who were elected annually.
These archons were always
drawn from the ranks of
the aristocracy. Ex-archons
became members of the
areopagus, a council named
after the place where it
convened, the Areos Pagos,
or hill of the god Ares.
Social tension
Athens experienced enor-
mous social tension in the
seventh century BCE. Poor
small farmers frequently
lost their land to richer
landholders and were sub-
sequently forced to rent
farmland at an exorbitant
rate—one sixth of the
yield, which was a high
price to pay in the relative-
ly dry and infertile Attica
region. Anyone who could
not pay the rent was de-
clared a debtor, and credi-
tors were merciless in
enforcing their claims
against debtors. People
who could not pay were
often sold into slavery,
together with their wives
60
SPARTA AND ATHENS
Solon
One way to deal with the social tension
was to reform the law. At the beginning
of the sixth century BCE, an aristocrat
named Solon, who had been a distin-
guished general, was appointed chief
archon with special powers to revise the
law and act as an arbitrator to avoid the
threat of civil war. Solon was to go down
in Greek history as an outstanding exam-
ple of a wise lawgiver, and many institu-
tions from a later period were also attrib-
uted to him.
One of Solon’s first decisions was to
invite a number of emigrants and exiles
to return to Athens. Some of these peo-
ple had been banished from the country
for political reasons, while others had
fled due to the huge burden of debt Poor Athenians probably had to work as This sculpture is
incurred as tenant farmers. To enable agricultural laborers from then on, while believed to depict
people in the latter group to return, some people may have found work in Solon, one of the
Solon negotiated the cancellation of all the newly emerging industries. most important
their debts. He also abolished debt slav- Athenian statesmen
ery, making it impossible for someone to Political changes of the sixth
guarantee a debt with his own person.All In addition to his efforts in the econom- century BCE.
the debt slaves who could be traced had ic field, Solon was active in political
their freedoms purchased for them. reform. He decreed that all free citizens
Besides being a economic reformer, of Attica be allowed to vote in the pub-
Solon was also a poet. He recorded his lic assembly, the ecclesia. Other political
reforms in the following verses: “I gave rights were linked to a division of the
Athens, divine city, back its sons; men citizens into classes. These classes were
who were sold either lawfully or unlaw- defined by Solon according to a new cri-
fully; men who were driven from their terion based solely on property; previ-
native country by poverty; vagrants who ously, birth had been the most important
had almost forgotten how to speak their factor. The classification was based on
own language. I did this by using the laws annual income expressed in terms of
and powers given to me.” quantities of grain, and there were four
It is not clear whether anything was groups. In addition to the thetes, zeugitai,
done to prevent a new buildup of debts. and hippeis, a new group was formed.
61
ANCIENT GREECE
ATHENIAN WOMEN
Even in the home, women were segregated from This painting from the 19th century CE depicts
the affairs of men and spent most of their time in Greek women drawing water from a well. Women in
the women’s quarters, where men seldom went. ancient Athens would have spent most of their time
Athenian society was very much a man’s society, performing household tasks.
62
SPARTA AND ATHENS
63
FROM TYRANNY TO
DEMOCRACY
n the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, Greece saw the rise of
TIME LINE
c. 657 BCE
I tyranny as a system of government when politicians such as
Cypselus in Corinth and Peisistratus in Athens gained power. Later,
Cypselus drives out a new form of democracy arose in Athens.
rulers of Corinth to
establish tyranny
in city. During the Archaic period (c. 750–500 may have been military coups. The new
625 BCE
BCE), there was much social unrest in tyrants had clearly received support from
Periander takes
the burgeoning city-states of Greece. aristocratic friends and followers, and
over rule of Some of this unrest was relieved by col- sometimes from another state. They may
Corinth from his onization, while attempts were made at also have used mercenary troops, which
father Cypselus. home to reduce the gap between rich were a new phenomenon at the time.To
582 BCE and poor. For example, in Athens in the win the support of the populace, they
Periander’s nephew sixth century BCE, the lawgiver Solon often promised various rewards, such as
Psammetichus specifically addressed the rights of the grants of land, thereby turning social dis-
deposed following poor by abolishing debt slavery. Another content to their own advantage.
rebellion; Corinth way of dealing with the internal social One of the first tyrants was Cypselus.
now ruled by
oligarchy. problems in the Greek communities was Around 657 BCE, he drove out the rul-
the institution of tyranny. ing aristocracy in Corinth. During the
561 BCE The word tyrannos was not originally next 150 years, tyranny became the most
Peisistratus imposes Greek; it was borrowed from the Lydian common form of government in the
himself as dictator
of Athens for first language and was used to refer to an Greek world; of the more important
time; twice driven absolute ruler who had taken power ille- city-states only Sparta and Aegina appear
from city. gally. Such a ruler was not necessarily a to have escaped it. Many of these tyrants
546 BCE “tyrant” in the modern sense of the were quite popular, particularly among
Peisistratus returns
word, since an unlawful sovereign was the middle-class, mercantile populace
to Athens at head not necessarily a cruel or unjust one. who had been denied any social privi-
of army; he However, the fact that the Greeks adopt- leges by the previous aristocratic rule.
establishes tyranny ed a foreign word for this new political Some tyrants were also popular because
that lasts for
19 years.
phenomenon indicated that they viewed they stimulated local patriotism and
it as alien to the idea of a polis (city-state) organized cults and festivals that celebrat-
510 BCE as a community of citizens. ed the local gods.
Hippias deposed as The tyrannies followed a similar pat-
tyrant of Athens; The age of the tyrants tern in each state. Eventually, popular
Cleisthenes later
creates new During the Archaic period, individual feeling would move against a dictator-
democratic aristocrats all over Greece took advan- ship, as councils and tribal meetings were
system of tage of infighting among the nobility to excluded from power and the tyrant
government. seize power. In most cases, the details of placed himself above the law.
how they came to power are not known, Most tyrants decreed their rule
but what evidence there is suggests there hereditary, but the people tended to
64
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
65
ANCIENT GREECE
THRACE
The Dardanelles
MACEDON
A e ge
Mytilene
an
LYDIA
Sea
ATTICA
Thebes Eretria
Marathon
Corinth Athens Ephesus
SICILY
ION
Miletus
Syracuse
IA
M Sparta
ed
i te
r ra
ne
an
Se
a
CRETE
for their goods to be transferred at boiled over into revolution, and a new
KEY
Corinth to wagons to be transported to leader called Cypselus was put in place as
Area of Greek the other side, where they could be a tyrant. Cypselus proved himself to be a
settlement by the shipped again. Trade with states on the mild and popular dictator, who needed
sixth century BCE
eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea no bodyguard. According to a popular
thrived, and after the Greek colonization legend about his birth, Cypselus was a
of southern Italy and Sicily, trade with hero favored by the gods. He belonged
the west increased as well. to the same class as the aristocracy and
Corinth was also the center of a pros- yet was an outsider.
perous export industry in earthenware.
Corinthian pottery, painted in exquisite The rule of Periander
detail, was shipped out to destinations in Under Cypselus and, later, his son
every direction, outselling any other pot- Periander, the prosperity of Corinth
tery of the time. Most of this commercial reached new highs. Colonies were
activity was dominated by the Bacchiad founded on the eastern coast of the
family, an aristocratic clan that ruled Adriatic Sea, to develop the trade route
over Corinth. to Italy. Periander built a slipway 5 miles
Around 657 BCE, the resentment of (8 km) long across the isthmus so ships
the mercantile class against the Bacchiads could be put on trolleys and dragged
66
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
This Corinthian tile from one side to the other. The tolls power. His actions, as related by the
depicts a potter from this facility greatly increased the fifth-century-BCE historian Herodotus,
standing in front city’s wealth. caused his tyranny to deteriorate into a
of a kiln. Corinth Periander ruled from 625 to 585 reign of terror.
was famous for BCE and showed himself to be a wily Periander died in 585 BCE and was
its pottery in statesman. He extended the power of succeeded by his nephew Psammetichus,
the seventh Corinth both by the sword and by diplo- who was deposed following a rebellion
century BCE. macy. When Mytilene and Athens were in the third year of his reign. The gov-
in dispute over the ownership of a ernment of Corinth was then taken over
colony in 600 BCE, Periander was asked by a group of aristocrats, who established
to adjudicate between them. He came an oligarchy (rule by an elite).
down on the side of Athens, which made
the city a valuable ally. The tyranny in Athens
During Periander’s reign, Corinth Although the inspired lawgiver Solon
also became a center of culture, where had produced a new code of law for
poets and musicians congregated. He Athens in the early sixth century BCE, it
inaugurated many public building works, was still far from becoming a democracy.
giving rise to the architectural style Solon had granted civil rights to the
known as the Doric order. poorer Athenians and put an end to debt
However, the rule of Periander had a slavery, but he had done little to secure
darker side. He was subject to violent the economic future of the poor. Rivalry
mood swings, and he was ruthless in exe- between landed and landless people con-
cuting anyone he thought threatened his tinued, as did rivalry within the aristoc-
68
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
The Acropolis in racy. Against this unsettled background, The plains party referred to by
Athens was a a politician called Peisistratus gained Herodotus consisted of old, aristocratic
focal point of the the support of the common people families from the region surrounding the
city during the and managed to seize power in a coup city of Athens. The coastal party was
reign of the described by Herodotus: more democratic and consisted of sever-
tyrant Peisistratus. “At that time [561 BCE] a civil war al families, the most important of which
was raging in Attica between the coastal were the Alcmaeonidae. Their domain
party and the plains party.Taking advan- lay along the coast to the south of
tage of their quarrel, Peisistratus devised Athens. Peisistratus’s party “from over the
a plan to become tyrant of Athens by hills” was probably a splinter group from
forming a third party.This was the party the coastal party. The phrase “over the
from over the hills. He mobilized a group hills” may refer to Peisistratus’s power
of followers and won victory by means base on the east coast of Attica, on
of a clever trick. One day he wounded the other side (from Athens) of the
himself before coming to the market. Hymettos Mountain ridge.
There, he said that he had miraculously
escaped from his enemies, who had tried The return of Peisistratus
to kill him. To protect himself from fur- Soon after Peisistratus had established
ther attacks, he asked for an official himself as the tyrant of Athens, however,
bodyguard.The Athenians gave him per- he was driven out again by the two rival
mission to arm a group of 300 citizens groups of aristocrats. Five years later, he
with clubs. With the aid of these people returned from exile and to power with
Peisistratus rebelled and succeeded in the help of his former rival Megacles.
capturing first the Acropolis and subse- Herodotus described what happened
quently the seat of government.” as follows:
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FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
“As soon as Peisistratus had left, the populace, and, under his rule, trade and
two groups who had banished him began industry flourished. In his efforts to make
to quarrel. Finally Megacles, the leader Athens the political center of Attica,
of the coastal party, sent an envoy Peisistratus organized great “national”
to Peisistratus. Peisistratus would be religious festivals, such as the Diony-
returned to power if he agreed to marry sian festivals at which tragedies were
the daughter of Megacles. Peisistratus performed. The Panathenaea—the cele-
agreed to the proposal, and together they bration of the city goddess Pallas
designed a plan to accomplish the return Athena—was also turned into a
of the tyrant.” great festival. The Iliad and
This plan involved dressing up the Odyssey, the two great
a woman as the goddess Pallas epic poems of Homer,
Athena, guardian of the city of were recited at this and
Athens, and arranging for her to other events.
travel through the city, preceded An important social
by heralds who announced that institution introduced by Peisi-
the goddess was leading Peisis- stratus was the one of traveling
tratus back to his rightful place. judges, who visited the villages
The plan appears to have worked. of Attica, listened to cases, and
For a while, Peisistratus resumed his role dispensed justice. Peisistratus also
as tyrant, but the alliance with the initiated a great road-building pro-
coastal party and the marriage to gram, which made communicating
Megacles’s daughter soon broke down. and traveling around Attica much
Once again, Peisistratus was forced to easier in general.
flee Athens. Many substantial construction
During the following decade, projects were also undertaken to
Peisistratus first accumulated a great emphasize the great importance of
deal of wealth, mainly from the gold Athens and its ruling family. Poorer
and silver mines in Thrace. He then Athenians seem to have benefited
concentrated on building good relations under his rule from a redistribution
with states and individuals who might be of land, as well as from the stimula-
prepared to supply funds and mercenar- tion of trade and industry.The pot-
ies to support his planned coup in tery industry in particular flour-
Athens. In 546 BCE, he landed with an ished. During Peisistratus’s rule,
army at Marathon, on the east coast of Athenian black-figure pottery came
Attica. Marching towards Athens, he was to supersede all other pottery on
joined by other disaffected forces. The the Mediterranean markets.
Athenians sent out an army to meet him,
and at the Battle of Pallene, Peisistratus Hippias
was victorious. He entered Athens as its Peisistratus was succeeded in 527
tyrant and this time remained in power BCE by his son Hippias (see
for more than 19 years. box, page 75), who continued his
father’s policy of making Athens a
The rule of Peisistratus
Peisistratus was a benign tyrant. He took This bronze statue depicting the
no revenge against his opponents, and he god Zeus dates to the early
upheld the laws laid down by Solon. He fifth century BCE. Zeus was
imposed very moderate taxation on the king of the Greek gods.
71
ANCIENT GREECE
This vase illustration cultural center. However, opposition to Farming methods were primitive.
shows a farmer his rule was growing.The powerful fam- Plowing was done by means of a wood-
plowing a field. ily of the Alcmaeonidae had gathered en plow drawn by oxen, which, rather
Farming methods together a large group of exiles on the than turning the earth, merely scratched
were relatively Peloponnese.These disaffected Athenians the surface. At first, farmers had to leave
primitive in managed to gain the support of the a field fallow every year or so to allow it
ancient Greece. Spartans, who were trying to expand to regain fertility, but by around 400
their territory northward. A Spartan BCE, they had learned the art of crop
army joined in an invasion of Attica in rotation. Most Greek farms were small,
510 BCE. Hippias and his supporters although there was the occasional large
were trapped on the Acropolis. Hippias holding. The work was carried out by
was deposed but allowed to go into exile. individual farmer-landholders or by ten-
He subsequently left for a colony in the ant farmers or serfs.
Dardanelles. His departure brought more Olive oil was a major agricultural
than 35 years of Athenian tyranny to an product. It was an important source of
end. export revenue, and, at home, it was used
universally in cooking and for lamp oil.
An agricultural economy Olive oil also had a significant part to
Trade and industry flourished in Greece play in religious ceremonies.
throughout the time of Cypselus and Craftsman had a low status in Archaic
Peisistratus. However, the main econom- Greece. Potters, smiths, tanners, and other
ic activity of most people was agricul- craftsmen generally worked in small
ture. Some 90 percent of the population workshops, which were usually run as a
were farmers, making a living growing family business. Textile production was
olives, figs, grapes, and fruit, as well as a domestic industry carried out by
cultivating crops such as grain, beans, and women. Only a small handful of people
green vegetables. in each polis could have survived by
72
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
73
ANCIENT GREECE
Most trade in Greece at this time was Megacles, who had been both an ally
on a very small scale. Such trade as there and an enemy of the tyrant. The
was was either carried on by farmers, Alcmaeonidae had been exiled several
who brought their surplus product to the times during the late sixth century BCE;
market, or by craftsmen, who sold their Cleisthenes himself was banished from
goods to customers in the workshops. Athens for some 20 years. He returned to
Professional traders—those who bought take a prominent part in the overthrow
the products of others in order to resell of Hippias.
them at a profit—were rare. Only rich Cleisthenes instigated a program of
merchants engaged in this type of over- political reforms between 510 and 507
seas trade, and they were wealthy enough BCE. His new constitution, under which
to build their own ships and employ the political weight in Athens shifted
others to undertake the trading from the aristocrats to the demos, took
voyages. Nevertheless, howev- effect around 502 BCE. A crucial
er small-scale or marginal it part of his reforms was to
was, trade in the Archaic improve the civil rights of
period still offered great both the thetes (the small
opportunities for per- landless farmers and day
sonal enrichment. workers) and the zeugi-
War booty was tai (the economically
another important independent farm-
source of income ers). Under Solon, the
in Archaic Greece. zeugitai had been
The booty taken allowed political off-
on military enter- ice, and during the
prises provided a reign of tyranny, many
major source of of them had become
wealth for aggressive prosperous enough to be
city-states. With wars able to afford the full suit
waged almost constantly of armor required to be a
among the many Greek hoplite. Their role as hoplites
states, booty was probably as had become increasingly signifi-
important a source of income as cant; their importance to the
agricultural production. military security of the polis was
This Athenian silver almost certainly an influential factor in
A return to democracy coin from the fifth Cleisthenes’s decision to enlist their
After Hippias was deposed in 510 BCE, century BCE is political support.
the aristocrat Cleisthenes (570–508 stamped with a
BCE) seized the opportunity to establish picture of an owl, The Council of 500
a new democracy based on the political the symbol of Pallas The nucleus of Cleisthenes’s reforms was
emancipation of the demos, or common Athena, the city’s the creation of a new institution, the
people. In the words of the fifth-century patron goddess. Council of 500, which may have been an
BCE historian Herodotus: “Cleisthenes extension of an earlier council estab-
made the demos his partners.” lished by Solon, but with wider powers.
Cleisthenes was a member of the The Council of 500 became the pivotal
Alcmaeonid family, the clan that had point of political life in Athens, although
opposed the tyrant Peisistratus some 50 the ultimate power of decision making
years earlier. Cleisthenes was the son of lay with the ecclesia, or public assembly.
74
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
75
ANCIENT GREECE
76
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
77
ANCIENT GREECE
78
FROM TYRANNY TO DEMOCRACY
many did so. Although it was their right, citizens had the right to participate col-
it was not their obligation. Many lived lectively in the government of the polis.
too far away or were simply unable or
unwilling to miss a day’s work. Because A threat from the east
of these factors, it seems probable that As the sixth century BCE drew to a
only a minority of the citizens actually close, a new danger threatened the young
attended the assembly, even when impor- Athenian democracy.The Persians in the
tant issues were being discussed. Indeed, east were looking to Anatolia to expand
there was only enough room for around their immense empire. Under their king
6,000 men on the Pnyx, the hill in Cambyses II, the Persians had already
Athens where the assembly usually con- annexed the Ionian cities on the
vened after the end of the sixth century Anatolian west coast, thereby extending
BCE. Although 6,000 men represented Persian rule from the Indus River right
only a small proportion of those who to the Aegean Sea. It was looking
were eligible to vote, it was apparently increasingly likely that the Persians
still considered enough to be termed the would try to subdue the small city-states
“entire population of Athens.” of mainland Greece, which was now on
However, thanks to Cleisthenes’s the frontier of the Persian Empire. The Erechtheion, a
reforms, a participatory democracy—at temple found on the
least in theory—had been created in See also: Acropolis in Athens,
Athens by the end of the sixth century The Persian Wars (page 96) • Sparta and was built in the
BCE. Whether or not they did so, all Athens (page 52) fourth century BCE.
GREEK
RELIGION
he ancient Greeks worshipped a wide array of gods, many of
TIME LINE
c. 2000 BCE
T whom were believed to dwell on Mount Olympus. Worship
was usually carried out openly, although more secretive mystery
Indo-European cults were also popular.
peoples arrive
in Greece,
bringing worship Greek religion was polytheistic in nature, mention several gods who are later found
of a sky god. meaning that it involved the worship of in the Greek pantheon, such as Zeus,
He later
becomes known many gods. The Greeks believed that Hera, Dionysus, and Hermes. It is certain
as Zeus. these deities had a profound influence on that by the time of Archaic Greece (c.
life on earth. Most of the gods were 750–500 BCE) multiple influences had
c. 1250 BCE
believed to have human form and, contributed to the family of Greek gods;
Dorians begin
migrations to
although they were immortal, they had often, they would become merged with
mainland Greece. many mortal defects, being prey to lust, similar deities from neighboring regions,
Their main god, jealousy, anger, and other human failings. a process known as syncretism.
Apollo, later In order to propitiate a god, the Greeks One Greek god whose characteristics
becomes major
deity in Greek
offered prayers, sacrifices, and public fes- were derived from a variety of sources
pantheon. tivals to win divine approval and help in was Apollo. He was the main god of the
their human endeavors. Dorian people, who invaded mainland
c. 800 BCE
Greece around 1250 BCE after the col-
Poet Homer The first Greek gods lapse of the Mycenaean civilization. As
believed to have
written Iliad and The origins of the Greeks’ religion lie far well as being a sun deity, Apollo was also
Odyssey around back in antiquity. When the first Indo- the god of music and dance. In this
this time. European tribes reached mainland aspect of his personality, he may have had
c. 750 BCE Greece around 2000 BCE, they brought Minoan antecedents. Apollo the archer,
Delphi becomes with them a warlike religion presided the god who brought disease with his
home to cult over by a patriarchal god.This deity was a arrows, may have had Semitic or Hittite
dedicated to god universal divine father figure worshipped connections. In some cases, the influ-
Apollo; oracle by Indo-European peoples from India to ences from the east were very strong.The
later established
at site. western Europe. The Greeks knew him Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, shared
as Zeus, the king of the gods who lived many similarities with the Phoenician
c. 600 BCE on Mount Olympus (see box, page 84). deity Astarte, who in turn was closely
Mystery cult Other deities of Indo-European heritage related to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.
revolving
around story
were Helios, the sun god, and Eos Aurora, In addition to the chief gods and
of Persephone the goddess of dawn. goddesses, the Greeks recognized the
established at In Minoan Crete, many female deities existence of heroes (including demigods,
town of Eleusis. were worshipped, and they may have or deified mortals) and spirits of various
been adapted later by the mainland kinds, both good and evil. Greek myths
Greeks. The Linear B tablets from the also featured a number of odd creatures
Mycenaean era (c. 1600–1250 BCE) that combined the characteristics of
80
GREEK RELIGION
different animals. Many were associated The temples This detail from an
with Dionysus, the popular god of wine Each god had his or her own temple, and Italian fresco depicts
and pleasure. These creatures included one god might have many temples spread the Greek sun god
satyrs, which had the legs of a goat or throughout Greece. An image of the god Apollo crossing the
horse and the upper body of a man, and was kept in the temple, which at first was sky in his chariot.
centaurs, which had the head and torso a simple wooden construction but was
of a man and the body of a horse.There later made of stone. These stone temples
were also various types of nymphs, which were larger than the earlier ones and
were beautiful female spirits associated were surrounded by a colonnade. In the
with natural features such as trees, rivers, center was a small chamber in which the
and springs. idol of the god was housed. The temple
81
ANCIENT GREECE
82
GREEK RELIGION
Oracles
RELIGION IN In order to gain answers to specific ques-
tions, the Greeks consulted oracles. An
LITERATURE oracle was a medium who could make a
response on behalf of a god. From the
Two Greek writers in particular eighth century BCE onward, certain
provide insights into Greek religion. sanctuaries associated with oracles
One of these is Homer, who lived in became widely honored. Priests, who
the ninth or eighth century BCE. In were sometimes local officials, were pres-
his great poems the Iliad and the ent at each of these sites to offer an inter-
Odyssey, Homer gives a vivid picture pretation of the oracle or prophecy.
of a Greek society in which the However, the priests did not have any
gods play a vital part. He is also particular training and were not consid-
credited with the authorship of the ered to have any unusual powers. One
Homeric Hymns, poetic celebrations of the earliest oracles, mentioned in
of the many Greek gods. Homer’s Iliad, was that of Zeus in
Dodona, in northern Greece.
Another important writer is the The most famous oracle of the
poet Hesiod, who lived around 700 ancient Greek world was the one at
BCE. In his Theogony, or Birth of the Delphi, on the top of Mount Parnassus.
Gods, Hesiod compiled a vast collec- Supplicants flocked there to put ques-
tion of Greek myths and described tions to Apollo through the medium of
deities that were not mentioned by his special priestess, the Pythia. Questions
Homer. Hesiod also described the could involve anything from trivial per- This ancient Greek
creation of the world, the origins sonal matters to important affairs of state. vase painting
of the gods, and related many The Pythia fell into a trance in order depicts two men
anecdotes about the gods. to give Apollo’s answers, which were performing a
famous for their vague and confusing sacrifice.
83
ANCIENT GREECE
84
GREEK RELIGION
nature. Priests were on hand to transcribe the mysteries consisted of closely guard-
the oracle’s pronouncements. In fact, one ed rituals that were only open to wor-
of the first uses of writing in Greece was shippers who had been inducted into a
to record oracular utterances. Many of secret cult.The purpose of the mysteries
the sayings of the oracles, at Delphi and was to liberate the initiates from their
elsewhere, were written down to support earthly bonds and to show them the way
certain policies. to a happy life in another world after
Divination was another way of find- death. The secrets of the rituals were so
ing answers to questions. Seers were closely guarded that there is no way to
practiced in the interpretation of dreams, know what took place in them.
of the flights of birds, of the spirals of The most famous Greek mysteries
smoke rising from an altar, and of the were those held in the town of Eleusis,
arrangement of the entrails of a newly northwest of Athens. For a thousand years,
sacrificed animal. between around 600 BCE and 400 CE,
people gathered there to become initiates. The Temple of
The mysteries The subject of the Eleusian mysteries was Poseidon at Cape
Between the seventh and sixth centuries the legend of the goddess Persephone, Sounion is one of
BCE, mystery religions began to flourish. who was abducted by her uncle, Hades, the most imposing
While the usual religious observances of and taken to the underworld. Her disap- of the surviving
the polis community were very public, pearance so traumatized her mother, the Greek temples.
ANCIENT GREECE
The Sanctuary of agriculture goddess Demeter, that the attended this ceremony had to swear an
Athena Pronaia is crops ceased to grow. Eventually, an oath of secrecy, and they left the temple
found at Delphi, agreement was made that allowed with the expectation of a better life in
which is more often Persephone to spend part of the year the hereafter.
associated with with her mother and part in the under-
the worship of the world. The legend was used to explain The first atheists
god Apollo. the seasons. Most Greeks took part in community
The initiation ceremonies took place rituals, believed in the supernatural pow-
every year on the same date during the ers of the gods, consulted an oracle occa-
autumn. The main public event was a sionally, and possibly were initiated into a
procession from Athens to Eleusis cover- mystery cult. However, not everyone
ing some 25 miles (40 km) over the could accept all the ideas that were
“Holy Road.” Then, in a secret ceremo- inherent in Greek religion. In particular,
ny held in Demeter’s temple, the initiates the notion that the gods could assume
underwent the secret rites that admitted many forms troubled some people. The
them to the mysteries. Those who image of Aphrodite, for example, took
86
GREEK RELIGION
different forms in different city-states. In came up with his theory out of anger at
addition, the fact that good was not the fact that the gods did not punish
always rewarded and that evil was not wrongdoing—possibly because they did
always punished was an important stum- not act against the Athenians, who had
bling block for others. slaughtered the citizens of his native city.
Greek thinkers came up with various Diagoras is said to have ridiculed the
theories to address these concerns. One gods on a number of occasions, most
theory was atheism—the idea that there notably when he cut up a statue of the
is no god at all. One of the first known demigod Heracles to provide enough
atheists was the philosopher Diagoras of firewood to cook turnips.
Melos, who lived in the fifth century
BCE. Diagoras, a stoic and a student of See also:
the philosopher Democritus, apparently The Great Philosophers (page 122)
Persephone and
Hades are shown
seated on their
thrones in the
underworld in
this Greek
relief sculpture.
The story of
Persephone was
central to several
mystery cults.
87
THE BIRTH OF
DRAMA
ne of the most important cultural developments to occur in
TIME LINE
c. 550 BCE
O Greece in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE was the growth
of drama. Originally part of religious festivals, plays gradually
Thespis, first became art forms in their own right.
known playwright,
active around
this time. The drama, and ultimately the theater, chorus and assume the role of a charac-
c. 535 BCE
grew out of annual festivals held in ter in the myth. The person generally
Great Dionysian
honor of the god Dionysus, who was the credited with this innovation was the
festival held for god of wine, intoxication, and ecstasy, a chorus master and poet Thespis, who is
first time in word that implied a way of losing your- thought in the sixth century BCE to
Athens; part of self in an alcohol-induced frenzy and have introduced an actor wearing a mask
festivities is
competition
becoming one with the god. Dionysus to speak lines in between chanting from
between was also regarded as the god of repro- the chorus.The poet-dramatist Aeschylus
playwrights. duction and of the life force of all living (525–456 BCE) later introduced a sec-
beings. However, because ecstasy also ond actor, which laid the foundation for
468 BCE
implied a loss of self-control leading to the development of “drama.”
Sophocles takes
part in his first insanity, another view of Dionysus was Thespis was a writer, composer, cho-
Dionysian festival; that he was the god of confusion, reographer, director, and actor all in one.
he wins destruction, and death. For this reason, he Such a person was known as a tragoidos
competition. was considered to be the god of the (goat bard), probably because the tragoidoi
458 BCE whole of life in all its aspects. took part in a competition that awarded
Oresteia trilogy a goat as the prize. The word tragedy is
by Aeschylus Festivals supposedly derived from tragoidos.
wins competition Festivals held in honor of Dionysus In the middle of the sixth century
at Dionysian
festival. involved processions of devotees wearing BCE, performances of tragedy and com-
masks and dancing and singing.This type petitions among poets were the heart of
431 BCE of procession of ordinary citizens was the newly established great Dionysian
Euripides’ great called a comos and was usually quite festival, held every spring in Athens. Each
tragic play Medea
performed for
riotous.The words sung by the comos rev- year, a wooden stage and wooden stands
first time. elers were generally satirical and proba- for spectators were set up in the agora
bly involved repartee with onlookers. (the public square where the assembly
427 BCE
Comedy seems to have developed from was held), but one year in the fifth cen-
Revellers, debut this exchange of backchat. tury BCE, the stands collapsed.The acci-
play by comic
dramatist Tragedy had a different origin. At dent resulted in the building of a new
Aristophanes, more solemn festivals for Dionysus a theater on the south slope of the
first produced. chorus would chant or sing a narrative
poem called a dithyramb, which told the Greek drama had its origins in festivals held
story of a Greek myth. In time, the leader to honor the god Dionysus, depicted here in
of the chorus began to step out from the a Greek vase illustration.
88
ANCIENT GREECE
Acropolis, close to an exist- event from their own pockets, with the
ing shrine to Dionysus. rest being paid for by the state.
This theater consisted of After a lengthy pre-festival
a natural auditorium period of rehearsals, the festival
formed by the curve performances were all given.
of the hillside and The jury that decided the
overlooking a cir- winners was a committee
cular orchestra at of 10 people chosen
the base of the by lot. One dithyramb
hill.The orches- chorus, one comedy,
tra was where and one tetralogy were
the chorus and selected as the win-
the actors per- ning pieces, and the
formed. This choregi of the winners
plan was fol- shared the honors.
lowed by all later
Greek theaters. The chorus
The festival lasted Greek theater in the fifth
for five days and five century BCE was dominated
nights. On the first day, by the chorus. Comedies had
there was a great proces- a chorus of 24, tragedies 12 or
sion, and offerings were 15. The chorus recited or sang
brought to Dionysus. This the text in unison, emphasizing the
was followed by a dithyramb words with gestures or dance steps.
competition, an impressive specta- Dance was an integral part of the drama,
cle with 10 boys’ choruses and 10 men’s and the colorful costumes and masks
choruses of 50 singers each. The day This carving of a worn by the actors greatly added to the
closed with a comos procession, usually Greek theatrical effect of the plays.
involving a masquerade and plenty of mask dates to the To begin with, both the chorus and
rough merrymaking. third century BCE. the actors were located on the orchestra.
On the second day, the dramas began, As it became obvious that a place was
and five comedies by five different needed for the two, and later three, actors
authors were performed. Each of the to change their costumes, a hut called a
following three days then featured a skene was erected at the back of the
tetralogy—three tragedies and a satyr orchestra. It was quickly realized that the
play—by a single author. The satyr play skene could be used as a background to
featured a chorus of clownish satyrs the dramatic action, so the drama might
(creatures that were half goat and half be seen to take place in front of a build-
man) and was intended to provide comic ing, such as a temple or palace, rather
relief after a long day of tragedy. than in the open countryside as had been
The eight authors chosen to chal- the case previously. Later still, a low plat-
lenge each other for the best comedy form was built at the rear of the orches-
and tetralogy at the festival were selected tra and in front of the skene. Under this
by the archons (magistrates). The archons new arrangement, the chorus members
then looked for choregi (literally “chorus were located on the orchestra, while the
leaders”) to act as producers.These chore- actors were located on the raised plat-
gi were wealthy people who were form to declaim and sing the most
obliged to pay most of the costs of the important parts of the tragedy.
90
THE BIRTH OF DRAMA
Unlike the members of the chorus, just 44 pieces out of the thousand or
the actors were professionals. Because no more that must have been performed.
more than three actors were allowed on
stage in the tragedies, the actors often The tragic poets
had double roles. Women were not The oldest dramatist-poet known by
allowed to act—although they could be name is Thespis, but none of his work
members of the chorus—so female roles survives. A little more is known about
were played by men, which was made Choerilus, whose career began at the
possible by the use of masks. The actors same time as that of Thespis in the sixth
also changed the timbre of their voices century BCE. His surviving work The Theater of
when playing women. includes a couple of small fragments and Dionysus was the
In the fifth century BCE, no pieces one title, Alope, which may have been a largest theater in
were performed twice in Athens, which satyr play. Another successful dramatist Athens. Plays by all
meant that 17 premieres were enacted from this time was Phrynichus (c. the great Athenian
every year. Only a very few of these plays 540–475 BCE). He was a winner in the writers were
have survived in their complete state— poetic competitions held during the last performed there.
91
ANCIENT GREECE
decade of the sixth century BCE. 484 BCE. Of his seven surviving
Perhaps his most interesting work is The tragedies, three formed the trilogy with
Capture of Miletus. This tragedy is based which he won the Dionysian competi-
on a piece of contemporary history—the tion in 458 BCE.The Oresteia trilogy was
story of the siege of the Ionian city of probably his last work and is an out-
Miletus by the Persians in 494 BCE. standing example of Aeschylus’s poetic
style and mastery of suspense.
Aeschylus The Oresteia concerns the fate of
The heyday of Greek tragedy began with the royal family of the Atreides. The
Aeschylus, who was born in 525 BCE in action of the first play, Agamemnon, takes
Eleusis, northwest of Athens. He wrote place in the palace of Mycenae, where
around 90 plays, all of them destined to Clytemnestra awaits the return after
be performed at the annual Dionysian many years of her husband Agamemnon,
festival. Only seven of them have sur- the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan
vived, however. One of his main contri- War. Clytemnestra hates her husband,
butions to Greek drama was to write a who sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia
part for a second actor, which greatly to appease the gods. During his absence,
increased the possibility for dramatic Clytemnestra has had an affair with
confrontations. Most of the plots for his Aegisthus and now, when Agamemnon
plays were taken from Greek myths and returns, they plot to kill him. In spite
show how the actions of men on earth of being warned of his danger by
bring retribution from the gods. Cassandra, the Trojan princess whom
Aeschylus first took part in the com- Agamemnon has brought with him from
petition of the tragedians in the Dionysia Troy as a slave, Agamemnon is murdered
of 499 BCE, but he did not win until by the lovers soon after his arrival.
This 19th-century-
CE drawing depicts
the killing of
Agamemnon and
Cassandra by
Clytemnestra and
her lover Aegisthus.
The story of the
murder is told in
Aeschylus’s play
Agamemnon.
92
THE BIRTH OF DRAMA
93
ANCIENT GREECE
In this 15th-century-
CE manuscript
illustration, Jocasta
kills herself after
realizing that she
has married her
son Oedipus.The
story is contained
in Oedipus Rex
by Sophocles.
Colonus. Of all the extant Greek to his country. Creon decrees that the
tragedies, Oedipus Rex is probably the body must lie dishonored on the battle-
best known.The play shows a great man field, a prey to dogs and vultures.
brought low through ignorance of his Antigone, however, knows that she
origins. Because he has been raised not has a moral obligation to give her broth-
knowing who his parents are, Oedipus, er a fitting burial, so his spirit will have
the king of Thebes, discovers that he has rest. By disobeying her uncle, Antigone
unknowingly killed his father, Laius, and sets in motion a tragic chain of events
married his mother, Jocasta. When he that leads not only to her own death but
realizes that he has committed patricide also to that of her lover Haemon.
and incest, Oedipus puts out his own In this play, Sophocles directs all his
eyes in horror and then goes into exile, attention to the conflict within the
where he dies. human soul. Antigone, Haemon, and
In Antigone, Sophocles examines the even Creon are torn between human
conflict between human laws and divine and divine laws. Because of this emphasis
laws. Antigone is the daughter of on human psychological dilemmas,
Oedipus and goes with him into exile. Antigone is regarded as one of the great-
Her brothers Eteocles and Polyneices est of all tragedies.
fight for the vacant throne of Thebes, and
both die in battle before the gates of the Euripides
city.The throne now falls to their uncle, Euripides (c. 485–406 BCE) was the
Creon, and he strictly forbids Antigone youngest of the three great tragedians.
to bury the body of her brother He wrote around 92 plays, of which 18
Polyneices, whom he regards as a traitor tragedies and 1 satyr play remain.
94
THE BIRTH OF DRAMA
95
THE PERSIAN
WARS
n the fifth century BCE, the two greatest powers of the
TIME LINE
499 BCE
I Mediterranean world—Greece and Persia—were involved in a
titanic military struggle. The great battles of the Persian Wars—
Anti-Persian Thermopylae, Marathon, and Salamis—are famous to this day.
rebellion breaks
out in
Anatolia. By the end of the sixth century BCE, the crossed the Bosporus and was actively
490 BCE
Persian Empire was the greatest the seeking conquests on the west side of the
Darius I sends
world had ever known. Its rise to power Black Sea all the way to the mouth of the
army into Greece came with stunning rapidity. Only 50 Danube, but with little success. However,
after Sparta and years earlier, the Persians had been just Darius did succeed in conquering Thrace
Athens refuse to one of several small peoples inhabiting and Macedon, which meant that his
recognize his
sovereignty;
the Iranian plain in the Middle East. empire then bordered the northwest
Persians are They were also subjects of the Medes. In extremity of mainland Greece.
defeated at Battle 549 BCE, the Persians’ ambitious king Between the eighth and sixth cen-
of Marathon. Cyrus the Great (ruled 559–529 BCE) turies BCE, Sparta and Athens had
480 BCE led a revolt against the Medes and defeat- become the predominant city-states of
Second Persian ed them. By this victory he became lord Greece. With all of mainland Greece
invasion of Greece of one of western Asia’s great kingdoms. feeling threatened by the presence of the
led by Darius’s He then embarked on a campaign of for- mighty Persian Empire on the border, it
son Xerxes. eign conquests. First in his sights was seemed that maintaining the balance of
Spartan-led army
fails to halt Lydia in Anatolia, another great power. power between Persia and Greece would
Persian advance He marched into Lydia in 546 BCE and depend on the lead of these two cities.
at Thermopylae. took its capital, Sardis. He then annexed
Greek victory the Greek cities in the western part of The Ionian Rebellion
at Battle of
Salamis turns Anatolia, which was known as Ionia. In 499 BCE, a massive rebellion against
tide of war. Cyrus seized Babylon in 539 BCE, Persian dominance in Anatolia broke out
making him lord of the mighty in the Ionian coastal cities and the neigh-
479 BCE
Babylonian Empire. By the end of the boring islands.The reasons for the revolt
Decisive victory
for Greeks at century, the Persian dominions stretched are not clear, but it may be that the
Battle of Plataea from the Aegean Sea in the west to the Greeks resented the necessity of doing
effectively ends Indus Valley in the east and from the military service in the Persian army
Persian Wars. Danube River in the north to the Red (which applied to everyone, of whatever
449 BCE Sea and Persian Gulf in the south. rank), and there was also resentment
Peace treaty After the death of Cyrus, his son, against the Greek tyrants who served as
finally signed Cambyses II (ruled 529–522 BCE), suc- puppet overlords for the Persians. The
between Greece ceeded in adding Egypt to the Persian rebellion began on Ionian ships that had
and Persia.
Empire. Darius I (ruled 521–486 BCE) been engaged in naval operations on
was anxious to extend his boundaries to behalf of the Persians. Returning home,
the northwest. By 512 BCE, he had the seamen and officers mutinied and
96
THE PERSIAN WARS
97
ANCIENT GREECE
CROESUS OF LYDIA
98
THE PERSIAN WARS
MACEDON
The Dardanelles
Troy
Ae
ge
an
THESSALY
Se
Artemisium
LYDIA
a
Thermopylae
IO
Delphi Sardis
NI
Thebes Eritria
A
Plataea Marathon Ephesus
Corinth Athens
Me
Samos
Salamis Laurium Cape Mycale
dit
Sparta
an
e
Se
a
Sparta, the messengers were thrown into of Athens. The Persians wanted to make
a well where, they were told, there was contact with the sympathizers of
water and earth in abundance. Hippias, who had his home base on that
Outraged by the death of his messen- side of Attica. The Athenians sent to
gers, Darius was ready to listen to two Sparta for assistance, but their request
Greek exiles in his court who convinced came during a religious festival that the
him that they had a number of sympa- Spartans would not leave. As soon as the
thizers in Greece. These two exiles were Athenians learned of the landing at
Hippias, the ex-tyrant of Athens, and Marathon, however, they sent a force of
Demaratus, an ex-king of Sparta. Darius 10,000 hoplites, who were joined by
formed a plan to take Athens and put 1,000 Plataean soldiers.
99
ANCIENT GREECE
100
THE PERSIAN WARS
101
ANCIENT GREECE
Into Greece
In the spring of 480 BCE, Xerxes led his
army north and crossed the Dardanelles
by means of a bridge constructed of
boats built by his engineers. He then
trekked into Europe, following the coast.
A large fleet of warships and freight ves-
sels accompanied the army. They were
ordered not to lose sight of each other,
since the land army could not function
without the fleet.
From Thessaly to central Greece,
the main road ran through the pass of
Thermopylae, between the sea and the
mountains. There the Greeks waited for
the Persians, and a historic three-day
battle was fought, which the Greeks
eventually lost.
At the same time that the Battle of
Thermopylae was happening on land,
the Greeks engaged with the Persians in
a naval battle at Artemisium, in a sea
channel only 6 miles (9.7 km) wide.
Although the Persian fleet had originally
numbered around 600 ships, it had lost a
number of them in recent storms, so it
did not greatly outnumber the 370
triremes of the Greeks. The Persians had
the advantage that many of their ships
were in fact Phoenician, sailed by
Phoenician crews, who were generally
acknowledged at that time to be the best
sailors in the world. However, in the
confined waters at Artemisium, superior
102
THE PERSIAN WARS
103
ANCIENT GREECE
Themistocles’ advice, the population of information, claiming that there was dis-
Athens was evacuated to Salamis, an sension among the Greeks, that the
island in the Gulf of Aegina, and the Athenians wanted to defect to the
Peloponnese. This proved to be a wise enemy, and that the Persians should
decision, because Xerxes entered Athens attack right away if they wanted to take
and sacked it. From Salamis,Themistocles advantage of the situation.The Persians
was forced to watch the clouds of smoke were so confident of victory that Xerxes
billowing up from the burning temples had a golden throne built on a hill over-
on the Acropolis. looking the harbor of Salamis so he
could witness the destruction of the
The Battle of Salamis Greek fleet in comfort.
Meanwhile, the Persian fleet had sailed The ruse worked. The Persians, con-
south to Salamis, where the Greek fleet fident that victory would be theirs, sailed
was waiting. According to the poet into the Salamis narrows by night with
Aeschylus, who took part in the ensuing the intention of launching an attack at
battle, the Persian fleet made such an dawn, but first light brought an unwel-
impression that the Spartan leaders were come sight. The Greek fleet was drawn
all for retreating from the bay, assembling up in a semicircular formation, spanning
all land and naval forces by the isthmus of the width of the channel and forming a
Corinth, and building a wall to block the trap in which the Persian ships were This 14th-century-
Persians.Themistocles pointed out that a caught. In the ensuing battle, the Greek CE manuscript
wall would be useless if the Persian fleet ships rammed their Persian counterparts, illustration depicts
could sail past it. Only “wooden walls” which could not maneuver in the tight the Battle of
could help. situation and, because they were lighter Salamis, fought
Before the battle began,Themistocles than the Greek triremes, were susceptible between the Greeks
sent a messenger to Xerxes with false to this form of attack. The Persian ships and the Persians.
104
THE PERSIAN WARS
105
ANCIENT GREECE
capsized, littering the sea with wrecks overall command of the Spartan king
and corpses. By evening, Xerxes could Leotychides, landed and confronted a
see that his fleet was crushed. Persian army twice their number.
However, the Persian force contained a
Xerxes returns to Asia large contingent of troops from the
Alarmed by the destruction of his fleet, Greek cities of Lydia. Once the fighting
Xerxes began the long march back started, a number of the Lydian troops
to Asia with the bulk of his land forces.
However, he left a formidable force This vase painting
of around 60,000 men behind under depicts Greek
the command of his brother-in-law hoplites with
Mardonius with instructions to continue prisoners of war.
the planned subjugation of Greece.
Mardonius spent the winter in
Thessaly. In the spring, he sent a delega-
tion to Athens offering to repair all the
damage and help in reconstructing the
city. He hoped by this means to negoti-
ate a settlement with the Athenians
excluding Sparta. All he asked in
exchange was that Athens should recog-
nize the sovereignty of the Persian king.
The Athenians rejected Mardonius’s
proposals and hastened to reassure the
concerned Spartans that they would
stand firm for “the Greek brotherhood,
the collective ancestry and language, the
altars and the sacrifices in which all
Greeks share,” as Herodotus put it.
Mardonius responded by ravaging
Attica and capturing Athens, but he
pulled back his troops when the Spartan
main force advanced northward. The
Greek forces assembled en masse on the
plain of Plataea (a few miles south of
Thebes) where the Persian army awaited
them. The Battle of Plataea ended in a
comprehensive victory for the Greek
forces and the death of Mardonius. The
Persian hopes of conquering Greece
were finally at an end.
Meanwhile, reputedly on the same
day that the Battle of Plataea was being
fought, another encounter took place
that completed the Persians’ humiliation
at the hands of the Greeks. This battle
took place at Cape Mycale in Ionia.
Some 4,000 Greek hoplites, under the
106
THE PERSIAN WARS
107
ANCIENT GREECE
108
THE PERSIAN WARS
109
THE AGE
OF PERICLES
uring the fifth century BCE, the city of Athens was involved
TIME LINE
c. 495 BCE
D in wars against two major adversaries—Persia and the fellow
Greek city of Sparta. However, the period was also a time when
Pericles born democracy and culture flourished.
in Athens.
480 BCE The Athenian statesman Pericles, who when he spoke in the assembly, he could
Greek victory lived from around 495 to 429 BCE, was generally convince his listeners of the
at Battle of
Salamis marks
so important to the development of merit of his proposals. By 460 BCE, he
start of Athens that historians call the time he had virtually become head of state.
Athenian naval was in power the Age of Pericles. Under The Battle of Salamis, where the
supremacy. his guidance, Athens reached the Greeks routed the Persians in a sea battle
477 BCE pinnacle of its influence. The city also in 480 BCE, marked the beginning of
Delian League became an unparalleled center of culture the rise of Athenian sea power. After the
formed; Athens and learning, a process that culminated final defeat of the Persians at Plataea the
becomes alliance’s in the construction of the Parthenon on following year, Athens emerged as the
leading state. the Acropolis. predominant city-state in Greece.
447 BCE The Athenians enjoyed a good life Up until this time, Sparta had been
Work begins under Pericles, as he himself described the greatest military power in Greece. At
on construction it in a speech: “We have feasts and cere- the end of the wars with Persia, howev-
of Parthenon, monies throughout the year. Life is pleas- er, the Spartans opted for isolation.They
temple to
Athena on ant in our homes, and with our noble returned to their austere lifestyle on the
Acropolis. behavior, we provide ourselves with Peloponnese peninsula, where their lands
pleasures that hinder sadness.The fame of had remained untouched by the Persian
443 BCE
our city brings us fruits from the entire Wars. Although they had ample ability
Pericles becomes
strategos for
Earth, so we can enjoy foreign and exot- and resources to establish military sover-
first time. ic products… We are admirers of beauty, eignty throughout Greece, they preferred
but we remain simple.” to concentrate on domestic affairs.
431 BCE
Athens suffered heavily in the wars
Peloponnesian War The upbringing of Pericles with Persia, and it remained fearful of a
begins; Spartan
force invades Pericles was the son of Xanthippus, a new invasion. To reduce this threat, the
Attica, forcing general who led the Athenian contingent Athenians pursued a policy of offensive,
inhabitants to that contributed to the defeat of the expansionist action. After the battles of
shelter inside Persians at Cape Mycale in 479 BCE. Salamis and Cape Mycale, the Athenians
walls of Athens.
Although he came from an aristocratic had undisputed sea supremacy in the
429 BCE family, Pericles made his name in politics eastern Mediterranean region. However,
Pericles dies. as a reformer with left-wing leanings. maintaining a large fleet put a severe
With the support of the common peo- strain on the funds of Attica, so Athens
ple, he became leader of the popular needed to form alliances to continue
party. He was a persuasive orator, and military offensives against Persia.
110
THE AGE OF PERICLES
An Athenian empire
By 466 BCE, most of the members of the
league were paying their contributions in
silver talents rather than men or goods.
This was tantamount to paying tribute.
When some of the states started to
object, Athens responded ruthlessly. For
example, when Naxos objected to paying
the tribute and attempted to withdraw
from the league, Athens destroyed its
forts. Athens then annexed the lands of
other recalcitrant allies, distributing the
land to its own citizens. The league that
had started as a defensive alliance against
Persia had become a naval empire run by
Athens. It encompassed most of the large
islands of the Aegean Sea and many cities
to the north, either as equals or as sub-
This bust, created in the second century BCE, is believed to depict jected former allies.
the Athenian statesman Pericles, who dominated the politics of Following his famous success at the
Athens for more than 30 years. Eurymedon River, Cimon had become a
111
ANCIENT GREECE
112
ANCIENT GREECE
of Athens, which was concentrated along hillside, where the citizens would debate
the northern and eastern coasts of the and vote on motions prepared by the
Aegean Sea, on most of the large Council in advance. The Council con-
Aegean islands, and in Byzantium. sisted of 500 members who were elected
Before long, the rivalry between Sparta each year, usually from families of the
and Athens finally erupted into the middle and upper classes.
Peloponnesian War. In earlier centuries, one of the most
In 431 BCE, the Spartans important political offices was that of
launched the first of a number archon, or magistrate. In 487 BCE, a
of raids against the country- change had been made in the way the
side surrounding Athens. As archons were selected. From that point
the army of the Spartan onward, the archons were appointed
Confederacy pillaged unim- by lot, rather than elected. The
peded through the rural change meant that the magistracy
regions of Attica, Pericles gath- lost much of its importance, as did
ered the residents of Attica inside the Areopagus, the old council of
the city walls of Athens for safe- the nobility to which ex-archons
ty. In the following year, 430 belonged. In 462 BCE, the judicial
BCE, plague decimated the function of the Areopagus was large-
overcrowded city. The angry ly taken over by jury tribunals, and its
and dying Athenians removed supervision of polis administrators was
Pericles from office, and he was relegated to the Council of 500.
tried and fined for misuse
of public funds. After a brief Farmers and politicians
reinstatement, he died in 429 Around the middle of the fifth century
BCE.The Age of Pericles was at BCE, it became possible for archons to
an end. be drawn from the zeugitai (farmers who
owned land). A system of attendance
Golden age of Athens fees, payable to magistrates and council
During the time of Athenian and jury members so they did not lose
ascendancy under Pericles, the financially because of their services,
government of Athens and its was introduced. At the beginning
culture can both be said to have of the fourth century BCE, the
enjoyed a golden age. In partic- payment was extended to cover
ular, the constitution was mod- attendance at the public assembly,
ified to extend the principles of which meant that all citizens
democracy, further weakening could exercise their political
the power of the aristocracy. rights without the worry of
The main body of the financial loss. The change was
Athenian political system was of particular benefit to the
the public assembly (the eccle- thetes (small landless farmers and
sia). In theory, all Athenians day laborers).
could attend the assembly, but in prac- This statue from The selection of magistrates by lot
tice, although there were something like the fifth century carried risks, because some aspects of the
30,000 to 40,000 citizens, only around BCE depicts role required a degree of specialized
6,000 actually attended meetings. The Athens’ patron knowledge not available to the ordinary
meetings were held around once a goddess Athena. man. In an effort to deal with this prob-
month in a natural amphitheater on a lem, the Athenians created 10 elected
114
THE AGE OF PERICLES
strategoi (commanders-in-chief), who in public speaking. In response to these The ruins of the
were appointed for one-year terms.They demands, a new class of orator-politi- ancient city of
could be reelected but were subject to cians, called rhetors, developed. These Corinth can still be
monitoring by their fellow strategoi. If rhetors were generally wealthy people, seen to this day.
necessary, they could be removed from and they played an essential role in Corinth was a major
office by popular vote in the assembly, political decision making. Pericles was rival of Athens in the
which meant there was little chance of a the most famous of the rhetors, and the fifth century BCE.
strategos becoming a tyrant. Pericles most important.
served as a strategos continuously from Rhetors spoke either on their own
443 to 430 BCE. behalf or on behalf of special interest
groups. They were not politicians repre-
The assembly senting specific political parties; political
Given the size of the assembly, there was parties did not exist in the modern sense.
only time for a few of those present to Athenian democracy allowed everyone,
speak. Because the issues discussed were from all classes and walks of life, to
often complicated, not everyone could participate in political life, but it was
be expected to speak with equal author- not until the second half of the fifth
ity. To address several thousand people century BCE that nonaristocrats were
and convince them to vote the way the called on as designated speakers in the
speaker wanted demanded special skills public assembly.
115
ANCIENT GREECE
Pericles on democracy
A speech attributed to Pericles and
believed to have been given around 431
BCE encapsulates his beliefs on the ben-
efits of democracy. The speech praises
Athens for its power, strength, prosperity,
openness, and freedom, as well as the
equality of its citizens. He says: “Our
government is no imitation of our
neighbors’. On the contrary, we serve
as an example for them.We are a demo-
cracy, because the government is
in the hands of the people and not in the
hands of a small group. Our law states
that every citizen has equal rights. We
Athenians recognize the supremacy of
intelligence, and when a fellow citizen
distinguishes himself from the others, the
people appoint him to the highest posi-
tions. This is not the right of a gifted
man, but the reward for his great merits.
Lack of money is no obstacle to fulfilling
high office: any citizen can serve the
state.There are no privileges in our polit-
ical life, nor in our personal relationships;
we trust one another.”
He goes on to say: “Although there
are few among us who are extraordinary
enough to formulate proposals, we are all
good enough to make decisions. It is our
conviction that danger does not lie in
discussion, but in ignorance.We have the
special characteristic that we can think
before we act, even in the middle of
action. Others, however, are brave in
ignorance, yet hesitate as soon as they
begin to think!”
In other parts of the speech, Pericles
talks about the glorious history of
Athens, the great Athenian Empire, and
the courage of Athenian soldiers. He
116
THE AGE OF PERICLES
paints an ideal picture of Athenian allowed to speak and sit on the council, The Temple of
democracy. There is no mention of slav- but only the best and most intelligent Athena Nike was
ery. Slaves were an accepted fact of life in citizens … how can such a low person just one of several
the Athenian state. Their lack of rights decide what is good for himself or for magnificent temples
was an issue ignored by all Greeks, the entire populace?” The main objec- erected on the
including Pericles. tion of the critics of democracy was that Acropolis in the fifth
effective government was impossible century BCE.
The perils of democracy when left to the less educated members
Not everyone was in favor of the idea of of society.
democracy. An anonymous political This was certainly the view of the
pamphlet from the Age of Pericles sum- Athenian philosopher Plato (c. 428–348
marizes a number of arguments against BCE). In his dialogue The Republic, he
democracy that were widespread in called democracy anarchy. He wrote:
Athens at the time. Although the pam- “Whenever a meeting must be held con-
phleteer argues against these opinions, he cerning matters of state, the one to stand
nevertheless offers a good impression of up and offer advice can be a carpenter,
the anti-democratic viewpoint. a smith, a shoemaker, a merchant, a
Against equal participation in gov- shipowner, a rich man, a poor man, of
ernment for all citizens, he writes: “One good family, or of no family at all, and no
can argue that not everyone should be one thinks of telling him that his
117
ANCIENT GREECE
118
THE AGE OF PERICLES
Architecture
After the destruction of the Acropolis by
the Persians in 480 BCE, the Athenians
had vowed never to build there again. As
they regained confidence and power
during the fifth century BCE, this view-
point gradually changed. To mark the
peace with Persia of 449 BCE, Pericles
initiated a great building program on the
Acropolis, both to restore the temples
destroyed by the Persians and to con-
struct new buildings.
The years between 447 and 406 BCE
This jug, made in ing the playwright Sophocles, the histo- saw the completion of some of the most
Athens in the fifth rian Herodotus, the sculptor Phidias, and outstanding examples of Greek architec-
century BCE, is the sophist Protagoras. Pericles never ture. Among the buildings constructed
illustrated with a married, but he had a mistress, Aspasia. during that period were the Propylaea,
picture of a woman She was a hetaira, a sophisticated, highly the Erechtheum, and the Temple of
spinning thread. educated type of prostitute. Athena Nike. The most famous product
One project that had personal inter- of this construction program, however,
est for Pericles was the development of was the Parthenon.
119
ANCIENT GREECE
120
THE AGE OF PERICLES
The Parthenon is
the most famous
of all the temples
built during the Age
of Pericles.
121
THE GREAT
PHILOSOPHERS
rom the sixth century BCE, Greece was home to a number of
TIME LINE
c. 575 BCE
F famous philosophers. Men such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Pythagoras, and Diogenes came up with ideas that were to shape
Thales establishes the history of Western thought.
school of
philosophy in
Miletus. He is Like most ancient peoples, the Greeks BCE. People who lived there were more
first of three worshipped a variety of gods, who they open to influences from other lands and
great philoso-
phers of School of believed could influence human affairs. cultures than the citizens of the city-
Miletus, other However, from the sixth century BCE states of mainland Greece. They would
two being onward, there was also a general growth have been aware of intellectual accom-
Anaximander and of secular thinking. The fifth-century- plishments such as the discoveries of the
Anaximenes.
BCE physician Hippocrates searched Babylonian astronomers.These new ideas
c. 530 BCE for a natural, rather than a supernatural, opened the way for discussions about
Pythagoras sets explanation for disease, while the histori- natural phenomena and gave rise to the
up school in an Thucydides made no allowance for birth of philosophy and science.
Croton. He
establishes
the actions of the gods in his account of These new “natural philosophers”
number of events of the past. The philosopher tried to describe and explain the origin
mathematical Protagoras, also of the fifth century BCE, and existence of heaven and earth in a
principles, including claimed that there was no absolute rational manner, rather than through
famous theorem.
“right” and “wrong”—only what human myths involving the various gods. The
399 BCE opinion determined was so.This idea was philosophers were searching for basic
Socrates charged expressed in his famous saying “Man is rational principles that could explain the
with heresy; the measure of all things.” entire universe.
found guilty Some thinkers, such as Diagoras of
and sentenced
to death. Melos (c. fifth century BCE), went so far The School of Miletus
as to doubt the existence of the gods. The center of the explosion of new ideas
387 BCE However, even for people who did not was Miletus, a city on the southwest
Plato establishes possess such extreme views, the relation- coast of Ionia.The first of these thinkers
Academy in
Athens. Among ship between the gods, fate, and man’s (now considered to be the founder
greatest works own responsibility became increasingly a of Greek philosophy) was Thales of
are Laws and matter for debate in the fifth and fourth Miletus, who lived from around 610 to
Republic. centuries BCE, which contributed to the 540 BCE. In the first half of the sixth
c. 335 BCE growth of Greek philosophy. century BCE, Thales rejected a mytho-
Aristotle, student
of Plato, establishes Ionian philosophy The School of Athens, painted by Raphael
Lyceum. Greek philosophy had its origins in the in 1510 CE, depicts some of ancient Greece’s
sixth century BCE in Ionia. Ionia was a greatest philosophers, including Plato (center
region in western Anatolia that had been left), Aristotle (center right), and Diogenes
occupied by Greeks since around 1000 (bottom right).
122
ANCIENT GREECE
Anaximander
Anaximander of Miletus (c. 611–546
BCE) was, if anything, even more bril-
liant than Thales, his teacher, was.
Anaximander recorded his theories
about the nature of the cosmos in a trea-
tise called About Nature. Much of this
work is now lost, although the substance
of it is referred to by later writers.
According to Anaximander, the entire
cosmos was created and derived from
something that he called the apeiron,
which can be translated as “the indeter-
minate” or “the unlimited.” Everything
originated from the apeiron, which he
defined as the first element, and every-
thing would return to it. Anaximander is
credited with having produced a sundial
and the first Greek map of the world. He
is also believed to have introduced a
number of hypotheses about astronomy.
Thales of Miletus, logical explanation of the universe and According to Roman writers of the third
shown in this attempted to explain it in rational terms. century CE, Anaximander also came up
undated modern Thales left no writings of his own, but with a remarkable theory about the
illustration, is his beliefs are discussed in Aristotle’s development of life on earth. He
considered to be Metaphysics, a work written in the fourth believed that humans developed from
the father of century BCE. Thales was noted for his embryos that were once found inside of
Greek philosophy. knowledge of astronomy. He is reputed fish, a theory that predated the evolu-
to have predicted the solar eclipse of May tionary theories of Charles Darwin by
28, 585 BCE. To make this calculation, more than 2,300 years.
Thales would have used mathematical Anaximenes of Miletus, a student of
techniques borrowed from Babylon in Anaximander, was active in the second
124
THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
Xenophanes
Two other main thinkers who con-
tributed to Ionian natural philosophy
were Xenophanes and Heraclitus.
Xenophanes was a poet-philosopher
who lived from around 580 to 480 BCE. learned man could be of benefit in the This 15th-century-
He was born in Colophon, not far from managing of the polis, and wise counsel CE illustration
Miletus, but left his place of birth when could even bring money. Xenophanes’ depicts Anaximenes,
it came under Persian rule. He settled in criticisms were based on his conviction one of the three
the Greek city of Elea in southern Italy, that sensory perceptions were always great philosophers
where he is believed to have founded the deceptive and, consequently, could not from the School
school of philosophy that was later made lead to sure knowledge. Sure knowledge of Miletus.
famous by Parmenides. could only reside in the divine—an
Xenophanes roamed through south- invisible and omnipresent god.
ern Italy, Sicily, and probably the Greek
mainland until old age, reciting his poet- Heraclitus
ry, through which he criticized the opin- Heraclitus of Ephesus, who probably
ions of his contemporaries. He was par- lived from around 560 to 480 BCE,
ticularly scathing about the accepted expressed his ideas in a series of proverbs.
mythical explanations of the world and His main theory was that the entire cos-
the fact that people believed the gods mos is organized and directed by a single
resembled humans. In attacking how principle, called the Logos in Greek.The
human beings worshipped gods that material embodiment of this Logos was
looked like themselves, he suggested that fire, which Heraclitus considered to be
if cows or horses could draw, they would the essential form of matter.The logos is
portray their gods as cows or horses. He the directing force that ensures equilibri-
also spoke out against wealth, soothsay- um in the world by balancing change in
ing, the drinking parties of the nobility, one area with an equivalent and opposite
and the idolization of the winners of the change elsewhere. One of Heraclitus’s
Olympic Games. In the last case, he best-known sayings, attributed to him by
emphasized that it was better to honor a the later philosopher Plato (c. 428–348
scholar than an athlete because, he said, a BCE), was that “all things are in flux.”
125
ANCIENT GREECE
126
THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
teachings. One idea was that the study of Unjust behavior also pollutes the soul,
mathematics and numbers could reveal which is then not capable of achieving
the hidden order of the universe. The sophia (wisdom or insight).
other idea was the doctrine of metempsy- According to Pythagoras’s followers,
chosis, which stated that at death the soul someone’s conduct in life could affect his
passes into another body, either that of a or her eternal fate.An immoral life could
human or that of an animal. lead to reincarnation as an animal.
The fact that the Pythagorean move- Pythagoreans believed that the main goal
ment was a sect was important. It was the in life is to attain as much sophia as pos-
first time in the history of Greek religion sible, so the soul rises toward a better
that a group had distinguished itself in body in the next life.
this way. At first, the Pythagoreans had
great influence in Croton, but the resi- Music and mathematics
dents of the city came to distrust the sect After Pythagoras’s death, his disciples
so much that around 500 BCE they set continued to develop his ideas. In math-
fire to the Pythagorean building. The ematics, they searched for patterns,
embittered Pythagoras left the city for believing that the essence of all things lay
another Greek colony close by called in numbers and that all relationships
Metapontion, where he died within a could be expressed numerically. Music,
short time. in particular, could be explained by
An important part of Pythagoras’s mathematical formulas. Pythagoras’s fol-
teaching was the concept of purity and lowers discovered that if a string of a
ascesis (training or exercise). He asserted stringed instrument is stopped halfway
that anyone who does not succeed in along its length, it will produce a note
keeping his body pure by following the one octave higher than the note of the
rules of life also contaminates his soul. whole string.
127
ANCIENT GREECE
An ideal world
The heart of the philosophy
of Parmenides was that the
material world is unreal; reality
only subsists in a timeless
“ideal world,” an idea that
may have owed something to
the Pythagoreans. Parmenides
expressed his ideas in a poem,
large parts of which have
survived. He believed that all
movement is nothing other
than outward appearance.
Only “being” exists; there
is no “not being.” The
“being” is like a sphere—perfect
and indivisible.
Anaxagoras, shown In geometry, the Pythagoreans estab- The radical nature of Parmenides’
in this 15th-century- lished the famous theorem that the philosophy is evident when compared to
CE illustration, was square of the hypotenuse (the longest that of the great Ionian philosophers of
one of the first side) of a right-angled triangle is equal to the seventh and sixth centuries BCE.
astronomers to the sum of the squares of the other two They supposed that all things were
believe that the sides. This theorem is still taught in derived from a basic element—whether
moon received its schools today. water, fire, air, or earth—and assumed
light from the sun. The Pythagoreans were among the that the contraction of that element
first to teach that the Earth is a spherical brought about changes in nature. When
planet that revolves around a fixed point. an element assumes a material form,
They also saw a numerical scheme however, it must necessarily occupy a
behind the arrangement of the heavenly place that was originally empty—a vacu-
bodies. Pythagoras’s followers believed um. This vacuum is what Parmenides
that these bodies were separated from called “not being.” Because he believed
each other by intervals corresponding to that such a vacuum could not exist, he
the harmonic length of strings.The very considered the entire philosophy of the
movement of the heavenly bodies, they Ionian school invalid.
contended, produced music—the “har-
mony of the spheres.” Pythagoras, shown in this 17th-century-CE
The teachings of Pythagoras had a illustration, is identified with the theorem
considerable influence on many Greek about the lengths of the sides of a right-
thinkers of the fifth century BCE, one of angled triangle.
128
ANCIENT GREECE
130
THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
131
ANCIENT GREECE
A matter of ethics
Socrates rejected the conflicting ideas of
the “one,” the “indivisible,” and the “eter-
nally changeable.” He also refused to
become involved in the search for the
“core of things” or “basic matter.” His
interest was in ethics and in the objective
definition of love, justice, and virtue,
achieved through rational argument. He
argued that all vice is the result of igno-
rance and that no one is intentionally
wicked. Because those who know what
is right will act rightly, virtue is the result
of knowledge.
Socrates, shown in not known who his teachers were, but he Sophocles despised rhetoric and long-
this 20th-century-CE seems to have been acquainted with the winded arguments about nothing.
illustration, is doctrines of Parmenides, Heraclitus, and Consequently, he ridiculed the sophists
considered to be Anaxagoras. However, far from pursuing and rhetoricians. He was relentless in
one of the greatest their ideas, he was more interested in employing logic as a weapon in his philo-
philosophers of ethical matters, such as how a man sophical duels. In these “battles,” clarity
all time. His should conduct himself in life. and simplicity had the highest priority,
teachings survive There is no clear indication as to how and in his arguments, he used expressions
through the work Socrates supported himself. He apparent- and terms derived from daily life. Plato
of his pupil Plato. ly worked as a sculptor for a while; his recorded how Socrates managed to
statue of the Three Graces stood near the embarrass Gorgias, one of the most
entrance to the Acropolis until the sec- famous sophists of Athens, simply by ply-
ond century CE. It is also known that he ing him with question after question.
fought as a hoplite for Athens in the Plato also recorded an encounter
Peloponnesian War, serving with distinc- between Socrates and the two great
tion in the campaign of Potidaea in philosophers of Elea, Parmenides and
432–430 BCE. Zeno. The two Elean philosophers had
132
THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
134
THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
THE CYNICS
136
THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
Aristotle
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was Plato’s biology and physics were studied in This bust depicts the
most important student. He spent 20 addition to philosophy and logic. Greek philosopher
years at Plato’s Academy, but while he Aristotle taught at the school but also Aristotle, a former
was strongly influenced by Plato’s ideas, had time to pursue his own research. He pupil of Plato.
his own philosophy developed in a dif- wrote major works on zoology, geogra-
ferent direction. Aristotle preferred an phy, history, mathematics, and astronomy,
experimental and deductive approach which were to be highly influential in
based on the reasoning of the mind, medieval times. He also drew up an
insisting that the observation of visible inventory of all political systems of the
reality was of prime importance. His time and described an ideal polis that
major contribution to philosophy was to would combine the best elements of
establish a system of logic that was to existing systems.
influence philosophical reasoning for
more than two thousand years. See also:
In 335 BCE, Aristotle established his The Age of Pericles (page 110) • The
own school in Athens, called the Greek Legacy (page 174) • Greek Religion
Lyceum, where scientific subjects such as (page 80)
137
THE PELOPONNESIAN
WAR
he Peloponnesian War was a mammoth struggle between
TIME LINE
446 BCE
T Sparta and Athens that took place toward the end of the fifth
century BCE. The war lasted for 27 years, from 431 to 404 BCE,
Athens and Sparta and tore the Greek world apart.
sign pact known
as Thirty Years’
Peace. The roots of the conflict between Athens Sparta’s side was the Peloponnesian
431 BCE
and Sparta lay in their cultural differ- League, a group of city-states located in
War breaks out
ences. By the middle of the fifth century the Peloponnese (the southern part of
between Athens BCE, Athens had become the undisput- mainland Greece).
and Sparta; ed artistic and intellectual center of In the middle of the fifth century
Spartan forces Greece. It was an “open” society, engag- BCE, there were occasional skirmishes
invade Attica
and lay waste
ing in many commercial transactions between Athens and Sparta. The skir-
to farmland. with the outside world and depending mishes ended in 446 BCE, when the two
on large-scale imports of food to feed its parties signed a peace agreement. The
430 BCE
population. Athens was a progressive and pact was supposed to hold for three
Plague breaks out democratic state, and an expansive naval decades. In fact, the Thirty Years’ Peace
in Athens.
power. Sparta, on the other hand, was an lasted only until 431 BCE, when full-
421 BCE isolated, agrarian, and largely self-suffi- scale war broke out.
Peace of Nicias cient closed society with an oligarchic
signed; lasts for government (one dominated by a small The origins of the war
three years only.
elite).While the militaristic Sparta expe- The immediate cause of the war was the
415 BCE rienced only stagnation, Athens became fact that Athens assisted the island of
Athenians launch increasingly self-confident and more Corcyra (present-day Corfu) in its con-
naval attack aggressive in its foreign affairs. flict with Corinth, an ally of Sparta.
on city of
Syracuse in
Corcyra had long been a colony of
Sicily; campaign Alliances Corinth and, in turn, had founded its
ends in failure. Both Athens and Sparta had many allies. own colony, called Epidamnus, on the
Athens was backed by the member states Adriatic coast of what is now Albania.
404 BCE
of the Delian League, an alliance that had When a dispute erupted between
Peloponnesian
War ends with been set up in 477 BCE to protect the Epidamnus and Corcyra, Epidamnus
defeat of Athens, Greek cities of Ionia (an area of south- called on Corinth for help. Corcyra, feel-
which surrenders western Anatolia) and the nearby islands ing threatened by Corinth, decided to
after long siege. against possible Persian attack. As the join the powerful Delian League. Athens
371 BCE Greeks defeated the Persians in succes- was happy to welcome the island into the
Thebes defeats sive battles, Athens, with its powerful coalition, particularly because the addi-
Sparta at Battle navy, gradually came to dominate the
of Leuctra. league, which soon became more of an This vase painting depicts a Greek hoplite of
Athenian empire than a voluntary con- the fifth century BCE. He is armed with the
federation of independent city-states. On long spear that was typical of the period.
138
ANCIENT GREECE
tion of Corcyra’s fleet of 120 war vessels campaign would not be short of finance,
to its own fleet would greatly strengthen while the Long Walls gave the Athenians
the naval power of Athens. A joint force a secure route to the vital port of Piraeus,
of Athenian and Corcyrean ships clashed where there lay a fleet of 200 warships.
with the Corinthian fleet in 433 BCE. Pericles made the decision not to
The following year, Athens laid siege to defend Attica on land; his plan was to
Potidaea, a Corinthian colony. Incensed, defeat Sparta at sea. In 431 BCE, the
the Corinthians demanded that Sparta Spartans invaded unopposed, destroying
should declare war on Athens. the harvest, cutting down olive trees and
Archidamus II, king of Sparta, made a grapevines, and demolishing buildings.
final attempt to avoid a confrontation The raid lasted perhaps a month—his-
with Athens. As commander-in-chief of torically campaigning seasons were short
the Peloponnesian League, he urged its because soldiers had to return home to
The island of Corfu, members to review the situation before tend to their farms. However, the raids
shown here, was acting precipitously. His urging was in became an annual occurrence over the
known as Corcyra in vain, however. In 432 BCE, the League following five years. Pericles retaliated
ancient Greece.A voted for war.The following year,Athens with attacks on Megara and Epidaurus.
dispute between in turn declared war on Sparta.
Corcyra and the city- The leading Athenian statesman, Plague
state of Corinth was Pericles, was confident that Athens was In 430 BCE, a deadly epidemic broke
the catalyst for the the stronger power. Money collected out in Athens, which was overcrowded
Peloponnesian War. from the Delian League meant that any with refugees from Attica. The historian
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
141
THUCYDIDES’ ACCOUNT OF THE PLAGUE
When the plague broke out in Athens in 430 became labored. Hoarseness, pain in the chest,
BCE, the historian Thucydides was living in the and a mucous cough were followed by painful
city. He wrote extensively about the plague, contractions and convulsions, which lasted
noting that it claimed more victims than all of longer with some than with others.The skin
Sparta’s campaigns combined. He went on:“I swelled up and turned red and became covered
want to discuss this illness so that able physicians with small blisters of pus. Some died after seven
may determine whence this evil came and which or nine days as a result of a burning pain in
causes may have produced such a calamity. If this their intestines.Those still living after this time
illness returns, everyone shall be warned and take were struck with stomach pains. After severe
measures. I speak of this epidemic as someone diarrhea and cramps, most succumbed from
who knows it intimately, for I too was affected total exhaustion.
and I saw many fall ill and die.
“Generally, the contagion appeared first on the
“That year had been extraordinarily healthy and head and subsequently spread over the entire
free of all other disease. But if someone sus- body. Some were blinded or paralyzed; others
tained a wound or became ill, it immediately went mad and did not recognize friends or rela-
turned into this pestilence.The healthy were tives. Although there were many unburied
suddenly afflicted, without there being any corpses lying out in the open, the vultures and
evident reason for their illness. First they felt a other scavengers did not come near them, and
severe headache; their eyes turned red, their when they did eat the diseased human flesh,
throat became inflamed and their breathing they also died.”
142
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
Still a bustling commercial center today, treaty, and he sought to stir up some
Piraeus has been the port of Athens since trouble for Sparta by playing on the
ancient times. During the Peloponnesian dissatisfaction that some members of the
War, Athens and the port were connected by Peloponnesian League felt with the con-
fortified walls. ditions set forth in the recent peace
agreement. He persuaded Athens to join
Spartan general Brasidas, Cleon was with the disaffected cities of Argos,
killed. Brasidas also died. Mantinea, and Elis in confronting Sparta
With the leading proponent for war at the Battle of Mantinea in 418 BCE.
on either side dead, the stage was clear The result was a resounding victory for
for peace negotiations. On Cleon’s the Spartans.
death, the Athenian general Nicias Undaunted by this setback,Alcibiades
became the leading Athenian politician, sought to revive the policies of Pericles,
and he negotiated a peace agreement who had aspired to found an empire
with Sparta and the Peloponnesian in the west with Thurii, in southern
League. The Peace of Nicias was Italy, as its center. The Athenian fleet
intended to last for 50 years. In fact, it already controlled the Aegean Sea,
broke down in less than three. the Dardanelles, and the Bosporus, so
Alcibiades argued that if Athens could
Alcibiades extend its dominion to the western
Alcibiades (c. 450–404 BCE) was basin of the Mediterranean, Sparta
a young, ambitious nobleman would be completely isolated on
who, having lost his father at an the Peloponnese.
early age, had been reared by his
uncle, Pericles. Spoiled but Sicilian campaign
handsome, Alcibiades used his The primary objective of
charm to secure great person- Alcibiades’ plan was to gain
al popularity. Contemporary control of Sicily, which he con-
sources describe his great sidered a bridgehead to both
appetite for power as well southern Italy and Africa. A
as his sexual and other large number of Athenians
excesses. enthusiastically supported
In 420 BCE, when he this scheme, but several
was around 30 years old, cautious men, including
Alcibiades was called on Nicias and Socrates, opposed
by the Athenian people to the enterprise. A decision in favor of
act as one of the ten strat- war was made after a delegation from
egoi (chief military com- Sicily visited Athens. The party
manders). It was not a consisted of representatives of sev-
good decision. Alcibiades eral Sicilian cities, who claimed
was keen to win honors that they felt threatened by the
on the battlefield, even powerful Dorian city of Syracuse,
though the Peace of an ally of Sparta, that dominated
Nicias had only just
been negotiated. This statue depicts the
Alcibiades was a Athenian nobleman Alcibiades,
staunch political who defected to Sparta when
opponent of the he was accused of sacrilege.
143
ANCIENT GREECE
In this undated the island. Alcibiades’ plan encountered sold supplies at monstrously inflated
modern illustration, little further resistance from the Athe- prices.The cities of Tarentum and Locris
the Greek nian assembly. Nicias, Lamachus, and even refused to supply fresh water.
military commander Alcibiades were appointed leaders of a In spite of such setbacks, the Athe-
Alcibiades returns military expedition to Sicily to capture nians succeeded in taking the city of
to Athens after a Syracuse. A fleet of around 260 ships was Catana, which was strategically impor-
military defeat. fitted out. On board were more than tant because it lay between Syracuse and
5,000 heavily armed hoplites, in addition Messina and could be used to command
to thousands of support troops. the strait between Sicily and southern
Italy. The aim was to isolate Syracuse and
Disaster in Sicily enable the Athenians to find allies among
From the moment the fleet reached the discontented cities on the other side
Sicily in 415 BCE, everything went of the strait.
wrong. The island’s Greek colonies were By this point, Alcibiades was no
not willing to participate in the cam- longer involved in the campaign, how-
paign against Syracuse. Nor did they ever, because he had been recalled to
want to bear the heavy cost of provision-
ing the Athenian troops, which forced The Temple to Apollo in Syracuse.The
the expedition’s leaders to look outside Athenians unsuccessfully tried to capture
the city walls, where makeshift markets the city in the Peloponnesian War.
144
ANCIENT GREECE
Athens on a charge of sacrilege. The men and warships was wiped out.The
accusation was that he had “mocked the Athenian spirit was undaunted,
goddesses of Eleusis and ridiculed their however. The war on the Greek
mysteries.” On the return voyage to mainland, in the Aegean, and in
Athens, he escaped his captors and Ionia was to continue for another
fled to Sparta, where he became nine years.
a counselor to the enemies
of his native city. The end of Alcibiades
Alcibiades established a niche for
Syracuse himself in Sparta as a strategic
In the spring of advisor on the Syracuse
414 BCE, the aging campaign. However, his
Nicias took com- position there became
mand of the Athenian much less secure once
troops on Sicily and the Athenian expe-
started a siege of Syracuse.The Athenians ditionary force was
attempted to isolate the city by building destroyed. He fled to
a siege wall on land while their fleet kept Anatolia and settled in the
the Syracuse warships confined to the court of the Persian governor,
harbor. However, the arrival of a where he tried to persuade the
Spartan general, Gylippus, with a Persians to conclude an alliance
Peloponnesian force put an end to with Athens against Sparta. This
Athenian hopes of a swift victory. plan failed, driving the distrustful
Suddenly, the Athenians were on the Persians into the arms of Sparta
defensive. Nicias was forced to send a instead. In 411 BCE, following
desperate message to Athens for more some political unrest in Athens,
troops. Athens responded with a second Alcibiades was reinstated as an
army and support fleet, but neither was Athenian army commander and
able to salvage the expedition. won some victories for Athens in
When, in September of 413 BCE, the Aegean.Toward the end of the
Nicias finally decided to abandon the war, however, he lost the trust of
siege of Syracuse, the retreat degenerated the Athenian people for a second
into a debacle.The Athenian troops were time. He once again fled to the
surrounded and either massacred or Persians, who killed him.
taken prisoner.The commanders, includ-
ing Nicias, were summarily executed. The defeat of Athens
The other prisoners either became After the disastrous Sicilian cam-
forced laborers in the mines of Syracuse, paign, the war continued,
where they died slow deaths, or were being mainly fought in the
sold into slavery. Aegean and Ionia. Because
The Sicilian campaign was a dis- so many Athenian ships
aster for Athens.The campaign had had been destroyed at
been immensely expensive, and the Syracuse, Sparta’s sea power
whole expeditionary force of both now more than equaled that
of Athens. To make matters
This Greek sculpture from the sixth century worse for Athens, Persia lent financial
BCE depicts a hoplite. Hoplites still formed support to Sparta and helped it to build
the backbone of Greek armies 200 years later. a new fleet. In 404 BCE, the beleaguered
146
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
THUCYDIDES
147
ANCIENT GREECE
The atmosphere of war appears to have no Spartans. In Knights (424 BCE), he attacks Cleon,
detrimental effect on the art of theater in the radical democrat, who is portrayed as a
Athens.With the city under siege, Attica in scheming slave outwitted by a sausage seller.The
flames, and the Athenian fleet threatened with warlike Cleon was a frequent target of ridicule
destruction, dramatists such as Euripides and in Aristophanes’ plays. Clouds (423 BCE) is an
Aristophanes (c. 450–388 BCE) continued to attack on the sophists and Socrates, while
produce tragedies and comedies. Wasps (422 BCE) satirizes the Athenian love of
litigation. Peace (produced shortly before the
Aristophanes’ plays enjoyed great popularity. Peace of Nicias was signed in 421 BCE) sees a
They were biting satirical comedies in which he farmer flying to heaven to find the goddess of
mocked both politicians and society. As a the title, while the farcical Lysistrata (413 BCE)
comedy writer, his goals were to entertain his depicts the women of Athens going on sex
audience and to win the annual prize at the strike, declaring they will withhold their favors
festival of Dionysus. His plays about the war from their husbands until the men end the war
describe the atmosphere of the time—firewood and make peace.
is scarce and olive oil expensive, while traitors,
defectors, defeatists, and war profiteers abound. In all, 11 of Aristophanes’ plays have survived.
It is clear from their content that he enjoyed
In Acharnians (425 BCE), Aristophanes mocks great freedom of speech to mock whatever
the war and makes a plea for peace, portraying he disliked in Athenian society and politics,
a peasant concluding his own peace with the even in a time of war.
148
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
This 19th-century-
CE colored
lithograph shows
the Spartan general
Lysander outside the
walls of Athens.
149
ANCIENT GREECE
150
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
Spartan imperialism effect, this meant that Athenian imperial- Agesilaus II, shown
Although Athens had won back its free- ism, as manifested in its domination of on the right in this
dom, Sparta remained the overlord of all the Delian League and its demands for 18th-century-CE
Greece, which had some catastrophic annual tribute, had simply been replaced illustration, was king
consequences. Sparta’s victory in the by Spartan imperialism. of Sparta in the
Peloponnesian War had been achieved In 399 BCE, a new king was chosen fourth century BCE.
with the help of Persian financial aid, and in Sparta. Agesilaus II (c. 444–360 BCE) He conducted
in return, the Ionian Greek cities in distinguished himself by his forthright- several successful
Anatolia had to cede their autonomy to ness and piety and proved to be a major campaigns against
Persia once more. Sparta made other statesman and general. One of his first the Persians.
cities protectorates and forced them to projects after becoming king was to go
pay large sums of money in tribute. In to the aid of the pro-Sparta Greek cities
151
ANCIENT GREECE
152
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
Arcadia and Messenia, freeing them from die? No, he is merely ill.And his illness is
the yoke of Sparta. At a stroke, Thebes of no account, because even if Philip
ended Sparta’s dominance in Greece and This coin bears the should die, your sluggishness would
took first place among the Greek city- features of the cause another Philip to rise up.” In
states. However, the time of triumph for Macedonian king spite of the fact that the advancing
Thebes was short-lived. Alarmed by the Philip II. Philip’s Macedonian armies were uncomfortably
emergence of this new rival, Sparta and victory over a close to the borders of Attica, the Greek
Athens joined forces against the com- combined Greek city-states did not react.
mon enemy in 369 BCE. The new army at Chaeronea Demosthenes’ opponent was the ora-
alliance engaged with the Theban army changed the tor Aeschines, who was acting as the
at the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BCE. Mediterranean spokesman for the pro-Macedonian
Although the battle was indecisive, world. party in the assembly. This party was
Epaminondas was killed, which put in favor of a negotiated settlement
an end to the decade of glory with Philip. However, although
enjoyed by Thebes. Aeschines twice visited the
Macedonian court, he had
Macedonia no success. In the end,
During the decade of Demosthenes succeed-
Theban dominance ed in marginalizing
(371–362 BCE), two the pro-Macedonian
Macedonian princes movement and then
had been held as pushed for an alliance
hostages in Thebes. with Thebes. How-
In 359 BCE, one of ever, the alliance
these princes became came too late, and
Philip II, king of it was not strong
Macedon. Macedon enough to stop Philip
lay just to the north of and the Macedonian
Thessaly, and during army.
Philip’s reign, it became a
powerful state. The great Chaeronea
Athenian orator Demosthenes On August 7, 338 BCE, Philip
understood that there was great of Macedon, with an army of
danger lurking in the kingdom of 30,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 cavalry,
Macedon and the wild surrounding defeated the smaller army of the Greek
region, and he incessantly warned the allies near Chaeronea on the plain of
Athenian people of the threat of Philip. Boeotia. This battle gave Macedonia
According to Demosthenes, Philip “was complete hegemony in Greece. Philip’s
willing to sacrifice everything to gain young son Alexander played a key role in
fame and glory.” the Macedonians’ victory. As Alexander
In his now famous oratories against the Great, he would later change the
Philip of Macedon (called the Philippics), Greek world beyond all recognition.
Demosthenes spoke out with increasing
vehemence against the danger posed by See also:
this military usurper from the north. The Age of Pericles (page 110) • The Birth
When a rumor spread in Athens that of Drama (page 88) • Macedon and Alexander
Philip was seriously ill, Demosthenes the Great (page 154) • Sparta and Athens
railed at his fellow citizens: “Did Philip (page 52)
153
MACEDON AND
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
lexander the Great was one of the greatest military leaders
TIME LINE
356 BCE
A that the world has ever known. Building on the great military
successes of his father, Philip II, Alexander created an empire that
Alexander the Great covered the entire eastern Mediterranean world.
born in Pella,
Macedonia.
The young Macedonian king Alexander goes on to describe how Alexander was
336 BCE
crossed the Dardanelles in 334 BCE. He an avid reader and would go to bed with
Alexander ascends
to throne of
was scarcely 22 years old, and his aim was a copy of the Iliad, which he would place
Macedonia following to conquer Persia and the whole of Asia. next to his dagger under his headrest. On
assassination of By the time he succumbed to fever at age his Asian campaign, he ordered his treas-
father, Philip II. 33, he had succeeded in moving the urer Harpalus to send him books.Among
334 BCE frontier of his empire 3,000 miles (4,800 the works that he received were
Alexander crosses km) east to the borders of India, subdu- Philistus’s history of Sicily and the plays
Dardanelles to begin ing tens of millions of people along the of Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus.
campaign of way. However, his empire was to be Alexander was only 14 years old
conquest in short-lived—within a few years of his when he got his first taste of power and
Anatolia; defeats
Persian army at death, his generals had divided the vast command. When his father went away
Granicus River. territory among themselves. on campaign and left him in charge of
Macedon, Alexander successfully fought
332 BCE Early life off an attack by a tribe of Thracians.Two
City of Tyre finally
seized by Alexander Alexander was born in 356 BCE in Pella, years later, at the age of 16, he was given
after seven-month the capital of Macedonia. He was the son a command at the Battle of Chaeronea,
siege; later that of Macedonia’s king Philip II (ruled where the Macedonians defeated the
year, Alexander 359–336 BCE) and Olympias, a princess Greek forces.
founds city of
Alexandria near of Epirus, whom Philip had met when he
Nile Delta was being initiated into the local religious Ascent to the throne
in Egypt. mysteries of the island of Samothrace. Philip II was assassinated in the summer
326 BCE
When Alexander reached his teens, Philip of 336 BCE. The reason has never been
Macedonian army
sent for the Athenian philosopher clearly established.The Persians may have
defeats Indian force Aristotle to teach his son rhetoric, philos- been behind it, or even Alexander him-
at Hydaspes to ophy, literature, and science. Alexander self, who was not on the best of terms
expand Alexander’s seems to have been an attentive student, with his father.Whatever the truth of the
empire to
Indus Valley.
and he remained in touch with Aristotle matter, Alexander ascended the throne
for the rest of his life. and had the alleged conspirators sum-
323 BCE According to the Greek biographer marily executed.
Alexander dies Plutarch, Alexander inherited a love of Before his assassination, Philip had
from fever. medicine from his tutor.The king would been preparing to invade Anatolia (pres-
prescribe treatment and medication to ent-day Turkey) via the Dardanelles.
his friends when they were ill. Plutarch Alexander was anxious to continue this
154
MACEDON AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT
mission against the region’s Persian-held father), although he could not count on This statue depicts
cities, but before he could embark on the the support of the Greek city-states Alexander the
campaign, he had to deal with troubles south of Thermopylae. Great on horseback.
closer to home. In Thessaly, leaders of an The following year,Alexander crossed Alexander’s
independence movement had taken over the northern border to quell rebellious Companion cavalry
the government. Alexander threw them Thracians.The successful campaign lasted was a key
out and reasserted Macedonian rule. By for five months and took him as far as the component of
the end of the summer, Alexander had Danube River. On his return, he took his army.
been elected leader of the Corinthian only a week to subdue yet another rebel-
League (a military alliance created by his lion, this time by the Illyrians.
155
ANCIENT GREECE
PHILIP OF MACEDON
Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander, was incorporated equipment for siege warfare, such
born around 382 BCE, the third son of King as catapults and siege towers.
Amyntas of Macedonia.When his brother
Perdiccas was killed in a battle against the With his revitalized army, Philip embarked on a
Illyrians in 359 BCE, Philip became king at 20-year campaign of warfare and diplomacy that
around the age of 23. Philip was a shrewd was to make him master of the Greek world. In
diplomat and an inspired military commander 357 BCE, he married Olympias, a princess of
who was to transform his hitherto insignificant Epirus, and a year later, she bore him a son
kingdom into the most powerful Greek state. whom they named Alexander. In 338 BCE, having
subjugated all his non-Greek neighbors, Philip
At that time, Macedon was beset by enemies, invaded mainland Greece and defeated the
and one of Philip’s priorities on acceding to the combined forces of Athens and Thebes at the
throne was to reorganize his army into a more Battle of Chaeronea. Once Greece was his,
efficient fighting force. He introduced rigorous Philip planned to invade Anatolia and conquer
new training and refined the phalanx formation. the Persian-held cities. However, before his
Under Philip, the soldiers that made up the preparations were much advanced, Philip was
phalanx were armed with metal-tipped pikes assassinated, leaving the throne of Macedon and
around 16 feet (4.9 m) long. He also the conquest of Persia to his son, Alexander.
156
MACEDON AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT
THE PHALANX
157
ANCIENT GREECE
THRACE Blac
k Se a Ca
sp
MACEDON
BACTRIA
i an
Pella The Dardanelles
Sea
Thermopylae Granicus Gordium
River SOGDIANA
PHRYGIA
Thebes Sardis
ANATOLIA Hydaspes
Issus
PARTHIA
Gaugamela MEDIA
Me
d it SYRIA
err
an e
an
Sea
Tyre
Babylon
Susa
Alexandria Jerusalem Pasagardae
Gaza Persepolis
Pe
rs
i an
EGYPT Gu
lf
Red
S ea
ing only the temples and the house of Macedonians among the infantry, but at
KEY
the famous Greek poet Pindar. Of the least half of the footsoldiers were merce-
Empire of surviving inhabitants, some 8,000 were naries drawn from the rest of the Greek
Alexander at its sold into slavery. The speed and severity world, from Thrace, and from regions
greatest extent
of this retaliation left such an impression farther north.
Major battle on the other rebellious Greek cities that Alexander was also surrounded by his
they surrendered almost immediately personal retinue, called the hetairoi, or
and were treated with comparative Companions. This hetairoi squadron of
leniency by Alexander. 1,500 men was mainly drawn from the
Macedonian aristocracy. They answered
Into Asia directly to Alexander and, wherever he
Leaving his general Antipater as regent of was and whatever he did, his hetairoi were
Macedonia and Greece, Alexander was always near.The king regarded the mem-
free to embark on the long-delayed Asian bers as his friends and allowed them lib-
campaign. He set out with a formidable erties not granted to others.
army that comprised 30,000 foot soldiers Alexander did not have much diffi-
and some 5,000 horsemen.These cavalry culty in assembling his army. Since the
units were the core units of the force and peace forged by him and his father in
were composed mainly of Macedonians Greece, there had been a much reduced
and Thessalians. There were also many demand for mercenaries. Serving as a
158
MACEDON AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alexander Cuts
the Gordian Knot,
by Jean-Simon
Berhtélemy, dates to
either the late 18th
or early 19th
century CE. An
ancient prophecy
foretold that anyone
who undid the knot
would rule Asia.
160
MACEDON AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Macedonians by almost two to one, yet that he already had whatever Darius
the result was a catastrophic defeat for could offer and that he would marry his
the Persians. When Alexander and his daughter regardless of her father’s per-
cavalry penetrated the Persian infantry, mission. Alexander also said that he
Darius turned and fled, with much of his would come to take what he considered
army following. Alexander captured his, but not immediately.
Darius’s wife, mother, and children, who Alexander continued down the
had been left behind in the Persian Mediterranean coast to the fortress at
army’s camp. However, Alexander Gaza, which also offered resistance. It took
ordered that they be treated with the a long siege before the city was taken, and
respect normally accorded to royalty. He because Alexander was injured in the
was already beginning to make efforts course of the siege, he exacted a terrible
to placate conquered peoples in revenge. Jerusalem, however, surren-
order to build a socially inte- dered without a single blow
grated empire. being exchanged—the high
priest came out in full
Phoenicia regalia to welcome the
After the Battle of conqueror and his army.
Issus, Alexander car-
ried on down the Egypt
coast of Syria and Later that same year,
Phoenicia. His object 332 BCE, Alexander
was to capture all led his army across the
of the ports of the Sinai Peninsula and
eastern Mediterra- into Egypt, where the
nean, thereby cutting Persian governor sur-
the Persians off from rendered without a fight.
their naval bases. Alex- Alexander was welcomed
ander encountered little everywhere as a liberator,
resistance; only the well- and he was installed as the new
fortified Phoenician seaport of pharaoh. Alexander founded a new
Tyre put up a fight. Although its city on the coast next to the mouth of
rulers were willing to acknowledge This silver coin, the Nile River. Named Alexandria, the
Alexander as king, they were not pre- which bears a city was destined to become the commer-
pared to let him and his army enter the portrait of cial and cultural center of the Greek world
island on which the city lay. A prolonged Alexander, was (see box, page 162).
siege of seven months followed, but final- issued during the During the summer of 331 BCE,
ly, in 332 BCE, Alexander seized the city reign of Seleucus I, Alexander made a pilgrimage to the ora-
and razed it in a bloodbath. Any surviv- several decades cle of Amon-Re, the Egyptian god of the
ing citizens, including all the women and after the death sun, at the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan
children, were sold into slavery. of Alexander. desert. Around this time, Alexander had
After the fall of Tyre, Darius offered begun to entertain the notion that he
all his lands up to the Euphrates River, was descended from the gods, and the
his daughter in marriage, and a large Egyptians, who had made him their
dowry in exchange for peace with pharaoh, did not attempt to dissuade him
Alexander. As a guarantee of his good from the idea; all Egyptian pharaohs were
intentions, Darius offered to send his son considered to be the sons of Amon-Re.
as a hostage. However, Alexander replied The oracle apparently confirmed his
161
ANCIENT GREECE
162
MACEDON AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT
The Battle of Gaugamela This relief sculpture Susa (which held the treasury of the
Once he had secured the Mediterranean depicts the Persian Persian Empire), the capital Persepolis,
coast (he had also captured Cyrene, king Darius I. and Pasagardae. The splendid palace at
capital of the kingdom of Cyrenaica Darius’s great Persepolis, built by Darius I as a symbol
on the north African coast), Alexander palace at Persepolis of the might and wealth of the Persian
turned his attention north and east. was destroyed Empire, was looted by the army and set
In the late summer of 331 BCE, he by Alexander. on fire by Alexander, possibly in a fit of
retraced his steps across the Sinai drunkenness. It burned to the ground.
Peninsula and then proceeded up Alexander was lord of all Persia—
through Palestine to Babylon. He had Darius had essentially forfeited the
with him an army of 40,000 infantry and
7,000 cavalry, and after crossing the
Euphrates and Tigris rivers, Alexander
found Darius waiting for him with a far A PORTRAIT OF ALEXANDER
larger army.
The two forces engaged near the Alexander was of medium height, with fair hair and a
town of Gaugamela in northern pale complexion. He grew up believing he would achieve
Mesopotamia on October 1, 331 BCE. greatness (his mother encouraged him to believe he was
In spite of the disparity in numbers, and not actually Philip’s son but a son of the god Zeus), and
the fact that the Persian army included from an early age, he yearned to explore the world. He
an Indian contingent with elephants, the excelled at all martial skills but was not keen on any
Macedonians were again victorious, other sports apart from hunting. He became a heavy
although they suffered heavy losses. drinker and was capable of ungovernable rages and
Once again, Darius fled from the battle- great cruelty. He had a lifelong passionate relationship
field, taking refuge in the mountains to with Hephaestion, a young Macedonian aristocrat, and
the northeast. when Hephaestion died of a fever in 324 BCE,
Alexander turned south and entered Alexander was prostrated with grief. He organized a
Babylon, which surrendered without a stunningly expensive royal funeral in Babylon for his
fight. From there, he continued eastward friend and built an extravagant monument to him.
into Persia, conquering the royal city of
163
ANCIENT GREECE
throne. In the summer of 330 BCE, Battle of Hydaspes was fought in torren-
Darius was murdered at the instigation of tial monsoon rains, and Alexander was
a group of satraps (local governors). One once again victorious. He captured Porus
of them—Bessus—then proclaimed and made him the local governor under
himself king. Alexander branded the Macedonian rule.
satraps as regicides and usurpers, but Despite their successes, Alexander’s
Bessus unleashed a popular war, forcing troops had begun to grow unhappy with
the Macedonians and the Persians into their lot. It was rumored that they still
yet another conflict. Bessus was eventual- had far to go, even that Alexander’s aim
ly betrayed, taken by Alexander, and exe- was to conquer the whole world. In the
cuted as a traitor. fall of 326 BCE, the troops mutinied and
refused to proceed any further.They had
Central Asia and India been on campaign for eight years and
In 329 BCE,Alexander set out on a new wanted to go home. Alexander was
campaign to complete his conquest of forced to compromise; he could not con-
Alexander the Great the eastern Persian Empire, including the tinue without an army. He abandoned
and Hephaestion provinces of western India. Over the fol- the idea of conquering the rest of India.
hunt a lion in this lowing two years, he broke the last traces Instead, he had a fleet built and sailed
contemporary of resistance in central Asia, extending his down the Indus River
mosaic from the realm to encompass Media and Parthia Alexander reached the mouth of the
Macedonian (present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and river in 325 BCE. From there, the fleet
palace at Pella. Baluchistan) and Bactria and Sogdiana continued by sea to the Persian Gulf,
Hephaestion was a (present-day Turkmenistan). while Alexander and the army marched
boyhood friend In 327 BCE, Alexander led his army west by land along the arid coastline.The
of Alexander’s who over the dangerous pass through the fleet was supposed to sail parallel to the
served with him on Hindu Kush mountains to reach the army’s line of travel, to keep it supplied
many of his Indus Valley. There, in 326 BCE, he with food and water, but because the
campaigns; he was encountered the Indian king Porus, ships were unable to sail close to land
also possibly whose considerable army contained a against the prevailing winds, the army
his lover. mighty contingent of elephants. The was forced to forage for supplies. Because
the army needed a daily supply of
190,000 gallons (720,000 l) of water
and 250 tons (225 tonnes)
of cereals to survive,
many troops perished.
Alexander lost more
men on this march than
in he did in all his battles
combined.
165
AFTER
ALEXANDER
fter the death of Alexander in 323 BCE, several empires rose
TIME LINE
323 BCE
A to prominence. The Ptolemaic dynasty took control of Egypt,
the Antigonids rose to power in Macedonia, and the Seleucids took
Alexander the Great over the area that had formerly belonged to the Persians.
dies, leaving power
vacuum.
When Alexander the Great died at age dered. After the 13-year-old Alexander
322 BCE
33 in 323 BCE, he left behind a power met a similar fate in 310 BCE, there was
Antipater crushes
Aetolian rebels
vacuum.The ensuing struggle among his no longer any lawful successor to stand
at Battle of generals was to result in the eventual in the way of the diadochs’ ambitions.
Crannon. breakup of his mighty empire into three
main kingdoms. Ptolemy and Egypt
306 BCE One of the kingdoms that was to emerge
Antigonus and The age of the diadochs from the breakup of Alexander’s empire
son Demetrius
Poliorcetes declare Alexander’s first wife, Roxana, did not was a new, Greek-influenced Egypt,
themselves joint give birth to their son, also called ruled by the diadoch Ptolemy (c.
kings and successors Alexander, until four weeks after the 367–283 BCE). Ptolemy came from an
of Alexander. king’s death.The only other person with aristocratic Macedonian family and had
305 BCE any claim to the throne was the 35-year- grown up in the court of Philip II,
Ptolemy proclaims
old Aridaeus, an illegitimate son of Philip becoming a friend of the king’s young
himself king II, who was rumored to suffer from both son, Alexander. When Alexander
of Egypt. physical and mental illness. Nevertheless, embarked on his Asian campaign,
both the newborn Alexander and his Ptolemy accompanied him as a general
281 BCE uncle Aridaeus were immediately invest- in his army. Ptolemy was later appointed
Seleucus’s victory ed with imperial titles—Alexander IV satrap (governor) of Egypt.
at Battle of
Corupedium secures and Philip III. Since neither of them was After Alexander’s death, Ptolemy was
him Anatolia. in a position to exercise power, it fell into confirmed as diadoch in charge of Egypt
the hands of the imperial regent, and Libya, and he used the position as a
235 BCE Perdiccas, who divided the empire power base. For almost 20 years, he bat-
Cleomenes III among the commanders of Alexander’s tled the other diadochs, consolidating
becomes king of
Sparta. army. These commanders are known as and expanding his realm. He successfully
the diadochoi (successors), or diadochs. fended off invasions of Egypt and the
165 BCE For a time, while each diadoch island of Rhodes and annexed Cyprus,
Having recaptured attempted to secure for himself as much Palestine, and Cyrenaica. In 305 BCE, he
Jerusalem from land and wealth as possible, a precarious proclaimed himself king of Egypt, taking
Seleucids, Judas
unity was preserved in the empire, but the title Ptolemy I.
Maccabaeus restores
Jewish rites to the diadochs soon fell into open conflict.
temple. Years of war ensued, many of them This Roman wall painting depicts Antigonus
marked by the formation of fresh coali- Gonatas, who helped establish the Antigonid
tions. In 317 BCE, Aridaeus was mur- dynasty in Macedonia.
166
ANCIENT GREECE
168
AFTER ALEXANDER
Ca
sp
B la c k Se a
i an
MACEDON
S ea
Pergamum ANATOLIA
PHRYGIA
Corupedium BACTRIA
Athens
Sardis Ipsus
Sparta
PARTHIA
Me Antioch
dite
r ra
n ea CYPRUS
n Se
a
Babylon
Susa
LIBYA Alexandria
Jerusalem
Pe
si a
r
n
Gu
EGYPT lf
Red
Sea
Demetrius’s son, Antigonus Gonatas, young king on his Persian campaign and, KEY
regained possession of the Macedonian after Alexander’s death, was appointed
throne around 272 BCE, and his descen- governor of Babylon. Seleucid kingdom
dants—the Antigonids—remained in Having secured Babylon and the Ptolemaic kingdom
power until the Romans put an end to regions farther east, Seleucus gradually
their dynasty. expanded his influence to the west. In Macedonian
kingdom
Syria, he built himself a new capital city,
The Seleucids Antioch, which was to become the most Major battle
The Seleucid Empire was the largest of important metropolis in Asia. In 281
the kingdoms that resulted from the divi- BCE, Seleucus met the diadoch
sion of Alexander’s domains. It was Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium
founded by Seleucus, one of the near Sardis and defeated him, thereby
diadochs who rose to power after securing Anatolia for himself. Because
Alexander’s death. Born around 358 Lysimachus (who was killed in the fight-
BCE, Seleucus was, like Ptolemy, the son ing) had been the king of Macedonia,
of a Macedonian aristocrat. He was Seleucus tried to secure that territory.
roughly the same age as Alexander and However, before he could achieve this
probably his friend. He accompanied the aim, he was assassinated.
169
ANCIENT GREECE
170
AFTER ALEXANDER
171
ANCIENT GREECE
172
AFTER ALEXANDER
done through a process of syncretism. zenship rights, and most of them were
Syncretism occurs when deities merge living below subsistence level. All the
by assuming one another’s characteris- wealth was in the hands of a select few.
tics. In this way, the Egyptian god Amon- In the last half of the third century
Re and the Syrian god Baal became BCE, when the situation was ripe for
identified with Zeus. revolution, a reforming leader emerged:
Cleomenes.
Cleomenes Cleomenes III became one of the
This statue depicts While changes were occurring in west- two kings of Sparta in 235 BCE. He was
the god Dionysus, ern Asia, social conditions were deterio- determined to introduce new policies to
who was widely rating on many parts of the Greek redress the inequalities in Spartan socie-
worshipped in the mainland. In Sparta, there were fewer ty. After ridding himself of his political
Hellenistic empires. than 1,000 Spartans left with full citi- enemies, he took the radical course of
canceling all debts and dividing the land
into equal parcels, which he distributed
among the citizens. At the same time, he
granted full citizenship to several thou-
sand of the perioikoi (original inhabi-
tants). The revolutionary ideas of
Cleomenes spread, and in many Greek
states, a cry arose for debts to be canceled
and land to be redistributed.
Cleomenes also attempted to restore
Sparta’s military prestige by going to war
with the Achaean League, an alliance of
city-states under the leadership of Aratus
of Sicyon. Aratus was deeply opposed to
the revolutionary ideas fanned by
Cleomenes, and in order to ensure his
success in battle against the Spartans, he
called on the help of Macedon.
Cleomenes was defeated, and his reforms
were dismantled. The king fled to
Alexandria, where he died in 219 BCE.
Roughly 20 years later, the radical
ideas of Cleomenes resurfaced during
the brutal reign of the Spartan tyrant
Nabis (ruled 207-192 BCE). Nabis rein-
troduced Cleomenes’ system, even going
so far as to free the slaves, but his rule
came to an end when he was betrayed by
his allies during a war against Rome. His
death marked the end of Sparta’s days as
a major power.
See also:
Macedon and Alexander the Great (page 154)
• Sparta and Athens (page 52)
173
THE GREEK
LEGACY
he ancient Greeks made profound and far-reaching
TIME LINE
332 BCE
T contributions to the worlds of literature, science, and
philosophy. Their discoveries and achievements became the
Alexander the Great building blocks for generations of later scholars and artists.
founds city of
Alexandria.
Many of the cultural achievements asso- building. They were overseen by the
c. 308 BCE
ciated with ancient Greece took place director and chief priest.
Zeno of Cyprus
begins giving
not in Greece itself but in the Greek out- Under Ptolemy’s son, Ptolemy II
lectures in post of Alexandria in Egypt.The city was (ruled 285–246 BCE), Alexandria be-
Athens; his founded by Alexander the Great in 332 came renowned as a center of arts and a
teachings form BCE. When he left Egypt to go on a magnet for scholars and poets, whom
basis of school of
philosophy known
campaign, Alexander left one of his gen- Ptolemy welcomed to his court. He
as Stoicism. erals, Ptolemy, in charge of the province. increased his financial support for the
On Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, Museum, which became a research cen-
c. 300 BCE
Ptolemy effectively became the ruler of ter for the natural sciences and mathe-
Ptolemy I expands Egypt. He crowned himself king of the matics as well as an academy for more lit-
Temple of the Muses
in Alexandria to country in 305 BCE. erary pursuits.
establish center From the very beginning of his reign, Most of the writers working at the
for arts and Ptolemy encouraged Greek scholars and Museum did not produce original work.
sciences; Euclid philosophers to congregate at his court Instead, they focused on collecting and
writes Elements.
in Alexandria. When Demetrius of preserving the literary works of the past.
c. 275 BCE Phaleron was banished from Athens, he The versions of Homer’s epic poems the
Aristarchus of took refuge in Alexandria and suggested Iliad and the Odyssey that exist today
Samos suggests that Ptolemy should establish a center of are essentially the work of Alexandrian
Earth orbits
around sun, study dedicated to the Muses (see box, scholars. The Museum’s archivists col-
instead of sun page 182).The center would allow schol- lected manuscripts of literary texts attrib-
orbiting around ars to pursue their studies in all the arts uted to Homer and then compiled them
Earth; radical and sciences. Ptolemy happily agreed to to produce new editions. Copies of these
theory rejected.
the idea. texts were widely sold and greatly prized
c. 250 BCE for their authenticity.
Aristotle studies The first museum The scholars also did invaluable work
at Museum in The Temple of the Muses was expanded in the area of textual criticism, a
Alexandria before
returning to native
to make it a true academy of literature discipline that had its beginnings in
Syracuse; he and the sciences. The Greeks knew the Alexandria.After scrutinizing all available
formulates concept temple as the Mouseion, although it is manuscripts of a text, the scholars would
of specific gravity. now known as the Museum—the origin
of the word used today.Those who were This 15th-century-CE painting by Joos
appointed to work there became well- Van Gent depicts the astronomer Ptolemy
paid servants of the state and lived in the of Alexandria.
174
ANCIENT GREECE
176
THE GREEK LEGACY
177
ANCIENT GREECE
Archimedes
One ancient Greek citizen who
did not ignore the opportunities
offered by putting the sciences to practi- Eureka!
cal use was the mathematician and Another famous
inventor Archimedes (c. 287–212 BCE). This relief myth tells the story of
Archimedes studied at the Museum in sculpture depicts one of Archimedes’ most
Alexandria before returning to his native the mathematician famous discoveries, that of specif-
Syracuse. He made a particular study of Euclid. His book, ic gravity.The king of Syracuse had asked
the characteristics of force. It was already the Elements, was him to find out whether a supposedly
known that heavy loads were easier to lift one of the most golden crown was in fact pure gold. As
with the help of pulleys and levers, but important works water slopped out of the overfull bath
Archimedes discovered that even the produced in when Archimedes got in, it came to him
heaviest weight could be lifted easily by Alexandria. that the amount of water displaced by
using a long lever that moved around a objects of different volumes would also
fixed point, or fulcrum. be different. For this reason, the amount
Archimedes applied this knowledge of water displaced by the crown (if it was
to many applications, including military adulterated) would be different from the
catapults. He is also said to have single- amount of water displaced by a lump of
handedly launched a massive ship with pure gold that weighed the same as the
the help of levers and pulleys. Legend has crown. Archimedes is reputed to have
it that he once boasted: “Give me a solid jumped out of the bath and run down
place to stand in space, and I will move the street naked crying “Eureka!” (“I
the Earth.” have found it!”).
178
THE GREEK LEGACY
Medical science
Great advances were made in medical
science in Alexandria in the fourth cen-
tury BCE. They were based on the
rational approach to medicine pioneered
by Hippocrates of Kos (c. 460–377
BCE), who is called the father of medi-
cine. Previously, the practice of medicine
The mathematician astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who had been bound up with religion and
Archimedes is postulated a heliocentric (sun-centered) magic. However, Hippocrates believed
famous for view of the cosmos that retained that disease had natural causes. He con-
discovering the Ptolemy’s system of epicycles. sidered medicine to be an art that people
concept of specific Ptolemy also contributed to several could learn, diagnosing disease through
gravity while in other fields of knowledge. He added to an examination of the patient.
the bath.This the understanding of trigonometry, using Hippocrates was born on the Greek
drawing is based on this knowledge to make astrolabes island of Kos, where he eventually estab-
a 16th-century-CE (instruments used for measuring the alti- lished a school of medicine. His method
engraving. tude of the stars) and sundials. In his of clinical observation was to influence
180
THE GREEK LEGACY
181
ANCIENT GREECE
Plato (428–348 BCE) and his student nature of things; therefore, the wise per-
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) objected to the son would suspend judgment. Pyrrhon
Sophists’ view that truth and morality never took sides, believing solely in the
were matters of opinion and countered value of observation—skepsis in Greek.
that view with the concept of idealism. His followers were called Skeptics, and
Plato maintained that the object of their questioning of everything, based on
knowledge (the “idea”) was fixed, per- the example of the questions and answers
manent, and unchangeable. He consid- of Socrates, gave rise to the modern con-
ered that only this “idea” was real and notation of the word skeptic.
rejected the view that knowledge was
based on the experience of the senses. Epicureanism
The Skeptics countered by saying Epicureanism was founded by the Greek
that all knowledge is questionable and philosopher Epicurus (341–270 BCE),
that inquiry itself is a process of doubt- who was born on the island of Samos.
ing. A philosophical school based on When he was 18, he had to go to Athens
these ideas was founded by Pyrrhon of to do his military service.When his serv-
Elis (c. 363– 272 BCE).The essence of its ice was completed, he traveled for 10
philosophy was the impossibility of years, studying and developing his own
obtaining certain knowledge. Pyrrhon philosophical ideas.Around 311 BCE, he
assumed that mankind primarily strives established a school of philosophy at
for happiness, and this is the sole reason Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Later,
for the practice of philosophy. He said in 306 BCE, he settled in Athens, where
that no human could ever know the real he bought a house with a garden. He set
up a school in the garden, and many of
his followers from his travels in Anatolia
THE MUSES flocked there.
Epicurus’s philosophy was based on a
In Greek mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses system of ethics and the belief that good
thought to inspire artists of all kinds, including and evil were to be perceived through
philosophers, poets, and musicians.The Muses were all the senses. To achieve a happy life, one
born of a union between Zeus, king of the gods, and should seek pleasure and avoid pain.
Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. Each Muse However, he also taught that a simple life
presided over a different art or science. Poetry was so was best, because any attempt to satisfy
important that it had four separate Muses: Polyhymnia all desires would itself bring pain. So,
for sacred poetry, Calliope for epic poetry, Erato for although the goal of life was pleasure
love poetry, and Euterpe for lyric poetry.Terpsichore (and intellectual pleasure was to be pre-
was the Muse in charge of choral singing and dance, ferred to sensual pleasure), moderation
while Thalia was the Muse for comedy, and Melpomene was the path to true happiness. He
was the Muse of tragedy. Clio presided over history, and described justice, honesty, and friendship
Urania presided over astronomy. as virtues, while politics was to be avoid-
ed because it produced only misery.
The companions to the Muses were Apollo, the god of Epicurus subscribed to the atomic
music, and the Graces, who were the three goddesses theory refined by Democritus in the fifth
of beauty, joy, and charm.The Graces were also century BCE. According to this theory,
daughters of Zeus, but by the nymph Eurynome.Thalia everything is composed of tiny
was associated with good cheer, Aglaia with splendor, unchangeable atoms, which join togeth-
and Euphrosyne with mirth. er to form material objects. Epicurus
maintained that the soul and the body
182
THE GREEK LEGACY
are composed of material atoms, and linked by a divine force (Logos), which
when the body dies, the soul is also they also called reason. Zeno consid-
dissipated and no longer exists. ered that by living in conformity
Consequently, there can be no with nature, mankind would live
afterlife, and there is nothing to in conformity with the Logos, and
fear from death. this was the only way to attain
Epicurus did not deny the happiness. By calmly accepting
existence of the gods, but he everything that life deals out,
considered them irrelevant to mankind can be freed from pas-
human affairs. He viewed them as sion, grief, and joy.
existing in empty space outside the Zeno believed that information
cosmos and believed that they were received through the senses is based
too caught up in their own affairs to on correct perceptions. If mistakes
be interested in the material world are made, they are due to inaccurate
of mortals. To fear or venerate observation or faulty processing
them was as pointless as of the information. The
fearing life after death. person who uses his reason
Followers of Epicurus to digest information will
lived a comparatively aus- come to a correct con-
tere life in his school. ception of things. Once
They consumed little one has a correct con-
other than bread and ception of virtue, one
water and enjoyed few can then gain virtue.
pleasures beyond those of
friendship and intellec- Equality for all
tual pursuits. This mod- The Stoics believed that
est lifestyle, withdrawn because all mankind is
from the world, is in animated by the Logos,
direct contrast to the all men and women, rich
modern understanding of the word This bust depicts the or poor, free or slave, should be treated as
epicurean, which has come to mean the Greek philosopher equals. This was a revolutionary idea in
pursuit of pleasure; an epicure is some- Epicurus, who gave the third century BCE.
one who indulges freely in the pleasures his name to a school The Stoics considered possessions
of food and wine. of philosophy— and wealth unimportant in human rela-
Epicureanism. tionships and believed that people had a
Stoicism responsibility to help one another. For
Around 308 BCE, the philosopher Zeno this reason, they encouraged people to
of Cyprus began giving public lectures in enter public life because it allowed them
Athens under the painted colonnade to improve the lot of their fellow citi-
next to the agora. The colonnade was zens. Stoicism, as first taught by Zeno
known as the Stoa Poikile in Greek, and later refined by his follower
which gave the name Stoicism to his Cleanthes and his successor Chrysippus,
teachings. Zeno had studied with the was destined to become a major influ-
Cynics, at Plato’s Academy, and at ence in the Roman world.
Aristotle’s Lyceum, but he developed his
own view of life and the universe. See also:
The Stoics believed that everything After Alexander (page 166) • The Great
in the universe, including mankind, was Philosophers (page 122)
183
GLOSSARY
Achaemenids Persian 27th dynasty Arcadia mountainous region of the comedy originally, any play or literary
of Egypt (525–404 BCE); founded central Peloponnese, Greece. composition with a nontragic ending.
by Cambyses II of Persia and
named after his family, the archons magistrates in Athens, comos procession of Greek citizens
Achaemenids. Darius I was a beginning around the seventh century during which they wore masks and
member of this dynasty. BCE. Elected annually, their duties danced and sang; often part of festivals
comprised legislation, the dispensation in honor of Dionysus.
acropolis fortified part of an ancient of justice, the conduct of religion,
Greek city.The most famous such and military affairs. Corcyra ancient name for the Greek
fortress is the Acropolis in Athens, island of Corfu.
where various large temples were Artemisium, Battle of Persian naval
built, including the Parthenon. victory over the Greeks in 480 BCE. Corinth city of the Peloponnese,
around 50 miles (80 km) west of
Adonis in Greek mythology, a young Athens preeminent city-state of Athens.
mortal man of outstanding beauty; ancient Greece.
favorite of Aphrodite. Corinthian War conflict that lasted
Attica region of central Greece. Its from 395 to 387 BCE between Sparta
Aegean Sea part of the chief city was Athens. and an alliance among Thebes, Athens,
Mediterranean Sea that separates Corinth, and Argos, initially supported
mainland Greece from Asia Minor Babylon city in southern Meso- by Persia.
(part of modern Turkey). potamia that was the center of an
Amorite empire under Hammurabi. Corupedium, Battle of fought
Alcmaeonidae influential Athenian Later, Babylon continued as the in 281 BCE, the decisive final
political family during the lifetime cultural and political capital of the confrontation between the rival
of Peisistratus. region. From 612 to 539 BCE, successors to Alexander the Great.
Babylon was the capital of the Neo-
Alexandria greatest city of the Babylonian Empire. Council of 500 originally conceived
ancient world. It lies on the by Cleisthenes and fully realized by
Mediterranean Sea on the western Bacchiads aristocratic family that Solon, a political decision-making
edge of the delta of the Nile River ruled the city-state of Corinth in the body in Athens consisting of 10
and was founded in 332 BCE by seventh century BCE. groups, each of 50 men, chosen by lot.
Alexander the Great.
Bosporus strait, 19 miles (30 km) Crannon, Battle of military
Anatolia another name for Asia long, that joins the Black Sea and confrontation in 322 BCE in which
Minor (part of modern Turkey). the Sea of Marmara. Macedonian forces under Antipater
defeated rebellious Greek forces led
Antigonids descendants of Demetrius Byzantium ancient Greek city on the by the Athenians.
Poliorcetes; ruling dynasty of shore of the Bosporus; later known as
Macedonia from 306 to 168 BCE. Constantinople; modern Istanbul. crop rotation farming system in
which fields are divided into groups
Apollo Greek god of the sun, oracles, Chaeronea, Battle of conflict in (typically of three) in which a
music, poetry, and justice; son of which Philip II of Macedon defeated different one is left fallow every
Zeus.The god of medicine, Apollo Thebes and Athens in 338 BCE. year so that it may regenerate.
could also choose to inflict disease as
punishment. Chalcedon ancient port on the Croton Greek colony in southern
Bosporus; overshadowed by its Italy in which Pythagoras settled
Aramaic Semitic language that was proximity to Byzantium. around 530 BCE.
widely spoken in western Asia until
displaced by Greek after the conquests choregi Greek sponsors of theatrical Cynics from the Greek kunikoi.
of Alexander the Great. productions and competitions. Followers of Diogenes and
184
GLOSSARY
Antisthenes, they protested the of the Peloponnese and Crete between Hades god of the underworld and
material interests of established society. 1200 and 1000 BCE. brother of Zeus; also the name of
Holding virtue to be the only good, the underworld itself.
they stressed independence from ecclesia the tribal meeting of
worldly needs and pleasures and Athens open to all citizens that, Hanukkah Jewish midwinter festival
led austere lives. after Cleisthenes’ reforms, made that commemorates the restoration of
the final political decisions on Jewish rites in the temple at Jerusalem
Cyrenaica coastal district of southern internal and foreign affairs. by Judas Maccabaeus.
Mediterranean Sea; former Greek
colony; now part of Libya. Elea ancient town in Italy founded by hemlock poisonous herb; commonly
Greek refugees; famous for its school thought to have been the cause of
Delian League military alliance set of philosophy; modern Velia. Socrates’s death.
up in 477 BCE to protect the Greek
cities of Ionia (part of modern Turkey) Eleusis city on the Greek coast near Heracles greatest and strongest of
against attack by the Persians. Athens where mysteries were held Greek mythological heroes; also
between around 600 and 400 BCE. known as Hercules.
Delos one of the Cyclades, a group
of islands in the Aegean Sea. Ephesus Ionian city in ancient Hermes Greek god of travelers,
Anatolia (part of modern Turkey). shepherds, trade, and cunning.The
Delphi city in central Greece; site son of Zeus and the messenger
of an Apollo sanctuary and an oracle. Epicureanism philosophy founded by of the gods, he guided souls to
The utterances of Pythia, the priestess Epicurus (341–270 BCE). Its central the underworld.
of the oracle, had great influence on tenets were the pursuit of happiness
personal and political life. and the avoidance of pain. hoplites soldiers in the Greek heavy
infantry, armed with swords, lances,
democracy from the Greek demos Epidamnus colony on the Adriatic and the large round shields known
(people) and kratein (to rule); coast in part of what is now Albania; as hoplons.
government by the people, either founded in the fifth century BCE by
directly or through elected Greeks from Corcyra. Illyria ancient region of the Balkans;
representatives.This form of part of modern Albania.
government arose at the end of Epidaurus small but important city-
the sixth century BCE in Athens. state of ancient Greece; situated in the Indo-European languages common
northeastern Peloponnese. family of European and Asiatic
diadochs military commanders who (Indian) languages.
succeeded Alexander the Great. Eurymedon river in Asia Minor; site
of a major battle in 466 BCE between Ionia coastal region of southwestern
Dionysia Greek annual festival in the Persians and the Delian League. Anatolia (part of modern Turkey) that
honor of Dionysus; characterized by contained several Greek city-states.
processions, poetry competitions, and Gaugamela, Battle of military
theatrical performances. confrontation in 331 BCE in which Ishtar Semitic war goddess who
Alexander the Great defeated Darius merged with Inanna and became the
Dionysus Greek god of wine, ecstasy, III of Persia. goddess of love and fertility.
reproduction, life force, chaos, and
death. Gordian knot according to Greek isthmus narrow strip of land,
legend, a complex knot that could bordered on two sides by water, that
dithyramb ancient Greek hymn of only be untied by the man destined joins two larger land masses.
praise to the god Dionysus. to become king of Asia.The young
Alexander the Great cut it with one Jason Greek mythological hero who
Dodona site, near Epirus in north- blow of his sword. sailed in the Argo in search of the
western Greece, of an oracle devoted Golden Fleece.
to the god Zeus. Granicus River, Battle of military
confrontation between Alexander the Logos divine force—also known as
Dorians people from Macedonia and Great and the Persian Empire near reason—that the Stoics believed
northern Greece who conquered parts Troy in Asia Minor in 334 BCE. directed the universe and humankind.
185
ANCIENT GREECE
Lydia ancient province of Anatolia Parthenon temple on the Athenian satrap provincial governor in the
(part of modern Turkey). Its capital Acropolis dedicated to Pallas Athena; Achaemenian Persian Empire.
was Sardis. built between 447 and 438 BCE.
satyr play Greek dramatic work with
Macedon alternatively, Macedonia; Peloponnese large, mountainous a heroic mythological theme, like a
region of northeastern Greece that peninsula that is joined to the main- tragedy, but with a humorous tone
was for a short time during the fourth land of Greece by the Isthmus of and a chorus of satyrs (goatlike male
century BCE the most powerful state Corinth. companions of Pan and Dionysus
in the eastern Mediterranean region. who roamed the woods and moun-
Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) tains). Satyr plays formed the last part
Maia in Greek mythology, the eldest conflict of hegemony between Athens of a tetralogy and were thus always
of the Pleiades and the mother of (generally allied with the Ionians) performed after three tragedies.
Zeus’s son, Hermes. and Sparta (allied with the Dorians).
The direct cause was a conflict about Seleucid Empire empire that,
Mantinea ancient city in Arcadia; site the island of Corcyra (modern Corfu). between 312 and 64 BCE, extended
of two battles.The first Battle of The army of Sparta annually destroyed from Thrace on the edge of the Black
Mantinea, in 418 BCE, was the largest Attica, while the Athenian fleet Sea to the western border of India. It
land battle of the Peloponnesian War. plundered the Peloponnesian coasts. was formed by Seleucus I Nicator
In the second Battle of Mantinea Sparta finally triumphed over Athens from the remnants of Alexander the
(362 BCE),Thebes defeated the allied with help from the Persians. Great’s realm.
forces of Athens and Sparta.
Pergamum ancient Greek city in Asia Skepticism philosophy based on the
Marathon city on the east coast of Minor; close to the modern city of assumption that all assumptions should
Attica where the Persians suffered a Izmir,Turkey. be doubted.
devastating defeat in 490 BCE by a
small Athenian army under Miltiades. Persephone daughter of Demeter, the Sophists Greek teachers in the fifth
goddess of agriculture. Her recurring century BCE who gave popularized
Medes Indo-European people who abduction by Hades and return from (and eventually denounced) instruc-
entered northeastern Iran around the the underworld symbolize the growth tion in philosophy, political science,
17th century BCE. and decay of life. rhetoric, and literature.
Mesopotamia area in western Asia phalanx a battle formation in the Stoicism school of philosophy
surrounding the Euphrates and Tigris Greek infantry, usually consisting of founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens
rivers. Floods and irrigation made the eight rows of hoplites fighting in in the third century BCE. At its core is
land fertile, and around 4500 BCE, the extremely close ranks. the belief that people should do what
first agricultural settlements were is required of them by nature and
founded there. potsherd fragment of pottery, accept their lot.
usually one that has been unearthed
Minoan civilization Bronze Age by archaeological excavation. Thermopylae mountain pass between
civilization on Crete. Thessaly and central Greece where
prytanes 10 groups of 50 men from Leonidas and hundreds of Spartans
Muses in Greek—and later in the Council of 500; formed the daily died covering the retreat of the
Roman—mythology, nine sister administration of Athens for one- Greek army from the Persians in
goddesses (daughters of Zeus) who month periods. 480 BCE.
inspired human artistic creativity:
Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), rhetors orator-politicians in Athens. trireme ancient galley ship with three
Erato (lyric poetry), Euterpe (music), With their rhetorical gifts, they had a banks of oars.
Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia great deal of influence over Athenian
(sacred poetry),Terpsichore (dancing), politics. zeugitai social class of economically
Thalia (comedy), Urania (astronomy). independent farmers in Athens;
Salamis island on the western coast owners of zeugos (yokes of oxen).The
Parnassus mountain of central of Attica where the Persian fleet was zeugitai served as foot soldiers in the
Greece; in Greek mythology, the defeated in battle by the Greeks in 480 army and, after Solon’s reforms, could
home of Apollo and the Muses. BCE. hold minor political offices.
186
MAJOR HISTORICAL FIGURES
Aeschylus (525–456 BCE) Greek Eratosthenes Greek mathematician Pericles (c. 495–429 BCE)
playwright; author of the Oresteia and astronomer of the third and democratic leader of Athens during
trilogy and The Persians. second centuries BCE who calculated its Golden Age.
the circumference of Earth.
Alcibiades (c. 450–404 BCE) Plato (c. 428–348 BCE) ancient
Athenian politician and military Euclid (c. 300 BCE) ancient Greek Greek philosopher who, with Aristotle
commander whose policies mathematician; known as the father and Socrates, laid the foundations of
contributed to his city’s defeat of geometry. subsequent Western thought.
by Sparta in the Peloponnesian
War (431–404 BCE). Euripides (c. 485–406 BCE) Greek Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE) Greek
dramatist; author of more than 90 biographer and historian.
Alexander the Great (356–323 plays, including Medea.
BCE) king of Macedonia from 336 Pythagoras (c. 580–500 BCE)
BCE until his death. Alexander over- Herodotus (born c. 480 BCE) ancient Greek philosopher and
threw the Persian Empire and laid the known as the father of Greek mathematician whose religious,
foundations of a Hellenistic Empire. historiography. political, and philosophical
doctrines strongly influenced
Antigonus (382–301 BCE) Herophilus personal physician to Plato.
Macedonian general who co-founded Ptolemy I in the fourth century BCE;
the Antigonid dynasty. widely regarded as the father of the Socrates (469–399 BCE) Athenian
study of human anatomy. philosopher. His ideas were passed
Archimedes (c. 287–212 BCE) down primarily through the writings
Greek mathematician and inventor. Hesiod (c. 700 BCE) epic poet; of Plato.
author of Thegonia, on religion and
Aristophanes (c. 450–388 BCE) mythology, and Works and Days, a Sophocles (c. 496–406 BCE) Greek
early Greek comic playwright. manual for farmers. playwright; author of tragedies.
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) Greek Hippocrates (c. 460–377 BCE) Thucydides (c. 460–400 BCE)
philosopher and scientist. ancient Greek physician; known as Greek historian of the Peloponnesian
the father of medicine. War.
Croesus king of Lydia between 560
and 546 BCE; conquered Ionia and Homer (c. 800 BCE) legendary Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman poet;
was in turn subjugated by the Persians; Greek poet to whom the epics the author of the Aeneid, an epic of the
famous for his vast wealth. Iliad and the Odyssey are attributed. foundation of Rome by fugitives from
the sacking of Troy.
Cyrus the Great sixth-century-BCE Judas Maccabaeus leader of the
Persian ruler who founded an empire Maccabaean revolt against the Seleucid Xenophon (431–350 BCE) Greek
that stretched from the Aegean Sea Empire (166–165 BCE). historian; author of the Anabasis, an
eastward to the Indus River. account of how Greek mercenaries
Leonidas (died 480 BCE) Spartan attempted to seize the Persian
Darius I king of Persia between 521 king who died in the Battle of throne.
and 486 BCE; started the First Persian Thermopylae.
War. His expedition against Athens Xerxes I king of Persia between 486
ended in the Battle of Marathon. Menander (c. 341–291 BCE) and 465 BCE; destroyed Athens in
Athenian comic dramatist; author of 480 BCE during the Second Persian
Democritus fifth-century-BCE Greek more than 100 plays. War.
philosopher.
Miltiades general who led Athenian Zeno (c. 335–263 BCE) Greek
Diogenes (c. 400–325 BCE) Greek forces to victory over the Persians at Cypriot who founded the Stoic
philosopher; founded Cynicism. the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE. school of philosophy.
187
INDEX
Page numbers in italic type refer to Antipater 158, 166, 171 army 74, 76
illustrations. Antisthenes 136 Athena 53, 63, 82, 84, 114, 121
apoikiai 47–48 citizenship 60, 78, 120
Appolonius 162 coinage 73, 74
A Aratus of Sicyon 173 Corinthian War 152
Achaean League 173 Arcadia 44, 153, 176 Council of 500 74, 76, 77–78,
Achilles 37, 38, 45 Archaic colonization 45 114
Adonis 84 Archaic period 40, 42–51, 64 Delian League 110, 111–112,
Aeschines 153 Archidamus II 140 138, 140, 148
Aeschylus 88, 92–93, 92, 93, 95, Archilochus 40, 51 democracy 64, 74–79, 114–118,
119, 154 Archimedes 178, 180 138, 149–150
Aetolia 166 architecture 50, 118, 119, 177 ecclesia (assembly) 61, 63, 76–77,
Aetolian League 171 Cyclopean masonry 28 114, 115
Agamemnon 26–27, 38 Doric order 68 Erechtheion 79, 119
Agesilaus 152 Minoan 19, 19, 22 festivals 71, 88, 90
Agesilaus II 151–152, 151 Mycenaean 32, 33 government 60–61, 63
agriculture 6, 8–9, 16, 19–20, 33, Sparta 58–59 Lamian War 171
50, 72, 72, 73, 76 archons 60–61, 63, 90, 114–115 legal system 71, 114, 150
Ajax 45 areopagus 60, 114 Long Walls 140, 141
Akrotiri 11–12 Argos 43, 43, 45, 143, 152 Lyceum 122, 137
Alcibiades 143–144, 143, 144, 146 Aridaeus 166 metics 150
Alcmaeonidae 70, 72, 74 Aristarchus 174, 179 Mycenaean culture 26, 31, 35
Alexander IV 166 Aristides 111 naval supremacy 101, 110, 111,
Alexander the Great 135, 153, aristocracy 64–65, 74 138, 140, 146, 148
154–165, 155, 159, 160, 161, Aristogeiton 75, 75 ostracism 76
164, 166, 168 Aristogoras of Miletus 97 Parthenon 110, 116, 119, 121,
Alexandria 154, 161, 162, 162, 168, Aristophanes 88, 95, 119, 148, 148 121
170, 174, 176–180 Aristotle 122, 123, 124, 131, 137, Peisistratus 70–71
Al Mina 47 137, 154, 174, 182 Peloponnesian War 110, 112, 114,
alphabets 42, 46 armor and weapons 35, 45, 59, 59, 138–153
Ambracia 112 74, 100, 138, 157 pentakosiomedimnoi 63
Amon-Re 161, 163 army see warfare and armies Pericles 110–121, 111, 140–141,
Amyntas 156 Artaphernes 97 143
Anacreon 75 Artaxerxes 160 Peristratus 64
Anatolia 26, 29, 40, 42, 79, 96, 154, Artemisium, Battle of 99, 102–103 Persian Wars 96, 99–107, 112
159, 166, 169, 169, 171 ascesis 127 phylae 76, 77
anatomy 181 asceticism 136 plague 138, 140–142
Anaxagoras 118, 126, 128, 132 Asine 29, 31 pottery 71
Anaximander 122, 124 astrolabe 180 Propylaea 119
Anaximenes 122, 124–125, 125 astronomy 124, 126, 126, 174, prytane 77–78
Antalcidas, Peace of 152 179–180 rhetors 115
Antigonid dynasty 166, 169, 172 atheism 86–87, 122 slaves 78, 117
Antigonus 166, 168–169 Athens 29, 43, 43, 45, 47, 52, 58–63 social organization 60–61, 63
Antigonus Gonatas 167, 169, Academy 122, 135, 137 Solon’s reforms 61, 63, 64, 68,
171–172 Acropolis 58, 63, 70, 79, 110, 74
Antioch 169 112, 116, 117, 119 strategoi 115, 143, 147
Antiochus I 171 Alcmaeonidae 70, 72, 74 Temple of Athena Nike 117,
Antiochus III 170 archons 60–61, 63, 114–115 119
Antiochus IV 170 areopagus 60, 114 Theater of Dionysus 88, 90, 91
188
INDEX
thetes 60, 61, 74, 114 Companions (hetairoi) 158, 159, 165 diadochs 166, 168–172
Thirty Years Peace 138 Corcyra 138, 139, 140 Diagoras of Melos 87, 122
tyranny 64, 68, 70–72, 74–75, Corinth 43, 43, 47, 48, 67, 68, 107, diet 6, 8–9, 72, 76
148–150 115 Diogenes 122, 123, 134, 135, 136
wealth 101, 118 oligarchy 64, 68 Dionysia 71, 88, 89, 90, 92
women 62, 78, 120 Peloponnesian War 112, 114, 138, dithyramb 88, 90
zeugitai 60, 61, 74, 114 140 divination 85
athletics 77, 82 Spartan Confederacy 112, 114 divorce 120
Atlantis 13 Temple of Apollo 69 dodeca poleis 42, 52
atomic theory 131, 182–183 trade 65–66 Dodona 83
Attica 44, 45, 52, 58, 60, 71, tyranny 64, 65–69 Dorians 35, 40, 42, 44, 52, 80
103–104 Corinthian League 155 drama 48, 82, 88–95, 119
Corinthian War 152 choregi 90
Corupedium, Battle of 166, 169, comedy 88, 90, 95, 177, 182
B 169 masks 88, 90, 91
Babylon 96, 163, 165, 169 Cos 42, 44 satyr plays 90
Bactria 164, 169, 171 craftsmen 6, 19, 33, 55, 60, 68, 71, tetralogy 90
Barsine 165 72–74, 73 theaters 88, 90, 91
basileus 40, 43 Crannon, Battle of 166, 171 tragedy 71, 88, 91–95, 182
Bessus 164 Crete 11, 14–25, 17, 26, 35, 40, 44 dromos 31, 32, 32
Boeotia 7, 50 Croesus 98
Brasidas 143 Croton 122, 126–127
Bronze Age 6–13, 8–9, 16–25 Cycladic culture 6, 7, 8–13, 11, 13, E
bull-leaping 21, 21, 23, 24 16 ecclesia 61, 63, 76–77, 114, 115
Cynics 136 economy 72–74
Cyprus 40, 44, 166, 169 education 57, 118, 131, 132,
C Cypselus 64, 66–67, 72 181–182
Callias 112 Cyrenaica 166 Egypt 11, 12, 14, 36, 154, 161–163,
Callimachus 100, 162 Cyrene 163 166, 168, 169, 172, 174
Cambyses II 79, 96 Cyrus the Great 96, 98 Elea 49, 125, 128
Cape Mycale, Battle of 99, 106, Eleusian mysteries 80, 85–86
109, 110 Elis 143
Cape Sounion 85, 99 D emporion 47
Carthage 51 Damon 118 Epaminondas 152–153
Cassander 171 Dardanelles 154, 159 Ephesus 73
Catana 144 Darius I 75, 96, 97, 99–100, 102, Epicurianism 181, 182–183
Celts 51 163, 163 Epicurus 182–183, 183
centaurs 81 Darius III 160–161, 163–164, 165 Epidamnus 138
Chaeronea, Battle of 153, 154 Dark Age 36, 40–42, 42–43, 43 Epidaurus 140
chariots 35, 59 debt slavery 47, 52, 60–61, 64 Erasistratus 181
children 57, 62 Delian League 110, 111–112, 138, Eratosthenes 150, 180
Chios 42 140, 148 Eritria 97
Chrysippus 183 Delos 8, 9, 11, 111, 115 ethics 132–133, 182
Cicero 105 Delphi 80, 83, 85, 86, 99, 101 Etruria 50
Cimon 111–112 Demaratus 99 Euboea 42, 45
Cleanthes 183 Demetrius of Phaleron 174 Euclid 174, 177, 178
Cleisthenes 64, 74, 76, 79 Demetrius Poliorcetes 166, Euripides 88, 94–95, 95, 119, 126,
Cleomenes III 166, 173 168–169 154
Cleon 141, 143 democracy 64, 65, 74–79, 114–118, Eurymedon, Battle of the 111
coinage 73, 74, 82, 98, 100, 161, 149–150 Evvoia 44
168 Democritus 87, 182
colonies 45, 47–51, 119 Democritus of Abdera 131
comedy 88, 90, 95, 177, 182 Demosthenes 141, 152, 153, 156, F
comos 88, 90 171 festivals 71, 82, 88, 89, 90, 92
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ANCIENT GREECE
190
INDEX
191
ANCIENT GREECE
rhetoric 115, 118, 131, 132, 181 perioikoi 52, 54–55 Mycenaeans 26, 35
Rhodes 36, 42, 44, 166 Persian Wars 96, 99, 102–103, Sparta 55
Romans 39 106–107 tragedy 71, 88, 91–95, 182
Roxana 166 social organization 47, 52–55 tragoidos 88
Spartan Confederacy 112, 114 Treasury of Atreus 26, 32, 32
Thirty Years Peace 138 trigonometry 180
S Spartan Confederacy 112, 114 triremes 109, 109
Salamis, Battle of 96, 99, 104, 104, Stoicism 87, 174, 181, 183 Troy 26–27, 28, 29, 36–39, 39
106, 109, 109, 110 Stone Age 6–8, 14–16 tyranny 47, 64–75, 96, 148
Samos 41, 42, 101, 126 strategoi 93, 110, 115, 143, 147 Tyre 154, 161
Samos, Battle of 97 sundial 124, 180 Tyrtaeus 52
Sappho 44 Susa 163, 165
Sardis 96, 97, 160 Syracuse 48, 48, 138, 143–144, 145,
satyrs 81 146 V
science 118, 122, 124, 128, 131, Syria 169 Virgil 176
174, 177–181, 182 Syros 10, 11
seals 6, 16, 24–25, 30, 78, 109
Sea Peoples 36 W
Seleucid dynasty 166, 169–171, 172 T warfare and armies 73, 74
Seleucus 166, 168, 169, 171 Tarentum 144 Athens 74, 76
ships 25, 35, 42, 101, 109, 109, 110, textiles 33, 62, 72, 119 Bronze Age 10
138, 140, 141 Thales of Miletus 122, 124, 124, Companions (hetairoi) 158, 159,
Sicily 48, 143–146 126 165
Simonides 75 Thasos 51 hoplites 59, 59, 74, 76, 99–100,
Siwa Oasis 161, 168 theater see drama 106, 106, 138, 146, 152
Skepticism 181, 182 Thebes 26, 29, 31, 43, 43, 138, Macedon 157, 157, 158–159
slaves 33, 47, 51, 60–61, 62, 64, 78, 152–153, 156, 158 Mycenaeans 26, 33, 35
117, 177 Corinthian War 152 naval warfare 97, 101, 102–103,
Socrates 118, 122, 126, 131–135, Peloponnesian War 112, 114 104, 106, 109, 138, 140, 141,
132, 133, 136, 143, 182 Themistocles 101, 104 146
Sogdiana 164 Theocritus 162, 176–177 phalanx 157, 157, 159
Solon 52, 61, 61, 63, 64, 74, 98 Thera 9, 12 Sparta 55, 56, 57, 58, 59
sophia 127 volcanic eruption 6, 11–13, 14, see also armor and weapons
sophists 118, 131, 132, 181–182 25 women 57, 62, 72, 78, 91, 112, 119,
Sophocles 88, 93–94, 94, 119, 154 Thermopylae, Battle of 58, 96, 99, 120
Sparta 26, 38, 43, 43, 45, 52–58, 58, 102–103 wrestling 56
110, 166 Theseus 15, 20, 52, 58, 91 writing 23, 24–25, 40, 42–43, 46,
army and military training 55, Thespis 88 46, 47, 85
56, 57, 58, 59 thetes 60, 61, 74, 114
Cleomenes III 173 Thirty Years Peace 138
Corinthian War 152 tholos tombs 30–32, 32 X
gerousia 56–57 Thrace 71, 96, 154, 155 Xanthippus 110
government 47, 52–57, 118 Thrasybulus 149 Xenophanes 125
helots 52, 54 Thucydides 122, 141, 142, 147, 147 Xenophon 73, 132
imperialism 151–152 Thurii 119 Xerxes I 96, 100–106, 160
kings 56 Tiryns 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35
krypteia 54 trade 72, 73–74
Lycurgan Constitution 52, 56 Archaic period 40, 42, 45, 47 Z
oligarchy 138 Bronze Age 6, 11, 16, 19, 25 Zakro 16, 17
Peloponnesian League 138, 140 colonies 47, 51 Zeno of Cyprus 174, 183
Peloponnesian War 110, 112, 114, Corinth 65–66 Zeno of Elea 130, 132–133
138–153 emporion 47 zeugitai 60, 61, 74, 114
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