Chapter 2 Flashcards
Explain “aretē”
-a leading principle and virute for Greek men/society
-embedded in all aspects of Greek society (ex: arts, sports, war)
-sprouts from competition/conquest and gives Greeks a chance to lord their glory over one another
Explain the Olympics
-first held in 776 BC
-only male Greeks could participate
-competitors performed in the nude
-held in honor of Zeus at Olympia
-big source of aretē
Explain individualistic identities in ancient Greece
a constant focus on one-upping each other didn’t really give the chance for teamwork; frequent wars and family feuds w/ each other also fueled this
Explain the divide between the sexes
-women were depicted in clothing in artwork, whereas men were depicted nude
-to get penetrated in bed meant to get dominated, or “losing” the fight
-if a man wanted a relationship w/ an equal, it would have to be w/ a man, b/c a women couldn’t live up to that standard
-gymnasia was for MEN ONLY
Explain the relationship between the “erōmenos” and the “erāstes”.
The erō was the younger one in the relationship (the one getting penetrated) and the erā was older (the penetrator). The erō is the “loser” from getting penetrated, but the erā could also “lose” by failing to woo the erō.
Both parties could “win” if non-penetrative sex was performed. These relationships had a mentor + mentee nature to them.
Explain the nature of the polis
-they didn’t answer to some higher Greek authority/government
-each one had its own rules and way of governing
-seperated due to geography, preventing a united front
-strong familial attachments to the polis encouraged agnostic and individualistic identities
Why doesn’t the polis fit the modern definition of a “city” or “state”?
-Laws were generally understood traditions, although their purpose was for divine matters rather than constitutions for a government operation
-City officials (few in #) were subordinate to a citizens’ assembly
-The citizens WERE the city, so conversation about official decisions wasn’t spoken about like some government entity outside of their control was responsible for it
What WERE poleis?
Extended kin groups. Only family members/citizens could own land in that region. No process of citizenship that outsiders could attain. Wars between poleis were kind of a familt feud.
What did wealth afford people in a polis?
-wealth generated a lot of respect and leadership opportunities
-Offered leisure time to lead and train for war/athletic contests
-Armor was provided by the soldiers themselves, so rich clans were able to form a warrior class. These groups were aristoi, or “the best”.
-Afforded them dominance in decision making, or aristokratia
What role could aristocratic women have in poleis?
Publicly mourning their dead could gain the family clout, as well as interacting with male visitors in their homes and being associated with the male head of house.
What names did the Greeks have for themselves and for foreigners?
They called themselves “hellenes” and called foriegners “barbaroi”
Who was considered a Greek? How did they reinforce this identity?
Greeks in the Archaic Period considered someone Greek if they SPOKE the Greek language. They believed that the word barbaroi came from the non-Greeks’ inability to speak their language.
This belief became more apparent as Archaic Greeks formed colonies overseas and actually met “real” foreigners. The Olympics were a pan-Hellenic (“all-Greek”) event, which was barred to all foreigners. Greek colonists (who had the most contact w/ foreigners) were staunch supporters of the Olympics. Another point of unity for Greeks was the Oracle of Delphi.
What foriegn influences were allowed in ancient Greece?
-Greece was open to more “sophisticated” cultures of the Near East
-A common type of Greek statue called a kouros, took inspiration from Egyptian sculptures
-Pythagoras, a Greek mathematician, learned methods from Egyptian mathematics
-Greeks learned Linear A and B script from the Phoenicians
-The style of The Odyssey sometimes follows the style of The Epic of Gilgamesh
What started the Persian Wars (490-479 BC)?
These opened the Classical Period. Greek cities in Asia Minor rebelled against the Persian Empire which, at the time, stretched from modern Pakistan to Egypt. These cities received aid from Athens, and the Persians invaded the Greek mainland in retaliation.
How did the Persian Wars end?
Ten years later, Persia tried to invade a second time with a big-ass force. Athens met them with allies from the other city-states like Sparta. Spartan soldiers got wiped the fuck out at the Battle of Thermopylae, but managed to buy time for Athens to evacuate their citizens. Further naval and land battles between the Persian and smaller Greek forces continued, until eventually Persia left in 479 BC.
What impact did the Persian Wars leave on Greece?
-The Greeks thought much more highly of themselves; in their eyes they won this agōn against the Persians (ex: story of Athenian running 20 miles from Marathon to announce victory)
-General opinion of the Persians and of barbaroi in general went down the drain. They criticized them for not being self-governing like a lot of the Greeks were.
-Greeks begun to close themselves off from “barbarian influence” in the Classical Period
How did Greeks view non-Greeks after the Persian Wars?
The “Classical” style of sculptures that emerged before the Persian Wars, gained a new characteristic after Persia’s defeat: simplicity. This represented the “self-restraint” that the Greeks had, unlike the barbarians.
This contributed to the image that the Greeks developed for the East: a weak, luxurious, effeminate, and slavish society ruled by all-powerful kings.
Aristotle determined that Asians had brains but little independence; the northern barbarians were spirited, but dumb as rocks; but the Greeks had freedom, spirit, and brains, so therefore they were meant to rule.
Why couldn’t Greece unite under a politically united Hellas?
-The geography separated poleis from each other by mountain or sea
-The very concept of a polis being a kinship group meant that citizenship was never offered to outsiders
How did Greeks handle the population overflow in the 8th century BC?
-Greeks up and left and founded new colonies/poleis all over the Mediterranean.
-exploit the land more effectively. Greece was originally a pastoral society (raising of livestock/other animals), but turned more of their focus into agriculture. The surpluses produced is what changed poleis into actual cities This also formed a new class of middling farmers, not too wealthy but not too poor. Middle class, basically.
How did these new developments undermine the polis as a kin group?
-Population growth meant that poleis grew into larger, less intimate/family-based places
-New Greek colonies fostered to redefine a polis; they had to set up their new cities with outside help
-Population pressure led to bigger tensions on the mainland, between the rich and poor. New money farmers also started to clash with the old money herding aristocrat class. B/c of their new participation in war, farmers wanted recognition as aristoi.
What advantages did the new money farmers have against the old money aristocrats?
Better military techniques like the phalanx.
