Humanities-Ancient Greece

• The Peloponnesian War is in its fourth year


  427 BCE
• The Peloponnesian War


  • Worst internal conflict ever to occur in the ancient Greek world
  • Fought between the city-states of Athens and Sparta, as well as their allies
• Athenians


  Can't match the formidable Spartan army on land, so they've abandoned the countryside and moved inside the walls surrounding their city and port, now provisioned by a superior fleet and extensive maritime empire
• The cramped conditions have taken a toll and a recent plague wiped out a third of the population
• Archias


  A painter of high-class pottery, relatively well-off and takes great interest in the city's affairs
• Dexileia


  Can't participate in politics or own property
• The couple are grateful to the gods that three of their four children, a son and two daughters, have survived past infancy
• Many parents see daughters as a liability since they require dowries to find husbands
• Archias is confident that his wealth will allow him to make good matches for them without going bankrupt
• Thratta


  Originally from Thrace, captured in war, does most of the housework and helps raise the children
• Philon


  A paidagôgos, who supervises the son's education, teaching him reading and writing
• Ancient Greek civilization


  Came into being around 12-11,000 BC and flourished for close to 1,000 years
• Archias' morning routine


  1. Burns incense and pours a libation at the small shrine in the courtyard on behalf of his entire household

  2. Sets out for the meeting of the Ekklêsia, the assembly of citizens, taking place at dawn
• Ancient Greece


  • Not one country, but a collection of city-states
  • City-states were a city and surrounding land that functioned as independent countries with their own government and military
• Ancient Greek city-states were located in southern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula, with many focused on the Peloponnesian Peninsula
• Dexileia's day


  1. Remains at home all day, teaching her daughters domestic skills

  2. Retires to the inner courtyard for some fresh air
• Powerful and influential city-states

  • Athens (birthplace of democracy)
  • Sparta (strict military culture and great warriors)
• Ancient Greeks also had small islands and coastal areas of Asia Minor (modern-day western Turkey) as part of Greece
• Ekklêsia


  The assembly of citizens, native-born adult males who have completed military training
• Ancient Greeks


  Called themselves Hellenes or Hellenists, not Greeks
• Meeting at the Pnyx


  1. Heralds purify the hill by sprinkling its boundary with pig's blood and call for order

  2. Everyone sits on benches facing the platform

  3. The presiding officer opens the meeting with the words: "Tis agoreuein bouleutai?" ("Who wishes to address the assembly?")

  4. Citizens speak, some advising mercy, others bent on vengeance

  5. A motion is proposed to execute all the Mytileneans and enslave their women and children

  6. A majority raises their right hands in favor
• Greek/Greece


  Terms used by outsiders, like the ancient Romans
• Unlike other early civilizations focused on rivers, ancient Greece was scattered city-states separated by water and mountains
• Archias returns home


  Tells Dexileia about the debate
• Dexileia's opinion


  Killing the innocent as well as the guilty is harsh and counterproductive
• Ancient Greek geography


  • Less than 1/4 of land usable for farming
  • Mountainous terrain and steep slopes made large-scale farming difficult
  • Livestock like sheep and goats could graze on steep slopes
  • Crops included grapes, olives, wheat, and barley
• Mountains physically separated city-states, creating an independent spirit and fierce devotion to individual city-states
• Archias' evening


  1. Goes to a friend's house for a symposium

  2. The nine men drink wine and discuss the meeting well into the night

  3. Archias shares his wife's opinion urging mercy, and his friends eventually agree
• Despite division, city-states shared common language and religious practices, and would sometimes join together to defend Greece
• Ancient Greek maritime culture


  • Skilled sailors and fishermen
  • Sailed through Mediterranean, Ionian, and Aegean Seas
  • Caught and ate variety of seafood
• Before dawn, something unprecedented happens - heralds circulate throughout Athens announcing the council has called another meeting
• Due to limited farmland, ancient Greeks depended heavily on trade throughout the Mediterranean to meet their needs
• Second debate at the Pnyx


  1. Equally heated

  2. A new resolution, to execute only the leaders of the revolt, narrowly passes
• Goods traded by ancient Greeks


  • Pottery
  • Wine
  • Metal
  • Olives
  • Enslaved people
• A ship with orders to carry out the first resolution was dispatched the previous day
• Ancient Greeks traded for grains and other foods they couldn't produce locally
• Another ship quickly sets sail to countermand the order - a race of democracy against time
• Ancient Greeks established colonies throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions as early as 900 BC
• Ancient Greek influence spread through trade and colonies, contributing to their reputation as the birthplace of Western civilization
• The Greek Dark Age

  1200 BC to 750 BC