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CC200 Classical World Homeric and Archaic Greek Communities

CC200 Classical World Homeric and Archaic Greek Communities. Reconstructing the past from epic poetry, historical accounts and material culture M. Arnush, February 1 st , 2010. Periodization of history. Homer and the world he creates: on-line passages from the Odyssey.

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CC200 Classical World Homeric and Archaic Greek Communities

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  1. CC200 Classical WorldHomeric and Archaic Greek Communities Reconstructing the past from epic poetry, historical accounts and material culture M. Arnush, February 1st, 2010

  2. Periodization of history

  3. Homer and the world he creates:on-line passages from the Odyssey How does Homer construct community in the Odyssey? • on assemblies and authority – who possesses authority in the Homeric world? • on Phoenicians – how does Homer depict these people? • on sailing – is Homer familiar with seafaring? • on metallurgy and trade – are we in the Bronze Age or Iron Age? • on language – is Homer familiar with writing? • on communities – how does Homer depict Scheria? How does it compare with the land of the Cyclopes?

  4. Homer and the world he creates: on-line passage from the Iliad • In both epic poems, the values that bind communities together include • aretê – “excellence” – human achievement according to a value system • kleos – “reputation” – the construction of one’s name • timê – “honor” – how others assess you • In the passage from the Iliad (18.572-707), what are some examples of the display of these values and in what areas of Homeric society do they seem important? Are these consistent with values in the Odyssey? What other values matter in the poems?

  5. Some key Homeric values • aretê: “excellence” • kleos: “reputation” • timê: “honor” Also • genos: “family” (Fathers and Sons, Murray, 2/2) • xenia: “guest-friendship” (Guest-Friendship, Curley, 2/4) • gamos: “marriage” (Men and Women, Murray, 2/8) • dikê: “justice” • andreia: “manliness” • agon: “competition” • aidos:“respect” and the “avoidance of shame”

  6. Sources for the Homeric world:on-line passage from Thucydides • Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, written ca. 430-400 BCE: • What kind of world does Thucydides reconstruct in the generations after the Trojan War?

  7. Reconstructing the past: epic poetry, historical accounts & material culture • language and literature • competitions • performance • gods and prophesies • political upheaval and change • colonization • rise of the πόλις (polis) or city-state

  8. Language and literature Cup of Nestor, ca. 750 BCE, Pithekussai, Italy Reconstruction ΝΕΣΤΟΡΟΣΕ[ΙΜΙ] ΕΥΠΟΤ[ΟΝ] ΠΟΤΕΡΙΟΝ ΗΟΣ Δ ΑΝ ΤΟΔΕ ΠΙΕΣΙ ΠΟΤΕΡΙ[Ο] ΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΚΕΝΟΝ ΗΙΜΕΡΟΣ ΗΑΙΡΕΣΕΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΕ[ΦΑΝ]Ο ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΕΣ Translation Of Nestor I am the pleasant-to-drink-from cup Whoever drinks from this cup, immediately him A desire will seize for fair-crowned Aphrodite. Homeric references Homer Odyssey 3.71-72: “[Athena] offered [Nestor’s] rich two-handled cup to Telemachus, Odysseus’ son ....” Homer Iliad 11.632-637: “There was also a cup of rare workmanship which [Nestor] had brought with him from home, studded with bosses of gold; it had four handles, on each of which there were two golden doves feeding, and it had two feet to stand on.” Gold cup, Mycenae, 1500 BCE

  9. Competition:Olympia, Sanctuary of Zeus(776 BCE) – stadion, pankration

  10. Performance: rhapsodes

  11. Gods and prophesies: Delphi, Sanctuary and Temple of Apollo

  12. Political upheaval and change • land and topography • limited arable land • crops: oil, wine • contact with Phoenicians • alphabet: ΑΒΓΔΕΖ ΘΙΚΛΜΝ ΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧ • later Η Ξ ΨΩ • codification of law • land pressures, growing population, interest in exploration, inquiry (ἱστορίη: historie) about foreign places, all led to … • dispersal, revolutions and factionalism (the nostoi) • migrations • result: colonization

  13. Colonization: 750-600 BCE Acquisition of • aretê, timê, kleos • knowledge of other places • economic/political opportunities Process • consult Delphic oracle • send out nobles, landless poor, disenfranchised, exiles, merchants • founder: oikistês to found an oikos (home) • stake out land and temenos (sacred space) • rely on hoplites (hoplon) • maintain connection to mother-city Colonies: southern Italy, Sicily, Black Sea, Ionia Chigi Vase (detail), ca. 650 BCE

  14. Colonization: distribution

  15. The πόλις (polis or “city-state”):750-600 BCE • communities isolated and autonomous • city-state (πόλις: polis) • autonomous, self-governing • urban (ἄστυ: astu) and rural (χώρα: chora) • fortified with a high point (ἀκρόπολις: akropolis) • comprised of a citizenry (πολιταί: politai) • rule by • one (μόναρχος: monarchos) = monarchia • elite (ἄριστοι: aristoi) = aristokratia  • few (ὄλιγοι: oligoi) = oligarchia

  16. Archaic age: an age of … • intellectual/cultural curiosity – sailing, Phoenicians, trade, language & literature, colonization • artistic achievement – metallurgy, poetry, performance, temple-building, • political development – Homeric monarchies & authority, aristocracies, oligarchies; systems of justice • defining community – e.g., Scheria vs. land of Cyclopes • defining what it is to be Greek • abiding values • intracultural interactions (war, competition, prophesy) • Greekness: “the community of blood and language, temples and ritual, and our common customs” (Herodotus Histories 8.144)

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