Material sources for Greek history:

archaeological evidence: inscriptions• Epigraphy: inscriptions on stone,

metal, terracotta – durable materials– typically contemporary– often fragmentary– nearly useless if not dated

• Genres– poetry, laws, decrees, votes– treaties, dedications, honors

Material sources for Greek history:

archaeological evidence: papyri• Primary medium for …

day-to-day activities– correspondence– petitions– edicts– receipts

• Limited survival of texts– Aristotle’s Athenian Constitution– Oxyrhynchos Historian– many fragments of (un)known works

Material sources for Greek history:

other archaeological evidence: coins• Field of numismatics (<νομίζειν, to

use according to νόμος – “law” or “custom”)– post 550 BCE, so not applicable earlier– limited use as propaganda, so little

internal evidence– long periods of usage, so broad range of

dates

Material sources for Greek history:

other archaeological evidence: architecture, sculpture, vase painting• Architecture– often can be dated– internal ideologies– evidence of wealth– evidence of skill

• Sculpture, vase painting-can be dated stylistically

- reveals social customs- high level of sophistication

Material sources for Greek history:

other archaeological evidence: field data• Pollen analysis, petrology, animal

bones– trade– economics– social customs– settlement patterns– public vs. private space– diet– environmental conditions

All sources for Greek history:literary and material

• Context is key• Congruence is rare• Historians must

draw upon all sources to complete the picture

• Next: datingschemes, climatetopography and demography

Congruence

Literature

EpigraphyArchaeology

Dating schemes: caveat emptor• Each polis used different systems (&

calendars)– Athens: eponymous archon lists: 683/2,

reliable p.425/4

• Panhellenic festivals– Olympiads: 766– reliable post 600

• Religious offices– priestess of Hera at Argos

Dating schemes: putting it all together• Synchronisms between

– Olympiads and Biblicalevents

– Olympiads and Romanemperors

– Squaring with the Gregorian calendar

• Archaeological evidence– pottery, architecture, sculpture

• often based on stylistics – development varies widely– Thucydides’ colonial foundations in Sicily, southern Italy

• dates are relative; are they reliable?– destruction level of 480 in Athens: all material predates

480– confirmation from other cultures: Near Eastern

destruction levels, Egyptian Pharoaonic dates

Periodization of Greek history

Greece: topography & resources

High

Low

AltitudeThessaly

Boeotia

Chalkidike

MacedoniaThrace

PeloponneseAttica

Epirus

Asia Minor

Cyclades

Crete

Propontis

Pontus = Black Sea

(Arcadia, Laconia,Messenia, Argolid, Corinthia)

P I N D O S

EpirusThessalyBoeotiaAtticaPeloponneseCycladesCrete

Asia MinorPropontisPontusThraceChalkidikeMacedoniaPindos Mtns

Blackboard questions1. Matt, Ian, Lucy, Emily: What impact did

the natural environment (e.g., climate and agriculture) have on Greek history?– unpredictability & inconsistency

diversification– self-sufficiency & autonomy hard

collaboration

2. Alex, Teddy, Sarah N.: What role did the demographic profile of ancient Greece play in its history?– demography affects & is affected by

environment– mortality rate limited growth, fostering need

for slaves– population growth slow & steady, averting

epidemics

Greece: topography & resources

Topography• mountains, rocky soil, jagged coasts, few large fluvial plains; Aegean

Sea; islands. Result regarding communities and communication?• result: relative isolation; communication by seaClimate• hot, dry summers; mild, rainy winters. Result regarding agriculture?• result: agriculture difficult, unpredictable, necessitating

diversificationResources: food• flocks: goats, sheep, pigs; cattle rare, horses (expensive, used for

warfare, travel)• crop diversification: oil (cooking), grapes (wine), some vegetables,

barley (primary foodstuff). Result regarding diet?• result: proteins: fish; beans; other goods (e.g., wheat) importedResources: minerals, timber• durable: bronze: copper (plentiful), tin (non-existent); iron (plentiful)• luxury: gold (rare), silver (mines in Attica south of Athens)• stone: limestone (plentiful), marble (Paros, Attica)• timber: northern Aegean / Thrace (structures, shipbuilding)• obsidian (volcanic glass): islands – e.g., Melos. Result regarding

access?• result: control of sea for food, travel, commerce

Natural resources in archaic Greece

Earliest occupation, 200,000 BCE to Franchthi Cave, 18,000 & beyond

• Hunters / gatherers• Subsistence level• Self-sufficiency until interest in other

goods• Embryonic trade• Franchthi in Argolid, Peloponnese

Neolithic Greece, 6000-3000 BCE

Early Bronze Age, 3000-2200 BCE

Sesklo(6000-4400)Dimini(4800-3000)Lerna(2600-2200)

Franchthi Cave(18,000-3000)

Sesklo, 6000-4400 BCEDimini, 4800-3000 BCE

Lerna, House of Tiles, ca. 2500 BCE

Lerna, House of Tiles, ca. 2500 BCE