Unit 10: Greece (8th to 1st century BC)
The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being.
Henry Miller: The Colossus of Maroussi.
The rape of Europe. Rubens, 1628.
You sure know something about Greek mythology. In this painting by the Flemish painter Rubens, Zeus, transformed into a beautiful white bull, deceives the Phoenician princess Europa and takes her out to sea to the Greek island of Crete. Since one of the first European civilizations took place in Crete and then spread across the continent, the ancient Greeks explained the birth of European culture from this fable.
1) The territory of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece occupied the southern Balkan Peninsula, the western coast of the Anatolian Peninsula, and a large number of islands in the Aegean Sea. Hellas, as the Greeks call it, was a very mountainous country with very short rivers. Therefore, cultivating the lands was difficult, so we cannot speak of Hellas as a river civilization. Its growth was due more to its commercial ability than to its geographical peculiarities.
2) Political evolution.
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2.1) Archaic Period (8th to 6th centuries BC):
Although there were great civilizations prior to this time, such as the Minoan and Mycenaean, we are going to study Ancient Greece since the creation of the polis (plural: poleis). The Greeks settled in the south of the Balkan Peninsula, in the coastal areas or in fertile valleys. As we have said before, it is a very mountainous country, so the different peoples were somewhat isolated from each other. Even so, they spoke the same language and had a similar religion. A polis was a large city plus those on its outskirts that functioned as if it were an independent state. In Hellas there were several poleis, but the most important were Athens (in the region of Attica) and Sparta (region of Laconia).
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Sparta: its political system was an oligarchy, that is, the government was controlled by a small group of people. There were two kings (diarchy), each belonging to a powerful family. The two kings had the same power and controlled the army. Above the kings were five judges called ephors. They had the maximum power, since they watched over the work of the kings and also had command in the army. They also commanded the infamous krypteia, the veracity of which is in doubt. In addition, there were two advisory bodies: a council of elders (Gerousia) and an assembly of citizens over 18 years of age (Apella).
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Athens: It began as a monarchy, but the lower classes rebelled numerous times against their unjust living conditions. Finally, at the end of the 6th century BC, the Athenians established a democratic system, in which all social classes could participate in politics.
However, it was not a democracy equal to the current ones, only free men born in Athens could vote. Foreigners, women, and slaves were excluded from politics. The political institutions that were established in the 5th century BC were: an assembly (Ekklesia) that had the maximum power, a council (Boule) that was in charge of daily minor matters of the city and the Archons, governors of the small cities nearby and dependent on Athens. One of the most important rulers of the 5th century BC was Pericles.
Activity: Read this text by Pericles, one of the most prominent Athenians ever, and answer the questions
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Greek Colonies:
During this time there was also the Greek expansion in the Mediterranean. Greece was not a river civilization, so it did not have a river that was a source of wealth. Agriculture, although very important, would not have been able to maintain a great civilization such as the Greek one, so trade was the key to its expansion. In fact, it was not an aggressive and conquering expansion like the Roman one, but rather the establishment of commercial colonies where they could sell their crafts on the Mediterranean coast. They moved west as the Assyrians pressed east. Furthermore, this expansionism contributed to Pan-Hellenism, later so important, during the Greco-Persian Wars.
The Greek colonies in the Mediterranean were not very large, but their cultural scope was, and as we know, it continues to be so today.
In the Iberian Peninsula they founded several colonies. Probably, the most important one was Emporion (today Ampurias) in Girona.
2.2) The classical period (5th to the middle of 4th centuries BC):
The Greek poleis went through, during this time, a period of political, economic, commercial and military splendor. The constructions on Mount Acropolis are proof of this, but in the second half of the 5th century BC the poleis began to distrust each other. The strongest rivalry was between Athens and Sparta. This led to a series of terrible wars that weakened all the poleis. Then, in the middle of the 4th century BC, Macedonian kings (north of Greece) took advantage of this weakness to invade Greece.
· The Greco-Persian wars (490-479 BC): Persia was a great empire in central Asia that decided to attack Greece to become even bigger. First Greco-Persian War: In 490 BC, Athens defeats the even undefeated Persians in the Battle of Maraton, a fact that favors the preponderance of Athens over the rest of the Greek poleis.
Second Greco-Persian War: In 480 BC, Xerxes, the new Persian king, decided to take revenge on the Greeks, but was again defeated both at sea (Battle of Salamis, 480) and on land (Battle of Plataea, 479). Also important was the famous battle of Thermopylae (480) in which Leonidas, king of Sparta and ally of Athens, resisted, with an army of 300 soldiers, the great Persian army. Leonidas and his men were killed in combat, but Athens had time to organize its defense against Persia, so their sacrifice was not in vain. This fact is narrated in the famous movie 300.
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·Rise and fall of Athens (479-346 BC): After the great victory against the Persians, Athens was left as the most powerful polis. It developed economically and politically, especially in the time of Pericles (443-429 BC). From this time are the great monuments of Athens, such as the Parthenon, and the establishment of democracy, as we have seen before. But other poleis did not look favorably on the power of Athens, because they thought that it could attack and dominate the rest of Greece. Thus, military alliances were formed within Greece: the strongest were the Peloponnesian League (whose leader was Sparta) and the Delian League (whose leader was Athens). The tension led to the terrible Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) in which Sparta defeated Athens after the battle of Aegopostamus (405 aC). Sparta became the preponderant polis in Greece, but it was still very weakened by the war and suffered attacks from other poleis. Eventually, the Macedonian kingdom took advantage of this weakness of the poleis and dominated all of Greece in the middle of the 4th century BC.
Activity: Complete this table for both the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War
2.3) Hellenistic period (mid 4th century-31 BC)
The Macedonian king, Philip II, was conquering areas of Greece in the middle of the 4th century BC, but it was his son, Alexander the Great, who would manage to conquer one of the greatest empires of the Ancient Age.
Alexander deeply admired classical Greek culture and tried to spread it throughout his Empire. He began by conquering Asia Minor and Palestine and then to Egypt, where he would be crowned pharaoh. He then turned east through the Sinai and invaded the great Persian Empire. He looted and burned the capital, Persepolis, as revenge for the destruction of the Acropolis by the Persians during the Greco-Persian Wars, more than 100 years earlier. His goal was to reach the ends of the known world: India, and implant a Greek culture throughout his empire based on a variety of the Greek language called 'koiné' (common). He was crowned king of Persia and, in his effort to culturally unify their territories, he married several Persian princesses and founded numerous cities to which he gave the generic name of 'Alexandria', the most famous of which is in Egypt. In 325, just 11 years after becoming king of Macedonia, he had reached the Indus Valley. He wanted to continue east, but his troops, tired and far from their homes and families, rioted and forced him to return to Greece. Alexander the Great died in 323 BC during the return trip, near the city of Babylon, after a severe fever.
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After Alexander's death, his generals and other powerful men fought for the throne. These men are known as diadochi (heirs). After many wars, the empire ends up divided. Some of the diadochi were: Seleucus, king of Persia; Silimachus, king of Asia Minor and Thrace; or Ptolemy, king of Egypt. These Macedonian-Greek dynasties lasted for a long time. For example, the famous pharaoh Cleopatra VII was a descendant of Ptolemy.
The history of Ancient Greece ends with two battles: first, the Battle of Corinth (146 BC), in which the Republic of Rome defeated and invaded mainland Greece. Second, the battle of Actium (31 BC) in which the Republic of Rome, under the command of Octavian, defeated a coalition formed by the aforementioned Cleopatra VII and her lover, the Roman general Mark Antony. After this battle, Octavian conquered Egypt (which, as we know, was part of the Greek world) and shortly after he would name himself the first emperor of Rome.
Fedele Fischetti: Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot
Division of Alexander's Empire by the diadochi after his death
3. Economy
At the beginning, as in any ancient civilization, the base of the economy was agriculture and livestock. However, the Greek orography made these tasks difficult, and as the population grew, the only remedy was emigration and colonization of other lands. As a result of this colonization, Greek trade and culture spread throughout the Mediterranean. Greek sailors were renowned for their skill.
Also, craftwork developed (specially pottery), since it was exported throughout the Mediterranean and it was seen as a symbol of status.
4. Society
Ancient Greek society, like all those of Antiquity and even some contemporary ones, was very hierarchical. On the one hand, there was a division between citizens and non-citizens. The first were free men born in a certain poleis. They had some political rights, broader in Athens than in any other polis, as we have already seen. Non-citizens were a heterogeneous group made up of women, foreigners (called metics) and slaves.
5. Religion
Greek society was polytheistic. The gods inhabited Mount Olympus and had a "very human" behavior, with frequent quarrels, envy and fights between them. Some of the most important gods were Zeus (the main god and the god of the sky), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty and love), Athena (goddess of wisdom and war), Poseidon (god of the sea) or Hermes (messenger of the gods and god of travelers). Numerous temples were dedicated to the gods, to ask for their protection, to give thanks for victories in war or to beautify a polis, as Pericles did in Athens.
The Greeks also worshiped mythological heroes who were like demigods. Among the best known are Achilles or Hercules.
Rafaello: The council of the gods, 1519
6. Greek culture and art
6.1 Philosophy
Despite their extensive religious and mythological culture, the Greeks were one of the first peoples who wanted to explain the world from a rational point of view rather than magical and religious. These early philosophers who used reason to explain nature are at the foundation of Western culture and have influenced the world. Some of these philosophers are Socrates, Plato or Aristotle.
6.2 Theater
On the other hand, the Greeks invented the theater, by which they represented historical or fictional events in the form of comedy or tragedy.
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6.3 The ancient Olympic Games
Starting in the year 776 BCE, sports competitions were held in the sanctuary of Olympia, on the Peloponnese peninsula. They were not the only sports competitions that were held in Greece, but they were the most important.
The Olympic games had three functions:
-Religious: they were dedicated to Zeus and the winners were supposed to have the favor of the god, hence these winners were considered heroes and were supported by their city, without having to work for the rest of their lives.
-Body and soul harmonizer: it was considered that a well-formed body contributed to a better-formed mind as well.
-Friendship between different poleis: during the games, a truce took place in any war or confrontation. The games served to strengthen the friendship between the Greeks.
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6.4 Architecture
Greek architecture was meant to be seen at a glance, unlike Egyptian architecture, which was colossal in size. For the Greeks, beauty and symmetry had a very important value, which is why their buildings, especially temples, had these characteristics.
There were three architectural orders, which were reflected, above all, in the columns: Doric, simpler than the others, almost without decoration; Ionic, with a capital in the form of volutes, and Corinthian, more complex and whose capital was sculpted in the shape of acanthus leaves.
The temples were the most important buildings, since they were thought to be the house of the gods. The rituals were held outside, while inside they typically had three rooms: pronaos (entrance), naos (where the statue of the god or goddess was) and opistodomos, where the offerings were deposited.
Some of the best-known temples are in Athens, on Mount Acropolis, such as the Parthenon, the Erekteion, with its famous caryatids, or columns in the shape of a woman; or that of Athena Nike (Victorious Athena).
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6.5 Sculpture and pottery
The Greeks attached great importance to the representation of the human body in all its beauty and symmetry.
The sculpture evolved over time: in the Archaic Period (8th to 6th centuries BCE), the sculpture is very rigid, hieratic, greatly influenced by Egyptian art. During the Classic Period (5th and 4th centuries BCE), the statues gain gracefulness, delicacy and movement, becoming more realistic. In the Hellenistic Period (between the 4th and 1st centuries BCE), the sculpture becomes more exaggerated, the movements more contorted and twisted, and the facial expressions more dramatic.
Greeks used to make their sculptures in bronze. Anytime we see a 'Greek' statue made out of marble, what we are contemplating, in general sense, is a Roman copy of the Greek original.
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Pottery were a precious commodity for the Greeks. In addition to having the function of a container, it was an element of decoration and a symbol of status, since there were poor ceramics and luxury ceramics. The most common vessels were the amphora, the hydria, and the krater.
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6.6 Painting
In addition to painting on ceramics, the Greeks decorated all kinds of objects with paint, as well as ceilings, walls, and floors of rooms.
This painting had characteristics similar to those of Egyptian art, the figures being somewhat rigid and following the law of frontalism.
Those of the palace of Knossos, in Crete, are famous.
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