Primary Sources - Ancient Greece

Question 1

“The Iliad”

Answer 1

• author: “Homer”
• epic poem about the story of Achilles
• this excerpt: nine years into the Trojan War, the Achaeans sack a Trojan-allied town and take two women as prizes (Chryseis and Briseis), King Agamemnon clais Chryseis and gives Briseis to Achilles (the best soldier), Chryses (Chryseis’ father, priest of Apollo) begs Agamemnon to give his daughter back for a generous ransom, Agamemnon refuses, Chryses prays to Apollo for help, Apollo casts a plague upon the Achaeans, after a long time of suffering, Achilles asks the soothsayer Calchas to reveal the cause, Calchas says the plague is from Apollo and it will not relent until Chryseis is returned to Chryses, Agamemnon is enraged and says he will only give Chryseis back if he can have Briseis, this demand infuriates and embarrasses Achilles, Achilles threatens to withdraw from battle, Agamemnon threatens to take Briseis from Achilles’ tent, Achilles draws his sword to kill Agamemnon, Athena appears to him and checks his anger, the wise Nestor gives a speech, Achilles storms off to his camp, Agamemnon sends Chryseis back to Chryses on a ship with Odysseus and sends men to retrieve Briseis from Achilles’ tent, Achilles lets the men take Briseis, Achilles weeps and prays to his mother (the sea nymph Thetis), Thetis comes to him and he asks her to plead to Zeus for help, she agrees and waits for Zeus to return from a divine feast, Chryseis is returned and Odysseus makes sacrifices to Apollo, Chryses prays to Apollo to lift the plague, Apollo obliges, Thetis makes her appeal to Zeus upon his return, Zeus is reluctant to help the Trojans as Hera favors the Achaeans, but he agrees to help as he owes Thetis a favor, over the gods’ dinner, Hera becomes irate upon learning of Zeus’ promise, and the two fight, Hephaestus de-escalates the situation, and the gods go to bed

Question 2

“The Laws and Customs of the Spartans”

Answer 2

• author: Xenophon
• Xenophon’s observations of the Spartan SOCIAL SYSTEM
• Training and Education of Children; Meals Taken in Public. On Temperance; Rules Regarding Children, Slaves, and Property; Restrictions on the Employment of the Spartans; Obedience to Magistrates and Laws; Infamy and Penalties of Cowardice; Honors Paid to Old Age. Encouragement of Virtue; Of the Spartan Army

Question 3

“History”

Answer 3

• author: Herodotus
• using the historical method, in this excerpt, he discusses: the invasion of European Greece by the Persian King Xerxes, leading up to the battle of Thermopylae

Question 4

“History of the Peloponnesian War”

Answer 4

• author: Thucydides
• main source on the Peloponnesian War
• picks up the story where Herodotus leaves off
• Athens and the Delian League vs. Sparta and the Peloponnesian League
• The Debate at Sparta and Declaration of War
• Pericles’ Funeral Oration: a mix of true/untrue comments on Athenian politics
• The Melian Dialogue: 14 years after the funeral oration, Athens landed troops at Melos and demanded that they join the Delian League, the Melians refused and were destroyed

Question 5

“Apology”

Answer 5

• author: Plato
• only source on Socrates
• recounts the trial of Socrates: accused of corrupting youth with atheist views (false) and charging a fee for rhetorical teachings (false)
  (Socrates, “I know nothing”, Socratic method: question everything, no claim of universal knowledge)

Question 6

“Republic”

Answer 6

• author: Plato
• government is a task only for the qualified, equal rights for men and women
• political philosophy: “Allegory of the Cave”

Question 7

“Lysistrata”

Answer 7

• author: Aristophanes
• Lysistrata confirms the patriarchal structure of Athens, as it tells the satirical story of women “in power”
• Lysistrata, an Athenian woman, persuades the women of Athens and Sparta to hold a sex strike until the war has ended, eventually forcing the two city-states to make amends
• women in Athens never could have hoped to hold such power over Athenian men; therefore, the wartime play was very comedic entertainment