The Rise of Greek Civilization

The Rise of Greek Civilization • Homer, Sparta, Athens, and the Persian Wars • The Peloponnesian Wars and Greek Culture in the Classical Age

Greece and Western Civilization • The Hebrews contributed a significant thread to Western culture • Human dignity • Religious-ethical thought • Greece contributed the second major piece • The development of rational thought • Progressing form myth to logos • Geometry, logic, naturalism, math, cultural development, architecture

The Logos • Greeks did not see nature acting according to the whims of gods and demons • saw nature as following general rules • Humans were given the capacity for rational thought, a need for freedom, and a sense of worth as individuals • Reason is the path to knowledge and people are responsible for their own behavior • In short, the Greeks broke with the mythmakers that preceded them and created the rational outlook that is a distinctive feature of Western Civilization

Early Aegean Civilization • 2 related civilizations preceded Hellenic Greece: the Minoan and the Mycenaean • Minoans, the older group, were not Greeks and didn’t speak a Greek language • Lasted 2600 BC to 1250 BC • Appear to have been peaceful • Few military scenes in art and no defensive walls • Around 2000 BC Greek speaking tribes who were more warlike moved southward into Greece • These Mycenaeans modeled their society in part on the earlier Minoans. • They traded throughout the Mediterranean (Italy, Macedonian, Asia Minor)

The “Dark Ages” • Mycenaean society ended abruptly around 1100 BC • They left an important legacy • Religious forms, pottery, metallurgy, agriculture, language, a warrior culture, myths and legends, codes of honor • 1100 to 800 BC is known as the “Dark Ages” because it was a time of transition between the collapsed Mycenaean society and embryonic Hellenic civilization • After 800 town life was revived and writing became part of the Greek culture • Colonies were established along the coast of Asia Minor, the Black Sea, Sicily, and Italy • These were governed as their own city-states while close ties with the homeland • A new middle class will emerge and conflict will arise between them and the landed aristocracy

Homer • Epic poet and oral historian who lived during the 8th century BC • The Iliad and the Odyssey • The Iliad deals with a small part of the 10th and last year of the Trojan War which had taken place during the Mycenaean age • Thesehelped shape the Greek spirit and religion • young Greeks memorized his lines • His heroes were admired and emulated • Scholars used Homer to justify moral truths • Homer dealt with the hero’s action and his inner thoughts and feelings

Homer’s Contribution. Doh...! • Homer anticipated the Greek’s attitude of mind that there is a fundamental (and universal) order to things • These ideas would later be incorporated in to Greek philosophy • He talked about the tragic quality of war- vicious cycles • It confers dignity on the victorious but suffering an grief on the losers • Someday the hero will himself die by the sword too

Greek Humanism • shows the beginning of the concept of the well rounded individual • Nobility of mind and action • The Phoenix tells Achilles that a man of true worth is “a speaker of words and a doer of actions” • Greek Humanism- a concern with man and his achievements • For the Egyptians and Mesopotamians the gods were responsible for the good or evil that befell human beings • For the Greeks, human beings pay their respect to the gods but they do not live in perpetual fear of them; they choose their own way, sometimes turning against the gods • Homer’s view of external order and individual excellence form the foundations of the Greek outlook

Greek Religion • During the Dark Age it was a mixture of beliefs and cults of gods and goddesses inherited from their Mycenaean, Near Eastern, and Indo-European ancestors • Homer’s epics begin to form the foundation of Olympian gods • No uniform creed, official priests or sacred books • More ritual than belief; more social than spiritual • Visited the temple for private matters or for civic processions • Altar was important for sacrifices • Some worshiped heroes who were half god • Some followed mystery religions • Most observed a combination of myth, folklore, ritual and cult

Evolution of City-States • Between 750 and 323 BC Greece consisted of independent city-states • The average polis was small and consisted of about 5000 male citizens • Conducive to democracy • The mature polis was self-governing and reflected the will of free citizens not the desires of gods, hereditary kings, or priests (opposite of the Near East) • These city-states also began with a religious tone but citizens began to deemphasize the role of the gods • Laws become the expression of human intelligence; they don’t emanate from the gods or from divine authority • This didn’t destroy religion; it changed the way it was practiced • People still worshipped the gods of the city as a civic duty

The Greek Contribution • “What made Greek political life different from that of earlier Near Eastern civilizations, as well as gave it enduring significance, was the Greeks’ gradual realization that community problems are caused by human beings and require human solutions…. Law was valued because it expressed the will and needs of the community, not out of fear of the divine” (Perry 2004, 58)

Sparta • Agrarian culture on the rugged coast of Lacedaemonia • According to Homer it was the home of Menelaus and Helena • During the Archaic period they expanded the boundaries of their polis to become the leading power in Greece • Overpopulation led to a need for more food and raw materials so they established one colony abroad at Tarentum, Italy

Colonization • 735 BC they conquered Messenia, a fertile region • After 20 years of battle the Spartans won and turned the Messenians into helots or serfs • The helots outnumbered the Spartans 10 to 1 so they set up a militaristic society • Spartans fought. Helots did agrarian work. Perioikoi did the trades and crafts. • By 650 BC the helots were fed up with Spartan oppression and revolted and began the second Messenian war • War took tremendous engagement by the Spartans • Spartans were victorious but much of the fighting was done by non-nobles • They demanded rights equal to the nobility • Land was divided equally with helots raising the crops

Spartan Culture • From the age of seven boys lived separate from their families • Slept outside on reed mats and underwent rugged training and Homer’s works were memorized • At 24 they join the front lines • At 30 they became citizens • At 60 they gained full independence • Going into battle it is said that a mother would tell her son to either come back victorious carrying his sword or being carried on his sword • Spartan women were also tough, independent and patriotic • They were forbidden to wear jewelry or ornate clothing but enjoyed a more active public life than other women in Greece

Athens • Located in a good position in Attica with many ports for foreign trade • Developed a powerful navy • Whereas the Spartans thought that trade was below them, Athenians excelled in it • Athens allowed a citizen the right to govern the polis • Moved through a series of political developments • Monarchy • Oligarchy • Tyranny • Democracy

Contrasts between Athens and Sparta • Sparta was a land power and was mainly agrarian; Athens was on a peninsula, had a sea power and was a commercial capital • Sparta’s leaders were isolationists; Athenians wanted to establish hegemony among Greek cities • Sparta saw freedom as protecting the fatherland; for Athenians it was political freedom and it sought the full development of human individuality

Political changes • Draco 621 BC- first law code of the Athenians • Aristocracy began to oppress the peasants • They owned the best land • Governed and interpreted the law • Forced small farmers into economic oppression • Sold families into slavery • Tyrannies developed

Solon the poet • Known as the Reformer • Used poetry to condemn the aristocracy • Eventually elected archon or chief magistrate • He freed all people enslaved for debt • Made enslavement for debt illegal • Gave commoners a place in government

Pisistratus- The Tyrant • Took advantage of instability after Solon • Became a one man ruler and tyranny replaced oligarchy • His achievement was that he promoted cultural life • Athens emerged as a cultural center • His actions also weakened the aristocracy

Cleisthenes- The Democrat • Pisistratus’ power was passed to his two sons; one was killed and the other was exiled • Cleisthenes, an aristocrat sympathetic to democracy assumed leadership • Democracy was firmly in place and the Assembly was becoming the supreme authority • The Persian Wars change the scenario

The Persian Wars • 499 BC Ionian Greeks rebelled against their Persian overlord • Herodotus traveled the world to try to piece together the war- He said that this was the beginning of a bad thing for Athens and the world around her. • Thucydides was another historian but he focused on the Peloponnesian wars • The Persian Wars took place • Began at Thermopylae • Greek fleet beat the Persians at Themistocle even though they were outnumbered • Delian League is formed ushering in Athenian imperialism • This made the Greeks the prevailing power in the eastern world • The Athenian Empire began to dominate the empire • eventually leads to the Peloponnesian wars • Sparta warned Athens that they were encroaching on Spartan territory • A battle ensued and fighting lasted from 431 to 404 BC • Sparta was victorious with their commander Lysander

Greek Arts • The Greeks invented drama • Aeschylus • Oresteia- betrayal, murder, reconciliation • Reason and justice must be applied to reconcile fundamental conflicts • Sophocles • Antigone- personal and political, divine law over human defects, law is required for a tranquil state • Oedipus man doomed by the gods to kill his father and marry his mother • He tries like hell to avoid the fate but every move brings him a step closer • When he realizes what he did he blinds himself • Humans must obey the will of the gods even when we don’t understand • Euripides- tragic flaw, passions should not overwhelm reason • Aristophanes- Satirist that lampooned city officials

Other Aspects of Ancient Greek Culture • The Poetry of Sappho • Plato’s Symposium • The Exception or the Rule?

The Meaning of Love • The Splitting of Humanity • Vulgar vs. Virtuous Love • Eros, Philia, Agape

Tyrtaeus For it is a shameful thing indeed When with the foremost fighters An elder falling in front of the young man Lies outstretched, Having white hair and grey beard Breathing forth his stout soul in the dust, Holding in his hands his genitals Stained with blood

The man whose riches satisfy his greedby Solon The man whose riches satisfy his greed Is not more rich for all those heaps and hoards Than some poor man who has enough to feed And clothe his corpse with such as God affords. I have no use for men who steal and cheat; The fruit of evil poisons those who eat. Some wicked men are rich, some good men poor, But I would rather trust in what's secure; Our virtue sticks with us and makes us strong, But money changes owners all day long.

The Rise of Greek Civilization