Week 4 Flashcards
True or False:
Spartan women could inherit AND own land
TRUE
What did others criticize Spartan women for?
Roaming around nude
Who are our sources for early Athens?
- Solon
- Herodotus
- Thucydides
- Aristotle
What was the only Mycenaean settlement NOT to be invaded by the Sea Peoples?
Athens
Why do the early Athenians consider themselves to be the saviours of civilization?
Because they were the only Mycenaeans not to be conquered by the Sea Peoples
When does Synoikisimos occur in Athens?
800 BC
What was the elite Athenian class claiming heroic descent?
Eupatridai
What is the word for the Ionian clans?
Phyle
What is the name for a military unit?
Phratre
What was the name for those who fell into debt-bondage?
Hektomoroi
What did the hektomoroi have to do when in debt?
Give 1/6th of their crops to their debt master
Who eliminated debt bondage in Athens?
Solon
In what year did Solon abolish debt-bondage?
594
What was the supreme court of Athens?
Heliaia
Which tyrant helps Cylon in his coup?
Theagenes of Megara (his father in law)
Which ancient source said that Cylon was slaughtered by Megacles?
Plutarch
What is anachronistic about the historical writings of Draco’s lawcode?
- Cash money wasn’t invented yet
How is Drako’s lawcode an improvement on homicide jurisdiction?
- Drako is the first to diffrienciate intentional and non-intentional homicides
Drako’s lawcode is said to have been written in _________ instead of ink.
blood
True or False:
Nearly all crimes in Drako’s law code had the penalty of death
TRUE
In what 3 ways does Drako’s law code influence society at the time?
– written code decreased Eupatrids’ power of arbitrary recollection
and application of oral laws
– state replaces kin as arbiter
– fixed principles for justice, for sentencing
True or False
Drako’s laws help the poor majority
FALSE
What is Solon’s term for the freeing of debt slaves and the abolition of debt slavery?
Seisactheia
Solon institutes the Council of ________
400
Who abolished nearly all of Drako’s laws?
Solon
Who switched the Athenian weight standard?
Solon
What did Solon change the Athenian coinage weight standard to?
From Aegintenean to Euboean
What were Solon’s 4 economic reforms?
- Switched Athenian weight standard
- Pushes Athenians to learn trades
- Gives citizenship to immigrant craftsmen
- Prohibits the export of wheat
During Solon’s rule, only ________ was allowed to be exported.
Olive Oil
What pottery style takes over the previously popular Corinthian styles?
Athenian Black Figure
Who were the Pentakosiomedimnoi?
- citizens who produced over 500 bushels of wheat in Solon’s census system
- Eligible to run for all magistrates and TREASURER
What were those who produced 200 or fewer bushels of wheat called in Solon’s census?
Thetes
- Can’t run for any positions
- BUT, can vote and participate in jury service
Why did Solon fail?
- Because he was a middle man
- You can’t be in the middle, because then you can’t give either side their full desires
Why did the Persians choose the land at Marathon in 490 BC?
- Because Peisistratus was from Marathon
- And Peististratus’ son, Hippias, commanded the Persians, so they thought it would be a local friendly port
How many times was Peisistratus tyrant?
3
Why did Solon hate Peisistratus?
- Because Solon was a middle man who wanted to please all ends of society
- And Peisistratus was a populist who sidelined the aristocrats
Which polis was the first to have coins?
Aegina (turtle coins) 550 BC
What was the official name of the “Blue Beard Temple” on the Acropolis?
Athena Polias III
Who was the mythological king who founded Athens?
Cecrops (half man, half snake)
The Olympeion took _______ years to build
700
Who began the construction of the Olympeion?
Peisistratus
Who were the Tyrannicides?
Harmodion and Aristogeiton
Explain the story of the Tyrannicides
- The Tyrant Hippias’ brother, Hipparchus fell in love with Harmodius
- But, Harmodius was already in love with Aristogeiton, so refused Hipparchus humiliatignly
- In revenge, Hipparchus invited Harmodius’ sister to be a kanephoros at the Pan-Athenaic games procession, only to publicaly turn her away on the grounds that she was not a virgin
- So, Harmodius and his lover Aristogeiton assasinate Hipparchus
What caused Hippias’ regime to tighten and become more extreme and repressive?
The murder of his brother Hipparchus by the Tyrranicdes
Which Spartan King was called to remove Hippias from Athens?
Kleomenes I
What do the Spartans realize about their command structure while besieging Hippias?
- It was way harder than it should have been
- Why? The two kings had joint command and disagreed
- Solution: From now on, only one king goes to war, the other stays home
Cleisthenes declares all Athenians his __________
hetaroi (comrades)
Cleisthenes introduces the Council of __________
500
How was Cleisthenes’ council of 500 picked?
At random (from any social class)
What was Cleisthenes’ Demokratia constitution?
- All Athenians are now hetaroi of Cleisthenes
Cleisthenes divides Athenians into:
- 10 Tribes
- 30 Trittytes
- 100-200 demoi
-Council of 500 is created
- Elections of Strategos, Taxiarchos and Hipparchos for each of the 10 tribes
Who founded the Agora in 500 BC?
Cleisthenes
Where did Cleisthenes found the new Agora?
On top of the ruins of Peisistratus’ palace that he destroyed
Where were Drako and Solons’ laws proclaimed?
Stoa Basileus
What are the Agora boundary markers known as?
Thoros
