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Migration, the Polis, and Colonization

A wealth of information on daily life, housing, women, economy may be viewed at an exhibition sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Museum.

  1. Review: Age of Migrations 1200-600 BCE (the Greek "Dark Ages")
  2. The Polis:
    1. The most successful and enduring political institution in the history of the west.
    2. Two critical and central features:
      1. Greek assumption (Aristotle): "So from all this it is evident that the polis exists by natural processes, and that it is natural for man to live in a polis. Anyone who has no polis, not by accident but by reason of his own nature, must be subhuman --or else superhuman! Any such man must be a lover of war..."(ACG p. 39).
      2. the importance of the hoplite reform (evidence below).
    3. Subject of considerable speculation esp. by Plato and by Aristotle. We are well informed. Many "model" states (e.g., Plato's Republic) proposed; "man is political (that is, "humans live in a polis") --anticipates the scientific mentality which is to come. Some examples of theoretical basis:
      1. development of states: monarchy > tyranny > aristocracy > oligarchy > democracy > ochlocracy.
      2. polis is the logical end of social development from family and village,
      3. polis "...comes into existence for the sake of mere life; but it exists for the sake of (purpose!!) the good life" so Aristotle.
  3. Characteristics of polis --in place by 800, though not everywhere at the same time. Greece in 750BC
    1. Territory and population; the latter counts more than the former.
      1. urban and rural components: Landscape and setting of the polis. Athens/Attica from the air. Sparta from the air.
      2. by family, clan, phratry
      3. size.
    2. Structure --no sense of representative democracy, but of direct participation. Public buildings, no palaces or royal residences.
      1. assembly --"the nation at arms" = ecclesia
      2. council of elders = gerousia
      3. magistrates
      4. courts
  4. Dynamics of the Greek polis [and our problem]; what made the Greek polis so vital as an institution? I used to write 'successful' but the record is more mixed. How did the polis generate the consensus needed for its citizens to be ready to lay down their lives to defend it?
    1. polis = the state of the politai, the citizens: The Great Rhetra of Sparta ca 700 BC: "When thou has built a temple to Zeus Syllanius and Athena Syllania, divided the people into phylai, and divided them into obai (voting units), and established a Gerousia (a council of elders) of thirty including the Archagetai, then from time to time 'appellazein' (summon) the citizens between Babyka and Knakion (months of the year), and there introduce and repeal measures; but the Demos (the 'citizen-solders') must have the decision and the power." Implications?
    2. The Hoplite Reform: Underlying principle: those who fight, vote,
      1. Draco in ACG 65B. ..."A share in the state (politeia) had been given only to those who provided their own arms and armour".
      2. "The first form of constitution which succeeded to monarchy in ancient Greece was one in which the soldiery formed the citizen body. At first it consisted only of cavalry. Military strength and superiority were then the prerogative of that arm; infantry is useless without a system of tactics; and as the experience and the rules required for such a system did not exist in early times, the strength of armies lay in their cavalry. When, however, states began to increase in size, and infantry forces acquired a greater degree of strength, more persons were admitted to the enjoyment of political rights. For this reason the name 'democracy' was given at that time to constitutions which we now call "city states". Aristotle in ESHAG Doc 34.
      3. The tradition: "Glaucos, why are the two of us go greatly honored among the Lycians ([Trojans] with seats of honor, meat, and numerous cups? Why do all men regard us as gods? Why do we hold a vast estate on the banks of the Xantos, suitable both for orchards and for the tilling of wheat-bearing earth? We must therefore stand among the front line of the Lycians [Trojans] and take part in the raging battle, so that the Lycians [Trojans] who wear strong corselets may say: "Our kings who rule Lycia are glorious men; they eat fat sheep and drink the choicest wine. They also have surely the strength of brave men, since they fight in the front rank of the Lycians." (ESHAG Doc 21. There is then a balance between privilege and responsibility.
      4. Hoplites: from a vase; a reconstruction1 and recontruction2.
      5. Also: "Know that this is good for the city and for the whole people, when a man takes his place in the front line of fighters and keeps his position unflinchingly, has no thought at all of shameful flight, gives himself an enduring heart and soul, stands by his neighbour and speak words of encouragement to him: this is a good man in war." Tyrtaeus Fr. 12 15-20. And battle was both quick and brutal, the same writer describes a white haired front-line warrior "holding in his hands his testicles all bloody." Also: the oath of citizen: I will not disgrace the sacred arms, nor wil I abandon the man beside me wherever I am stationed... ACG 306. And the Spartans, claims Athenaeus [19] sacrificed to Eros before every battle: "Thus the Lacedaemonians offer preliminary sacrifices to Eros before the troops are drawn up in battle-line, because they think that their safe return and victory depend upon the friendship of the men drawn up."
  5. Demands: participation/political rights and written law; against arbitrary action of magistrates and fear of the divisiveness of clan/blood vengeance; laws are authorized by citizens after public debate. Many of the early tales focus on the role of law-givers in the formation of the polis. So Lycurcus at Sparta, Draco and Solon at Athens
    1. The rule of law --consider the statements in the context of the context of the "DarkAge"; the problem of blood-vengence:
      1. Law as protection from chaos
        1. ...for justice in the end defeats violence, but only when he has suffered does the fool learn this" Hesiod = ESHAG No. 30
        2. "...[we] reached the land of the Cyclopes, a brutal and lawless folk, who...neither plant nor plow...they have neither assemblies where counsels are discussed nor laws...they live in caves...each without concerning himself with the others. Odyssey = ESHAG No 30
        3. "For that state in which the Law is subject and has no authority, I perceive to be on the highway to ruin. (Plato).
      2. Law is superior to any man:
        1. "It is no polis that is ruled by one man." (Antigone)
        2. "They (the Spartans ready to die at Thermopylae) are free --yes-- but not entirely free; for they have a master, and that master is Law."(Herodotus)
        3. "The city is free, and ruled by no one man. The people reign in annual succession. they do not yield to the rich; the poor man has an equal share in it." Euripides.
        4. "there is nothing more important for our state than the rule of law. No person in this state , no matter how high or powerful, is above the law, and no person in this state is beneath the law " Samuel Alito, 10 Jan 2006
      3. Law and law-making have a public dimension. "This is the call of freedom: 'What man has good advice to give the city, and wishes to make it known?'" Sophocles, an Athenian praywright. Bias of Priene: 'Gain your point by persuasion, not by force.'
      4. The conservative nature of law. Aristotle: "...even when laws have been written down, they ought not always remain unaltered; yet too many changes are frightening because the change from old to new laws enfeebles the power of law."
      5. Other notions not demonstrated here:
        1. There is a difference between natural and divine law;
        2. "Men" are educated and improved by law.
    2. The Problem of Rule
      1. In Sparta, perhaps one citizen for every 100 inhabitants; even in democratic Athens, it was about one for every 20. The difference between an "aristocracy" and a "democracy" is then relative.
        1. distinctions:
          1. free:
            1. citizen (all active rights, to vote, sit in council, fight, etc.),
            2. non-citizen including metics, women and children, visitors
          2. non-free including indentured servants, slaves and helots
        2. Theoretical equality of rule, yes, but for whom? Key is ability to serve state with capital and arms. Those who have the means are called 'equals'; given privilege and assume responsibility (liturgies); Athens as a naval power extended citizenship (people can row in the fleet = fight for state). Landed vs. moveable wealth
          1. birth; including descent and pedigree (crucial in an agrarian society.
          2. property: land only; those alone defend
          3. age: 18
          4. sex: male
    3. Autonomy and freedom
      1. Only in an autonomous state (under own laws) could an individual be guaranteed freedom (i.e., to serve state). The demonstration of freedom was to issue own coinage.
      2. Just an agon existed between individuals for limited resources, so too did it for states. Economic self-sufficiency was always a goal, but hardly possible due to the lack of resources
      3. Pan Hellenism [the sense of 'being Greek' as distinguished from being a barbarian] is over-emphasized; particularism of local culture very important.
    4. Religion and Cult
      1. Religion as basis of citizenship; other examples?
      2. Cultural patriotism and civic rituals. Temples as symbols of cities acropolis at Athens and at Perachora.
      3. Pax deorum.
      4. Theater??
  6. The Age of Colonization (750-550) General map ; voyages of discovery
    1. Introduction: Colonies are found all around Mediterranean but especially in Italy and Sicily: The polis was the agent and the effect of colonization. The sites of Segesta, Acragas (Agrigento), Poseidonia (Paestum). Note, Syracuse and Halicarnasus
    2. Greek resources and strengths
      1. The sea and seamanship.
      2. Heavily armed hoplite
      3. There was a temporary (750-500) weakness among the rivals of the Greeks (ESHAG, Doc 43 and 45; also ACG 19 on relations between Greeks and natives).
    3. Character of the colonies: preferred sites. Homer describes the ideal city: "Our city is surrounded by high battlements; it has an excellent harbor on each side and is approached by a narrow causeway, where the curved ships are drawn up to the road...at the head of the harbor there is a spring of clear water issuing from a cave " Also: "...it is not an infertile island, and all fruiets would grow there. It has meadows along the shore, well watered and soft; vines would grow there...plowing would be easy, and because of the richness of the soil, crops would be bountiful." ESHAG No 30. An example. Sicily; Arethusa
    4. Aims and Causes of Colonization
      1. The commercial factor (ESHAG, Doc 40; 43 and 48)...export? import? land? Distinguish between the apoikia (the foundation of an independent city state) and the emporion (trading center). Access to resources.
      2. Internal factors: overpopulation, politics and the land (ESHAG, Doc 45; cf. p. 61-3); that is a need for land
    5. General Effects:
      1. Most dramatic was the expansion of trade and the general elevation of the level of material existence throughout the Mediterranean world. Trade patterns
      2. Because their superiority was so manifest, the Greeks developed the idea of a racial and cultural superiority that dictated their relationship to non-Greeks for the next centuries.
      3. Of lasting value was the extension of the city-state system to the west. It became the vehicle for the propagation of Greek cultural and ethical values first to Rome and then throughout Western Europe.
  7. Classroom exercise: How did the Greek city state generate consensus? loyalty? the readiness to lay down one's life to defend the community?