Two Small Cities in One Small Land Flashcards
What was the geographical and cultural layout of ancient Greece?
Greece had no one king or administration in common. Instead, each city was a kingdom in itself.
What did the Greeks have to do with the Dorians, Ionians, and Aeolians?
The Greeks belonged to a number of tribes, the importance of them being the Dorians in the south and the Ionians and the Aeolians in the north.
What were the differences between the Greek tribes?
These tribes differed little from one another, either in appearance or in language. They spoke different dialects, which they could all understand if they chose. But they very rarely did.
How were religion and sport uniting the Greeks?
In honor of Zeus, the father of the Gods, great sporting contests were held every four years in his sanctuary at Olympia, and all the Greeks– the Dorians, Ionians, Spartans, and Athenians—came there to show how well they could run, throw the discus and the javelin, fight hand to hand and race chariots.
How significant were Olympic Games in ancient Greece?
Since the Olympic Games took place once every four years, and were attended by all the Greeks, they provided everyone with a convenient way to measure time. This was gradually adopted throughout Greece.
What was the Delphic Oracle and what was its role in Greek society?
Greeks from everywhere made pilgrimages to Delphi to consult the god, Apollo. The answer they received was often far from clear and could be understood in a variety of ways. And in fact, we still say that vague or enigmatic answer is “oracular.”
What were the characteristics of Sparta and Athens, and what were their differences?
We already know something about the Spartans: they were Dorians, who, when they arrived in Greece, around 1100 BC, enslaved the former inhabitants and put them to work on the land. But the slaves outnumbered their masters, and the danger of rebellion meant that the Spartans had to be constantly alert lest they find themselves homeless again. They only had one aim: to be fighting fit, ready to crush any uprising by their slaves, and to protect themselves from the surrounding peoples still at liberty.
What were the social and political systems of Sparta and Athens?
The laws he introduced in 594 BC–at the time of Nebuchadnezzar–were named after him. They stated that the people, that is, the city’s inhabitants, should decide the city’s affairs themselves. They should assemble in the marketplace of Athens and vote.
What was the concept of democracy and its development in Athens?
Citizenship depended on wealth and influence, and many people, including women and slaves, played no part in government. But many Athenians could at least have their say, and so they took an interest in how their city was run. ‘Polis’ is Greek for the city, ‘politics,’ and the affairs of a city.
How was the rise of tyrants in Athenian politics, and how did the Athenians deal with them?
For a while, individual noblemen curried favor with the people to win their votes and then seized power. Rulers like these were called tyrants. But the people soon expelled them and took better care next time to ensure that it was they who really governed. I have already told you about the wayward nature of the Athenians. And it was this, together with a real fear of losing their freedom once again, which led them to banish any politician who showed signs of becoming too popular, lest he seizes power for himself and rules as a tyrant.
Who was Pericles and what was his role in shaping Athens?
When Pericles spoke in the Assembly, the Athenians always believed that they had made the decisions, whereas, in fact, it was Pericles, who had made up his mind long before. This wasn’t because he held any special office or had any particular power-he was simply the wisest and the most intelligent.
What were the cultural achievements of the Athenians, their contributions to art, architecture, and philosophy?
Athens should maintain its power at sea, and this he achieved through alliances with other Ionian cities that paid Athens for its protection. In this way, the Athenians grew rich and could at last afford to make use of their great gifts.
How significant were the Acropolis and the architectural elements used in its construction?
The temples are still standing. Even in Athens. And best of all, the citadel of Athens is still there-the Acropolis-where new sanctuaries made of marble were erected in the time of Pericles because the old ones had been burnt and destroyed by the Persians while the Athenians watched from the island of Salamis. The Acropolis still contains the most beautiful buildings we know. Not the grandest or the most splendid-simply the most beautiful. Every detail is so clear and simple that one cannot imagine it otherwise. All the forms which the Greeks employed in these buildings were to be used again and again in architecture. You will find Greek columns-of which there are several kinds-in almost every city of the world, once you have learned to recognize them.
How important were sculptures in ancient Greece, and the works of Phidias?
The Greeks portrayed their gods with the same beauty and humanity. The most famous sculptor of such states was Phidias. He did not create mysterious and supernatural images, like the colossal statues in Egyptian temples. Although some of his temple statues were large and splendid and made of precious materials like ivory and gold, their beauty was never insipid, and they had a noble and natural grace that must have inspired confidence in the gods they represented, and the same can be said for Athenian paintings and buildings. But nothing remains of the pictures they painted on the walls of their halls and assembly rooms. And all we have are little paintings on pottery–-on vases and urns. Their loveliness tells us what we have lost.
What were the characteristics of the Greek theater, its tragedies, and comedies?
Their theater, like their sport, was also once bound up with their religion, festivals were held in honor of their god Dionysus (also known as Bacchus).
