Hellenic and Hellenistic Greece

Greece and RomeAncient West

• Mediterranean-centered

• Cities and trade

• Self-government

• Rise of empire

• Decline and discontinuity

• Shared culture (Greco-Roman)– Chart: RGH p. 136

Classical Greece and the Mediterranean basin, 800-500 BCE

Acropolis: the highest, most easily defensible part of the polis.

Athens

Greek Civilization

• Considered one of the foundational sources of “Western civilization”

• The source of philosophy, democracy, architectural ideals

• …yet its transmission to Europe was not direct and unbroken…

Chronology of Ancient Greece• 2200-1100 BCE Minoan society

• 1600-1100 BCE Mycenaean society

• 800-338 BCE Era of the polis

• 500-479 BCE Persian Wars

• 431-404 BCE Peloponnesian War

• 359-336 BCE Reign of Philip of Macedon

• 336-323 BCE Reign of Alexander of Macedon

Greece in the Hellenic Period7th-3rd BCE- “Before Empire”

The Polis (city-state)

“one of the wonders of human social organization”

“like a hothouse flower, could only thrive under the right conditions”

Autonomy (Independence) and Autarky (self-sufficiency)

Amateurism vs. Professionalism

Political evolution—Athens (democracy) and Sparta (monarchy)

Monarchy Aristocracy Oligarchy Tyranny Democracy

Classical Greece and the Mediterranean basin, 800-500 BCE

Two approaches to population & social problems:

• Sparta– “closed society”

– Turned Sparta into a police state

– Men and women lived a “Spartan lifestyle”

• Athens– “open society”

– birth of “democracy”

– emphasis on individualism and wealth from trade

The “Spartan” Lifestyle

• Boys were taken from families to begin military training at 7

• They didn’t establish their own households until they were 30

• They remained in the military until they were 60

• Enslaved “helots” did farming for polis

• Spartan women were encouraged to be physically fit in order to bear strong sons

Athenian “democracy”

• Debates on issues were public

• Decisions were made directly by casting lots

• All “citizens” could speak out at assemblies and vote

Democracy How did Athenians define it?

“We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as harmless, as worthless” (Pericles)

• Rights vs. Duty• Citizenship—who? • Participation – how?

– Military service-the Phalanx– Wealthy subject to special taxes– All citizens attended the 40 annual

sessions of the Assembly– Offices chosen by lot, with no pay– Must be ready to serve in any capacity

…but “citizens” did NOT include

• Landless males

• Slaves [1/3 of population]

• Women

• Which meant only 10-15% of the population voted

• Compared to modern democracies, Athenian democracy was more exclusive and directly participatory

Legacies of Greece: Olympic Games

• Competition and sports were important parts of Greek life

• Games figured in local and Pan-Hellenic festivals [including at Nemean, Isthmian, Pythian, Olympia

• Olympic games established 776 BCE [?]

Greek, made in Athens about 367-366 BCFound at Teucheira, Cyrenaica

(modern Libya)A prize for a victor at the Athenian games

The Olympics

What Greek values did the Olympics reflect?

Are the same values still important for us today?

1. Individualism (Humanism)

2. All-around excellence (Arête)

3. Devotion to your polis (Nationalism, Patriotism)

4. Amateur ideal

5. Patriarchy

6. Militaristic values

7. Intellectuality and Art

http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/olympics/olympicintro.shtml

What happens to Hellenic Greece?

Persian Wars490-

460BCE

Persia: “The Enemy”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG52ZyHQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG52ZyHQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG52ZyHQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiUG52ZyHQ

Persian Invasion of Greece

Two attacks:

• 490 BCE:

Battle of Marathon

• 480 BCE:

Xerxes attacks again

Statue of Pheidippides

The Persian Wars 500-479 BCE

But Greece wins!

See Pericles’ Funeral Oration (RGH pp. 136-140)

Greek naval technology

Greek Trireme170 rowers in tiers

Empire Strikes Back!

“Progress Broke the Polis”

Athenian Imperialism

Greek Colonies and Greek Empire

Delian League and Peloponnesian War

• Formed as defensive alliance against Persia

• As the threat of war waned, became tribute system to Athens / “Athenian Empire”

• Height of Athen’s “golden age”

• Resentment against Athens led to Peloponnesian War

Peloponnesian Wars (431-404BCE)

'A War Like No Other': Where Hubris Came FromNew York Times Article, 10/23/05

Athens vs. Sparta

Athens Loses, but so does all of Hellenic Greece

Why?

Legacies of Greece

Architecture

• Key themes: balance, harmony, proportion

LincolnMemorial

White House

Classical (Golden Age of Greece) 5th BCE

• Pericles• Ideals and Values

– Humanism and Secularism– Reason– Individualism

“Athens among her contemporaries is superior to

the report of her”» (Pericles)

The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David, 1787

Legacies of Greece: Olympic Games

• Competition and sports were important parts of Greek life

• Games figured in local and Pan-Hellenic festivals [including at Nemean, Isthmian, Pythian, Olympia

• Olympic games established 776 BCE [?]

Greek religion

Zeus

Athena

Apollo

Aphrodite & Pan

Diadoumenos of Polykleitos, c. 430 B.C.. National Museum Athens.

Lacoon and His Sons, 200 bce.

Hellenic: ideal manHellenistic: real man

In the meanwhile, to the north…

Philip II of Macedonia

Alexander of Macedonia

Mosaic of Battle of IssusThe heroic personality of Alexander the Great is apparent in a painting by Philoxenos of Eretria, from about 300 B.C.E., which survives only in this Roman mosaic form. It is believed to be of Alexander's victory over the Persian king, Darius III, in 33 B.C.E. at the Battle of Issus. (National Museum, Naples/Art Resource, NY)

Alexander’s Empire

Hellenistic Greece

• Cosmopolis• Hellenistic Philosophies—

individualistic, mystic• Philosophy – Aristotle• Science – Archimedes, Euclid,

Eratosthenes, Hippocrates• Hellenistic Exchange-Greek,

ideas, food, trade-blending of Greek and Asian cultures

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great’s EmpireAlexander the Great’s Empire

The Hellenization of Asia

The Hellenization of Asia

The Economy of the Hellenistic World

The Economy of the Hellenistic World

Hellenistic PhilosophersHellenistic

Philosophers$ Cynics Diogenes

ignore social conventions & avoid luxuries.

citizens of the world.

live a humble, simple life.

$ Epicurians Epicurus avoid pain & seek pleasure.

all excess leads to pain!

politics should be avoided.

Hellenistic PhilosophersHellenistic

Philosophers$ Stoics Zeno nature is the expansion of

divine will.

concept of natural law.

get involved in politics, not for personal gain, but toperform virtuous acts for the good of all.

true happiness is found ingreat achievements.

Hellenism: The Arts & SciencesHellenism: The Arts & Sciences

$ Scientists / Mathematicians: Aristarchus heliocentric

theory.

Euclid geometry

Archimedes pulley

$ Hellenistic Art: More realistic; less ideal than

Hellenic art.

Showed individual emotions, wrinkles, and age!

Eratosthenes’ Map of the World