Greek Identity Flashcards
the geographical extent of the greek world
Plato famously said that Greeks were all around the Mediterranean coasts ‘like frogs around a pond’.
settling around the coastline of much of the coastline of southern Europe and north Africa. Where did Greeks travel to? The most common colonisation route for Greeks came via the sea. Greek cultures were prolific seafarers and seem to have used the coastlines extensively in their efforts to colonise.
what drove colonisation
Population growth and land hunger in Greece. In the eighth century BCE there was a sharp rise in population which unsettled the traditional settlements of mainland Greece. Since mainland Greece is a mountainous area with limited fertile agricultural land, there was considerable pressure on land which made it a precious resource. These pressures created land hunger leading to outward migration.
. Trade in resources attracted Greeks to the settlements they made. In particular, Greece was developing into the iron age during the period and was keen to go to regions where this resource was plentiful.
range of cultures; case study pithkoussai
8th century Greeks settled on the island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples. This became Pithekoussai. Pottery evidence suggests a diverse Greek community
Phoenicians also lived on the island but seem to have lived separately to the Greeks. it seems the settlement was not a ‘centrally organised’ colonisation effort guided by the poleis Nestor’s Cup has been found. Produced in the 8th century BCE the cup is one of the earliest examples of the Greek alphabet. The inscription is in a Euboean form of the alphabet,
range of cultures; case study syracuse
Greeks appear to have acted violently. The Sicels of eastern Sicily seem to have been treated very harshly, The Sicels were driven out by Greek invaders who replaced Sicel structures with Greek ones in the 8th century. Greek temples and structures abruptly replace the Sicel styles
The Greeks at Syracuse were so proud of their victory over the locals, they dedicated an Etruscan helmet
range of cultures; case study olbia
Babler argues that, without doubt, there was an immediate and direct impact of barbarian surroundings on Greek colonies on the Black Sea coastline
Greeks within the colony appear to have adopted three things from the local people: Burial practices. Olbia, which gave the name ‘region of the hundred kurgans’, seems to have had an impact on Greek burial practices. Kurgans which are mounds of earth constructed over a rich buria.
clothing. Scythian clothing seems to have been adopted by the Greeks
mirrors. The mirrors found at Olbia resemble the Greek hand mirrors found in mainland Greek. However, they have a distinctive Scythian influence on certain items. For instance, the animal style for the handle are executed sometimes in purely Scythian style
range of cultures within grease;case study 1 sparta
Sparta is the best example of an oligarchy, a system where few (oligos) rule (argo) Having enslaved the local population, the Spartan elite constructed a political system which ensured their overall power. The Spartans ruled through a system of 26 elders + 2 kings sitting on a “council of elders” – the Gerousia. The Gerousia was made up of men only over the age of 60 years old the Spartan ‘lawmaker’ who, through much mythology, is said to have founded the system is Lykourgos and his Laws of Lykourgos. He is credited with establishing, in the 8th century, many of the key traits of Sparta which continued through to the fourth century. Sparta’s most unique aspect was the so-called Agoge (a training programme for Spartan boys), land reforms which ensured equal landownership for Spartan citizens, and the Gerousia.
spartan society
Spartan society was inherently militaristic. Full citizen males participated in the agoge from a young age and then joined a standing army – the only one in Greece. The army was primarily maintained to keep control over helots and Spartan history is doted with fears of helot revolts. As a result, Spartan society demanded fit, healthy and reliable soldiers. As a result the Spartans has a rather cruel system for raising their children. In order to ensure they would grow up to be healthy soldiers, Spartans tested young children by placing them in a bath of undiluted wine. If they failed the test (or if they had a noticeable physical deformity or condition), they would be thrown into a ravine and left to die through impact or exposure.
Spartans liked simplicity and disliked luxury or unnecessary décor. Hence, Spartans produced little art or writing. Much of what is written about them comes from external onlookers – an interesting historical problem described as the ‘Spartan mirage’. This is noteworthy since most of surviving writing and culture comes from Athens. In this course, of the three main authors: Aeschylus, Euripides, and Herodotus, two were born in Athens and one, Herodotus, lived in Athens’ Empire for most of his life.
range of cultures within greace; athens
Athens, by contrast, is the best example of a democracy. Athens was a direct democracy made up of citizens (approximately 40-45,000 people. The Ekklesia – a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and made foreign policy. This was an assembly of people which met around 40 times per year on the hill of the acropolis. A debate would take place and then a majority vote would guide policy.
The boule – 500-strong council of representatives from each of the ten Athenian tribes. This met everyday and administered. Positions were chosen by lot.
Dikasteria – courts which were made of jurors selected by lots from the citizenry body. Jurors held unlimited powers
Strategoi - 10 elected generals
range of cultures within greace; tyrants in greek poleis
Tyrants were people who held significant power and acted effectively like kings. Power was inherited through hereditary links. The tyrant called Cypselos Tyrannies did not have the modern-day connotation of being inherently bad or corrupt, but simply meant they had a single powerful ruler (a king or a person with king-like authority)
heroditus on tyrants
Herodouts repeats a story about the nature of Cypselos’ rule as being one which deprived people of their rights. He ‘chased many out of Corinth, deprived them of their property, and most, by some way, of their lives’ (5.92). His son, who inherited power upon Cypselos’ death, called Periander, acted just a brutally, or so the stories say. Periander is said to have murdered his wife in a fit of rage and then murdering his own rebellious children after they attempted to overthrow him. His successor, a nephew, was killed by assassins and the tyranny was overthrown.
non political cultures in grease, religious practices
Patron-gods. Whilst the Greeks shared a general sense of religion and mythology, each polis had its own patron-god or goddess. Athens considered itself the city of Athene and the goddess was given ten different descriptions to identify her with different areas of Athenian life, The Argives worshipped Hera as the patron deity of Argos, and the Spartans celebrated an annual festival each year in honour of Apollo.
location, sancturies and temples of gods throughout greace
Use of dedications. In some places dedications in the form of kouro
non political cultures in grease; ethnic differences
Athenians considered themselves to be Ionians, an ‘autochthonous’, or ‘born from the soil’/native group. They believed they were indigenous to the region of Athens. Outward from Athens, the Ionians migrates across the Aegean sea and onto the west coast of Turkey.
Other ‘Dorian’ Greeks like the Spartans considered themselves to be non-native invaders of the archaic or pre-archaic era. The Spartan myth goes that they seized control of the region and enslaved the locals (who become the helot slave labourers of the Spartans).
non political cultures in grease; ethnic differences scholar
Jonathan Hall argues that this sense of ‘history’ had a significant impact on the decisions made by different cities. a shared sense of ‘ethnicity’ encouraged poleis to join together
to what extant did greek identity exist scholar view on they were united
Moses FINLEY. Hellas spread over an enormous area, including the Black Sea littoral to the east, the coast areas of Asia Minor, the Aegean Islands, Greece proper, southern Italy and most of Sicily, and continuing to the West shores of the Mediterranean to Cyrene in Libya and to Marseilles and a few Spanish coastal cities……
All these far flung Greeks had a consciousness of belonging to a single shared culture
to what extant did greek identity exist scholar view on they were united
James Renshaw. three key elements which united all Greeks in their shared identity – language, literature and religion Homer was revered by all Greeks…. Greek identity was further defined by the worship of common gods and goddesses”
