Greek Polis

Jack Garrity

Free mankind idealizedFree mankind idealized

¬ We live as free citizens. said Pericles Not only in our public but also our private life. We are not angry with our neighbors if he behaves as he pleases as long as he does no harm.

¬ Pericles ¬ 5th Century BCE

Athens

¬ Athens was one of hundreds of Greek city States called a polis, meaning not only city state but commonwealth.

¬ A body of equal citizens in an autonomous fatherland.

¬ By 750 BCE,Greek polis were the center of civilian life, unlike the tax collecting or imperial merchant cities of the fertile crescent.

¬ They included the city and surrounding countryside and perhaps a few towns.

¬ The city served as the center of the polis.

¬ Here people met for political, social, and religious activities.

¬ The main gathering place on a fortified hill. called an acropolis, which also had public buildings and temples.

¬ Below the acropolis was an agora, an open area that served as an assembly area and market.

Theater and Gymnasium Theater and Gymnasium

¬ Some polis very tiny, each had its own personality, laws, and patriotism.

¬ So they constantly fought and competed with each other.

¬ The scale of polis was small partly because of Geography.

¬ Checkerboards of mountains, valleys, and plains.

¬ That produces isolated settlements with easier access to the sea then each other.

¬ So the sea becomes the Greek highway for trading, raiding, and pirating.

¬ Polis were also small because Greeks thought they should be small.

¬ Plato thought ideal 5000 cit 20000 total. Women slaves foreign no rights.

¬ Citizens of a polis had rights, but these rights were coupled with responsibilities

¬ The polis was, above all, a community of people who shared a common identity and common goals.

¬ the polis consisted of citizens with political rights (adult males), citizens with no political rights (women and children), and noncitizens (slaves and resident aliens).

Impact of GeographyImpact of Geography

¬ The scale of polis was small partly because of Geography.

¬ Checkerboards of mountains, valleys, and plains.

¬ That produces isolated settlements with easier access to the sea then each other.

Impact of GeographyImpact of Geography

¬ Like Phoenicia, the Greeks became great seafarers.

¬ Farmland of polis could not support growing populations.

Greek Colonization: 750-550 BCE

Byzantium

Greek Colonization: 750-500 BCE

¬ The growing population would be sent out to found new cities of their own.

¬ These new polis were independent from the mother polis.

¬ Settlers needed new farm lands, fishing grounds, bases for piracy and trade.

Colonization increases trade

¬ The Greeks on the mainland exported pottery, wine, and olive oil.

¬ In return, they received grains and metals from the west and fish, timber, wheat, metals, and slaves from the Black Sea region.

¬ The aristocrats became wealthier with expansion of trade and industry.

¬ Some new families became wealthier with the expansion of trade.

¬ The competitive aristocrats competed with displays of wealth with each other.

¬ The new men wanted political power, putting them at odds with the warrior ruling aristocrats.

Polis gives us politics Polis gives us politics ¬ The Greeks invented politics and most

governmental systems.

¬ They experimented with so many types that they wrote the rules for how they worked.

¬ Constitution: written down rules of how the government works.

Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia

¬ Absolute Monarch: King is in charge of politics, culture, war, and rules in the name of a God. The King dominates war, religion, law, trade, etc.

¬ Egypt a Divine Absolute Monarchy: all of the above plus the King is a living god.

The Greek polis developed most types of governments.

1. Constitutional limited Monarchy

2. Oligarchy

3. Aristocracy

4. Representative Democracy

5. Tyranny

6. Direct Democracy

Development of politics

Funeral mask of Agamemnon of Mycenae

¬ By the 5th Century BCE, most Polis had a combination of these forms of governments, which they wrote down as Constitutions.

¬ Sparta the most conservative warrior polis and Athens the most cosmopolitan progressive polis offer excellent examples.

1. Concerned with honor, power, and warfare

2. Distain for business

3.Yet, need lots of capital for wars.

Ideal king Achilles

1. MonarchyRule by a king and landed warrior classes.

SPARTA

¬ Most polis had given up monarchy with Mycenae.

¬ However, Sparta had two kings one from each of the Agiad and Eurypontid families. They acted as priests and led in war.

1. Monarchy

SPARTA

¬ Spartan kings power was limited not only by the other king, but also by the other Constitutional powers.

1. Monarchy

2. Oligarchy the rule of a few. 2. Oligarchy the rule of a few.

¬ Oligarchic: The power of the Spartan Kings was limited by the Constitution.

¬ The Gerousia, the council of 28 elders (65 and up) picked for life. Both kings were automatic members.

2. Oligarchy the rule of a few. 2. Oligarchy the rule of a few.

¬ Oligarchic: The power of the Spartan Kings was limited by the Constitution.

¬ The Gerousia, the council of 28 elders (65 and up) picked for life. Both kings were automatic members.

¬ Five ephors on the counsel represented the Spartan citizens over the age of 18.

¬ They were chosen annually by popular election and had the most power.

¬ The Spartans developed representative democracy before the Athenians, although Sparta remained an oligarchy.

SpartaSparta

¬ They conquered their neighbors and made them serfs called helots.

¬ Every year the Spartans declared war on the helots, so any Spartan could kill a helot anytime.

Spartan CitizensSpartan Citizens

¬ At birth, Spartans were inspected, weak babies were exposed and left to die.

¬ Males entered the army at age 7 where they lived in a barracks until age 30.

¬ All meals were taken together, no luxury or money for anyone.

¬ They practiced fighting everyday.¬ At age 30 they could live at home

with their family, yet remained in the army until age 60.

¬ Mothers told their sons come back from battle with your shield or on it (dead).

SpartaSparta¬ The Spartans made a conscious

decision to create a military state to avoid becoming a Tyranny and direct democracy.

¬ They strongly believed in oligarchy as a traditional Greek value, and would intervene in other city states politics to uphold those values.

SpartaSparta¬ The Spartans did not retreat from the

outside world as the book says.

¬ The Spartans constantly intervened in other city states affairs after consulting the Oracle of Delphi.

AthensAthens

¬ The citizens of Athens had a long struggle that eventually led to

¬ direct democracy: the rule of the people (demos) each equal citizen votes on everything.

AthensAthens

¬ New wealth from trade with overseas colonies, new fighting techniques, and the growth of literacy created class struggle between the aristocracy class and itself as well as the non noble citizens of Athens.

AthensAthens

¬ Unlike Sparta, the warrior aristocrats of Athens enjoyed the new wealth from trade.

The rich landowning nobles, eupatridae, elected one of themselves archons, for a year.

Archons had most of the powers of the old Kings.

Like Sparta Athens was an Oligarchy, but without Kings.

Owned the best and majority of the land, some since the days of the

Mycenaean Kings.

Aristocrat or Noble class

Farmers paid them to work Noble’s land. Others paid them up to 30

percent of their income for protection of their own lands.

Aristocrat class noble land owners.

Acted as judges and held offices of priesthood, which they would pass down to their sons and daughters.

Fiercely competitive in wrestling, athletics, and love.

Fiercely competitive in music, poetry, and wit.

Held symposium wine drinking parties nightly with poetry, music, debates,

wives could not go.

Supported or competed on teams in the Olympics.

Acted as champion leaders in war, and fought duals against other champions.

Troy- Paris Vs. Menelaus_(360p).flv

Usually fought on horseback.

Raising horses for war or chariot races.

The new wealth from trade and colonies increased the completion between aristocrats.

¬ Families competed with each other to put on bigger more splendid parties, festivals, and completions.

¬ These turned into family feuds.

Military innovation Military innovation

¬ By 700 B.C., Greek hoplites replaced warrior aristocratic cavalry.

¬ None aristocratic citizen Hoplites went into battle as a unit, marching shoulder to shoulder in a rectangular formation known as a phalanx

Greek HoplitesGreek Hoplites

¬ The nobles primary purpose as the main fighting force is over.

More wealth leads to conflict

¬ Nobles living in cities competed more and more with each other to out do other nobles.

¬ The slandered and fought with each other.

¬ They led their followers into feuds.

¬ Nobles as judges would fine other nobles followers more than their own followers.

¬ Some citizens became rich on trade, and wished to hold public office.

TyrannyTyranny

¬ An aristocrat, perhaps a commander in war, could urge the citizens to take up the hoplite arms against other aristocrats, and install himself as ruler.

TyrannyTyranny

¬ Tyrants usually did not usually employ mercenaries from other city states, as the book implies.

TyrannyTyranny

¬ Tyrants opened up high offices in the community to more families, including rich and able non nobles.

The citizens of Athens demanded that laws be written down, codified.

Eupatridaes were changing laws and fines to favor their allies.

Draco of Athens wrote down the traditional laws.

“Draconic” means “harsh.”

Law Code of Draco 621 BC

Law Code of Draco 621 BC11

Any debtor with a lower status than his creditor became a slave if he could not pay.

But, if the debtors status was higher than his creditors,

they might not pay the money back

And did not become a slave.

Death for most offences

More and more citizens educated farmers and merchants became slaves.

Many were put to death.

The citizens revolt, and support Solon as tyrant.

However, Solon declines and calls the citizens together to make new laws.

Results

“ the conflict leading to tyranny was slavery: freedom therefore, was a value for citizens to prize and fight for, not just against foreign enemies, but also within their own community.”

Reforms of Solon

Solon 630–560 BC

Abolished dues to Nobles. In return for noble’s “protection” citizens had to pay one sixth of their harvest even if you owned the land.”

Reforms of Solon

Solon 630–560 BC

“The earth, too, had previously enslaved; now, thanks to Solon it was free.”

Reforms of Solon

Solon 630–560 BC

Reforms of Solon

Rewrote law code of Draco

Ostracism instead of death in most cases.

Hemlock for death sentence.

Freed all who were Slaves for debt.

A citizen of Athens could never make another citizen a slave.

No more slavery for debt.

Reforms of Solon

He divided the citizens into four classes based on wealth.

Limited the amount of land one person could own.

Rich non noble citizens could hold high office.

All citizens belonged to the assembly that voted and acted like a jury.

Council of 400 runs city business for a month chosen by lot.

Tyranny of Pisistratus

• From 561- 531 BCE, the aristocrat Pisistratus ruled Athens.

• Tyrants supported commerce, agriculture, and the arts on a grand scale.

• He built temples, arts, silver mines, business, regularized the courts taxes, and kept the peace.

Minted the first coins used in Greece

Athena becomes city main deity

Temple of Zeus at Athens began.

Great parties, festivals, and athletic completions for all male citizens of

Athens.

TyrannyTyranny¬ Other tyrants started the Pythian

Games, and Nemean Games,

¬ All across the world of Hellas a culture of “celebrity” began.

¬ Not great warriors or god kings, but one of great sportsman, poets, and musicians.

Tyranny of Pisistratusbuilt infrastructure (roads, markets , docks, etc)

Tyranny of PisistratusTyranny of Pisistratus

Upon his death, the other aristocrats called on Sparta to restore aristocratic oligarchy. A Spartan Army drove out Pisistratus sons,

then went home.

For two years the aristocrats competed with each other again. Then Cleisthenes proposed that in all things power should rest

with all the citizens.

4. Pure Democracy government by the vote of the majority of citizens .

In 509 BCE, Clisthenes took control of Athens and establishes the rule of the people.

4. Pure Democracy government by the vote of the majority of citizens .

570 BC-508 BC

The founder of democracy. The aristocrats called on Sparta again, who invaded and occupied the acropolis , as Clisthenes fled

Reforms of Clisthenes

570 BC-508 BC

However, all the people of Athens surrounded the Spartans, who surrendered.

570 BC-508 BC

Clisthenes returned and made the new democratic constitution. All male citizens were equal in everyway.

Reforms of Clisthenes11

Equality for all citizens

All citizens voted on all policies.

All citizens became members of a Tribe, a mix of city, coast and countryside.

All citizens could hold office.

The Council of 500 proposed laws was chosen by lot.

All citizens could speak freely on any law proposed.

All citizens voted on all laws.

All citizens were a jury guilty or not in court.

All citizens could any hold office.

Equality of all citizens promoted

All citizens could hold office.

Assembly increased to 500.

Darius I of Persia

Planned to add all of the Greek Polis to his growing empire.

But a much more dangerous threat to Athenian democracy rose in the east . . .

Next StopNext Stop¬ Persian Wars

¬ When we think of tyrants, we think of oppressive, autocratic rulers. In ancient Greece, tyrants could be benevolent and supported by the populace, although not usually the aristocrats. However, a tyrant did not gain supreme power by constitutional means; nor was he the hereditary monarch. Tyrants seized power and generally maintained their position by means of mercenaries or soldiers from another polis. Tyrants and oligarchies (the aristocratic rule by the few) were the main forms of government of the Greek poleis after the fall of the kings.

¬ By 700 B.C., Greek hoplites replaced warrior aristocratic cavalry.

¬ Citizen Hoplites went into battle as a unit, marching shoulder to shoulder in a rectangular formation known as a phalanx

Reforms of Solon

Rewrote law code of Draco, Ostracism instead most

cases. Hemlock for death sentence.

Freed all who were Slaves for debt.

No more slavery for Debt.

The nobles asked Sparta to help again, but the people of Athens fought back and the Spartans had to flee.

Democracy takes root in Athens.

Greek Polis

Education

Greek Polis Lecturer: Wu Shiyu Email: shiyuw@sjtu.edu.cnshiyuw@sjtu.edu.cn

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