Greek History

3/11/15 8:33 PM

YALE GREEK HISTORY

RISE OF THE POLIS (after Mycenaean fall)
LECTURE 4 Ethics and Values in Homer
Arte: Greek Masculine Qualities, excellence towards admiration
-courage
-beauty
-strength
-cleverness through speech
Aristocracy claims descent from gods
Afterlife/Face Death by seeking honor and legacy
-exemplified by Achilles
Greeks had a very secular view of life (opposed to Judeo-Christian tradition)
Politicon Zoon: Aristotle term for a man who lives in a polis. Men NEED a
polis if no polis, then a god
No history of individualism in Ancient Greece. Community was the source of
meaning
Nihilism emerges from individualism?
Nomoi: norms of society
Mythos: a tale
When a man has too much becomes too arrogant afflicted with Hybris
takes violent action struck by Ate harmful act struck by Nemesis
Ex: Oedipus
Moderation is a key value for Greeks. No Hedonism

Brief History:
Mycenaean Dark Ages Archaic/Classical Period (750-500 BC)
*Homer composed Illiad in 750 BC
1st Olympic Games 776 BC
Polis: -in Homer: Physical place, citadel at center of town
Polis is not a city-state
Later: Men are the polis (sense of community and structure)
Largest Polis: Athens anyone in peninsula of Attica
-1000 square miles
Ideal Size of Polis according to Aristotle: 5000 male adults
Agora: marketplace
-not central to polis, mainly agricultural
No city walls at first
No Kings in Polis, Aristocratic republic instead (council of aristocrats)
Hesiod: Poet
Codrus: soldier, buried on sport where he died

RISE OF THE POLIS (After Mycenaean Fall)

LECTURE 5 The Emergence of the Polis
Zeus will punish polis for acts of one man
Justice can only exist in a polis, the only good life is in the polis
Croesus: richest man in the world, asks Solon who the happiest man was

Solon: wise man/poet/political figure who responds that a simple man in

Athens was because of his successful polis, sons, and sacrifice as citizensoldier
Wrote poetic pamphlets for new Athenian government
Good polis creates good citizens reciprocal
Greeks invented the idea of citizens opposed to subjects
So why did Greece become so great?
Advanced farming with centralized leadership
Small family farms (about 10 acres) which encourage
improvement of plot and techniques
Marginalized land is used and optimized
Many skills learned from Asia
No wasted land, diverse crop portfolio
Farmers grew, processed, and stored
Slaves (1 or 2 per farm)
Law enforced by aristocrats via councils (possibly elected)