Greeks Flashcards
What is historiography?
It means different things to different historians: a.) canonical bibliography; b.) the art & science of historical research & writing; c.) historical method. It investigates old claims about the past & makes new claims about the past.
Who is Homer?
ca 9th-8th cent. BCE – The Illiad & The Odyssey attributed to him, both were epic poems that mixed religion, myth, and actual events in compelling stories, had and still has some value as historical source BUT not exactly “scientific” & definitely not objective
Example sentence: Homer’s epic poems are still studied today for their literary and historical significance.
Who is Herodotus?
(d. ca 425 BCE)– travelled widely in eastern Mediterranean world collecting information for many sources, somewhat rationalist approach to history (= gods exist but they don’t really get involved), pro-Greek but fairly unbiased for the 5th century BCE, many consider him 1st European historian, narrative style: tell a mostly true good story, If you think history is fun, thank Herodotus.
Additional information: Herodotus is often referred to as the ‘Father of History.’
What are Greek Colonies?
Like the Phoenicians, the Greeks established colonies throughout the Mediterranean, the Greeks dominated the northern coast of the Med while the Phoenicians dominated the South, these colonies spread Greek language & culture across the Med.
What is the Polis?
The basic unit of social and political organization in ancient Greece was the polis or city-state, the city-states were independent of each other, Greek language was lingua franca, Greek mythology & gods in common
What is Athens?
Athens was the capital city of Attica, one of the most historically significant Greek city-states, center of Greek learning, high culture, & art, often called birthplace of democracy, major player until end of Peloponnesian War, had two ancient assemblies: the ekklesia for common folk & the areopagus for the aristocrats, Athens was often ruled by tyrants, but at that time “tyrant” didn’t mean the same thing is does today. Back then it just meant someone who took charge.
Who is Solon?
(d. 560 BCE): Athenian statesman elected as archon at time of deep turmoil in Athens (ca 574 BCE), the rich and poor were close to civil war
Example sentence: Solon’s reforms brought significant changes to the political and economic landscape of Athens.
What were Solon’s reforms?
- economic: cancelled debts, abolished debt slavery 2. political: took census and created Council of 400, which was a step toward democracy 3. legal: abolished draconian law and crafted punishments to fit crimes = less debt slavery & capital punishment
What was Early Athenian Democracy based on?
Solon’s democracy was based on wealth: pentakosoimedimenoi: 500-measure men = owned land that produced 500 bushels grain, hippeis: 300-measure men; could bring a horse to war, zeugitai: 200-measure men; could afford a team of oxen to work their land; included craftsmen (= US middle class), thetes: produced less than 200 bushels; were generally farmers or workers
Who is Cleisthenes?
Background: came from aristocratic Athenian family but was exiled, took advantage of unpopularity of tyrants & civil strife to take Athens, broke up old kinship tribes and created new artificial tribes, split Athens into three regions: coast, interior, city
What was Cleisthenes’ Regional Restructurization?
3 regions: city, country, coast, each region had 10 counties (trittyes) = 30 counties total, within each county were 4-5 townships/demes, deme: citizen body of a township or locality, each of the demes was assigned to one of 10 artificial “tribes”
What were Cleisthenes’ New Tribes based on?
10 “tribes” based on localities, each tribe had to include demes from each region, each tribe elected 50 men to serve on the Council of 500, any adult male citizen could be elected, larger demes tended to have more reps
What was the outcome of Cleisthenes’ Restructure?
Forced different people in different parts of Athenian city-state to cooperate, broke up old aristocracy even more & gave more power to middle class, probably introduced formal ostracism, ostracism = Athens could vote to expel anyone getting too powerful, isonomia: equality before the law & no exemptions from law
Who is Pericles?
(d. 429 BCE): a smart & bookish man, left his wife for Aspasia of Miletus, a writer, poetess, & teacher, led Athens during First Peloponnesian War which ended in truce 451 BCE, Funeral Oration: democracy is what makes Athens great, Greek drama, philosophy, & medicine flourished at Athens
How was Pericles remembered?
Ostracon use to vote for the ostracism of Pericles, people past & present loved him or hated him, populist politician who played to the masses, e.g. he passed anti-foreigner laws, used Delian League money to build Acropolis, Parthenon, & Athenian navy, some say he dragged Athens into 2nd Peloponnesian War, was popular because he gave Athenian people what they wanted … but what people want and what’s best for them aren’t always
