Greeks and the Others - Greek Ethnicity Flashcards
Multiple identities
Oldest Identities: Family identities (oikos) Civic identities (polis)
Regional identity (Cretan, Achaean, etc.) “Subhellenic” identity (Dorian, Ionian, etc.) –based on dialects
Ethnic identity (The Hellenes - Greeks)
Ethnicity
- What defines a cultural group as ethnic is the fact that its distinctive symbols revolve around notions of kinship:
- territory and a common history
- religion
- customs
- physical features, etc.
which are important but have less traditional value
Greek “ethnicity” according to Homer
Homer:
-Only thing he explicitly defines is the difference between civilized and uncivilized people
- Argives, Achaeans, Danaans are the terms which identify collectively the “Greeks”
- the Hellenes are just a small group settled in Thessaly, but the world Hellas can indicate a wider area, the region north of the Corinthian Isthmus
- Achaeans and Trojans speak the same language, worship same gods, similar customs, etc.
- Ulysses doesn’t say he is an Achaean (or Argive or Danaan) ever
-Civilized and uncivilized (Cyclops) people are identified but this opposition is not presented in terms of Greek vs. non-Greek
Constructing identities (2 ways)
- Aggregative: similar traits, common mythical ancestors
- Prevalent in archaic period
- Aristocracy emphasized class distinction rather than ethnic ID
- Oppositional: stress the differences between self and other (Greeks vs. non- Greeks)
- Developed in the Classical period
- Very effective way of constructing strong and exclusive identities
Archaic Age – Age of aristocracies
- Distinguished what makes them different as elites
- Lydian vase: stressing Lydian ancestors in Athenian elites (associating with luxurious foreigners)
- Athenian with Tracian cloak
- Greek hoplite and Scythian archer (not as enemies)
- Scythian archers in Athens were police
Beginning of the opposition between Greeks and Others (5th C)
- Criticism of the Orientalizing lifestyle of the elite
- Rise of middle classes, start criticizing elite (luxurious foreign lifestyle)
- 5th C members of the upper-class were clamed to be pro-Near Eastern
- Friends of the Persians (NOT GOOD)
- Ostrakon against Callias
- Thought to be pro-Persian (common allegation against members of the aristocracy)
- Expelling him from the community
Attempt to construct a common genealogy of the Hellenes
“Hellenes”
- Iliad: small population South of Thessaly
- Related term Panhellenes appears in literature in the 7th C BC
- Earliest cases of Hellenes used to mean the Greeks – dates to 6th C BC (Foundation of common sanctuary of the “gods of the Hellenes” at Naukratis in Egypt, and victory inscription at Delphi recorded by Pausanias)
Hellen-> Dorus (Dorians), Aeolus, Xuthus-> Ion (Ionian), Achaeans
Cultural indicators
Greek culture as externally perceived
- “Material culture” and its definitional value
- Used with a lot of caution
- Diff people, diff race, diff culture
- Similar techniques, symbols, etc. are common (define in part a culture but not entirely, not enough)
- Foreign goods in Greek culture, Greek goods in other cultures
The Persian Wars- “National” identity and changing attitudes
- Foreign people tried to take over Greek territory
- United by this experience to fight against Persian conquest
- Reinforces middle class idea of national ID
- Barbarians vs. Greeks
Construction of the Barbarian
- Word barbarous is rare in Archaic period, but after the Persian wars is used frequently
- On Attic vases, depictions of Persians, Phrygians and Thracians become more common, identified by specific items of dress
Rise of Hellenic Identity
- Herodotus -> Athenians refuse the proposal of the Persian ambassadors
- “Kinship of all Greeks in blood and speech, and the shrines of gods and the sacrifices that we have in common, and the likeness of our way of life”
- First time we see this ‘blood’ connection and common speech
- Barbarians are simply the non-Greeks (not just destructive and uncivilized)
What makes Greeks different? Greek freedom and Persian slavery
- Derogatory representations of the Persians are quite rare in Greek art: even when they appear as the enemy, usually they are brave fighters and worthy opponents
- Even after the Persian wars, Greek intellectuals of the 5th C didn’t represent Greeks as radically different and totally opposed to Barbarians
Aeschylus, The Persians
- Produced 8 years after the battle of Salamis
- Poet was a veteran (majority of audience were vets)
- Several passages stress on the nature of the Persian authority, that is based on force and fear – described as a yoke
- Authority of the Greek polis is based on community ideals, participation and obedience to the law
Persians or barbarians (hierarchical structure, luxurious, unrestrained emotion) vs. Greeks (egalitarian, modest, self-control)
**More than just propaganda
Herodotus, Histories
- Greek customs vs. foreigners customs
- Not all customs are the same, held differently in society
Ex. Different burial traditions in Greece than Egypt, what seems normal to Greeks seems CRAZY to Egyptians
The Greeks and the Eastern “barbarians” in the 4th C BC
- Call for solidarity among Greeks, in a period of destructive wars between Greek cities
- Development of a deep opposition between Greeks and Barbarians, with an aggressive attitude: for the first time, the Barbarians are described as inferior
- Fight the Barbarians rather than other Greeks
