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Greek Civilization -- From the Minoans to Alexander
I. Introduction
- A. Importance of studying the Greeks
- 1. basis for western culture
- a. art
- b. literature
- c. drama
- d. architecture
- 2. basis for western philosophy
- a. importance of the individual man
- b. importance of making choices (free will)
- c. creation of the "big questions"
- 3. unifying force in the ancient world
- a. Traders, migrants, and Alexander took Greek culture around the known world
- b. imported other cultures into Greek culture
- c. therefore open to synthesis of two or more cultures
- B. Importance of
geography
- 1. location near the sea
- 2.
Greece small, mountainous
- a. helped the desire to move into new areas
- b. helped the individual city/states to grow independently
- 3. Necessary for Greece to expand into other areas, not just its own
- C. Usefulness to look at new ways of civilization
- 1. how was Greece different from China, India?
- 2. how would those differences relate to Greece's evolution?
- 3. how did Greek civilization fit with the "characteristics" we have described?
II.
Early Greeks
- A. Minoan civilization (1600-1000BC)
- 1. small by comparison to other Mediterranean empires
- 2. not the same relative historical importance as Egypt, Mesopotamia
- 3. Minoa based on Crete, island in Mediterranean
- B. Mycenaean society - mainland - brought down by invasions about 1200-1100BC
- 1. Social and political organization
- a. collection of city state monarchies
- b. big tombs suggest powerful kings
- c. priests had significant power as well
- d. bureaucracy for efficient administration
- e. society dominated by large landowners
- f. thetes - landless laborers, much of population
- 2. Greek speakers -- arrive in area c.1900 BC
- 3. Religion
- a. polytheistic
- b. use of animal sacrifice
- c. many familiar Greek gods already appeared
- 4. War and conflict common
- a. cities clearly built for defense
- b. war with Troy c. 1250 BC gives rise to stories of Iliad and Odyssey
- c. seem to be brought down by invasion
- d. also weakened by collapse of Hittite Empire and loss of trade
- C. The Dark Ages (1100-750)
- 1. only dark when we don't know much about them
- 2. Relative step backwards for civilization
- 3. Less developed cities, etc. -- political organization can only be guessed at
- 4. Period of expansion into Aegean to Turkish coast
- 5. a period for memory--Homer for example
- a. Iliad and the Odyssey -- poems written down in 700s BC
- b. importance as historical documents, based on folk tales
- c. would become touchstones for all Greek civilization after that
- d. values portrayed become important to Greek culture
- i. physical prowess
- ii. courage
- iii. defense of family and property
- iv. personal honor -- many battles settled as individual contests
- e. shows a world of aristocratic heroes--male, warrior like, interested in honor
- 6. Homer's poems seem to describe an early Dark Age society (not
Mycenaean)
- a. kings not as powerful
- b. nobles sat in council, able to speak against the king
- c. hierarchy of aristocrats, commoners, slaves
II. Age of Expansion (750-500BC) - also called Archaic Age
- A. based on new economies
- 1. colonization outside of Greece itself due to population pressures
- 2. creation of coin money for exchange of goods
- 3. development of trade was possible
- a. based on a Greek system
- b. all over the Mediterranean world
- (1) Italy to France, Malta, Cyprus
- (2) Spain, Western Africa, almost to Egypt
- (3) Olive oil central to trade -- death sentence for killing a tree
- B. Organization of Greek city-states themselves: the Polis (Poleis)
- 1. "small but autonomous political unit" - move to urbanization in 700s BC
- a. as many as 300 by 600 BC
- b. most very small - two most important: Sparta and Athens
- c. wealth from surrounding land
- d. often centered on an
acropolis (high point)
- e. small - lives lived in streets - everyone knows everyone
- f. all met in the
agora (marketplace)
- 2. organization
- a. citizens--men, with political rights
- b. citizens--women, no political rights
- c. non-citizens--foreigners, slaves
- d. citizens all supposedly from a common ancestor
- e. divided into clans and military brotherhoods
- f. before 700s, aristocratic city councils played central role
in government
- g. Growing gap between rich and poor created social
tensions that would force reforms after 700s
- g. Strong rivalry between cities
- C. Religion
- 1. multiple deities led by Zeus
- 2. resided on Olympus
- 3. gods very human in behavior, and Greek religion was very centered
on daily human experience
- 4. each city had a guardian deity
- 5. rituals involved small sacrifices, gifts to gods
- 6. Gods valued mainly for what they could do for humanity, what
their stories taught about human character
- 6. Oracle at Delphi preached moderation, self-control
- D. Spartan society
- 1. Dealt with rapid changes of Archaic Age through conquest and
enslavement of neighbors
- 2. all society based on the importance of military might, conquest
- 3. Strength and discipline the principle values
- 3. all boys brought up by the state (if they were allowed to live) to be
warriors
- a. taken for military training at age seven
- b. enlist in army at 20
- c. lived in barracks till 30, visited wife infrequently
- e. after 30, ate meals at barracks
- f. retired from army at 60
- g. imperfect male children exposed to die
- h. "It is a noble thing for a good man to die fighting for his fatherland. Make life your enemy, and the black spirits of death dear as the rays of the sun." --Trytaios, c. 520 BC
- 4. only girls and mothers left in the home - women valued primarily in
ability to produce children
- 5. preeminence put on expansion of political state--all else was below that
- 6. to maintain strength, little contact with the outside
- E. Spartan Politics
- 1. Traditional aristocratic rule maintained through
militarization
- 2. Army crucial for keeping control of the people
they conquered
- a. became even more militaristic after a revolt nearly destroyed their kingdom
- b. Two monarchs on top, made most decisions in military affairs
- c. council (28 elders over 60) served as judges, decided issues for vote by the citizens
- d. males citizens over 30 could vote, yes or no only, on issues of magnitude
- F.
Athenian society - 150,000 at its
height
- 1. aristocratically based
- 2. grew to be the second major power in ancient Greece
- 3. less rigidly structured, needed to be reformed
- 4. tension always between the aristocracy and citizenry
- 5. Growing disparities between rich and poor brought revolutionary pressures
- 6. Many enslaved for debt
- G. Growth of Athenian democracy
- 1. Solon (639-554 BC) - rises to power 594BC
- a. cancelled debts, freed many slaves
- b. promoted trade to increase economic opportunities
- c. broadened voting rights, creating a limited democracy
- d. established council
- 2. Cleisthenes - 508BC
- a. defeats attempt at aristocratic restoration
- b. democracy based on
demes - direct participation of citizens
in all aspects of government
- c. many city officials selected by
lot, on basis that any citizen could be an administrator
- c. council of 500 presented legislation to assembly of all citizens
- d. Ekklesia - assembly of all male citizens that had final authority
- i. carved out a hillside where as many as 6000 could gather
- ii. met every ten days
- iii. any male citizen could speak, introduce legislation
- iv. any person could be ostracized for 10 years
- e. 1/3 of population slaves
- f. women had few rights - practically cloistered
III. Classical Greece (500-338)
- A. Beginning of what we think of as Greece today: Athens and Sparta
- B. Period of greatest intellectual and artistic achievement
- 1. In Athens, a mix of rationalism and magic
- 2. began rationalist study of nature
- 3. For example, studied planets as physical bodies, not gods
- 4. But magic also important -- used magic curses against opponents in court
- C. Athenian age
- 1. Athens had led the alliance to beat Persia by 479
- 2. victory depended on fleet of small, swift ramming ships called
triremes (and democratic patriotism)
- 3. seeds of Athenian imperial dominance based in that alliance (Delian League)
- 4. Athens would bring together this empire through its sea power
- 5. would also see advancement of democracy
- 6. Victory over Persians gave Greeks enormous self-confidence
- D. Would end up butting heads with the Spartans
- 1. different views of society
- 2. different views of politics
- 3. different views of empire
- 4. both wanted power over the same areas in Greece
- E. Peloponnesian wars (main period of fighting 460-404 BC)
- 1. period of struggle between Sparta, Athens
- 2. In Athens, democracy disintegrated into mob rule
- 3. Sparta "wins," but both left exhausted
- 4. would weaken both sides, offering the possibility of invasion
IV. Invasion by the Macedonians, 338 (won at Thebes)
- A. Philip beat the Greeks, but died 336 BC
- B. Son, Alexander (356-323 BC),
created the empire from 20-36 years old
- C. Completely militaristic
- 1. entire reign based on the expansion of Greek (Macedonian, Hellenistic) Empire
- 2. expansion of Greece at all costs, including himself
- D. Beat back all major empires in the Mediterranean
- 1. Persians - much of Alexander's empire was old Persian empire
- 2. Egyptians
- 3. Even into India
- 4. as far east as modern day Pakistan
- 5. Broke down into Hellenistic Kingdoms after his death
- E. Importance
- 1. linked Greece to the rest of the (non Chinese) civilized world
- 2. created possibilities of cultural, economic, social, political transfers
- 3. created a Greek cultural empire based on Hellenistic kingdoms
- 4. set the stage for the growth of Roman Empire, Christianity, the West
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