Archaic Age, Homer and Lyric Poetry Flashcards
the start of the _________ _____ is seen to be the formative era of the cultural, political and intellectual achievements of greece’s golden age
Archaic age
Name some things established in this era
- systemic established government
- spread the greek language and culture across the mediterranean and black seas
- Trade flourished and reached further geographically than in the bronze age
- Literature and art flourished
- Panhellenic shrines, festivals and oracles grew in importance which nourished the new found greek identity and unity
- New ideas began to form which would later shape the western world (rational view of universe and concept of demographic governent)
What is the rational View of the universe?
replaced supernatural explanations of the natural world with scientific ones
what is the newly established concept of demographic government
all freeborn males were equal under the laws and the laws were made directly by the majority rule of male citizens
define valor. How is it measured/decided
value that you have
Glory and competition - you figure out your value on the field of value
define honor
when you honor something you give it worth, so it’s bout the how much value one receives
Define esteem
what do they estimate your worth at
Polis’ started to develop in this period. define polis - city-state
a city that is central to the government and other landmasses
Who is Tytaus? whats his influence on Polis’
Tyrtaeus, a spartan poet; first to speak on the importance of the polis in his poetry
What did Sappho say about economic change
The female poet Sappho criticised men on the fact that women too are affected by political and economic change
How did the economic inequalities affect people
Widening economic inequality caused misery and thus tensions between the few rich and many poor
Define Politai
members of the polis; all male inhabitants of the cities territory whether that is the central city or the countryside
Eg. inhabitants of the settlements surrounding Megara called themselves “the Megarians”
Define the relation between city-state and Polis
They picked a city state and the polis would be the center of all surrounding towns
Define Synoecism
the process of political unification of the states
Define ethnos
the greeks not unified in city-state
Consisted of a demos without a capital polis, central government or political union
Independent and autonomous but still had sense of unity
The basileis of each town come together to be the ________ and ________
The basileis of each town come together to be the planners and architects
During the reconfiguration of governments all poleis differed but had same structure;
the basileus’’ power was either abolished or greatly reduced in power,
the government power was distributed among several officials,
and the importance of elders increased
Polis’ were more _____ because they had less people
personal
Define the Homerdae
were a family, clan or professional lineage on the island of Chios claiming descent from the Greek epic poet Homer.
Why was this more complex system built (name like 3)
to deal with
- growing population
- protection of land (create stronger state)
- exploitation of land a resources
- increasing productivity and wealth
- to create relations between states thus avoiding the wars that were happening over land
Define Oligarchy
“rule by the few”
power rests with a small number of people.
Powerful families divided up the authority, creating boards and magistracies
There are 4 name them:
Administrative
Military
Religious
Judicial
T or F
Authority was Inherited
False!!!
Authority could not be inherited
Their terms were brief, usually a year. They could not come back until a certain amount of year had passed
Define archon/Prytanis
the chief magistrate; a different one for every magistracy
chief administrator (named varied depending on location
Define Polemarchos
“war leader” in charge of military
Boule - held the real power in city-state
T or F?
True
Had more power than in the homeric society
Usually a long term
Recruited from highest magistrates, entering council after their term in office
2 primary causes for expansions
Growing need for sources of metal to satisfy the greek’s growing needs for resources
Looking for new land as opportunities at home were scarce
Reason for colonization in short
Lack of equitable distribution of kleros, poor people didn’t have land
How did they form colonies
Choose a site for colony
Obtain approval for it
Plan the new settlement
Choose it’s oikistes - founde
what is the oikistes in charger of
Was responsible for leading out the colonists, assigning kleroi (allotments of land) to the settlers
Also established the city’s defences and sanctuaries of the gods
If the oikist was successful they became a guardian hero of the new polis after their death
what does metropolis mean?
“mother polis”
T or F
After colonizing a new location, the newly established colony would lose all tied to their metroplolis
False
The colony would remain bonded to their metropolis, through kinship and cult, but was still an independent polis
What are the two phases of the colonization movement
(west) Directed toward italy and the western mediterranean
(east) Started about a century later and was concentrated on the north Aegean sea and the Black sea
what was the relationship between colonists and the people’s land they came to like?
Complex
They helped open up gateways to other societies
On the other hand, they were still intruders and frequently had conflict
The greek identity as they interacted with these froeign people was a give and take in assimilation, adopting some things and leaving others
Why was colonization only a partial remedy for greece’s need for land?
Not every family could emigrate
Population at home kept growing
Each new generation of oikoi found it hard to get food and good land
This caused the division between the rich and poor to grow
The power of a family was dependent on their _______ _______ so the lower classes were fighting for the __________ __ _____
The power of a family was dependant on their inherited landholdings so the lower classes were fighting for the redistribution of land
The rich exploited the poor families boy doing what?
The lower class sometimes had to mortgage their farmlands
Define a Thete
the lowest order of freeman in ancient athens
About _____ of the families were self sufficient and not exploited
Aristotle called them the ______
About half of the families were self sufficient and not exploited
Aristotle called them the Middles
All members of the polis were technically citizens
But _____ were not allowed to take part in political affairs (still citizens tho)
All members of the polis were technically citizens
But females were not allowed to take part in political affairs (still citizens tho)
What citizens could not hold office or vote?
women and non-noble citizens
define agathoi
noblemen
Explain the Resentment from below and Social change
the poor resented the agathoi
They demanded for the redistribution of land (land loosely = wealth and status )
The middles also resented the agathoi for being left out of many positions of power
Eventually the oligarchic hold was weakened and more inclusive forms of government made way which gave power to the mass of the people including the poor
_____ was a poet who wrote about ordinary people, particularly farmers
Hesioid
Battles between poleis were fought between/with _____ _____
average men
A new type of military organization was made where the foot soldiers were called ______, referring to their _______
Hoplites, referring to their shields called hoplons
explain the hoplon
new king of shield, round, made of wood, held by inserting left are through central band - more manoeuvrability
Define a Phalanx
the new innovative type of millitary formation, arranged in a tightly packed formation
what weapons did they use? and what type of protection did they wear?
a long heavy spear, used for thrusting and jabbing. And a sword used for close fighting
helmet, breastplate and greaves - all made of bronze
what is a tyrant
a dictator or strongman, a single ruler
negative connotations spread by aristocrats that resented a single man being in power
Tyrants were distinguished for their personal achievements
Most tyrants arose from the elite group, nut not necessarily front the top-ranked families and he is unhappy with current happenings
how did tyrants rise into power
he appeals directly to the people who are also unhappy, gets them to follow him, promises to fix things, and enters in a meb with armed force and retains power
few tyrannies lasted more than ____ generations
three
Define Demagogue
Someone who leads the people
A Panhellenic institution is….?
a place all Greeks were invited to that helped maintain a sense of greek identity
There were treasuries where arts, pottery, other greek things were kept
Become a sorts of cultural museum
Coins were first promoted by ______
tyrants
Lyric poetry Vs Epic poetry
lyric poetry is
- personal
- shorter
- composed for dinner/drinking parties
- about capturing a particular emotion and expressing individuality
Epic poetry
- usually tells a story with pre-existing characters and plots
- much longer (eg. the Illiad)
- set in past tense
Homer is a travelling Bard singing with Kitharas, who did he perform for?
the aristocrats
What instrument did homer use
kitaris
what time did homer sing about
the trojan war, its aftermath, the bronze age (age of heros) and the iron age
What does homer sing about in the oddessey and the illiad. (breifly)
Iliad - sings about the war between the greeks and the trojans
Odyssey - one of the greek heroes and his attempt to get home
Odyssey means long voyage
How did homer sing his songs off da dome like dat
using a specific formula
Like Juice they were freestylin’
Frequently used lyric fillers
Homer’s epic poetry has may inconsistencies, why did this happen
- because he was going off the dome - ie. due to his formula
- he tailored his song to his audience
- He is often singing about things that happened in the Bronze age, 400 years before him
where did Homer’s poetry develop?
Ionia
