Lecture 2

Question 1

What did emergence of society in polis’s lead to?

Answer 1

-a small gap of wealthy/poor
-domination of aristocrats (landowners)
-more egalitarian-not 1 person monopolizes
-rise of aristocracy
-poor become more wary of wealthy aristocrats
-arbitration (community standards)

Question 2

What did polis strife entail?

Answer 2

-competition for resources
-land hunger
-problem of inheritances (Hesiod)
-civil unrest-aristocratic competition
-demands from poorer citizens
-polis vs. polis-encroaching on each other’s borders leading to wars
-relations with native populations (mainly Carthage-they both want Sicily)
-mother city vs. daughter city