athens circa 700-500 BC

Question 1

What was the region where Athens was located?

Answer 1

Attica, 1,000 square miles

Question 2

When did Athens emerge?

Answer 2

The unification of Attica around Athens occurred sometime in 820-750 BC

Question 3

What mythical figure is ascribed to Attica’s unification?

Answer 3

King Theseus

Question 4

Resources of Attica

Answer 4

One fertile plain outside town Eleusis (for grapes, olives, grain etc)

Elsewhere, the soil was too thin so it couldn’t grow enough grain for its large population of Athens (economic problem)
- So, grain was purchased and imported overseas after developing the economic footing and seaborne trade network

BUT soil supported growing of olives and grapes
AND soil also supported clay for manufacturing pottery and other ceramics
[by 500s BC Athenian pottery would be famous enough to displace Corinth from interational market]

Timber for construction from four Athenian mountains

Mt Pencilus offered fine marble for sculpture and construction

Question 5

How was Athens economic footing developed?

Answer 5

Through the export economy
by 500s BC Athens was exporting olive oil, perfume, wines, pottery and metal work..
sold for grain

Question 6

What was Athens major import item?

Answer 6

Grain

Question 7

Why did Athens need to import grain? What were the consequences of this?

Answer 7

by mid 400s BC, the population was too big at 100,000 citizens and 100,000 slaves
So, import of grain was needed for the feeding of the population

As a result;
- Export economy was created
- Circa 594 BC Solon, it was illegal for any Athenian farmer to export grain outside of Attica
- Motivated Athens in its piratical and imperialistic designs on Hellespont sea channel (Sigeum) to increase grain imports

Question 8

Athena

Answer 8

Created the first olive tree for Athens

Question 9

What was Attica’s most dramatic natural resource?

Answer 9

Silver mine at Mt Laurium

Revenue helped boost Athens to greatness in the mid 500s to early 400s BC

For example circa 482 BC it financed the emergency construction of an enlarged Athenian navy while Greece was being invaded by Persia

Question 10

Athens in the 600s BC

Answer 10

Government by Aristokratia

Enemies: Megara and Mytilene on Lesbos
Future trade rivals: Corinth and Aegina
Sparta didnt become an enemy until mid 400s BC

Attic countryside had a peasant revolt brewing due to oppressive economics under aristokratia
Coup by would be tyrant fails circa 632 BC - but creates a climate of unrest

Question 11

What was the boulē called in Athens?

Answer 11

Arepoagus
Named foe the Hill of Ares where the council chamber stood
‘Athen’s supreme court’

Question 12

Athen’s aristocratic government

Answer 12

Areopagus (boulē)

Nine archōns ran day to day government
- They were elected every year from among the aristoi families

Ekklēsia (no vote of common people only aristoi)

Question 13

Megara

Answer 13

Dorian city
Situated on the Ithmus of Corinth

Placed between Athens and Corinth
Enemy of both (even though Corinth was Dorian too)

800s-600s BC
Seagoing city with vigorous trade and colonization
- Byzantium (now Istanbul) on the Boporous channel was its colony

Early 500s BC
Decline
- Under pressure from Corinth and Athens
- Weakened by internal political strife between aristocrats and commoners
Hoplite franchise
Member of Peloponnesian League

Question 14

Megara’s wars and frontier losses

Answer 14

Hoplite wars
Megara vs Corinth, Megara vs Athens

Loss of farmlands on southwestern and eastern borders

Inshore island of Salamis belonging to Megara was also seized by Athens circa 560 BC

Question 15

What did Mytilene and Athens fight over?

Answer 15

Hellspont sea channel at Sigeum

Question 16

Mytilene of Lesbos

Answer 16

Enemy of Athens
Fought over a strategic piece of real estate - the approach to the Hellespont sea channel

They fought at Sigeum, an Aeloian Greek navy base that was captured by Mytilene circa 600s BC
- Controlling other greek shipping at Hellespont

around 600s BC; Athens invaded Sigeum
Causing intermittent fighting after that

Question 17

Sigeum at the Hellespont 500s BC

Answer 17

Intermittent fighting of Athens vs Myteline
Until 530 BC
Athens held the town as a long distance possession

Served as an Athenian naval base
Athenian fleet there controlled the westbound grain ships in the Hellespont
- Grain ships included non Athenian merchant ships, sailing southward and westward fro the Black Sea which held Greek seaports where wheat and barley is purchased and then sold in Greece
Athenian warships would interfere with the ships by compelling them to sail to Athens
- They force them to pay a toll that could be reimbursed only if gone to Athens and had the grain sold there

Question 18

How long was the Hellespont owned by Athens?

Answer 18

next 200 years from 530 BC

Question 19

When did the Athenian aristokratia start to crack? Why?

Answer 19

630s BC
The city is threatened with the makings of;
- tyrant revolution
-countryside peasant revolt

Question 20

Who does Athens turn to to head off a possible tyrant revolution?

Answer 20

Solon, 594 BC
Lawgiver, aged 45

Question 21

Solon

Answer 21

594 BC
He was appointed to be temporary constitutional dictator of Athens

Seized power legally through constitutional reform and writing of new laws
NOT illegally as tyrants would have done

Resembles Lycargus of Sparta

Insufficient to break aristoi power

Epoch making: He invented democracy
Gave everyone the right to vote in ekklēsia
Athens becomes the world’s first democracy

Question 22

Was Athens ever a hoplite franchise?

Answer 22

No
Went from aristocracy to democracy

Two tyrants in the future - Pisistratus and Hippias
BUT they don’t impose hoplite franchise
Athens remained a democracy even under the tyrants rules

Question 23

When did the two tyrants of Athens come to rule?

Answer 23

Pisistratus and Hippais
546-510 BC

Question 24

Political reforms of Cleisthenes

Answer 24

After Hippais was ejected 510 BC

Father of democracy after Solon

Improved on Solon’s reforms:
1- Created ten new made up tribes in Athens
- to counter the problem of countryside farmers feeling like they ow it to their landlords to vote the way they want them to
2- Changed the council
- increase from 400 to 500 members, and made it easier for the middle class to be elected
- election by lottery
- thētes was eligible for council, but couldn’t because they weren’t paid for time lost from labor

Question 25

Hippais’ expulsion

Answer 25

Aged 57
Fled with family
Traveled to Sigeum, refusing offers of refuge in mainland Greece

Question 26

Why did Sparta help the expulsion of Hippais?

Answer 26

Sparta feared the turranoi ideologically as being a threat to political order

King Cleomenes, was deeply distrustful of Hippais as ruler of Athens - he believed him to be a help for Persia
- Would help Darius to hand over Athens to Persia