Greek: Politics and Culture in Athens

Question 1

Who was Gorgias? what year did he come to Athens and what did he say about rhetoric?

Answer 1

Arrived 427 BC as an envoy from Sicily. When arriving in Athens he made money from teaching rhetoric:
Georgias, Encomium of Helen: a speech from him himself defending Helen (though at the end he admits he did it for entertainment not because its what he believes)

Question 2

Xenophon Memorabilia 1.6.13

Answer 2

Socrates: “Those who sell wisdom for money to anyone who wants are called “sophists”- prostitutes you might say”

Question 3

Plutarch, Life of Pericles 31

Answer 3

“His [Pheidias] friendship with Pericles, with whom he had great influence, earned him a number of enemies through sheer jealousy”

Question 4

How does the Parthenon tell us that Athens is the best ever

Answer 4

• Panathenaeic procession (men on horses) 192 men, the same number who died at Marathon
• Civic pride in democracy (the frieze showing men looking the same + heroic bodies)
• Metopes show the civilised vs. uncivilised, example of Persian wars (Athens v. Amazons, Centaurs v. Lapiths).
• Peloponnesian war, Centaurs can feel pain and excite sympathy, therefore not just anti-Persian propaganda, built during Peloponnesian wars

Question 5

Describe the aspects of the cult statue of Athena and how they related to civic pride in Athens

Answer 5

• At her side is a snake, a reference to Erechtheon who grew out of the ground and the Athenians who also came from the soil
• Size, ivory and gold, holding little Nike
• Her shield has Greeks on it, as well as Phidias and Pericles (we know bc they look old)

Question 6

What buildings did Pericles build on the Acropolis and over which period were they built?

Answer 6

1. Parthenon (Temple of Athena)
2. Propylaea (Grand entrance)
3. Odeon (Theatre created from Xerxes tent)

Question 7

Renovation of the Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis

Answer 7

• Destroyed by Persians in 480 (big deal bc it’s outside of Athens, psychological morale blow)
• Culmination of procession from Athens, mystery cult of Demeter (this cult lasted a long time as we know Roman Emperor Augustus was initiate)
• Pericles rebuilt it using Delian League funds as well (after 30 years of debris)
• Eleusis is right on the edge of Attica, therefore, it is a statement of confidence and pride to Sparta

Question 8

Why was Pericles’ new building program so important?

Answer 8

• Just coming out of a tyranny into democracy, where nobles would take credit for all temples and they belonged to Pisistratus
• Showing that Athens is awesome and rich
• Shows that Pericles is a great guy
• Persians had burned down all these buildings in 480 BC, it was a huge morale shock to Athens

Question 9

What buildings did Pericles re-build in Attica

Answer 9

1. Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis
2. Temple of Hephaestus at Athens
3. Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
4. Temple of Nemesis at Rhamnous

Question 10

Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.7.6

Answer 10

SOCRATES: an audience of dunces and weaklings […] the traders in the Agora who think only of what they can buy cheap and sell dear? These are the people who make up the Assembly.

Question 11

Plato, Protagoras 319b-d

Answer 11

SOCRATES: the man who rises to advise them on this may equally well be […] of good family or of none, and nobody thinks of casting in his teeth

Question 12

Gorgias, Encomium of Helen

Answer 12

Gorgias argues to defend Helen from the charge of her proclivity beginning the Trojan war. Important as at the end he admits that he just did it for the sake of it and he did not believe what he said

Question 13

Plato, Hippias Major

Answer 13

Hippias boasts to Socrates about the insane amount of money he has made from teaching rhetoric in a short trip to Sicily

Question 14

Plutarch, Pericles 36

Answer 14

Xanthippus ridicules Pericles for associating himself with Socrates

Question 15

Plato, Gorgias 452d-e

Answer 15

Gorgias: For indeed, by the power of persuasion, you will have both doctor and teacher as your slave

Question 16

Plato, Apology 19d-e

Answer 16

SOCRATES: if you have heard from anyone that I undertake to teach people and that I make money by it, that is not true either

-> distinguishing himself from sophists

Question 17

Thucydides 3.38

Answer 17

Cleon: “very slaves to the pleasure of the ear, and more like the audience of a rhetorician than the council of a city”

Question 18

Aristotle, Rhetoric 1402

Answer 18

“in the case of sophistical disputations, the argument becomes fallacious”

“This is what “making the worse argument appear the better” means”

Question 19

Aristophanes, Clouds 113-115

Answer 19

“wrong, can always win its case even when justice is against it”

Question 20

Aristophanes, Clouds, 377

Answer 20

“Zeus? Who’s Zeus? What rubbish you talk! There is no Zeus!”

Question 21

Aristophanes, Clouds, the benefits of the wrongful argument

Answer 21

“Listen to all the things that virtue can’t do for you, my lad!- all the pleasures you won’t be able to have.”

Question 22

ETVT it was Socrates’ reputation which killed him

Answer 22

INTRO: it was not his reputation as a sophist but his involvement with the anti-democracy movement- as understood through Xenophon and Plato, his students

1. His perceived character
   - Aristophanes, Clouds shows Socrates as teaching the “Wrongful argument” (116)
   - Because of his teachings the wrongful arguments always wins even when it is against the side of justice
   - Took the teachings of many sophists and combined them into Socrates
   - Worked, as Socrates has many enemies after he questioned and embarrassed people after revealing their ignorance
2. 5) On the other hand, It is unlikely they had ever considered Socrates a sophist- for example, he had nothing in common with Gorgias (comes to Athens in 427) and makes money from teaching rhetoric to the wealthy upper classes
   - Could be seen as a dodgy character due to Helen’s Encomium (where he admits he argues for the sake of it)
   - Plato Hippias Major shows the wealth that was acquired doing this. Plato as a follower of Socrates would have written the source to show how he is an opposite to Hippias, and while he is biased it is true that Socrates took pride in frugality
3. Aristophanes accused Socrates of being a heretic, lumping him in with Anaxagoras who questioned the moon and sun
   - “Zeus is gone, celestial vortex is now king”
   - “Zeus, who is Zeus?”
   - He is accused of corrupting the youth, responding in Plato’s Apology and calling them “accusations spawned from a certain playwright”
   - On the other hand, Plato and Xenophon describe him as pious (never missing a sacrifice or a festival) and while they may have exaggerated after his death to combat his charges, they also knew him for a large part of his life
   - Aristophanes likely didn’t know a lot about Socrates’s teachings (Plato’s republic, he says he will only teach worthy men, such as Pericles (Plutarch, Life of Pericles shows his son making fun of him)

3) Socrates reputation was not as bad as we think
- In his trial he was only condemned by 60 votes out of 500- and he could have won his trial had he brought in his children and begged like was customary
- Plato’s Apology he insults the courts and the habit of using children as props
- Apology as a source is obviously going to present Socrates in a better light than the court would have seen him, however, the words Socrates spoke had to be accurate as Plato was there and so were hundreds of others

4) His reputation as someone who didn’t like democracy killed him
- Plato’s Republic, philosopher kings- captain of the ship is blind and needs guidance but the demagogues only know how to party
- If he trusted the philosopher’s knowledge instead of those who had the ability to persuade, they would make it through the seas
- Even if this was Plato’s own writing through the mouth of Socrates, the two were still associated due to their similar beliefs (probably same beliefs!)
- Radical democracy in 399 after disposing of the 30 tyrants who ruled in 404 (of which 2 were pupils of Socrates, Critias and Charmides)
- Socrates therefore a scapegoat to show democracy’s strength.

5) Socrates’ pride led to his death
- Plato’s Apology, his friends (including Plato) are in the courtroom and tell him to offer the punishment of a fine and they will pay it, instead Socrates chooses to be fed by the state
- Ridiculous request, insulting to the court which had found him guilty, he sealed his own fate.
- Aristophanes Wasps 422 shows law courts as bloodthirsty jurors- where Philocleon answers everything with the death penalty.
- Socrates knew he was sealing his fate to ensure his pride was in tact, and in the short term he was the cause of his own death

However, overall, it was the radical democracy and political opponents of thinkers like Socrates who were the real cause of his death.

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Question 23

“Life in democratic Athens of the 5th century provided political power for all the inhabitants of Attica” How far do you agree?

Answer 23

I do not agree- while Athenian democracy expanded political power amongst those considered Athenian citizens, it was not universal- as women, slaves and those too young/foreign could not exercise power.

1. Men in Athens
   - 590s Solon’s reforms, expanded classes that were allowed to hold office
   - 462 Ephialtes gets rid of areopagus and creates boule, heliaia and assembly
   - Aristophanes Wasps 422, Philocleon condemns people to death and only cares for his pay 2/3 obols. Philo=love, cleon
   - Courts controlled life and death on a whim
   - Aristophanes’ Knights, seller of the “worst-sort” gets picked up by Nicias and Demosthenes
   - Cleon also has non-aristocratic background
   - Shows prejudice in system, catered to aristocrats
2. Foreigners in Athens
   - Lysias against Eratesthenes condemns 30 tyrants for executing his father, a metic thought to be a political threat due to his wealth
   - Source lists 700 shields and gold and silver jewellery as things seized (BUT ALSO OWNED)
   - Xenophon, Poroi 2: military duty, special taxes and public events such as games/festivals
   - HOWEVER, Lysias is an example of discrimination (at least by the 30 tyrants)
   - Old Oligarch 1.12, the metics live unlawful lives similar to the slaves
   - No vote, no land, no Boule. All tribute states subject the Athenian courts
3. Women and slaves in Athens
   - Women hold power over men, such as Aspasia
   - Plutarch Pericles 30, Aspasia is the reason the Megarian decree happened and thus entire war!
   - Emphasis of sources on Aspasia shows her anomalous nature + no mention of other women
   - She was foreign and placed on trial for impiety
   - Funeral Oration, “a woman’s greatest achievement is not to be spoken of at all”
   - No land, no vote, no power at.all (15k-30k!)
   - Old Oligarch 1.11, “one must be enslaved to the slaves” to keep the economy going
   - Hippolotus, Phaedra confides in her slave the most, suggests integral part of domestic life
   - Oligarch compares Athenian slaves to Spartan helots, but fails to suggest slaves wield political power rather they live in luxury

Question 24

What does Pausanias 1.28.2 claim?

Answer 24

“The spear-point and helmet-crest of this Athena (Athena Promachos) can actually be seen by people sailing from Sunium”

Question 25

Who is the lowest, upper and highest class of Athens?

Answer 25

Lowest: Thetes
Upper: Hoplites
Highest: Hippates