Homer’s Iliad
AA14NS
Ch3p4.pdf
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Chapters (https: //colorstate.grlcontent.com/westerncivpremodern/page/chapters) Chapter 3: Archaic and Classical Greece (https: //colorstate.grlcontent.com/westerncivpremodern/page/ch3) Chapter 3: Culture Of The Archaic Age (https: //colorstate.grlcontent.com/westerncivpremodern/page/ch3pg3)
Read excerpts f rom the selected poems of Sappho. (http://www.poetryintranslation.com /PITBR/Greek/Sappho.htm)
Culture of the Archaic Age
The culture that spread throughout the Mediterranean during the colonization effort comes from a variety of different Greek poleis. The
art, poetry, and sculpture of this period were particularly in�uenced from the artwork of Near East—Asia Minor, Egypt, and Babylonian
in�uences are the most prominent. For example, the kouros statues of naked male youths have a striking similarity to Egyptian statues.
Rather than a realistic portrayal, the images are stiff with one leg stepping forward.
Greek kouros statue and Egyptian style statue. Images © Shutterstock, Inc.
Greek poetry of the Archaic age is typically lyric. As opposed to the epic poetry of
Homer, lengthy narrative poems of heroic deeds, lyric poetry concerns human emotion,
usually love. One of the most famous Archaic lyric poets is Sappho from the island of
Lesbos in the seventh century. Sappho is unique not only in her lyric skill, but also in her
sex and sexuality. As women typically did not have equal access to literacy and
education, it is astounding that she was able to be recognized for her poetry throughout
Greece. Sappho was thought to have taught poetry to young girls on Lesbos, and her love
poetry is dedicated both to her young female students and male lovers. Our word lesbian
comes from Sappho’s isle of Lesbos. Homosexuality was accepted and commonplace
throughout much of the Greek nobility.
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Bust of Sappho. Image © Shutterstock, Inc.
Another famous Archaic poet is Hesiod, who wrote Works and Days and Theogony
(http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/theogony.htm). The latter work
describes the genealogy of the gods in Greek myth. Hesiod manages to synthesize a
variety of Greek myths into a single narrative which explains the origin of the gods and
their spheres of in�uence. Beginning with Chaos and Gaia (Earth) springs the Titans, the
second generation of gods. They are eventually overthrown by the Olympian gods—the
familiar Zeus and Apollo of standard Greek myth. This narrative solidi�ed many of the
beliefs of Greek gods.
TYRANNY Unlike the modern-day connotation, the original sense of the word tyranny was not wholly negative. Rather, a tyrant was simply one who
took power by force. Tyranny was a common form of political rule in the Archaic period; the most famous is that of the semi-legendary
tyrant of Thebes, Oedipus (http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Oedipus.htm). Other poleis had tyrants as well
Greek Mythology Family Tree.
View long description
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—Cypselus (SIP-suh-luss) overthrew the leading aristocratic family in Corinth, the Bacchiads, and assumed sole control of the city-state.
He was well-liked and brought peace and prosperity to Corinth. His son, Periander, succeeded him but was such a cruel ruler that even
upon his own death, in 585 BC, his son was immediately killed and an oligarchy (rule of the few) reigned once more.
Typically, tyrants would establish rule and attempt to pass the power down to their sons and grandsons. These heirs tended to be crueler
and less popular than their predecessors, rendering the rule of tyrants undesirable. Indeed, the institution of tyranny did not last, and was
abandoned in most poleis by the sixth century BC. Tyranny did play a signi�cant role in the evolution of Greek political history—the rule of
aristocratic oligarchies was diminished. This paved the way for increased participation in the government of a polis—leading in some cases
to democracy and other states to expanded oligarchies. This dichotomy is best seen in the two powerful poleis, Athens and Sparta. These
two city-states will be covered in greater detail for two reasons: they both play a major role in subsequent Greek history, and because
there is more surviving evidence here than for other poleis.
SPARTA The polis of Sparta is situated within the region of Laconia. In its early history, a series of four small villages united into a single polis, and
eventually incorporated a �fth village. This polis grew to be one of the dominant military societies the ancient world had to offer. This
uni�cation allowed Sparta to conquer her neighbors, particularly those in Messene. Those captured became helots and were bound to the
land and forced to work in the �elds and in homes for Spartan citizens (Spartiates). This slave class enabled the Spartan citizens to form a
professionalized �ghting military.
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Ancient Regions of the Peloponnese (https: //upload.wikime
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The Peloponnese.
According to legend, their social, political, military, and economic system was given to the Spartans by the legendary
Lycurgus. It is said that he was given this system by the gods themselves. It is debated as to whether Lycurgus was a real
reformer, or perhaps that a series of piecemeal reforms were simply attributed to one man. What is certain is that
Spartan military society dominated the Peloponnese for centuries.
The militarization of Spartan citizens begins at birth. When a child is born, the baby is taken to the elders of the
community who decide whether or not the society will rear the child. If he or she is deemed unhealthy or weak, the child
is exposed on a mountainside. Otherwise, the child is returned to his or her mother and raised by her until the age of six.
At this point, the educational system of Sparta, the agoge, begins for children. Young boys are taken from their mother’s sole care and sent
to live in community barracks with the citizen men. Female children continue to reside with their mother. The boys would be subject to
intense and harsh training sessions and an education that stressed military discipline. The men would sleep communally, eat communal
meals, and share communal discipline of others. At the age of twenty, the boys would be enrolled in the army, ready for military service
which they would serve until the age of sixty. At the age of thirty, the men were allowed to marry and vote in the assembly as full-�edged
citizens.
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While the men were on campaign and daily training exercises, the women would maintain the household. Because of this separation,
Spartan women gained a degree of freedom and independence which was foreign to their Athenian counterparts. Women were educated
and encouraged to exercise to promote health and fertility. Like the men, women were allowed to compete physically, in the nude.
Every aspect of society was aimed at strengthening the Spartan state. Community reigned over individuality. Marked graves were allowed
only to men who died in battle, and women who died in childbirth; both deaths were for the sake of the state.
Politically, the Spartan state was well-organized as well. Sparta was an oligarchy, and the entire state was overseen by a dual kingship, two
kings from different families (the Agiads and Eurypondids). They were responsible for military and religious affairs, serving both as
generals and priests. These two men shared power with a council of elders called the gerusia (geh-ROO-see-ah) of twenty-eight citizens
over the age of sixty and elected for life. They would prepare matters to be presented to the entire male citizenry called the apella (ah-
PELL-uh), where the issue would be taken to a vote. Finally, to balance the power of the kings and council, a small college of ephors was
elected annually from the body of male citizens over the age of thirty. They served as judges and had some restricted veto power over the
kings. The main duty of the ephors was to supervise the education and conduct of all Spartan citizens.
Sparta was unlike other poleis in their military society, but also in their xenophobic tendency. To maintain the security and purity of their
state, the Spartans rejected outside in�uences, foreigners, and many traders. Except for campaign, Spartans were discouraged from travel
and learning the arts of philosophy, literature, or theater like their Athenian counterparts. War and courage was the paramount Spartan
ideal. All other avenues of education were seen as threatening and unworthy of pursuit. Their Athenian neighbors took the opposite view,
and as such, philosophy, literature, and art �ourished in Athens.
ATHENS Athens is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited, cities in the Western World, dating back to the Neolithic Age. By the Archaic period,
Athens had established a uni�ed polis within the region of Attica, by the seventh century BC, all freeborn, adult, male citizens could vote
on matters of the state in the assembly (ekklesia in Greek). They also voted on high of�cials called archons who served as judges in criminal
court and internal disputes for one year.
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Attica and Athens.
Reforms of Draco, Solon, and Cleisthenes A serious economic and political crisis began toward the end of the seventh century BC. Many farmers were sold into debt-slavery
because they were unable to pay off their loans borrowed from leading aristocratic families. The lower classes began to protest and
demand a cancellation of debts which were so severe that people were forced into slavery when they could not pay them. The �rst attempt
to �x the social and economic issues was Draco around 621 BC. Draco decided the best way to deal with lawlessness was to make death
the penalty for even the most minor infractions. Later Greeks thought his laws so harsh that he is said to have written them in blood, not
ink. This is the root of the term, draconian in English. Draco’s reforms did not solve the problems and economic conditions worsened still.
To avoid civil war, Athenian aristocratic families appointed Solon (SOH-lun) as sole archon, or leading magistrate, in 594 BC. Solon was an
aristocrat himself, and so the leading parties assumed that he would take their side. However, Solon instituted what he called the
Seisachtheia, which means “the shaking-off of burdens.” Solon canceled private debts, and thus debt-slavery. This helped the poor, but was
displeasing to the rich, who were now losing money. To counter this, he decided not to redistribute land, which pleased the rich and was
disappointing to the poor.
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Solon also increased the number of people allowed to participate in politics. By reforming the old system in which birth determined one’s
political status, Solon made the eligibility into public of�ce based solely on wealth. This basically eliminated the aristocratic monopoly on
politics in Athens. The poorest Athenians were not allowed to participate, but the more wealth a citizen had, the higher of�ce he (women
were not allowed to hold political of�ce) could attain.
Solon also created a smaller assembly of citizens to make sure the decision process ran smoothly. This council of 400 men is called the
boule, which decided the agenda for the meetings of the entire citizen body. The council members were chosen annually by lot. This
process of election and participation in government reformed the traditional rule of the elite.
Solon also set Athens on the road to democracy by empowering individual citizens. He enacted a law that allowed any male citizen could
bring charges against any person committing a crime. Also, Solon gave citizens the right to appeal in front of the archon’s ruling in court
cases. In this way, individual citizens had some control over their own justice. His reforms extended participation in the government to
more men, and forced the law to apply more equally to citizens than it had previously. Although on the road to democracy, Athens will �rst
have a series of tyrants.
Once Solon enacted his reforms, he left Athens to explicitly relinquish control. This left a power vacuum, coupled with the disgruntled
elites whose power had been diminished by Solon’s reforms. In 546 BC, Pisistratus seized control with the help of his aristocratic friends
and established himself as tyrant. As mentioned above, tyrants are not necessarily oppressive despots. Rather, Pisistratus embarked on a
large-scale building campaign in Athens. He promoted cultural, economic, and architectural advancement in the polis. In doing so, he hired
many poor people for these projects and boosted the economy. Indeed, he minted new coins stamped with Athena’s owl.
Attic Coin Featuring Athena and her Owl. Image © Shutterstock, Inc.
Upon Pisistratus’ death, his sons gained power in Athens, but could not maintain the good relations with the Athenians. Hippias and his
brother Hipparchus ruled harshly and unjustly. A rival family, the Alcmaeonids, denounced their rule and forced them from Athens with
the help of Sparta in 510 BC. The popular support for Pisistratus and his interest in the affairs and well-being of the populous further
paved the way for democracy in Athens.
Cleisthenes, a member of the Alcmaeonid family, was particularly instrumental in overthrowing the tyrants and gained power for reform
in 508 BC. The system Cleisthenes developed was democracy, and was the political system in Athens until Alexander the Great conquered
the city in 338 BC. Cleisthenes is thus the “father of Athenian democracy.”
The form of democracy at Athens is far more limited in many ways than the modern democracy practiced in many Western states today.
Most importantly, full participation in the government was limited to a small percent of the population: slaves, women, freedmen,
foreigners, and any male who did not own enough property. These groups were not allowed to vote, nor hold public of�ce. Still, despite the
restrictions, no other ancient society put the power of politics into so many of its citizens. The radical degree of this notion cannot be
understated.
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Cleisthenes made it possible for an increased number of people to participate in politics. Rather than organizing society by terms of
wealth, as the aristocrats had wanted, he divided the city into units of neighborhoods and villages called demes. Each deme elected council
members each year by lottery, chance drawing, and the interests of the deme were represented in the political system. As the successful
candidate would basically have his name drawn from a hat, there is no need for the political campaigns as in the modern American
democracy. The number of magistrates would depend on the size and population of the deme. Candidates for each public of�ce were
distributed among the demes. Cleisthenes also expanded the boule of Solon from 400 to 500. In this way, Cleisthenes revolutionized
Athenian politics. Now, more people had access to participation, which was now based not on wealth and status, but where the citizen
lives. This gives a greater chance of holding of�ce and voting for candidates.
Review Question
What is the main difference between Athens’ and Sparta’s political system?
SAVE VIEW CORRECT ANSWER
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