Midterm Flashcards
(57 cards)
Salient features of the geography of Greece
Many mountain ranges that separate people, but are no impenetrable. No place is far from water. Aegean Sea is treacherous. Arid land with a thin soil
Material sources for Greek history
In order, the best is epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological. This type of evidence is the best
Historical sources for Greek history
In order, the best are Thucydides (HPW), Herodotos, and Xenophon (Hellenika and Anabasis).
Quasi-historical sources for Greek history
Includes Atthidographers, who blended myth and history with other sources in their chronicles of Athens. Plutarch is one; he blends history with non-history and did not make distinctions between his sources
Non-historical sources for Greek history
Includes orators, like Demosthenes. Includes poets and the epics. Includes family traditions, where families record certain events in a certain way. Includes “man in the street” views that are memories that others tapped into. Must be very careful using these because it is not always clear what is and is not history
Citadel/centers of Mycenaean civilization
Elites and the king (wanax) lived in them and passed laws. Centers of wealth, religion, political power, etc. Average people lived outside the walls. Had a high level of craftsmanship. Destroyed in ~1100 BCE, which led to the Dark Ages
Submycenaean Period
1150-1050/1000 BCE. Lacked the skill and design of the previous era. Huge dropoff in standards of living. Mycenaean gods remained. Refugees fled from their homeland through Athens to Ionia. Karphi became a refugee site. Greeks moving all around. Not dead, but trying to save themselves
Karphi
A settlement in Crete constructed during the Submycenaean Period. Barren but defensible. No-one else wanted it, which suggests other peoples were occupying what they wanted. Sculptures there exactly like what the Mycenaeans made; trying to adhere to the past and religion was unbroken
Protogeometric Period
1000-900 BCE. The worst is over. Karphi abandoned The Heroon at Lefkandi indicates that things were getting better. Pottery is improving, which means levels of prosperity can sustain experts.
Geometric Period
900-700 BCE. Conditions are settled. Greeks start colonizing, so they have surplus population. Writing spreads. Polis develops from 750 to 700 BCE. Discontent with government rises and limitations placed on aristocracy. Colonization begins ~775 BCE. Olympics begin in 776 BCE Homer and Hesiod composes their works.
Homer
Composed his epics ~700 BCE. Iliad looks to the past and is nostalgic. Odyssey more reflective of the 8th century. Fugitives held on to the past to keep their morale alive. He was a cultural torchebearer. Helped secure their identity as Greeks, as did other poets.
Early Archaic Period
~700-600 BCE. Lyric poetry arises, including Archilochos. 664 BCE, Egypt opens up after Greeks and Carians intend to raid it, but end up as mercenaries. Hoplite warfare adopted by 7th century BCE and is widespread by 650 BCE. Law codes are spread and discontent with government rises. Dreros inscription in 650 BCE. Ionian Enlightenment; Miletus as the conduit for Egyptian knowledge coming to Greece.
Hesiod
Wrote Works and Days ~700 BCE. May tell us about the conditions of his times. Gives pre-scientific instructions for farmers. Discusses bribe-eating basileis cheating him out of his share of the inheritance
Polis
Develops from ~750 to 700 BCE. Settlement centers that create national identities for Greeks in the region. They are where nationalism coalesces. People come together to worship, take part in collective social decisions, and for political discussion
Demos
Non-elite and non-aristoi Greeks. Begin to demand political power with hoplite warfare. Curb power of aristocracy with term limits and having laws written down. In Sparta, Great Rhetra empowers them to be supreme, but this can be overriden by elders if they think they are making corrupt decisions. Solon empower them, as did Kleisthenes in Athens. Often susceptible to politicians promising enrichment
Dipylon Amphora
Dated to ~750 BCE. Example of geometric pottery. Every bit of it covered with geometric decoration, except for a reserved portion that depicts people mourning for a dead person. Was a grave marker. Demonstrates improving conditions: was not cheap, was well-made, and is big as a person.
Colonization
Begins in Geometric Period in ~775 BCE. The poor are the most incentivized to go because they could gain status. Wealth and new ideas spread. Make contact with other cultures and take their best ideas.
Hoplites and hoplite warfare
Adopted in 7th century BCE, widespread by ~650 BCE. Seen in the Chigi vase. Lines of overlapping shields and spears. Armor usually limited to a helmet, sometimes a breastplate or shin guard. Brings political changes as hoplites want power. Power of aristocrats reduced. Practical ability of leaders emphasized
Lefkandi
Heroon there and was built in protogeometric era. Monumental building over a burial ground. Has a man, four horses, and a woman. A hero worshipped here. Other burials crowded around it. Probably a warrior-king
Tyranny
Results from new power of the demos. Some renegade aristocrats happy to be empowered at the expense of other aristocrats. Arise in emergency situations to deal with crises
Law codes
People begin to want law written down so that rulers cannot make arbitrary judgements. One example is Dreros inscription in ~650 BCE, which sets term limits on the kosmos. Later law codes include Drakon’s 622/1 code and Solon’s 594/3 code.
Lyric poetry and poets
New genre of poetry in Archaic Greece. Makes author more central to poems, unlike epics of before. Archilochos raw and realistic; writes about throwing away his shield and how soldiers lie about their kills
Ionian Enlightenment (philosophy and science)
Miletos the most important city in Ionia, a colony of Athens, and the conduit for Egyptian knowledge. Became center for reacquisition of science. Thales lived there in ~600 BCE and was 1st Greek scientist. Intersted astronomy. Said everything came from water. Anaximander said everything came from boundlessness. Anaximenes said everything came from air. None of these notions are religous
Pythagoras
Lived in Ionia during its Enlightenment
